As a particular section of the kingdom of God in the sense of life, the kingdom of the heavens must comprise the church age. Today we are in the dispensation of grace, which is the age of the church. The dispensation of grace is altogether a matter of life. Hence, the church has to be a matter of life. Within the church there is the kingdom of God in the sense of life, and this kingdom of God in the sense of life is the kingdom of the heavens, which makes all the kingdom people heavenly in everything and in every aspect, causing them to be people in life and people of the heavens.
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. Through the parable of the tares, the Lord prophesied concerning the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens, saying, “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). This parable began to be fulfilled when the church was produced on the day of Pentecost. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is established by the sons of the kingdom—the wheat. They are genuine believers regenerated by the divine life. The kingdom of the heavens and the church began at the same time and go on in parallel. Through this parable the Lord prophesied that when the kingdom of the heavens was established, that is, after the establishment of the church (Acts 5:11), the enemy would sow tares, false believers, among the wheat, the genuine believers.
In Matthew 13 through the parable of the tares (vv. 24-30, 36-43), the Lord prophesied concerning the establishment of the kingdom and the producing of its false constituents. In verses 24 and 25 the Lord said, “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.” This parable discloses that the kingdom of the heavens is established by the building of the church. However, not long after the establishment of the kingdom, the situation of the kingdom of the heavens changed. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens was established with the sons of the kingdom, the wheat. But the enemy sowed the sons of the evil one, the tares, in the field at the same time to grow amidst the wheat. The tares are false believers, believers only in name, who do not have the divine life in them. They form the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
According to the Lord’s explanation, the man who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed are sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one (vv. 37-38). That both the tares and the wheat grow in the field means that both the false believers and the genuine believers live in the world. The sons of the kingdom, the wheat, form the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, but the sons of the evil one, the tares, grow up to alter the situation, forming an outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. The sons of the kingdom constitute the kingdom, whereas the sons of the evil one form the outward appearance of the kingdom.
In Matthew 13:31-32 the Lord used another parable to prophesy concerning the abnormal development of the kingdom: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and which is smaller than all the seeds; but when it has grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches.” The church, which is the embodiment of the kingdom, should be like an herb that produces food. However, its nature and function were changed so that it became a “tree,” a lodging place for birds. This is against the law of God’s creation that every plant must be according to its kind (Gen. 1:11-12). This change occurred in the first part of the fourth century, when Constantine the Great mixed the church with the world. He brought thousands of false believers into the church, making it Christendom, no longer the church. Hence, this parable corresponds with the third of the seven churches in Revelation, the church in Pergamos (2:12-17). The church in Pergamos signifies the church in union with the world through the influence of Constantine. Through the baptism of many unbelievers, the “church” has become abnormally great. The mustard is an annual herb, whereas the tree is a perennial plant. The church, according to its heavenly and spiritual nature, should be like the mustard, sojourning on the earth. But with its nature changed, the church became deeply rooted and settled as a tree in the earth, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches in which many evil persons and things are lodged. This resulted in the formation of the outward organization of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.