Here's what I understand about "the kingdom
OF THE heaven
S"... for a time during Jesus' earthly ministry it was said "the kingdom OF THE heavenS
is at hand" (Matt3:2, Matt4:17, Matt10:7)... but that at some point during Jesus' earthly ministry this ceased being said.
Around Matt15, Jesus is still saying, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel," but note what He'd just responded to his disciples' question of Him in verse 12 (note His response, in part, in v.14) [and note: in chpt 14:10 we see John the Baptist beheaded in the prison, and recall what Jesus had said elsewhere about JtB
"*if*" … but here we've seen his rejection]
[quoting old post of mine, and Gaebelein commentary]
"For instance, in the sixth verse
[Matthew 10] we read: “Go not off into the way of the Gentiles, and into a city of Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .” This is a limited sphere. They had nothing to do and could have nothing to do with the Gentiles nor with Samaritans. After the death and resurrection of our Lord the Gospel was to be preached, beginning in Jerusalem, in Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth. The lost sheep of the house of Israel, that much “spiritualized” phrase, were not Gentiles, nor were they the church, for a church was not and could not be then. Their preaching was only this text: “
The Kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.” What does it mean?
It meant that the promised Kingdom for Israel, and through Israel to the nations, the Kingdom with all its earthly blessings, was about to come. It was heralding the fact of the presence of the King to set up the Kingdom, if His own would have it.
Such a preaching of the Kingdom of the heavens is not given now.
After the church age closes by the removal of the church from the earth into heaven, as foreshadowed by the vessel which Peter saw coming out of heaven and again received into heaven, then the kingdom will again draw nigh in the person of the returning King and Lord with His saints."
--Gaebelein, Matthew 10 Commentary [found at Bible Hub]
Acts 10:9-16 -
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and
a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and
the vessel was received up again into heaven.
[end quoting that post; bold and underline and brackets mine]
[recall, the word
"King" is used
only 2 times in all of the epistles, and both of them are "future"... ex: "which IN HIS TIMES He
SHALL SHEW [/openly manifest (future tense)],
who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords" (this latter phrase used only in Rev19, and in the reverse order in Rev17)]