Q Is there a difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God?

A. The terms “Kingdom of God” and “Kingdom of Heaven” are not found in the Torah, Prophets or Writings (Tanak) but were developed by the Rabbi’s in the sect of the Pharisees. It can only be found in rabbinic writings and the New Testament. The terms are not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha or Pseudopigrapha .During the Second Temple period there was an aversion to using the name of God in fear of taking it “in vain.” Certain synonyms were used in order to convey the same idea but without using God’s name. Terms like “makom” (place), “shalom” (peace) , “hashem” (the name) were used and many more. Yeshua followed the practice in order not to shock His listeners. The term “malkut shamayim” or Kingdom of Heaven and “heaven” is just a synonym for “God” just as we use it today when we say “thank heaven” or “heaven knows” and so on. The two terms Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God are interchangeable. Yeshua used these terms the same way the Rabbis did in the first century. It was a spiritual term that meant God’s rule over anyone who keeps or begins to keep the written commandments, or the Torah as found in the Scriptures. When a person confessed the God of Israel as his God he came under His rule and authority, thus coming into the Kingdom of God. Once you have accepted His authority you were to began to keep the commandments. People who say they have accepted the Lord must also keep the commandments or the Kingdom of God has not come to you. Yeshua spoke with this understanding in Matt. 7.21 where He said not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will come into the Kingdom. Now this term is not understood as a place but a movement. God’s kingdom is rooted and grounded in two things, the confession of His authority and the doing of His will. So, the Kingdom is limited to only those who follow Him. The Kingdom is not God’s providential rule or the furthering of the Kingdom by sword or the placing of Christian leaders over the unconverted. The Kingdom of God appears whenever a person takes on the rule of God in their life. You can’t have God’s rule without His commandments. Being “free from the Law” is the antithesis of being in the Kingdom of God and that is why those that did not keep the commandments were considered “lawless.” That is how the terms “kingdom of God” and the “Kingdom of Heaven” were understood by Yeshua and all the writers of the New Testament. Matt 6.10 makes the same point when it says “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Kingdom of God therefore is the movement led by Yeshua. Other verses that illustrate this point can be found in Luke 11.14-26, Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18 with the story of the rich man who was told to give his money to the poor and follow Yeshua, and he didn’t. Matt 21.31-32 Yeshua is talking about individuals who become part of a group called the Kingdom of God. Matt 11.12 talks about the Kingdom of God “breaking forth” and is an allusion to Micah 2.13 where the sheep (believers) pass through the gate of the sheepfold and are being led by the King into the pasture, or the Kingdom of God. Now, whenever there is a miracle of healing or a demon is cast out God’s rule is demonstrated or in other words the Kingdom of God is present. God takes charge wherever the Kingdom is. There are some false teachers who are trying to further their agenda void of the commandments of God and calling it furthering the Kingdom of God, but it is not His Kingdom they are presenting. In the last days the gospel of the Kingdom (God’s rule=Torah) will be preached and then the end will come. The deluded ones of today think that these media ministries are furthering the Kingdom of God but they aren’t because they don’t know what the Kingdom of God is. If you are not following the Torah, the Lord is not in charge (ruling) so therefore the kingdom of God is not present. I hope this answers your question.