A few words on the difference between the various kingdoms mentioned in Scripture might be found useful to some of your readers. We have the Kingdom of God, Matt. 12:2828But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. (Matthew 12:28); the Kingdom of heaven, Matt. 25:11Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. (Matthew 25:1); the Kingdom of the Father, Matt. 26:2929But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:29); the Kingdom of the Son of Man, Dan. 7:13,1413I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13‑14); the Kingdom of the Son of His love, Col. 1:1313Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13); the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 1:1111For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:11); Heb. 12:2828Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (Hebrews 12:28).
You are introduced to the first named in connection with the Lord when upon earth, for in answer to the Pharisees’ demand “when the kingdom of God should come?” He answered them and saith, “the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say, lo here, or lo there, for behold the kingdom of God is within you,” or as the margin reads it, “among you,” (Luke 17:20-2120And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20‑21)). One has well described it as “the exhibition, or the manifestation of the ruling power of God under any circumstances,”—and, in the person of His Son, God was manifesting His ruling power at this time; God was there in Him.
It is also spoken of as existing at the present time, for in Rom. 14:1717For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17) we read, “the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost:” and again, in 1 Cor. 4:20,20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:20) “the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” In these cases, the ruling power of God is again exhibited, not in the Son, but by the Spirit, who, through. His presence on earth, produces in those that believe practical righteousness, peace and joy, and in His servants power to correct evil where needed. In Christ, then, during His time on earth, the Kingdom of God was to be seen; by the Spirit now. The Kingdom of God was the circle of Christ’s workings previous to. His being received up into glory, Now, it is the circle of the Holy Ghost’s workings. Scripture would seem to teach that in Christ’s day none but He could be in it, for though “among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist,” yet, “he that is least in the kingdom of God, is greater than he,” (Luke 7:2828For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:28)).
The Kingdom of God then was confined to Christ Himself in His day, though every man was pressing into or towards it, (Luke 17:1-61Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. (Luke 17:1‑6)), waiting, as it were, till the Holy Ghost’s descent should open the door for them. This took place at Pentecost, and then the new creation entitled everyone to enter, (John 3:3-53Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:3‑5)). And thus the ruling power of God, exhibited only in Christ when on earth, is now manifested in those whose bodies have become the temples of the Holy Ghost.
So far as to its divine or proper form. The name however, is applied in Scripture to what the divine’ thing has in man’s hands become, what we know by the name of Christendom. The “tree” and the “leaven” (Luke 13:18-2118Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. (Luke 13:18‑21)), give us its outward dimensions and its internal condition. Outwardly, what was but a grain, a small thing, at Pentecost, has become a huge overgrown mass that shelters even the devil’s emissaries; while internal evil and corrupt doctrine has permeated that which was the people’s food. What a description of Christendom, and yet how accurate! —a vast system, but rotten within.
Thus Rom. 14:17,17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17) 1 Cor. 4:20,20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:20) describe the present inward or divine aspect of the Kingdom of God. Luke 13:18-21,18Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. (Luke 13:18‑21) its external or human condition.
“The kingdom of Heaven,” or literally of the heavens, differs from the kingdom of God, and yet, in some respects, resembles it As we know, the name is only used in the Gospel of Matthew, and this is readily accounted for by the fact that to this Evangelist belongs the task of commending the truth to Jewish consciences, and amongst other things he proves that the kingdom foretold in old Testament writings was that which the Messiah proposed to introduce. He therefore calls it the kingdom of the heavens, because that name coincides with the description given of it in the Law, Psalms, and Prophets,
Israel was taught to lay up the Lord’s “words in their heart, and in their soul, and bind them for a sign upon their hand, that they might be as frontlets between their eyes—that their days might be multiplied, and the days of their children, in the land which the Lord aware unto their fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon earth.” (Deut. 11:18-2118Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 21That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:18‑21).) It was said of David, too, that his seed should “endure forever, and his throne as the 8 of heaven.” (Psa. 89:2929His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (Psalm 89:29).) And likewise it is said of the power of the gentiles that it should continue till the time that they should know “that the heavens do rule.” (Dan. 4:2626And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. (Daniel 4:26).)
Hence we may trace throughout the Old Testament allusion made to a time when God’s will would be “done on earth” (as the prayer which the Lord then taught His disciples expressed it), “as it is in heaven,” (Matt. 6:1010Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)).
This time the Baptist came to introduce the Messiah, and therefore announced (Matt. 3:22And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)) that “the kingdom of the heavens was at hand.” Jesus Himself (Matt. 4:1717From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)) makes the same statement; but instead of His claims being submitted to, they hold a council to destroy Him (Matt. 12:1414Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. (Matthew 12:14)), and consequently the kingdom of the heavens assumes a mysterious form (Matt. 13:1111He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (Matthew 13:11)). The mystery being that it should be a kingdom with an absent king, a thing unknown in history—the king being rejected.
John Baptist was not in it, blessed as was the position he occupied—the door was not thrown open though Christ was on the throne, until Peter unlocked it on the day of Pentecost, and, then “the violent” (those really in earnest) reached the goal that they had been seeking for since the days of John the Baptist. Thus, then, it could not have been said the kingdom of the heavens is “among you,” neither could it be said, “I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God and the kingdom of the heavens are distinct and different. The one existing while the Lord was on earth—the other commencing on Christ taking His seat on the Father’s throne. The latter opened by a human instrument—the former inaugurated by Christ Himself. In certain points however, they resemble each other; both having’ an outward and an inward, a human (as one may say) and a divine form. As to the outward form, the same similitudes are applied to each—the “mustard seed” and “leaven”—as to the inward, we have in the one case the thing formed by the Holy Ghost, and in the other what the thing formed comes to. Outwardly then, the kingdom of the heavens is like a tare field, a tree, and leaven. A mixture of the Lord’s and Satan’s people—that mixture grouped into a huge wide spreading system, powerful outwardly, internally corrupt; such is Christendom of the present day. But to faith there is an inner or divine form which the kingdom takes, and this is seen in separate pieces composing “a treasure” precious to God; and in a thing whose oneness and purity reminds us of the excellence of the Church of God as seen of Christ, and in a form of separation from evil that shows us that God delights not in the mixed company of the first three parables, but in companies gathered apart from the surrounding corruption. These latter are the kingdom of the heavens from God’s side. Thus, then, the kingdom of the heavens proper is the rule of the heavens upon earth—the days of heaven—the Lord hearing the heavens, and the heavens the earth. (Hos. 2:2121And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; (Hosea 2:21).) This however; was refused by man, and consequently, now the days of heaven upon earth are seen by those to whom it is given, to exist in a mysterious form until Messiah comes to bring in the times of restitution of all things with the trumpet of Jubilee.
The kingdom of the heavens thus was openly offered by the Messiah at His advent—refused, and therefore commenced in a mysterious way on His ascension and is running on during the present time and will exist after the church’s removal, until the millennium commences; when it will take its proper form, but will be known partly as the kingdom of the Father, and partly as the kingdom of the Son of man.
These both commence and end simultaneously. The kingdom of the Father relating to things above, the kingdom of the Son of man to things below.
For the former, the Jewish remnant pray when they say “Our Father... thy kingdom come.” They will be gathered as the wheat into the barn and will as the righteous, shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matt. 13:30-4330Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 33Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 34All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:30‑43).) A heavenly people; their reward is in heaven in the scene of their Father’s, dwelling. The kingdom of the Father is for the heavenly people. The kingdom of the Son of man for the earthly. The 8th Psalm explains this, as Son of man He takes the Headship of all below, the place that Adam lost. As Son of man He executes judgment (Matt. 13:4141The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; (Matthew 13:41)). As Son of man He welcomes into His kingdom the blessed of His Father-the sheep who satisfied His hunger, quenched His thirst, clothed His nakedness, and cheered Him in sickness and imprisonment, (Matt. 25:31-4631When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31‑46)). An earthly people, they have been counted worthy to “stand before the Son of man,” (Luke 21:3636Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36)).
Thus the millennial “world kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Rev. 11:1515And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)) has a heavenly and an earthly aspect—the one embracing only glorified saints, the other, including the earthly ones, having eternal life but not glorified as to their bodies. The one is the sphere of the Father’s glory, the other the scene of the rule of the Son of man. Both will alike cease when He delivers “up the kingdom to God even the Father.” (1 Cor. 15:2424Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (1 Corinthians 15:24).)
These are quite distinct in their characters from those we have already mentioned, and give us rather the thought of position than display. The one refers to our present place, the other to our future glory.
They are more to be felt than described, and are only mentioned each once in Scripture. Christ has a present kingdom, the Christ whom the world refused to own as king. One which the Father’s love bestowed on Him the Son of His affections, and into this, we who have believed have already been translated. It is the region of blessing of which Christ is the center, and Christ in the most excellent way as Son of His Father’s love; we may enjoy it though we can’t describe it.
The other is before us, and a blessed contrast to the things that are “fading away” around us. It is everlasting, and we shall share it with Him, and His desire is that we should enter it, as one may say, full sail—as Paul when he said, “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have “fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me de crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me.” (2 Tim. 4:6-86For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6‑8).) May it be ours, then, to add to our faith all these things that 2 Peter 1:5-75And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (2 Peter 1:5‑7) contains, so that not merely an entrance, (we are sure of this as those who are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”), but “an abundant entrance be administered unto us into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Amen! D. T. G.