Bible Questions Answered:
“I am having a problem with two
phrases in the bible, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven.
Are these the same or different?
Bonnie/ Portland, Oregon U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
The Kingdom Of God. Is
Mentioned some 69 times in our New Testament. The Kingdom Of God
refers to God's presence and power entering the life of the believer.
John 3:3,5-8 NLT
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you The
Truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no
one can enter the Kingdom Of God without being born of water and
The Spirit.
6 Humans can reproduce only human
life, but The Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
7 So don’t be surprised when I
say, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows wherever it wants.
Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or
where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of The
Spirit.”
Our Lord, of course
was referring to the entrance of The Holy Spirit, entering into the
heart of a believer.
Jesus answered the
Pharisees.
Luke 17:20 KJV
And 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:
Romans 14:17 NLT
(The Apostle Paul.)
For the Kingdom of God is not a
matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and
peace and joy in The Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom
Of Heaven.
The Kingdom Of
Heaven, mentioned some 32 times in our New Testament, is a Messianic phrase, referring to Christ's coming Kingdom.
Matthew 18:23
KJV
Therefore is The Kingdom Of Heaven
likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his
servants.
Matthew 25:31-46
NLT (Christ's Millennial reign.)
31 “But when The Son Of Man comes
in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His
glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered
in His presence, and He will separate the people as a Shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep at His
right hand and the goats at His left.
34 “Then the King will say to
those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father,
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry, and you fed Me.
I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you
invited Me into your home.
36 I was naked, and you gave Me
clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you
visited Me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will
reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or
thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 Or a stranger and show you
hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?
39 When did we ever see you sick or
in prison and visit you?’
40 “And The King will say, ‘I
tell you The Truth, when you did it to one of the least of these My
brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’
41 “Then The King will turn to
those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into
the eternal (lake of) fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t
feed Me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give Me a drink.
43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t
invite Me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give Me
clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit Me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord,
when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or
sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And He will answer, ‘I tell
you The Truth, when you refused to help the least of these My
brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help Me.’
46 “And they will go away into
eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
I Corinthians
15:24-28 NLT
24 After that the end will come,
when He will turn The Kingdom over to God The Father, having
destroyed every ruler and authority and power.
25 For Christ must reign until He
humbles all His enemies beneath His feet.
26 And the last enemy to be
destroyed is death.
27 For the Scriptures say, “God
has put all things under His authority.” (Of course, when it says
“all things are under His authority,” that does not include God
Himself, who gave Christ His authority.)
28 Then, when all things are under
His authority, The Son will put Himself under God’s authority, so
that God, who gave His Son authority over all things, will be utterly
supreme over everything everywhere.
