Is the Kingdom of God the same thing as Heaven? If not, what is it? Let’s unpack the answers to these questions and more. We’ll start with what Heaven is.
The Bible makes it clear that Heaven is a place. Jesus ascended to Heaven after His death and resurrection.
- “After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:9-11, BSB)
The Bible says that Jesus will return from Heaven to rapture the believers, dead and alive.
- “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, NIV).
The Bible says that Heaven is God’s throne.
- “This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.’” (Isaiah 66:1a, NLT)
The Bible says that believers are seated with Jesus in Heaven.
- “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6, BSB)
As Robert Rothwell of Ligonier Ministries explains: “Since believers who have not died are presently on the earth, this must be a positional reality. In other words, although we are not physically present in heaven right now, we are there in effect. We are to regard ourselves as already ruling and reigning alongside Jesus by right even if we do not have the full realization of that in our experience.”[i]
The Bible says that both our present Earth and Heaven will be replaced.
- “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1)
What is the Kingdom of God?
The theologian John Piper points out that the Kingdom of God is not a place (and thus, not Heaven), nor a group of people (believers). He says the Kingdom of God is His reign. It is His rule over all things.
“He sits as king on his throne of the universe, and his kingly rule — his kingdom and his reign — governs all things. The basic meaning of the word kingdom in the Bible is God’s kingly rule — his reign, his action, his lordship, his sovereign governance.”[ii]
This brings us to a new question: when and where is the Kingdom of God? It’s three different times and places.
- God’s Kingdom has always ruled in the sense that God controls the universe and how history unfolds.
- Yet, it’s also a future thing, fulfilled when God establishes His new Heaven and Earth. God’s Kingdom comes into its fullness when His will is done on Earth and Heaven by everyone. It’s when all creation obeys Him.
- God’s Kingdom reigns here and now in the hearts of believers when we obey Him. When He walked the earth, Jesus began undoing evil and setting things right as He healed people and cast demons out. He was taking authority – reigning – over evil. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” (Matthew 12:28, KJV)
Jesus’ death and resurrection broke the power of death and sin. He gave us His Spirit to live in obedience and to continue His work on earth. Jesus taught us to pray,
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, NKJB)
That prayer applies to the future when the Lord returns but also applies to the obedience of believers today. Who reigns in your life?
Thus, when we read scriptures about the “Kingdom of God,” we must realize they might be referring to the past, present, or future. We discern which by the context.
Biblical explanation
What about the “Kingdom of Heaven?” Is it the same thing as the Kingdom of God? Yes! Did you know that the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” only appears in the Book of Matthew? He used it thirty-two times! He also used it interchangeably with the “Kingdom of God.” Here’s an example.
- “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’” (Matthew 19:23-24, NIV)
The passage above raises a question. If the Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God) means God’s reign, then why did Jesus use the word “enter?” If it is not a place, how does one enter it? We “enter” the Kingdom of God when we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. As Christopher Morgan points out, we enter the “kingdom community” or the Body of Christ.
“God’s reign is present and future, already and not yet, his active invasion of history now and his final establishment of the age to come. It is a sovereign rule, a dynamic power, and a divine activity. As the bearer of this kingdom, Jesus requires repentance to enter his kingdom community, since the present way of the world must be rejected and the new age of God’s rule and its corresponding way of life embraced. As such, repentance is not only the way into the kingdom but also the way of the kingdom.[iii]
- “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.’” (John 3:5, BSB)
- “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.” (1 Corinthians 12:13, BSB)
- “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Jesus replied, ‘The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.’” (Luke 17:20-21, NLT)
Examples
- God’s Kingdom has always ruled.
- “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth.” (Isaiah 37:16, NLT)
- “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.” (2 Chronicles 20:6, ESV)
- God’s Kingdom will be fulfilled when He establishes a new Heaven and Earth.
- “On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth—the LORD alone, and His name alone.” (Zechariah 14:8, BSB)
- “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” (Revelation 11:15, NKJV)
- God’s Kingdom reigns here and now in the hearts of believers
- “But when they believed Philip as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.” (Acts 8:12, NASB)
- “He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:6, NASB)
Are you going to heaven?
A lot of people have a vague idea that if they’re good, they’ll go to Heaven, and if they are bad, they’ll go to Hell. Nope! It doesn’t work like that. You can never be good enough to get to Heaven. We would all be on our way to Hell if it weren’t for Jesus. There is only one way to Heaven. We must put our trust in Christ’s righteousness, in His death that paid the price for our sins, and in His resurrection that gives us hope of eternal life.
- “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2, NLT)
- “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
- “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, NIV)
Conclusion
When we say, “Jesus is Lord,” we are recognizing Him as the King of the Universe. When we repent – when we are sorry for and turn away from our sins – we are giving Jesus Lordship over our lives. When we believe in Him, we are believing that Jesus came to undo sin and death. He offers us a new life where we make Him Lord. He makes us part of His eternal Kingdom. He is here, but He is also coming again to create a new Heaven and a new.
[i] https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/5-things-heaven
[ii] https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god
[iii] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-kingdom-of-god/
