Kingdoms of God and Heaven

In this lesson, we are going to trace the kingdoms of God and heaven all the way from their beginning through their ultimate future merger.

We’ll start back in Genesis 1, with creation, where we find a firmament called “Heaven”.

Gen 1:1, “In beginning God created heaven and earth”.  This is the earth and the heaven that surrounds it like you see in Gen 1:20.

Gen 1:2, darkness was already here, indicating that there was a problem, because “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”, 1 Jn 1:5.

Gen 1:3, “Let there be light”.  And “God divided the light from the darkness”, Gen 1:4.

Then he made a firmament that he called, “Heaven”, Gen 1:8.  Inside the firmament was darkness.  So he made the sun, moon, and stars for lights in the firmament, Gen 1:15-16.

God is above the waters which are above the firmament, in what Paul called “the third heaven”, 2 Cor 12:2.  Up there is Life, Light, and Day.  Inside the firmament is Darkness, Death, and the Devil.  These are separated from God by the waters, Gen 1:7.

Inside the firmament are the Devil and the host of the high ones that are on high, Is 24:21.  There is war between God’s host and the devil in this firmament called, “Heaven”.

God has his throne and kingdom in the third heaven, Ps 103:19. His kingdom is everlasting, Ps 145:13.  Notice, Satan also has a kingdom, Matt 12:26.

God has angels, Rev 12:7.  And the Devil has angels, Rev 12:7.

After God made man, Adam sinned.  By him sin entered the world and death by sin, Rom 5:12.  Thus, Satan became the god of this world, 2 Cor 4:4.

Next we see that, on earth, there are kingdoms of men, one of which is Israel, God’s choice.

The first kingdom was Nimrod’s.  The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Gen 10:10, in the land of Shinar.  Here they built the tower of Babel, Gen 11:2-4.  This kingdom foreshadows the antichrist’s kingdom in Rev 16:10, 17:17.

God chose Israel and said ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, an holy nation, Ex 19:6.  Balaam prophesied that his kingdom would be exalted, Num 24:7.  In 2 Sam 7:12-13 the throne and kingdom were established for ever.  And they are reserved for the Lord Jesus, Is 45:6, Is 9:6-7, Lk 1:31-33.

Now we can visualize the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven.

The Kingdom of God concerns God ruling on his throne from the third heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven concerns Jesus ruling on his throne from earth in Israel over everything in the firmament called heaven.  Thus, it’s called the “kingdom of heaven”.  You can see an illustration of this here Kingdoms of God and Heaven.

Together, God and Jesus’s objective is to clear out every enemy in the firmament between heaven and earth.

God, from his throne in heaven, intervenes in the choice of kings on the earth, principally to deal with Israel.

In 2 Ki 19:14-15, for example, Hezekiah prayed, “thou art the God, even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth”.  And Dan 4:17 says, “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will”.

In his dealings with Israel, God has raised up such kings as Pharaoh, Rom 9:17, Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 25:9, and Cyrus, Is 45:1.  God maneuvers Israel through kings on earth.

God sends his Son, Jesus, the king of the Jews.

At the appointed time, God brought Jesus into the world.  When he came, Israel had the opportunity to receive him as the King of the Jews, the son of David, Matt 22:41-45.

The kingdoms of God and heaven during Jesus’s ministry.

Because Jesus was born King of the Jews, he preached the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Had Israel accepted him and his kingdom, after his death, burial, and resurrection, he could have ruled on the throne of David, like he will when he returns.  At the same time, Jesus was casting out devils, Matt 12:28.  And thus he preached, the kingdom of God is at hand.

The kingdoms of God and heaven in the church age.

Israel rejected Jesus Christ.  So, after his resurrection, Jesus  ascended to heaven.  Therefore, we only deal with the kingdom of God.  We’re not preaching the kingdom of heaven, because Jesus hasn’t returned to sit on David’s throne yet.

When Jesus was here he told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God would be given to another nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, Matt 21:43.  That other nation is we who are now the people of God, 1 Pet 2:9-10.  The kingdom of God is in us, Lk 17:20-21, and we bring forth fruit when souls are saved.

The kingdoms of God and heaven when Jesus returns.

After the Rapture and before the Second Advent of Jesus, the nations will be gathered together against Israel to destroy them from among the kingdom of men.  They and the devil are enemies of Israel, Ps 83, Rev 12:4-5.  And God is the one who brings them together.

When Israel has been reduced to a remnant and is finally willing to accept Jesus, he returns to destroy these enemy nations, Zech 14:2-3, Zeph 3:8, Rev 17:12-14, and the host of the high ones on high, Is 24:19-23.

At the Second Advent, the kingdom of God comes Rev 12:7-10, as the Lord is once again casting out the devil.  The devil ends up in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:1-2.

The kingdom of heaven also comes, as Jesus begins ruling on his throne from earth.  God saves Israel, Rom 11:25-27, fulfills the new covenant, Heb 8:8-12, and sets up Jesus’s kingdom, Dan 2:44, with Israel as the ruling nation Is 60:12, Heb 12:28, and all nations serving Jesus, Dan 7:13-14, Rev 11:15, who is ruling on throne of David.

The kingdoms of God and heaven ultimately merged into one.

At the end of the millennial reign of Jesus, God will release the devil for one last assault against Israel and Jesus.  And God will destroy them all with fire out of heaven, Rev 20:8-10.

All enemies will then be under Jesus’s feet, 1 Cor 15:25. Then, he will destroy his last enemy, death, 1 Cor 15:26.  And he will deliver up the kingdom (kingdom of heaven) to God, 1 Cor 15:24, who will then be all in all, 1 Cor 15:28.  Every enemy between God’s throne in heaven and Jesus’s throne on earth will have been cleared out of the firmament called heaven.

The devil and those in Rev 21:8 will be in the lake of fire in outer darkness, Matt 22:13.  This is called the second death Rev 21:8.

Therefore, in the new heaven and the new earth, Rev 21:1, there will be no more sea dividing us from the light.  All will be light, the darkness will be gone, and there will be no more death, Rev 21:4.

To study and listen to the previous sermon in this series, see The Kingdoms and Religion.