KINGDOM OF GOD = KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
I once heard a speaker that expounded his knowledge and tell us how the Kingdom of God is different from the Kingdom of Heaven, and blah..blah..blah.
I nearly fell into that trap of misinterpretation. Or is it that the speaker was showing of how "superior" in knowledge he is compared to others.
Do not be misled.
The kingdom of "heaven" is used mainly in the book of Matthew. The words "kingdom of heaven" is not used in the other books of Mark, Luke and John.
There is a reason why it is only found in Matthew. Matthew was written to Jewish believers and the Law of Moses tells them not to take the name of the Lord in vain.
So they decided not to use the sacred name "God" for fear of breaking the commandment by accident.
Matthew used such a method to reach out to those Jews for Jesus, instead of offending them straight away.
So the "kingdom of God" is exactly the same as "kingdom of heaven".
The phrase "kingdom of God" appears 68 times in 10 different New Testament books.
The phrase "kingdom of heaven" appears only 32 times and ONLY in the book of Matthew.
For example:
Matthew 11:11
"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of "heaven" is greater than he."
Luke 7:28
"For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of "God" is greater than he."
"For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of "God" is greater than he."
And many other examples.
Be Wise. Don't accept everything the speaker idolizes as the absolute Truth.
Steven Wong
