Matthew 13 is another proof that the kingdom of the heavens started when the church began to be built. In the first parable in Matthew 13 the Lord says, “Behold, the sower went out to sow” (v. 3). In the second parable, however, He says, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field. But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat and went away” (vv. 24-25). In the third parable the Lord tells us that the kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed (v. 31). The fourth parable tells us that “the kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened” (v. 33). The previous three parables of Matthew 13 always begin with the clause “the kingdom of the heavens is (or, has become) like...,” but with the first parable there is not such a clause. In the first parable the Lord was coming to sow Himself into people as the seed of life. At that time the kingdom of the heavens had only drawn near; it had not come yet. With the second parable the Lord began to say, “the kingdom of the heavens is (or, has become) like,” because the kingdom of the heavens began to be established when the church was built (16:18-19) on the day of Pentecost, the time when the second parable began to be fulfilled. It was from that time, after the church had been founded, that the tares, the false believers, were sown among the true believers, the wheat. Therefore, the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God.
Thus far, we have seen that the kingdom of God is from eternity past to eternity future and that it includes the kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament, the kingdom of the heavens in the New Testament, and the millennial kingdom after the church age (see chart on pp. 12-13).
The kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God just as California, as a part of the United States, is the United States. Matthew 19:23-24 says, “And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, Only with difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of the heavens. And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Verse 23 refers to the kingdom of the heavens, while verse 24 refers to the kingdom of God. This proves that the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God. We have already seen from other passages that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God was there before the kingdom of the heavens had come. This passage, however, proves that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. The example of California and the United States helps to explain this. On the one hand, California is different from the United States because the United States is an entire nation. California is a part of this nation, so it is different. On the other hand, California is the United States. When you come to California, you come to the United States. Likewise, when you enter into the kingdom of the heavens, you enter into the kingdom of God because the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God. If you are in California, you are in the United States, but if you are in the United States, you are not necessarily in California. If you come to the United States, you may come to New York, Oregon, or Washington, but not to California. If you enter into the kingdom of the heavens, you surely enter into the kingdom of God, but being in the kingdom of God does not guarantee that you are in the kingdom of the heavens.