Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word

Are the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God Different?

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Are the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God Different?

[Posted March 21, 2024]

Hi R___,

Thank you for your question.

You ask:

The answer is, ​”No, there is no difference.​” The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God, and the two phrases are used interchangeably as the gospels demonstrate.

Mark and Luke use the phrase “kingdom of God” to describe the message of the gospel:

Mar 1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Luk 8:1  And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

Matthew, on the other hand, calls this same ‘gospel… the kingdom of heaven’:

Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mark 1:15 says, “The kingdom of God is at hand”, while Matthew 4:17 says, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is the same kingdom in both gospels.

The exact same comparison to John the baptist is called “the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew, and it is called “the kingdom of God” in Luke:

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Luk 7:28  For 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.

I hope these verses help you to see there is no difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, and that the kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven.

YbiChrist,
Mike

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