The Kingdom of God: Fallacies vs. Facts

The terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew’s way of referring to the same thing) are found more than 100 times in the Bible. And the subject is featured in other words many more times.

Yet most people don’t think much about the Kingdom of God. And when they have over the centuries, misconceptions have distorted the biblical meaning.

Fallacies about the Kingdom of God

According to the Bible, these four ideas about the Kingdom of God are not true:

Fallacy 1: The Kingdom just means heaven.

Many Christians have the misconception that “Jesus is really talking about heaven. We often imagine that the kingdom of God is our eternal home after our deaths,” pointed out Eric Barreto (EntertheBible.org).

Historian Will Durant explained that this was not what the early Church thought: “What did [Christ] mean by the Kingdom? A supernatural heaven? Apparently not, for the apostles and the early Christians unanimously expected an earthly kingdom” (The Story of Civilization, Vol. III, Caesar and Christ, p. 564).

They expected a kingdom on earth because that is what God had foretold through the Old Testament prophets (Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 4:1-4).

But misunderstanding this in a political and immediate way led many people to a different fallacy.

Fallacy 2: The Kingdom is of this world.

Many of the citizens of first-century Judea and Galilee were expecting a Messiah to come to deliver them from their Roman overlords and to restore the Kingdom of Israel to its greatest extent then.

The Kingdom of God will be the real solution to the intractable problems and evils of this age. But Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).

Jesus’ Kingdom was not to be an earthly kingdom brought about by human politics and military might.

He was not a political Messiah leading a revolt against human governments then or now. No amount of human effort will bring this Kingdom. As we will see, Jesus’ return to earth and His rule will mark the beginning of a new world, the “world to come” (Hebrews 2:5).

Though faithful Christians continued to wait patiently for Christ’s return, over the centuries as the Catholic Church grew in prominence, a third fallacy spread.

Fallacy 3: The Kingdom is the Church.

In Catholic theology the idea caught hold that “the area of the kingdom” was the same as the area under “the church’s power and authority” (New Bible Dictionary, p. 658).

The Church of God does have a key role in preparing for God’s Kingdom, as we will see, but the Church is not synonymous with the Kingdom.

Fallacy 4: The Kingdom is just in the hearts of men.

“In their resistance to the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Reformers laid chief emphasis on the spiritual and invisible significance of the kingdom . . .

“Under the influence of the Enlightenment and pietism, [the kingdom] came to be increasingly conceived in an individualistic sense; it is the sovereignty of grace and peace in the hearts of men” (ibid.).

These four fallacies, and other misconceptions, obscure the true biblical teaching about the Kingdom of God.

Facts about the Kingdom of God

• The Kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus Christ.

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus’ message was the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). A quick search will show He preached about the Kingdom dozens of times. And even after His resurrection He appeared to the disciples for 40 days, “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

• The Kingdom of God is also the central message of the whole New Testament and the whole Bible.

Consider just a few passages about the centrality of the message of the Kingdom.

The book of Acts concludes with a summary of the apostle Paul’s teachings: “Then Paul . . . received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:30-31).

Peter preached about “times of refreshing” and “the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21). This restoration of all things can be seen in pivotal Old Testament prophecies, such as these from Daniel and Isaiah:

“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44).

“He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

• The Kingdom of God is the gospel—the good news (Mark 1:14-15).

This is the message the Church is to proclaim (Mark 16:15), and it is prophesied to be “preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

• The Kingdom of God is a real government—not just a spiritual analogy.

It will have territory, subjects, a King and laws.

• It will rule over the whole earth and all people.

Revelation 11:15 says: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

(In a greater sense, we see the Kingdom of God will reign eternally over the entire universe, as well as the entire spiritual realm. In fact, it already does, except for this world, which is under Satan’s sway for only a little while longer.)

• Its King will be Jesus Christ.

As Jesus told Pilate, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).

• Its laws will be God’s laws.

God’s moral laws were given for our benefit (Deuteronomy 10:13), and they have not changed (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus said the 10 Commandments are still essential “if you want to enter into life” (Matthew 19:17)—eternal life in His Kingdom.

As Isaiah wrote, “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

• Satan also has a kingdom (Luke 11:18), opposed to the Kingdom of God.

Now “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19), and he “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).

But his kingdom will be defeated, and he will be removed after the return of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16; 20:1-2).

• The Kingdom of God is the same as the Kingdom of Heaven.

When Mark and Luke wrote “kingdom of God,” Matthew often used “kingdom of heaven” in parallel passages (see, for example, Mark 4:30-31; Luke 13:18-19; Matthew 13:31). They are synonymous. (See more in our online article “The Kingdom of Heaven.”)

• The Kingdom of God requires us to repent—to change.

Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Repenting includes changing. God wants us to stop doing the things that led to all of this world’s problems, and instead live the way that He designed to be best for us. Learn more in our online article “What Is Repentance?”

• God wants us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

This means eagerly anticipating the return of Jesus Christ and living by the laws of the Kingdom now. It means spreading the good news of the coming Kingdom and doing everything we can to prepare for that wonderful time.

• God also wants us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (verse 10).

The Kingdom of God will be the real solution to the intractable problems and evils of this age. We should strive to do God’s will now and look forward to the day when people around the world will be taught to strive to do God’s will.

After all humans have had their opportunity to become spirit-born children of God, the Kingdom of God will encompass an even better new heaven and new earth. “There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). The ultimate promise of the Kingdom of God is spiritual and eternal, far surpassing what we can imagine in the physical realm.

May that day come soon!

You need to learn more about this essential subject. Download our free booklets The Mystery of the Kingdom and The World to Come: What It Will Be Like.