HOW DO THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN DIFFER?

Before even beginning to discuss this question, there are several basic points that must be mentioned first:

        I will be the first to admit that I am in no way a systematic theologian.

        To simplify the discussion below, I will limit the comments below to the New Testament only.

        We must consider the possibility that perhaps there is little or no difference between the two expressions.

        “Kingdom of heaven” and “heavenly kingdom” are equivalent terms.

Complicating the issue somewhat, there are even further ways to refer to this (or these) kingdom (s). These include (citing Vine) the kingdom of the Father (Matthew 26:29 // Mark 14:25), of the Son (Luke 22:30), of the son of Man (Matthew 13:41), of Jesus (Revelation 1:9); of Christ Jesus (II Timothy 4:1), of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:50), of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15), of our God and the authority of His Christ (Revelation 12:10), and of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).

With those points in mind, here is what some trained theologians have to say on the subject. I have consciously condensed their rather copious comments considerably for your consideration:

Ladd: “Paul says almost as little about the Kingdom of God as he does about the messiahship of Jesus, but both are fundamental doctrines to his thought. Probably the reason is to be sought in the fact that Paul's letters are addressed to Gentile audiences rather than to Jews. If we had Pauline correspondence addressed to Jews, we would probably find much more about Jesus' messiahship and his Kingdom. We must remember that these subjects were capable of gross misinterpretation. To proclaim any king other than Caesar made one liable to the charge of sedition (Acts 13:3, 7).”

“While the Kingdom of God is the eschatological salvation, it is also a present blessing. Already, because of what Christ had done, the saints have been delivered from the power of darkness...and have been transferred in to the Kingdom of Christ (Col. 1:13). This 'Kingdom of Christ' cannot be equated with the church; it is rather the sphere of Christ's rule, which is larger than the church. Ideally, all who are in the church are also in the Kingdom of Christ; but even as the eschatological Kingdom of God is larger than the redeemed church and will include the subduing of everything hostile to the will of God, so the Kingdom of Christ here is the invisible sphere of Christ's reign into which men enter by faith in Jesus Christ.”

Vine and Hogg: “The Kingdom of God is (a) the sphere of God's rule...Since, however, this earth is the scene of universal rebellion against God, the Kingdom of God is (b) the sphere in which, at any given time, His rule is acknowledged...references to the Kingdom fall into two classes, the first, in which it is viewed as present and involving suffering for those who enter it, 2 Thess. 1:5; the second, in which it is viewed as future and is associated with reward, Matt. 25:31-34; Phil 2:9-11; 2 Tim. 4:1, 18.”

“With regard to the expressions 'the Kingdom of God' and 'the Kingdom of the Heavens,' while they are often used interchangeably, it does not follow that in every case they mean exactly the same and are quite identical. The Apostle Paul often speaks of the Kingdom of God, not dispensationally but morally, e.g., in Rom. 14:17; I Cor. 4:20, but never so of the Kingdom of Heaven. 'God' is not the equivalent of 'the heavens.' He is everywhere and above all dispensations, whereas 'the heavens' are distinguished from the earth, until the Kingdom comes in judgment.”

“While, then, the sphere of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are at times identical, yet the one term cannot be used indiscriminately for the other. In the 'Kingdom of Heaven'...heaven is in antithesis to earth, and the phrase is limited to the Kingdom in its earthly aspect for the time being...In the 'Kingdom of God', in its broader aspect, God is in antithesis to 'man' or 'the world,' and the term signifies the entire sphere of God's rule and action in relation to the world. It has a moral and a spiritual force and is a general term for the Kingdom at any time. The Kingdom of Heaven is always the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom of God is not limited to the Kingdom of Heaven until in their final form, they become identical; e.g., Rev. 11:15; John 3:5; Rev. 12:10.”

Goldsworthy: “The kingdom of God is a term which occurs mainly in the Gospels of Mark and Luke; it is synonymous with Matthew's 'the kingdom of heaven'. There are about one hundred references to the kingdom of God/heaven in the Synoptics. There are two references in John (3:3, 5), where Jesus also speaks of 'my kingdom' (John 18:36). The kingdom of God is mentioned six times in Acts and eight times in Paul's letters. Three passages indicate that the kingdom of Christ is the same as the kingdom of God (Eph. 5:5; Rev. 11:15; 12:10).” Since that is Goldsworthy's conclusion, as expected he sees no reason to differentiate between the two concepts.

The same as above is basically true of Chilton's conception of the Kingdom, since he makes absolutely no distinction between the two expressions. “There is clear agreement among the synoptic Gospels that the kingdom of God was the principal theme within Jesus' message (Matt. 4.17-23; Mark 1.15; Luke 4.42-43)...Later rabbinic texts conventionally use the phrase 'kingdom of the heavens,' as in Matthew. No difference in meaning is implied by replacing the word 'God' or 'Lord'; 'heavens' appears to be reverential periphrasis. In most rabbinic texts, however, the kingdom appears less as an eschatological than as a moral concept...The preaching of Jesus is far closer to eschatological expectation than to the moral emphasis of later rabbis...By speaking of the kingdom, Jesus adopted the language of scripture (as used in synagogues) and of prayer and made that language his own. The kingdom in his preaching was not merely promised but announced as a divine activity that demanded repentance and that could be entered into by participating in its divine force.”

“Matthew's favored term, 'kingdom of heaven' (literally 'heavens'), is synonymous with 'kingdom of God.' It is a characteristic Jewish substitution of 'heaven' for the sake of avoiding the divine name [Yahweh].” It is the kingdom of the One who is in heaven; it is not a 'heavenly' and 'spiritual' kingdom in contrast with an 'earthly' and 'physical' kingdom.” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

Green only agrees partially with the above statement in DBI and says, “Among the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew is unique in his use of the phrase 'kingdom of heaven.' The usual explanation given for this novelty is that this most Jewish of Gospels uses 'heaven' as a respectful circumlocution for 'God.' On the positive side of the ledger, this claim has led students of Matthew to insist that the phrases 'kingdom of heaven' and 'kingdom of God' do not refer to two different entities, and especially do not specify a heavenly versus an earthly kingdom or a present reality versus a future destination. That Matthew can collocate 'kingdom of heaven' with 'kingdom of God' (Mt 19:23-24), and that he uses 'kingdom of heaven' where the other evangelists use 'kingdom of God,' are enough to invalidate distinctions of that nature...However, appeals to Matthew's aversion to the divine name in the phrase 'kingdom of God' fail to make sense of Matthew's use of the term 'God' (theos) some fifty times and do not easily account for the fourfold appearance of the phrase 'kingdom of God' in Matthew.”

To resolve these issues, Green cites Pennington approvingly. That scholar explained that Matthew's wording was heavily influenced by Daniel 2-7, “which accentuates the disparity between earthly kingdoms and the heavenly kingdom. Daniel's emphasis on the God of heaven – who is 'the king of heaven' (Dan 4:34) – in contrast with earthly kings and kingdoms has in Matthew's hands morphed into a programmatic presentation of God as the heavenly Father and God's kingdom as the heavenly kingdom, over against earthly kings and kingdoms.”

Ryrie states that “in the universal kingdom God is the Ruler; He rules over all; and He does it in all time and eternity. Both Judaism and premillennial Christian theology give a major place to this concept of kingdom. It is Davidic in that the promises concerning the kingdom were made in the great covenant with David (2 Sam; 7:12-16). It is messianic since Messiah will be the Ruler. It will be realized at the second advent of Christ when He will establish His kingdom and fulfill the promises made to David. In summary, in the Davidic messianic kingdom Christ is the Ruler; He will rule over the earth and its inhabitants during the 1,000 years that follow His second coming.”

Ryrie goes on to explain the difference between the universal kingdom described above and the Davidic / messianic kingdom. Regarding the former, he states: “In the sense that the church is in the world it is part of God's universal kingdom. He designed it, brought it into being, and rules over it, as He does all aspects of His universe.” But regarding the latter, he says, “The church is not a part of this kingdom at all. When this kingdom is established the church will have been resurrected and will reign with Christ over the millennial kingdom.” Notice that Ryrie sees two kingdoms also, but does not even mention how these might or might not relate to the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Payne cites other dispensationalist writers in regard to this question: “The Scofield Bible sought to distinguish between 'the kingdom of heaven' as outward and millennial...and 'the kingdom of God' as more inward and universal...But more recent dispensationalist scholars conclude that 'such a categorical distinction does not seem to be supported by Scriptural usage,' (Pentacost).” And elsewhere, Payne calls the two terms “interchangeable.”