#1037 Kingdom of God / Kingdom of Heaven

1037 Kingdom of God / Kingdom of Heaven transcript

I shared with you a little bit Sunday about the doctrines of the world and I touched on this whole Monkeypox junk that's going around. I want you to know that back when the AIDS epidemic started, it was prevalent in the homosexual community. And because of what the homosexuals were doing and their blatant disregard for health, for nature, and most of all for God; eventually that disease spread out from there and it infected heterosexuals.

And the way it did that was through needles, transfusions, and this sort of thing. It affected people that weren't homosexuals is what I'm telling you. So the devil and the perversion that he wrought in these people's minds started with them first and foremost. And then it was expanded to people who were living a proper life.

It's kind of like an insurance policy on your automobile. The vast majority of your premium for your insurance policy is for people who don't have insurance. There are people that just drive cars; cause all kinds of damage, and don't have insurance. They get stopped by the police. The police writes them a ticket (may be that they'll never pay). And then they just go on down the road without a license without insurance just to hit another car. This is what happens in our community. The police do not tag that car and tow that car.

That's what should happen. Okay, they just let them go on to hit somebody else and cause other problems. So what happens is when somebody like that hits you, they don't have insurance. Your insurance has to cover it because you have full coverage (if you have full coverage). If you don't have full coverage you're screwed. You know.

And someone's going to listen to this and say, "I don't like that word screwed." Right? Well, don't listen to it. Go to somewhere else and listen to a teaching.

It's true. So what they have to do is they have to incorporate their loss in your policy. And that's why your premiums are so high. Your premiums are so high because you're paying for the people that are driving on the roads that don't have insurance. Okay. So bad people or people that do bad things make good people pay. That's the same way it's going to work with the AIDS. That's same way it's going to work with the Monkeypox.

People who do bad things: who disrespect their bodies; who disrespect nature; and who disrespect God. The homosexual community, instead of stopping what they're doing, they're going to continue to do what they do. And it's going to spread from that group and it's going to jump into the heterosexual avenue of it. And then good people are going to suffer. Now it's not going to flood like it used to; like it's flooding over the homosexual community. But that's how it starts. And that's the devil's way of striking out and making, once again the believer susceptible and pay for the problems. So I just wanted to add that so you know what's going on down the road.

But tonight, I want to share with you the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. You can call it what you want. Now, there are different takes on what the Kingdom of God is and what the Kingdom of Heaven is. And some people believe that the Kingdom of God is one thing and some people believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is something else. And what I want to do with you tonight, is I want to go to God's Word, and I want you to listen to God's Word, and then allow the Word to tell you what the Kingdom of God is and what the Kingdom of Heaven is.

So the question is, is there a difference between the phrase "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of Heaven"? That's the question that's on the floor. Now, to start with, you should know that the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" is used 32 times in the Bible. It's used 32 times in the New Testament and it only appears in the gospel of Matthew. Okay? the Kingdom of Heaven only appears in Matthew's gospel.

The phrase "Kingdom of God" is used 68 times in the New Testament; and it's spread out throughout 10 different books in the New Testament. So 68 times, you have "Kingdom of God" in 10 books. In Mark, Luke, and John, and the epistles. And 32 times, you have the "Kingdom of Heaven" and that is strictly in Matthew's gospel. So there are different thoughts on what they mean. Some have noted the Jewish nature of Matthew's gospel. In keeping with the custom not to speak the name of God because it was too holy. That was a good thought, I thought; or I used to think. But then when you go to Matthew's gospel. You see the word "God" a whole bunch of times in Matthew's gospel. You just don't see the phrase "Kingdom of God".

So I said to myself, "If you're not going to speak the word "God" because it's so holy in the gospel, and they're going to use that for a reason, why do they use the term Kingdom of Heaven? Then they shouldn't say the word "God" in the gospel of Matthew period. I don't believe that anymore.

Some believe that the Kingdom of Heaven in the gospel of Matthew is referring to the millennial kingdom of the future. But that can quickly be dismissed by reading several records. So what I want to do with you tonight briefly; and then what I want to encourage you to do for yourself is to just take a concordance and look up Kingdom of Heaven and look up Kingdom of God. And read the records for yourself so you can have this cemented in your mind what actually is going on.

In Matthew chapter 4: I'm going to start there. I am going to read you a record in Matthew four. Now I have taken a lot of time to develop this record because I want this record to be very, very clear to you and I want you to see that this record, when we read in Mark's gospel, okay, is the identical time and place and record. That's why I have taken the time to do this.

So you can go to Matthew chapter 4 and beginning in verse one it says, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterword an hungred. From that time Jesus began to preach and say, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother and they were casting their nets into the sea, for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Simon and Andrew, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And straightway they left their nets and they followed him."

"And going on from thence, he saw two other brethren James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets and he called unto them." So it's interesting to note that the first four disciples, which later became apostles that Jesus Christ called were two sets of brothers. Okay "mending their nets and he called them. And immediately they left the ship and their father and followed Jesus."

Now in the preceding record that we just read: you have Jesus led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And after that Jesus heard that John was imprisoned he goes and he dwells in Capernaum. Look at verse 13, "Leaving Nazareth, he came in he dwelt in (where?) Capernaum which is upon the sea coast of the borders of Zebulon and Nephthalim:" Then the Scripture teaches verse 17, "From that time Jesus began to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is (what?) at hand. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee. (Verse 18), saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother casting their net. And he said come with me and will make you fishers of men. And they left.

He sees two more: James and John his brother. They're with Zebedee in the boat (that's their daddy) He says come with me and immediately they left and they followed Jesus. so the context is as follows. Jesus, for 40 days and 40 nights, was tempted of the devil. When the devil ends his temptation verse 11 of chapter 4 of Matthew says "angels came and ministered unto him". Then Jesus finds out that John is in prison. And he goes to Galilee and ends up in Capernaum which is nearby.

Okay, you will find that out in verse 12 when Jesus heard John was imprisoned, he departed the Galilee 13 "Leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which on the seacoast in the border…" such and such. Then in verse 17 he begins to call men to repentance and he preaches. He begins to preach the Kingdom of Heaven. Verse 17 says, "From that time forward, Jesus began to preach and say, Repent: for the Kingdom of (what?) Heaven. Heaven is at hand." Okay? As he is walking by the sea of Galilee, he sees two brothers and he calls them to ministry. They follow. He continues to walk. He sees two more brothers. They follow. Okay, that's the gospel of Matthew. Now you know what's going on.

Now let's go to Mark and let's look at the identical record in the gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 1 beginning in verse 12. "Immediately, the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness 40 days, tempted of Satan with all the wild beasts; and the angels came and ministered unto him." So this again is talking about the temptations, alright? Matthew goes into great detail about the temptations. Mark just covers it briefly. Okay? But it's the same record. Jesus only went into the desert one time to be tempted of the devil for 40 days. After he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights… okay?

Mark notes the temptations where Matthew goes into detail. but it's the same record. Now we're in Mark chapter 1. Let's go now to verse 14. "Now after that John was put in prison. Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of (what?) God." See it? He heard about John. John was put in prison. It says in Matthew he heard John was put in prison. In Matthew says he came preaching the Kingdom of (what?) Heaven. Mark says temptation; angels minister to him; heard John was in prison. After that, he starts "preaching the Kingdom of (what?) God. Saying, the time is fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel."

In Mark 1:14 the record after John was put in prison it says that Jesus heard about John's imprisonment. Jesus comes to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. In verse 15 he invites all people to repent and believe the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Now when he's preaching and he says this, he starts to walk by the Sea of Galilee. And the first two brothers, Simon and Andrew he sees. He then calls them to ministry.

Mark chapter 1 verse 16. "Now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were (what?) fishers. We read this in Matthew, right? And I am simply showing you it's the identical record. That's why we're going here. And Jesus said unto them, come ye after me and I will make you become fishers of (what?) men. Straightway they forsook their nets, and they (what?) followed him. Now Jesus continues to walk (as we remember in Matthew) and who does he see next? He sees (what?) two more brothers, right? Remember we read that in Matthew? Well, let's look at verse 19. "And when he (Jesus) had gone a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were also in the ship, mending their nets. And straightway he calls to them and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants and they went (what?) after Jesus.

Okay? It's this identical record. Same thing going on. Matthew tells it in the gospel. We get to Mark. He tells it in his gospel. Matthew tells it. He says Jesus was preaching the Kingdom of (what?) Heaven. Mark tells it. Same Jesus, same record, but Mark says Jesus is preaching the Kingdom of (what?) God. Okay? In the gospel of Matthew, it is called the Kingdom of Heaven. In the gospel of Mark. It's called the Kingdom of (who?) God. Okay?

Matthew 19. Matthew 19 verse 16, here is another record and we're considering the phrase "Kingdom of God" and Kingdom of Heaven to see if there's a difference between the phrases. In Matthew 19 beginning in verse 16. This is what it says, "And behold, one came unto him and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have (what?) eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou will enter into life, keep the commandments. And he said unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shall not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother; and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. And the young man said unto him, all these things have I kept from my youth up. What lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."

It only gets around to you when you come to the pocketbook. That's where the rubber meets the road for people. They're okay until comes to the pocketbook. "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." He had a lot to lose. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. (Verse 24) And again I say unto you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of (what?) God." See now? Same context.

He's talking about the same rich man. Do you understand? He just uses two different examples. The first example, he says that it's hard for a rich guy to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And he says it's easier for camel than for a rich guy to enter into the Kingdom of what? God. Now there is not two kingdoms. See? He is talking about the same kingdom. First verse he says "Kingdom of Heaven" Second verse he decides to use the word "Kingdom of God". The parallel accounts of Mark and Luke regarding the same scripture: In the one he uses the "Kingdom of God" in Mark and Luke. And in Matthew he uses the "Kingdom of Heaven", but you can see that it's talking about the same rich young man.

Matthew chapter 11 verse 11. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John (what?) the Baptist; you guys know this verse. You've heard it before. "Notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater then he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force." Now we were talking about John.

If you go to Luke we're going to look at the identical record. Verse 28 of chapter 7. Listen to what the Scripture says once again. "For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not one greater prophet than John the Baptist." They're talking about the same thing, right?

Same phrase, just about word for word. "But he that is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he." Matthew says, "he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he." Then when you get to Luke's gospel. It says, "He that is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he." Identical records talking about the same thing. Matthew uses the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven." Luke uses the phrase "Kingdom of (what?) God. It is talking about the same thing though.

Matthew chapter 13 verse 11, "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given." Let's go to Mark chapter 4 verse 11. "And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in what? parables." See? Talking about the same record. In one place, he calls it the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew records it. When Mark goes to record it, he records it as the Kingdom of what? God. Kingdom of God. See it?

Matthew chapter 18 verse three. "And he said, verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as a little child (or as become as little children), you shall not enter into the Kingdom of …" Its the gospel Matthew. So what's he going to say? Heaven.

Okay, so the teaching is You've got to get converted. You've got to receive it like a little child or you not going to be able to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Now let's go to Mark chapter 10 verse 15. "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." We're speaking the same truth. In the gospel of Matthew, it was the entering into the Kingdom of what? Heaven. And in the gospel of Mark you've got to become like a little child entering into the Kingdom of what? God.

So that should be enough to get you started. You can go and do the rest for yourself, but there's a least a dozen other parallel identical records that you can find very easily in the Bible; in the Gospels. And compare one gospel account from the gospel of Matthew (Because that's where the Kingdom of Heaven appears) to another gospel account of the other Gospels.

Now you know Matthew, Mark and Luke use it a lot. You will find a little bit in John; but it's mainly you'll see the phrase "Kingdom of God" in Mark and Luke. You see it John too, but not as much. You will be able to see that is talking about identical records. Jesus Christ is saying the same thing about the same topic.

And when you work it, if there is a nuance in it; that the Kingdom of God means that's where God is King. And the Kingdom of Heaven means God's King over heaven - or whatever. I don't know. I mean I can't see a difference. What I can see is that it's talking about the same thing in referring to the same place. It's God's kingdom because the truth of the matter is God's king over everything.

But, I believe that the Scripture teaches that the phrase "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of Heaven" are talking about the same thing. And I believe that from what I showed you tonight in the Scripture. Jesus Christ referring to the same thing so many times in any one verse. And in the next verse uses Kingdom of Heaven the one time and in the next verse he uses Kingdom of God with the rich young ruler. There wasn't any change there.

And it's interesting, but the warning is this. And it's like this with everything in life. Sometimes we believe things because we hear them, and we respect and love people we hear them from. And there's nothing wrong with that. But the Bible has to be the ultimate goal; the ultimate authority. And if you can't show it from the Scriptures, no matter how much you love or how much you want to believe something; you know God given us his Word and he deserves more respect than that.

So instead of asking God to change his mind to line up what you want to believe, I think it will be good idea if we change our mind and line up with where he puts us. Right? Get it straightened out.