Real Bible Truths What and where is the Kingdom of God? 
The Bible says Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God, but just what is The Kingdom of God anyways? This study is about just that, what it actually is. Now a true understanding of the Kingdom of God is much more important than you may first realize. The reason it is so important is because several false doctrines are being taught based on a misconception of what the Kingdom of God is. If we clear this up, then those other false doctrines will clear up as well.
So what is the Kingdom of God? Well let’s start with what it is not. It is not, as most people may assume the entire universe! Sure God made everything and He owns everything so in one sense everything is the Kingdom of God but that is not what the Bible is referring to when it talks about “Entering the Kingdom of God“.
After all if you have to enter it, doesn’t that prove that it has boundaries and that something else exists outside the Kingdom? And didn’t God create everything outside the Kingdom as well? This shows that the Kingdom of God is not a reference to everything God created, but a very specific place within everything He created.
I’m just going to put this out there now and then I will point out the Bible verses later to prove my point. But this is important to keep in mind first because it will clear things up as we go along. So here it is; The Kingdom of God is one and the same as THE NEW JERUSALEM.
And when I say the New Jerusalem, I mean the New Jerusalem only. As I’ve already said, the Kingdom of God is not the entire universe but rather it is a very specific place within Gods universe. It is His City, home and dwelling place.
So when the Bible talks about entering the Kingdom of God, it is talking about entering the New Jerusalem specifically. But not everyone that makes it will have access to His City. Some will have to be content with a life outside the gates of the Great City, yet they will be here, alive and well.
Some may say; how can the entire Kingdom of God be narrowed down to just a City? Sounds like a very small Kingdom but there are two things to understand here;
One, a Kingdom does not have to be enormous to be a Kingdom. A Kingdom can actually be quite small because it only marks a certain territory, region or realm. Although the Kingdom of God is not small, I am only making a point that it can be any size.
Two, the Kingdom of God on Earth is larger than many countries of the world. So when thinking of the City of God, the New Jerusalem as being the entire Kingdom of God, you must realize that the City is huge! How big? Well the Bible tells us how big it is. Here are the measurements;
It is 1,500 miles Long by 1,500 miles Wide. It is also 1,500 miles High. Now that is one BIG city! Do you realize that it is half the size of the United States? The U.S. is approximately 3,000 miles across. So the New Jerusalem is half the size of the United States. It would cover all the territory from Los Angeles all the way to Dallas Texas in one direction and the territory from Dallas all the way past the boarder into Canada. Look at the picture and measurements below for a comparison. And this is to scale.
As you can see, this is a very very big city and this is what represents the Kingdom of God. Of course it will not be centered here in the United States but it’s actual boarders in it’s actual location are in this next picture below.
This picture represents the New Jerusalem’s real foot print when it comes here to earth as the Bible describes. But I haven’t yet given the Bible verse where we get this information. Here it is;
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
But this gets a little confusing as to how big it really is because we do not measure things in furlongs any longer. So here is the calculations you can look up and verify for yourself. A furlong is exactly 220 yards. You can find this in the Merriam Webster Dictionary or go here to see it online.
1 Furlong is 220 yards. Multiply this by the 12,000 furlongs the Bible says and you get: 2,640,000 yards. Since one yard is 3 feet, multiply the 2,640,000 yards by 3 feet and you get 7,920,000 feet. Now one mile is 5,280 feet so if you divide the 7,920,000 by 5,280 feet in one mile, you get exactly 1,500 miles. So 12,000 furlongs is exactly 1,500 miles.
1 furlong = 220 yards
12 thousand furlongs = 2,640,000 yards
2,640,000 Yards = 7,920,000 Feet
1 mile = 5,280 Feet
7,920,000 Feet divided by 5,280 Feet = 1,500 Miles
So according to the Scriptures the New Jerusalem, will be a very very large city. But it also says it will be just as high. Now I’ve had some people try to describe the city as being a giant square cube but the Bible never says it is a cube at least not in the real Bible the King James. The city does not have to be a cube to have the length, width and height equal, it could actually be a pyramid. That way the length, the width and the height could all be the same measurements of 1500 miles.
Now this pyramid looks taller than it is wide but that is because the measurements are not of the sides of the pyramid but rather right up the center of the pyramid. So this pyramid is exactly as tall as it’s length and width. The New Jerusalem could very much look like this rather than the square cube that some have suggested.
Now although the Bible never says it will be a pyramid, it never says that it would be a cube either and the pyramid seems to me to make more sense. Some may say that this is copying the pyramids of Egypt, but how do we know the Egyptians were not trying to copy the idea from God’s Heavenly City.
There is another reason I believe it is a pyramid. And that is because an orphanage full of Christian kids kept having visions of the Holy City. And everyone of them described the City as being a pyramid. You can read the story of this orphanage and all the visions they kept having by reading the book “Visions Beyond the Veil” by H.A. Baker. These children had visions of Angels and Demons, Heaven and Hell as well as the Throne of God. They even saw visions of our own rooms within the City all with our own things in it. It was a fascinating book.
Now I can not say that the Holy City will be a pyramid for certain just because some spiritual children saw visions of it, although, why would they lie. I have not found any scriptures that prove that it is a pyramid. However the measurements laid out in in the Bible in Rev. 21:16 suggest that it could very well be a pyramid, and I for one believe that it is.
Now lets look at some other scriptures about the Kingdom of God.
The Bible says in the verses below that Abraham looked for a CITY whose builder and maker is God, yet a little further down in the passage it plainly says that it was a COUNTRY that he and others sought. It seems clear to me that this country and city are one and the same and they represent the Kingdom of God. But take a look at the passages below and see for yourself.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Although the Bible says that they did not receive the promises (In Life) but died in faith seeing the promises from afar off. Yet it seems obvious that the city Abraham sought is also a country. And of course a Kingdom is a country.
Yet a little further still in verse 16 it makes it clear that it is a city that God has prepared for them.
Then again in Hebrews 12 after talking about the Heavenly City Jerusalem it seems to be tying it to the Kingdom a little further down the passage.
So again we have a clear reference linking the Kingdom of God to the Holy City The New Jerusalem and that is because they are one and the same.
Next lets look at another passage in Luke chapter 13 about the Kingdom of God to see that it does in fact have boarders and does not represent the entire world but is narrowed down to a very specific place on Earth. It begins with Jesus describing the Kingdom of God and what it could be compared to starting in verse 18 when He says “Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?“ Then go down to verse 23 and it says this;
13:23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
13:26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
13:27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
13:29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
There is a lot to point out here but first it is important to understand that by verse 29 it should be clear that the Kingdom of God has already come to Earth at this point because people are coming from all directions seeking to enter it.
Next lets look up at verse 24. Jesus says to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate:” Although this phase is used as a metaphor, I believe that Jesus is also using it in a very literal way because the Holy City New Jerusalem has 12 gates.
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Next I’d like to point out that in that same passage Luke 13:24 He says “for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” In other words, many who believe they are Christians will seek to enter in but will not be able to. Which proves that believing in Christ alone does NOT make a person a Christian. We must be obedient, we must be followers of Christ and not just believers.
Now look at how Jesus singles out these people who think they are entitled to access the Kingdom of God, in Luke 13:27, He tells them “depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” The word “Iniquity” is a reference to sin. So in other words Jesus is telling them depart from Him because they had continued to live in their sins.
But it could also apply to all those who had never had their sins washed away in the first place in water baptism, which is the only place where you can have them washed away. See my study on “Baptism“.
Now in Luke 13:28 it says “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.“ Here many take this out of context because when they see the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” they assume it is a reference to Hell, but it is not. It’s only a description of the great disappointment many will have when they realize they have missed the Kingdom of God.
Besides, Hell is down in the Earth as the Bible describes so how could anyone there be able to see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or anyone else in the Kingdom of God on the surface of the Earth?
Also it says they would be thrust out. This clearly shows a horizontal movement. Now if the Bible meant they would be sent to Hell, shouldn’t it have read “thrust down” instead of “thrust out“? After all when speaking of Hell Jesus used the phrase “thrust down“. See Luke 10:15.
So the point is that they were thrust out of the Kingdom but not down to Hell so we should NOT assume they were sent to Hell because it never says that.
Next it says in Luke 13:29 that others will come from the East, West, North and South and sit down in the Kingdom of God, proving again that the Kingdom of God will have boundaries. If the whole Earth was considered the Kingdom of God, they would not have to travel in any direction to have to sit down in it because they would already be there. Right?!!
Hopefully it should be clear now that the Kingdom of God and the New Jerusalem are one and the same. So when it talks about “Entering the Kingdom of God” it is a direct reference to entering the New Jerusalem. I’m sorry if I keep driving this point but it is important for understanding the next point.
That was the first point I was trying to make that the Kingdom of God is one and the same as The New Jerusalem. But the second point is the main reason I was trying to make the first point. Now lets go over the second point.
The second point is this. If only the saved can enter the Kingdom of God (The New Jerusalem) who are all the others outside the gates that are here too? They are not in Hell and the Kingdom has already come to Earth by this time. Also Armageddon has come and gone. So what is this other group of people?
Who are all these people that are still alive and well outside the gates that are not in Hell but not in the Kingdom of God either? Did you know the Bible mentions a “common salvation“? See for yourself below.
The fact that it mentions a “common” salvation tells me there is a “Better” salvation as well. After all if he has to mention a common salvation at all, doesn’t that show that there is another type? If there was not more than one, why would he throw the word common in there to confuse us? But it is the “Better” salvation that everyone talks about today. Here is a similar scripture below that I believe supports this one.
WHAT !! Saviour of ALL men!? We know that God is the Saviour of those that believe but who are the others “all men” that he saves?
This scripture makes it absolutely clear that there are two different groups of people saved. Some that believe and some that were not believers.
Although the phrase “all men” can not be a reference to literally EVERY single man and woman because the Bible has already told us that some will actually go to Hell. Rev. 20:15, Rev. 14:9-10
So the reference to “all men” only means all men among those chosen. It is not a literal reference to everyone but obviously it is a reference to some people who were not believers yet they are alive and well and have been saved from Hell. I believe these are part of the common salvation mentioned above in Jude 1:3
If anyone doubts that there are others living here with us the “Officially Saved”, take a look at these next verses of scripture.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Again the Bible is making it very clear in the very last chapter of the Bible that there are others OUTSIDE the gates of New Jerusalem that are not in Hell. They can’t be in Hell because death and Hell have already been thrown in the Lake of Fire two chapters back in Rev. 20:13-15
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works .
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
And this was two chapters back but now it is talking about the dogs, and sorcerers being without the City gates in Rev. 22:14-15. So this is already after the judgement and after death and Hell are thrown into the lake of fire. But all these people that are outside the City have life and are saved from Hell and will also live forever, only their part will be outside the gates of the Great City New Jerusalem.
In fact even Jesus mentions a “portion for the unbelievers” in this next verse.
Any portion at all would be something because in Hell there is no portion. The portion Christ is talking about is of life! So there is a portion for unbelievers as well.
What I am trying to explain is that there will be two classes of saved people on the Earth after it’s all over. Those who can go in and out of the Holy City and then those who will live outside the City but will never be able to enter the Holy City New Jerusalem. Now this second one is the “Common Salvation” or the portion of the unbelievers.
But why would God allow the sorcerers, whoremongers and even murderers to have life outside the Holy City? Well first of all it would not be all sorcerers, whoremongers and murderers because some will in fact end up in Hell. As far as the others who make it, God has obviously had mercy on them for one reason or another.
God is the final Judge and we don’t know those peoples situations. Maybe these people repented and changed there lives before they died. Maybe they were forced as slaves to do things they wouldn’t have otherwise done. Who knows but God.
The point is He allows some to have life outside the City but they are not part of His elect. Those that are saved according to scripture will be part of His personal family and will get to live with Him inside the gates of New Jerusalem. All others, which by the way comprise the majority of all people, will live outside the Holy City. But those that live in the City will be the minority.
Here is another scripture that suggest the other group of people at the end after everything else has happened and that this other group is alive and well living with us here on Earth. Rev. 22:2
Now think about this. It says that the leaves of the Tree Of Life are “for the healing of the nations“. WHAT OTHER NATIONS !? Are we not all one people and one nation by this time? Well obviously not! The nations are OTHER nations outside the Kingdom of God. This in itself proves there are others alive that are not part of the Kingdom of God.
Those saved according to scripture will live In the Kingdom of God and are not part of the “other nations“. And we will not need to use the leaves every month as everyone outside the Holy City will. It seems obvious to me that the leaves are used to keep everyone else outside the City alive forever. Whereas Gods elect will have imperishable bodies.
But there are more scriptures that also suggest the same thing. I believe the Bible may even suggests two different books of life. One is called “The Lambs Book of Life“, the other is just called “The Book of Life“. And they are different. The Lambs Book of Life is of all those that were saved according to Gods guidelines and washed in the Blood of Jesus. But the regular “Book of Life” is for everyone else. It is of the common salvation I spoke of earlier to determine who will get to live outside the gates of the New Jerusalem. And anyone not found in that book were cast into the Lake of Fire.
Although some may argue that “The Lambs Book of Life” only suggest possession that He owns it. But if that is the case, then what is the point? Shouldn’t it be obvious that the Book belongs to God and that He owns it? Why would He state the most obvious things? That is like saying; water is wet. God never makes statements without a good reason for EVERY SINGLE WORD. And I think God was trying to make a clear distinction here when it says The “Lambs” Book of Life, as apposed to just the “Book of Life”.
Also as most Christians should already know that we are saved by grace but those who are judged by the things written in the regular “Book of Life” will be judged according to their WORKS! Read it for yourself, this next verse is at the Great White Throne Judgment 1000 years after the Christians have already been judged and raised from the dead. Rev. 20:12
Being judged according to works, is just the opposite of grace. So the first judgement of Christians 1000 years earlier was based on grace whereas this judgement, The Great White Throne Judgement is based on works. And I believe that the Book Of Life that is used here is the other Book Of Life but not the Lamb’s Book Of Life.
Now I am not stating this as a fact. There still might be only one Book Of Life with two different parts; One for those saved by grace and another for those judged according to their works. But I personally believe that The Lamb’s Book Of Life is a different then the regular Book Of Life.
One more thing here. In reality, everyone that has life at the end will have been saved by grace, even those outside the gates that were judged according to their works, because nobody deserves to live. We have all sinned and deserve death but by Gods grace He will give us life, some will have life inside the City and be part of Gods personal family while others will have life outside the City. So in the end, we are ALL saved by grace, only our judgments will be different.
As Christians our works will be judged not for salvation purposes but for rewards. So our works are still important. But for the unsaved, their works will be judged to determine if God will give them life at all. This is why it is so much better to be saved by grace according to scripture by God’s guidelines because then our salvation is promised. For everyone else, their salvation will be weighed in the balance. And that’s scary!
Now back to the main subject “The Kingdom of God”.
So the Kingdom of God will come to Earth in the form of The New Jerusalem. Those that are saved according to scripture will have access to and live in the Holy City. We will be able to enter in and go out as we please. There will even be a highway that leads to and from the Holy City for us to use.
Now those that have life outside the City will be happy too and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes as well, but they will never have access to the Holy City New Jerusalem, neither will they be able to use the Holy Highway.
So this is how the Bible describes the Kingdom of God and the Holy City New Jerusalem. I wanted to clear this up because so many Christians are falsely teaching that unless we are saved we will automatically go to Hell. But that is completely untrue! The Bible doe’s NOT say that! If we are not saved we can never enter the Kingdom of God but that is not a guarantee that this person would go to Hell either.
Now I understand the reasoning behind Christians teaching that you must be saved or go to Hell. It is a scare tactic. They are trying to scare people into getting saved but this is wrong and this kind of teaching must be stopped. For one, it is a lie and as Christians we are not supposed to lie. And the Bible specifically warns us about these kinds of tactics. Here is what the Bible says about it;
We are not to handle the Word of God deceitfully. So lying to people trying to scare them into getting saved is deceitful and wrong, it doesn’t matter if their motive is good or not. Look, all we have to do is give people the facts. And let them decide for themselves, there is no need to trick people.
If we would just let them know what they would be missing, I think most people would choose Christ and get saved. In the worst case scenario they could end up in Hell but even if they miss Hell they could still end up stuck outside the Holy City and missing the very best that God has to offer us. That should be motivation enough but if not, then they just are not entitled to enter His Kingdom.
But it’s not right to lower our own standard by lying and trying to scare people into getting saved. Jesus never did that and neither should we. Because Jesus knew that not everyone is marked for the Kingdom of God anyways. God never planned that everyone would enter His Kingdom even tho He wishes we would all be saved and turn to Him. He knows that some will never come to know Him and will be part of the other nations mentioned earlier.
So the Bottom Line is this;
The Kingdom of God is one and the same as the New Jerusalem and when it comes to Earth it will have specific boarders but only Gods personal family will have access to it.
There will in fact be other people alive here on Earth that will live outside the Kingdom although they will not be able to enter the Holy City New Jerusalem. Gods personal family will be all those who were saved according to scripture in both the Old and New Testaments as well as the Angels and other Holy creatures He made. Everyone else will live outside the gates.
So let’s teach the truth and let people decide for themselves if they want to enter The Kingdom Of God. And for those that do; SEEK IT, Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God.