Q.-1. You say that “the kingdom of heaven cannot be dated earlier than the ascension.” I had come to the conclusion that it should be dated from John the Baptist (but without including him) from these passages: “The law and the prophets were until John, since which time the kingdom of God is preached.” (Luke 16:1616The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. (Luke 16:16).) “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matt. 11:1212And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12).) “If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God [which He did without doubt], then the kingdom of heaven is come unto you.” (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).) “After that John was put into prison Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:1515And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:15).)
2. Seeing that some of the same parables are spoken with reference to the kingdom of heaven, and to the kingdom of God, why is the term “kingdom of heaven” used in Matthew, and “kingdom of God” everywhere else?
3. Is it more correct to say that unconverted professors are in the kingdom, or that they appear only as part of the kingdom? Is the “meal” only really the kingdom, the leaven being a foreign admixture? or is the whole when mixed the kingdom? Does God ever acknowledge an evil thing or an unconverted person as a part of the kingdom of God? He says the kingdom of heaven is “likened to” —has the outward appearance of—so-and-so; but would He acknowledge the “fowls of the air” as a part of the kingdom, or did they merely take shelter in it? These questions are suggested by such texts as “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” How, then, do unconverted persons get into the kingdom? While, again, we read of Christ purging out of his kingdom all things that offend, would not this include unconverted persons? Or does God sometimes speak of the kingdom from His point of view, as if Satan had never sown any tares (as in John 3)—and sometimes as it has become spoiled, by Satan?
5. In Matt. 8:1212But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12), does not “the children of the kingdom” refer to Jews cast out?—and in 13:38 the same phrase refer to believers? It seems to be the same in the Greek.
A.- 1. Neither Matt. 11:1212And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12) nor Luke 16:1616The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. (Luke 16:16) teaches more than the preaching or presenting the kingdom of heaven to faith, not that it was then actually in being or established. Hence, in the main development of its course in Matt. 13, the first parable, which refers to the Lord's own direct work, is not a likeness of that kingdom, though it was clearly work done with a view to it, as indeed John Baptist himself preached that it was at hand; and hence he is named in contradistinction to the law and the prophets. But the citation of 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), by its very incorrectness, confirms this and its difference from the analogous phrase. For the text speaks of the kingdom of God, not of heaven. The former was there, and evidenced to be there when Christ was there in the mighty power which expelled the demons; the kingdom of heaven could not be till Christ went on high. Hence, from the Second or wheat-field parable of chap. xiii., which shows Christ's work done by His servants after His ascension, and the enemy's counterwork, all are likenesses of the kingdom of heaven. Mark 9:11And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. (Mark 9:1) is merely a picture or sample of the kingdom, as seen on the holy mount.
2. The true difference is, that while “kingdom of God” could be used wherever “kingdom of heaven” occurs, the converse could not be always. Hence, while Mark and Luke never use any other phrase than “the kingdom of God,” Matthew sometimes uses the kingdom of God where the kingdom of heaven could not be employed. So in Paul's epistles we have repeatedly kingdom of “God” where “heaven” could not be substituted; especially some cases of a moral force, such as 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), 1 Cor. 4:2020For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:20). To Matthew the phrase “kingdom of heaven” is peculiar, as being both drawn from Dan. 2 and vii., and, duly understood, the most decided corrective of the earthly thoughts of the Jews. It has a dispensational character, which “kingdom of God” does not necessarily carry.
3. John 3:33Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3) presents “the kingdom of God” only in its full reality—Matt. 13; 18:23, &c., 20:1, &c., 25:1, &c., clearly show us profession in “the kingdom of heaven.” The scandals and the doers of lawlessness have to be purged out of the kingdom where they have been.
4. The new wine drank in the “Father's kingdom” (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)), sets forth the united joy of the Lord and of His own by and by, and in the highest part of the kingdom too, I apprehend (comp. chap. 13:43). “The kingdom of God” is the generic name for every part.
5. In Matt. 8 the new form of the kingdom of heaven, which would follow the rejection of the Messiah, was not yet disclosed, but what the Old Testament spoke of. Hence “the children of the kingdom” suits the Jews as such in chap. viii., and the children of God or Christians in chap. xiii., where the further truth is developed.