The kingdom of the heavens within the kingdom of God in this age has its appearance, in addition to its reality. Its appearance is its outward state in name, as revealed by the Lord on the seashore in Matthew 13. Today, both the reality and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens are with the church. In Matthew 5, 6, and 7 everything in the seven sections concerning the reality of the kingdom of the heavens is real, pure, spiritual, and heavenly. But the situation in Matthew 13 concerning the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens is altogether different. In this chapter we have the tares (vv. 25-30), a great tree which is no longer according to its kind (vv. 31-32), and the leaven (v. 33). The tares here signify the false believers; the great tree, the abnormal development of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens; and the leaven, the inward corruption of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. All these things found in the appearance of the kingdom cause the appearance of the kingdom to be a mixture.
It is easy to see this mixture in today’s Christendom. Today’s Christendom—the worldly appearance of the church— exactly matches the portrait in Matthew 13 of the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. In Christendom there are millions of tares, a great facade, and corrupting leaven. Whereas everything in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 is real, pure, spiritual, and heavenly, everything shown in Matthew 13 is false, corrupt, mixed, and abnormal.
The kingdom of God was only drawing near during the time when John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were preaching (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Luke 10:9). Although the descending of the Holy Spirit brought in the reality of the kingdom of God on the day of Pentecost and the church was established (Matt. 16:18-19), the manifestation of the kingdom of God was yet to come. Therefore, the Lord was resurrected from the dead and ascended to the heavens to receive the kingdom (Luke 19:12). At the end of the church age, the Lord will receive the kingdom from God (Dan. 7:13-14) and will come back with the kingdom of God (Luke 19:15). That will occur after the great tribulation when the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev. 11:15; 12:10). This will also be the manifestation of the kingdom of God, as unveiled by the Lord on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 24 and 25. This manifested kingdom of God is the millennial kingdom in the coming age, comprising the heavenly and earthly parts.
The heavenly part of the millennial kingdom in the coming age, which will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens within the kingdom of God, is called the kingdom of the Father in Matthew 13:43. All the perfected and overcoming saints of the Old and the New Testaments will be priests of God and of Christ, and will be co-kings with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6) to reign over the nations, the people in the earthly part of the millennial kingdom (Rev. 2:26-27). Daniel 12:2-3 tells us that after being raised up from among the dead, the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars. This word resembles that in Matthew 13:43, which says that the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. What is mentioned in Daniel refers also to the heavenly part of the millennial kingdom.
The earthly part of the millennial kingdom in the coming age will be the Messianic kingdom, which is called the kingdom of the Son of Man in Matthew 13:41. This will be the restored kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6), the tabernacle of David—the kingdom of David—which the Lord will rebuild (Acts 15:16; Mark 11:10). It will also be the kingdom prepared by God from the foundation of the world for the “sheep” as the people on earth in the coming millennium (Matt. 25:34).
When Christ comes back, the entire house of Israel will repent and be saved (Zech. 12:10-11; Rom. 11:26); then the kingdom of Israel will be restored (Acts 1:6). The saved Israelites will be priests in the earthly part of the coming millennium, teaching the nations as the people to serve God (Zech. 8:20-23). (See point IV.D in Lesson Twenty-four.)
When Christ comes back, He will be the Judge of the living to the Gentiles (Acts 17:31; 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1). All the nations on earth will be gathered before Him to be judged by Him according to God’s eternal gospel (Rev. 14:6-7). The good ones will be counted by Him as the righteous, the “sheep.” They will enter into the earthly part of the millennium to be the people (Matt. 25:31-34). (See point III in Lesson Twenty-four.)