Is there a difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God? People are sometimes confused about the terminology. But the short answer is that the Kingdom of Heaven is in Heaven, but the day is coming when this heavenly Kingdom will swallow up the world in which we live and the whole earth will become the Kingdom of God and His Messiah.

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Show Notes:

There is a Heaven, a heavenly realm. We have very specific, detailed confirmation through the Word of God that God’s throne is in Heaven. This is the Kingdom of Heaven, the place where God and His throne exist. From His throne, God rules the worlds forever—not just the earth, but all the worlds that make up the created universe.

The Scriptures also give us pictures of the Kingdom of Heaven. One important thing we need to understand is that the Kingdom of Heaven is filled with God’s presence, and He is righteous and holy. So, we are told to repent because we need to enter into that same righteousness and holiness in order to be able to come into His presence at His throne.

In the gospels we see Christ Himself declare that when His Kingdom is established on the earth, it is still not a kingdom from this earth. It is a Kingdom from Heaven that colonizes and overtakes this earthly realm. It is one realm taking authority over another. Never lose sight of the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven will come here to earth.

Key Verses:

• Matthew 4:17. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
• Psalm 103:19. “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.”
• Matthew 5:34–35. “…either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet…”
• John 18:36. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’”

Quotes:

• “For a long time, people thought that the universe revolved around this Earth, and I think sometimes people still get that feeling that everything spiritually revolves around what happens here on Earth.”
• “The Kingdom of Heaven is a place of holiness, of righteousness, of His glory, of His dominion, of His presence, and for us to ever enter this Kingdom requires a great deal of repentance because we must be holy as He is holy.”
• “We never want to lose the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven is a Kingdom of Heaven, and yet we also do not want to lose sight of the fact that it is coming here to Earth.”

Takeaways:

1. We know that Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, has an eternal throne in Heaven, and it is the Father who sent his Son into the earth as Messiah to reconcile mankind to Himself.

2. We know from the gospels that the Messiah returns to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father, and is given a name above every name and crowned King over all the Earth.

3. We know the Messiah will return to colonize the Kingdom of God onto this earth, and He will rule on the throne of David forever and ever.

4. Someday we will all fall down before this throne and throw down whatever crowns that we have, whatever gifts that we have been given, whatever anointing resides in us, and as we cast these down, we will cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; Who was and is and is to come!”