As we have seen, The “kingdom of heaven” is mentioned 30-32 times in the Bible, all in the Gospel of Matthew. The “kingdom of God” is mentioned 65-69 times in the Bible, all in the New Testament and of these, 4-5 times in the Gospel of Matthew. So, what, if any, is the difference between the meaning of the two phrases? Having not completed this study, I am not prepared to give what I would consider is a definitive answer. However, I have found some clues:

– The Gospel of Matthew was primarily written for a Jewish audience. In writing to a predominantly Jewish audience, he used language that they would most likely understand, that would bring out the full meaning to his readers. The “kingdom of heaven” was typical Jewish terminology.

– Secondly, out of reverence, Mathew may have used the “kingdom of heaven” rather than the “kingdom of God”. I notice that my Jewish readers today on my blogs often will not type the name of God, rather they use G*d or similar substitution. Read More | Comments

The principal theme, especially in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) within Jesus’ message was and is “The Kingdom of God”. The Gospel of John refers only once to the kingdom expressly, although it is repeated. And in this instance (John 3:3-5), the kingdom is presented as something that even the Pharisee Nicodemus is assumed to understand. The point in the Gospel of John is not the nature of the kingdom, but the way in which it is entered. This kingdom constitutes a primary focus of Jesus’ theology. Read More | Comments

The “kingdom of heaven” and the “kingdom of God” are synonymous, they are one and the same. The Apostle Matthew used the term “the kingdom of heaven” primarily because it was a term his Jewish audience would better understand.

 These are the major questions we are trying to answer:
1. What is the character of the people who belong to God’s Kingdom?
2. What does entrance into this kingdom require of us?
3. What is the nature of God’s Kingdom?
4. WHAT is the Kingdom of God/The Kingdom of Heaven? Are they synomonous?

NOTE:
– Clues to the answers of these questions will be noted below by question number and parallel passages are grouped together. Read More | Comments