First, we need to consider the difference between the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God. There is a difference between the two, but they cannot be separated. For example, we can differentiate our hand from our body, but we cannot separate them. The body is the whole, and the hand is part of the whole body. The two can be differentiated but cannot be separated. Likewise, the kingdom of God is the whole, and the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the whole. They can be differentiated but cannot be separated.
The kingdom of God is the reigning of God. Since it is God’s reigning, it follows God’s existence. God’s existence is from eternity to eternity, without beginning or ending; therefore, God’s reigning, God’s kingdom, is also from eternity to eternity, without beginning or ending. The Bible shows that the kingdom of God embraces a wide scope. It embraces (1) eternity without beginning, before the foundation of the world; (2) Adam in the garden and the chosen patriarchs; (3) the nation of Israel in the Old Testament age; (4) the church in the New Testament age; (5) the millennium and the kingdom of the heavens in the future; and (6) the new heaven and the new earth, which are eternal and without ending. All these six items are included in the kingdom of God and are parts of the kingdom of God (see the chart on pages 830-831.)
Daniel 7:13-14 shows that the kingdom, which the Lord Jesus is bringing with Him at His second coming, is the eternal kingdom that God will set up on the earth (2:44) and is received from the Ancient of Days (cf. Luke 19:12, 15) and belongs to the Ancient of Days, that is, to God. This proves not only that the kingdom that the Lord Jesus will be establishing on earth is the kingdom of God but also that the kingdom is from ancient times, from eternity.
Matthew 3:2; 4:17; and 10:7 indicate that when John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and the disciples went out to preach, the kingdom of the heavens had not yet come but was near. Matthew 21:43 shows that before the kingdom of the heavens came, the kingdom of God was already in the midst of the Israelites. However, because they brought forth no proper fruit, the kingdom of God was taken away from them and given to a nation that would produce its fruit, that is, the church. Hence, the kingdom of God today is the church. This proves that both the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament are the kingdom of God, being parts of the kingdom of God.
Luke 13:28-29 says, “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you being cast outside. And they will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” These verses prove that the millennium in the future is also a part of the kingdom of God. What is spoken of here concerning those who will sit down in the kingdom of God is related to the millennium. Although it is in the millennium, the Word says it is in the kingdom of God. This is because the millennium is a part of the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:5 and Revelation 11:15 reveal that the kingdom of the heavens in the future is also a part of the kingdom of God. These verses also speak of the kingdom of Christ and of God and the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. In both cases, the word kingdom is singular, showing that the kingdom of Christ and of God and the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ are not two kingdoms, but one. This kingdom is the kingdom of the heavens in the future and also the eternal kingdom of Christ spoken of in 2 Peter 1:11. This kingdom of the heavens in the future is the ruling of Christ as King; hence, it is the kingdom of Christ. At the same time, it is God’s ruling; hence, it is also the kingdom of God.
First Corinthians 15:24 says that at the end, that is, at the end of the millennium, when Christ has destroyed all the power of Satan, He will deliver up the kingdom to God. This proves that during the time of the new heaven and the new earth after the millennium, the kingdom of God will still exist. Therefore, the new heaven and the new earth in the future are also a part of the kingdom of God.
According to the Scriptures, the kingdom of God stretches from eternity to eternity, without beginning and without ending. It is very wide in its scope. The kingdom of the heavens, which has a beginning and an ending, is a part of the kingdom of God, but its scope is narrower. Before the kingdom of the heavens began, the kingdom of God was already in existence. After the kingdom of the heavens ends, the kingdom of God will continue to exist for eternity. During the time of the kingdom of the heavens, the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. Therefore, sometimes the kingdom of the heavens is also called the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:23-24 shows that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. Matthew 13:31-33; 11:11; and 8:11 compared with Luke 13:18-21; 7:28; 13:28-29 prove also that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. Since the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God, it can also be called the kingdom of God. Because Shanghai is a part of China, it can also be called China. For example, an American who comes to Shanghai also comes to China. Although Shanghai can be called China, China cannot be called Shanghai. Likewise we may call the kingdom of the heavens the kingdom of God, but we cannot call the kingdom of God the kingdom of the heavens. This is because the kingdom of God embraces all of the kingdom of the heavens, but the kingdom of the heavens does not embrace all of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is His entire ruling from eternity to eternity. The kingdom of the heavens is the ruling of the heavens from the birth of the church to the end of the millennium. Whoever is in the kingdom of the heavens is in the kingdom of God. But all those in the kingdom of God may not necessarily be in the kingdom of the heavens. All the saved ones are in the kingdom of God and all enter into the kingdom of God, but they may not all enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Only the overcoming believers participate in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens and will be able to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. This is the difference between the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God.