A few words on the difference between the various kingdoms mentioned in Scripture may be useful. We have the Kingdom of God (Matt. 12:28), the Kingdom of heaven (Matt. 25:1), the Kingdom of the Father (Matt. 26:29), the Kingdom of the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13, 14), the Kingdom of the Son of His love
(Col. 1:13. the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11; Heb. 12:28).
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is introduced in connection with the Lord when upon the earth, in answer to the Pharisees' demand as to "when the kingdom of God should come." He answered them and said, "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, "among 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." In the person of His Son. God was manifesting His ruling power at this time; God was there in Him.
Also it is spoken of as existing at the present time, for in Rom. 14:17 we read, "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Again, 1 Cor. 4:20 states, "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 who believe practical righteousness, peace and joy, and in His servants power to correct evil where needed.
During His time on earth, the Kingdom of God was to be seen in Christ; now it is seen by the Spirit. 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 7:28. The kingdom of God was confined to Christ Himself in His day, though every man was pressing into, or towards it (Luke 16:16), waiting, as it were, till the Holy Spirit's descent should open the door for them. This took place at Pentecost, and then the new creation entitled every one to enter (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.
Such was its divine or proper form. The name, however, is applied in Scripture to what the divine thing has become in men's hands, what we know by the name of Christendom. The "tree" and the "leaven" (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 have permeated that which was the people's food. What a description of Christendom, and yet how accurate! It has become a vast system, but rotten within. Thus Rom. 14:17 and 1 Cor. 4:20 describe the present inward or divine aspect of the kingdom of God while Luke 13:18-21 gives its external or human condition.
Kingdom of Heaven
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. Among other things, he proves that the kingdom foretold in Old Testament writings was that which the Messiah proposed to introduce. Therefore. He calls it the kingdom of the heavens, because that name coincides with the description given of it in the Law, the Psalms, and the 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 sware unto their fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon earth. (Deut. 11:18-21.) It was said of David, too, that his seed should "endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven." Psa. 89:29. 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. 4:26. Hence we may trace throughout the Old Testament, allusions made to a time when, as the Lord taught His disciples to pray, God's will would be "done in earth as it is in heaven." Matt. 6:10. John the Baptist came to introduce the Messiah, and therefore announced (Matt. 3:2) that the kingdom of the heavens was at hand. Jesus Himself (Matt. 4:17) makes the same statement, but instead of His claims being submitted to, they held a council to destroy Him (Matt. 12:14).
Consequently, the kingdom of the heavens assumes a mysterious form (Matt. 3:11), the mystery being that it should be a kingdom with an absent king, a thing unknown in history-the king being rejected.
Matt. 11:11, 12 coupled with Matt. 16:19, gives us light as to the time when the kingdom commenced. John the Baptist was not in it, although the position he occupied was blessed. The door was not thrown open, though Christ was on the throne, until Peter unlocked it on the day of Pentecost. 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 that 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 kingdom of the heavens are distinct and different. The one existed while the Lord was on earth-the other commenced on Christ's taking His seat on the Father's throne. The latter was opened by a human instrument-the former was inaugurated by Christ Himself.
In certain points, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the heavens 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 Spirit 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. It is 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. This is seen in separate pieces composed of, first, "a treasure" precious to God, and whose oneness and purity remind us of the excellence of the Church of God as seen of Christ, and, second, 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.
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 hearing the earth. (Hos. 2:21.) This was refused by man, and consequently, now the days of heaven upon earth are seen 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. It was 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. Then it will take its proper form, but it will be known partly as the kingdom of the Father, and partly as the kingdom of the Son of man.
Kingdom of the Father and Kingdom of the Son of Man
These both commence and end simultaneously.
The Kingdom of the Father relates to things above, the Kingdom of the Son of Man to things below. The Jewish remnant pray for the former 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. 13:30-43.) 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 is 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. 13:41.) 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. 25:31-46.) An earthly people, they have been counted worthy to "stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36.
Thus the millennial world kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev. 11:15) has a heavenly and an earthly aspect. The one embraces only glorified saints, the other includes 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. 15:24.
The Kingdom of the Son of His Love and the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
The last two which we wish to consider are "the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13 JND), and "the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:11.
'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 once in Scripture. Christ has a present kingdom which the Father's love bestowed on 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 in the most excellent way, the Son of His Father's love; we may enjoy it though we cannot describe it.
The everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is before us, and is 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. Paul said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my muse. I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge. shall give me." 2 Tim. 4:678. May we then add to our faith all these things that 2 Pet. 1:5-7 contains so that not merely an entrance but "an abundant entrance be administered unto us into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." D.T. Grimston