[George]

Originally Posted by Brother Tim

George, there is no question that God as a person and heaven as a place are different words. That does not mean that the place (or condition) called "Kingdom of Heaven" is different from "Kingdom of God". The key word is "Kingdom". The prepositional phrases "of God" and "of Heaven" set up a relation. "Of God" tells Whose kingdom it is, and "of Heaven" tells the location or condition. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: The location is where God chooses to establish it, not necessarily what is commonly called "heaven" today.

George, I showed some parallel passages for comparison. It is clearly evident that Jesus is not speaking of two different "kingdoms" with nearly identical wording, and spoken at the same point in time.

What you say is possibly true, but on the other hand it is far more highly probable, that there are two (2) kingdoms present at the same time: #1 the "kingdom of heaven" (small h), which is an earthly kingdom which Adam "lost" and Satan gained by default (the god of this world and all of its "kingdoms" - Matthew 4:8-9). and #2 the kingdom of God that is not yet of this world.

Read the so-called "sermon" (teaching)on the mount [Matthew Chapters 5, 6, &7] - the Lord is referring to an earthly, physical, fleshly kingdom that one could see, hear, touch, and feel ( A "kingdom" which some people were already in here on earth.)
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Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

That is certainly NOT true about the kingdom of God!

Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

How was it possible for the "scribes" and "Pharisees" to "shut up the kingdom of heaven against men"? If it is the "same" as the Kingdom of God (which is not here? - yet.)

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Luke 22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
Luke 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom located in Heaven (big H) and within those of us who are born into it (saved by the Saviour). It was never said that one had to be "born again" to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

I know that this is "an hard saying", but it is far more likely that once Adam lost the "rights" to the kingdom of heaven that the rights to that "kingdom" passed on to Satan (the victor - at that time). And that the only "kingdom" present on this earth from the fall of Adam until the Lord Jesus Christ showed up on the scene was the "kingdom of heaven" - the Lord Jesus Christ showed up not only contesting Satan for the "right" to rule the "kingdom heaven", but bringing with Him the kingdom of God.

Now, this is not a "doctrine" that I base "fellowship" on, but I believe that it is true and it is the result of "rightly dividing the word of truth."

Again, there is a whole lot more that I could present here, but at this point , although I don't hold the record for the most posts, I probably hold the record for the longest.