In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus did not say, "the kingdom of the heavens was likened to." It was not until the parable of the tares that the Lord said, "the kingdom of the heavens was likened to." This is because the appearance and reality of the kingdom of the heavens began from the event spoken of in the parable of the tares, that is, the happenings at Pentecost.

In Matthew 16:18-19, after the Lord Jesus said that He would build His church, He also said that He would give the keys of the kingdom of the heavens to Peter. This shows that when the Lord builds His church, that will be the time for Peter to use the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. It was at Pentecost that Peter used the keys of the kingdom of the heavens to open the door for men to believe and enter into the kingdom of the heavens. It was also at that time that the Lord built His church. Therefore, the beginning of the church at Pentecost was also the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens.

Once the church began, there were the overcoming believers in the church living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens as recorded in Matthew 5—7. Hence, the reality of the kingdom of the heavens began at that time. On the other hand once the church came into existence, Satan mixed the false Christians, the tares, with the real Christians. Thus, the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens also began at that time. Therefore, the reality and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens began nearly at the same time with the church after Pentecost.

Matthew 18:17-18 shows us that the authority of the kingdom of the heavens which Peter possessed at the beginning of the church is also later possessed by the church. Under normal conditions the church has the authority of the kingdom of the heavens to bind what the heavens have bound and to loose what the heavens have loosed. This proves that the kingdom of the heavens and the church progress together. Wherever there is the church, there are also the overcoming believers in the church living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. At the same time there are the false believers mixed in to produce the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. Therefore, the reality and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens started together with the church and progressed together with the church. The reality and appearance of the kingdom of the heavens go along with the church and are dependent upon the church. On the one hand the reality of the kingdom of the heavens is hidden in the church, and on the other hand the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens goes along with the periphery of the church. When the Lord Jesus comes back and ends the church age, the reality and appearance of the kingdom of the heavens will also be ended. At that time the Lord Jesus will burn the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, that is, the so-called Christendom. At the same time the reality of the kingdom of the heavens will become the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.

Daniel 7:13-14 shows that at the end of this age the Lord Jesus will receive the kingdom from God and come to the earth to establish His kingdom. Daniel 2:44 shows that at the end of this age, the Lord will smite the nations of the earth into pieces in order to establish His kingdom. Revelation 11:15 reveals that at the end of this age, after the Lord has broken the nations to pieces, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord.

The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will begin at that time. From then on, the Lord and the overcoming believers will reign together in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens and rule over the earth for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6).

First Corinthians 15:24-26 tells us that when the end has come, at the end of the millennium, the Lord will have destroyed all the powers of Satan. The last enemy which He will destroy is death. Then He will deliver up to God the kingdom which He had received from God. When the millennium comes to a close, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will end. From that time on there will be a new heaven and a new earth, the eternal kingdom of God.

Just as the reality and appearance of the kingdom of the heavens have begun, are progressing, and will end together with the church, so also the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens begins, progresses, and ends with the millennium. To summarize briefly, the kingdom of the heavens started with the church and ends together with the millennium. Before the church, there was not the kingdom of the heavens; and after the millennium, there will not be the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom of the heavens is contained in the two dispensations of the church and the millennium, and it embraces these two dispensations. The beginning of these two dispensations is the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens; the process of these two dispensations is the process of the kingdom of the heavens; and the end of these two dispensations is the end of the kingdom of the heavens.