If we consult the chart printed in message two hundred forty, we shall see that the kingdom of the heavens is a specific section within the kingdom of God. It is in that section of the kingdom of God which is God’s reign in a particular way, in the sense of life. With the patriarchs and children of Israel the kingdom of God was present in a general way but not in a particular way. For this reason, at the beginning of the New Testament, John the Baptist called on people to repent because the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near (Matt. 3:2). This indicates a new beginning. The kingdom of God was there, yet it needed a new beginning. This new beginning was the kingdom of God in a particular way, in the way of life. Although the Israelites in Old Testament times were in God’s kingdom, they were in the kingdom only in the sense of God’s power and authority, not in the sense of life. To be in the kingdom of God in the sense of life is something new, something of the new testament. Therefore, when the new testament was coming, God sent John the Baptist as the forerunner to tell people to prepare themselves to get into another stage of the kingdom and not to remain in the old stage. God was about to have a new start, a start in life. Therefore, it was necessary for the people to prepare themselves to enter into this new start, that is, to enter into God’s kingdom by being regenerated. Through regeneration we enter into God’s kingdom in the way of life.
The kingdom of the heavens as a specific section within the kingdom of God is also called the kingdom of God. This becomes clear if we compare Matthew 4:17 with Mark 1:15 and Matthew 13:11 with Mark 4:11. Matthew 4:17 says, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” According to Mark 1:15 the Lord Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near.” This indicates that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. In Matthew 13:11 the Lord Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens.” However, in Mark 4:11 He says, “To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given.” This is another indication that the kingdom of the heavens, being part of the kingdom of God, is the kingdom of God.
Although we can say that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God, we cannot say that the kingdom of God is the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God just as Texas, as a part of the United States, is the United States.
Matthew 19:23 and 24 say, “Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go 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, whereas verse 24 refers to the kingdom of God. This is a further proof that the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God.
We have seen that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God was already present before the kingdom of the heavens came. Matthew 19:23 and 24, however, prove that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. The illustration of Texas and the United States helps to explain this. On the one hand, Texas is different from the United States, because the United States is an entire nation. Texas is a part of this nation, so it is different. On the other hand, Texas is in the United States. When you come to Texas, 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 Texas, you are in the United States. But if you are in the United States, you are not necessarily in Texas, for you may be in another state. If you enter into the kingdom of the heavens, you surely enter into the kingdom of God. However, being in the kingdom of God does not guarantee that you are in the kingdom of the heavens. From this we see that although the kingdom of the heavens is a specific section within the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the heavens may also be called the kingdom of God.
As a particular section of the kingdom of God in the way of life, the kingdom of the heavens comprises two ages or dispensations: the dispensation of grace and the dispensation of the kingdom. Today we are in the dispensation of grace, which is the age of the church life. The dispensation of grace is altogether a matter of life. The age of grace is the age of the church life. This indicates clearly that the church is a matter of life. Within the church there is the kingdom of God in the way of life, and this kingdom of God in the way of life is the kingdom of the heavens, which makes all the kingdom people heavenly in everything and in every way, causing them to be people of the heavens. After the age of the church, the kingdom of the heavens will continue in the age of the millennium.
The kingdom of the heavens drew near at John the Baptist’s preaching and at the preachings of Christ and His disciples. In his preaching John said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). This clearly indicates that before the coming of John the Baptist, the kingdom of the heavens was not there. Even after his appearance, during his preaching, the kingdom of the heavens was still not there; it had only drawn near.
At the time the Lord Jesus started His ministry and even at the time He sent His disciples to preach, the kingdom of the heavens still had not come. In Matthew 4:17 the Lord Jesus “began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near,” continuing the preaching of His forerunner. In Matthew 10:7 the Lord charged His disciples to preach, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” This indicates that even at that time the kingdom of the heavens had not come, but had only drawn near.
The kingdom of the heavens began at the church’s beginning. This means that when the church began on the day of Pentecost, the kingdom of the heavens also began.
The beginning of the kingdom of the heavens is indicated by the parable of the tares in Matthew 13. Of the seven parables in this chapter, only one of them, the first, does not liken the kingdom of the heavens to something (vv. 3, 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, and 47). It is in the second parable, the parable of the tares, that the Lord said, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field” (v. 24). The reason the Lord began to say, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to” in this parable is that the kingdom of the heavens began to be established when the church was built on the day of Pentecost, the time when the second parable began to be fulfilled. It was from that time, after the church was founded (Acts 5:11), that the tares, the false believers, were sown amidst the true believers, the wheat. The kingdom of the heavens and the church began at the same time and go on in parallel.
The Lord’s word in Matthew 16:18 and 19 indicates that the kingdom of the heavens is wrapped up with the church. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall be what has been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall be what has been loosed in the heavens.” The words “the kingdom of the heavens” in verse 19 are interchangeably used for the word “church” in verse 18. This is a strong proof that the genuine church is the kingdom of the heavens in this age. The church has the kingdom of the heavens as its reality.
The keys of the kingdom of the heavens are given to the apostles. This is indicated by the Lord’s word to Peter concerning giving him the keys of the kingdom of the heavens for binding and loosing. The Gospel of Matthew is concerned with the kingdom of the heavens. The church revealed in this book represents the kingdom to reign. Hence, the authority to bind and to loose is given not only to Peter but also to the church itself (Matt. 18:17-18). Since the kingdom of the heavens is wrapped up with the church, when we have one, we have the other. Where the genuine church is, there the kingdom of the heavens is also.