ingdom of Heaven. Just before Jesus was hung on a cross, the Roman governor, Pilate, who had control over all Judea asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews (John 18:33). After awhile Jesus responded saying "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I would not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm (John 18:36, NASB)."

A Spiritual Kingdom: This kingdom that Jesus refers to is called the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God in the gospels. It is a spiritual kingdom (Heb. 1:8). The phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" occurs 16 times in the Gospel of Matthew. The phrase King of God occurs 3 times in Matthew, 4 times in Mark, 16 times in Luke and once in John. What is interesting is that the phrase Kingdom of Heaven occurs only in Matthew.  Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God:  The phrases do not describe different kingdoms but the same kingdom. The Jewish rabbis used the two terms interchangeably (see the Targum on Micah 4:7). The word heaven was frequently substituted for God to minimize using the sacred name "God."

Kingdom and Kingdom: The "Kingdom of God" is a reminder of who sits on the throne of this kingdom and the "Kingdom of Heaven" reminds us where the throne is located. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke the kingdom exists now (Matt. 12:28; Mark 9:1; Luke 17:21) and in the future (Luke 13:29). And even though the kingdom is not of this world (John 18:33-37) it is within us (Luke 17:21).

Citizens of the Kingdom: The kingdom population is growing (Matt. 13:31-32) since all have the opportunity to live in the kingdom if they trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Mat. 18:3; John 3:5). For Jesus came saying, "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matt. 4:17). You see it was offered to everyone. Yet, ONLY Jesus' disciples will ultimately enter this spiritual kingdom (Matt. 19:23-24; Mark 10:25-26; Luke 18:24-25).

Who Is Who: We will know and see Abraham, Issac and Jacob in the kingdom (Matt. 8:11). There are those who will be great in the kingdom and those there will be least (Matt. 5:19; 18:1-4).

What a kingdom! It's king is God. It exists everywhere. It will someday be on earth for a short period of time (Acts 1:3-7; Rev. 20:1-6). Those who are His disciples will live in it forever. But best of all we will live with God.