Most Christians do not realize that there is a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the heavens. However, the New Testament makes a clear distinction between these two.
The kingdom of God is the divine ruling from eternity to eternity. It includes Adam in Eden (Gen. 2:8), the Patriarchs (from Adam to Jacob), the nation of Israel (Exo. 19:6), the church (Matt. 16:18-19), the restored nation of Israel (Acts 1:6; 15:16), the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6), and the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-2). Acts 1:6 and 15:16 reveal that the restored nation of Israel is called the tabernacle of David. The nation of Israel will be restored at the Lord's return. After this will be the millennium and finally the new heaven and new earth. The kingdom of God covers all the dispensations from eternity past to eternity future. In the chart on pages 76 through 77 are six circles, which include all the dispensations from eternity past to eternity future. The totality of these six circles is the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of the heavens is the heavenly ruling from the beginning of the church to the end of the millennium, the crucial part of the kingdom of God. In the chart on pages 76 through 77 are two circles outlined in blue, signifying the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God just as Texas and Louisiana are part of the United States. Texas and Louisiana are the United States, but it is not correct to say that the United States is Texas and Louisiana. In like manner, we can say that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God, but we cannot say that the kingdom of God is the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God because it is part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God refers to God's reign in a general way, from eternity past to eternity future, but the kingdom of the heavens includes only two parts of the kingdom of God: the dispensation of grace and the millennium.