Eight Kingdoms: And then there was ONE

by Michael Pearl

There are eight types of kingdoms mentioned in the Bible. Two of those kingdoms-the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven-constitute the central message of the New Testament. If all the text that speaks directly of these two kingdoms were removed from the New Testament, there wouldn't be enough left to fill up a single page in the newspaper. Yet the kingdom message is completely unknown by a large majority of ministers and their congregations all across this land. There has never been anything spoken so much, yet understood so little. The errors of reformed theology and Armenianism alike are rooted in a misunderstanding of the kingdoms. Most cults, and many of the denominational differences today, can be traced to a lack of understanding of the mystery of the kingdoms. The key to understanding the entire Bible is found in knowing the differences among the eight kingdoms, but especially these two-the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. When readers finish reading this book, they will assuredly know the difference.

Genres: Christian

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Michael and Debi Pearl were both raised in Memphis, Tennessee, in good homes, by parents who were faithful to point them to God. Mike, a graduate of Mid-South Bible College in Memphis (now Victory University), has been active in evangelism and the work of the ministry since he was a teenager. He worked with Union Mission in Memphis for 25 years, while he and Debi also ministered to the many military families in Memphis and pastored churches. They moved to rural Tennessee where they continued in the work by holding Bible studies in local homes, which eventually led to regular meetings of the local body of believers, and by starting the prison ministry. God eventually led them into the ministry of writing on child training and family relationships, which they now feel is their life’s work and calling. In addition to the child training ministry, the work of the prison ministry, missions, Bible studies, and family life is still ongoing. The Pearls have been married since 1971, and have 5 children and 18 grandchildren. The Pearl children have always been involved in their parents’ ministry, and in their adulthood continue to be involved in some way in ministering where they are.

Reviews

[Brian Gridley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book apparently did not go thru an editing process, but my main complaint is its inconsistent use of scripture and poor exegesis. The main premise of the book is that Matthew's "Kingdom of Heaven" is not the same as the Biblical "The Kingdom of God."
Here is only a sampling of some of the issues in the early pages of the book:
”Most of the doctrinal differences between denominations are a direct result of their failure to rightly differentiate between the eight kingdoms.” He doesn't even attempt to prove this assertion, the opposite of which would be much easier to prove.
The title "Kingdom of God" is a New Testament term with a specific meaning. Yet at times he makes this out to mean the same thing as God's dominion over all creation and beings, and at other times only including "faithful"angels.
He asserts that the "Kingdom of Heaven" is instead a physical, earthly kingdom,making general references to God's promises to Abraham and David's kingdom, and inserting his own ideas, yet referencing little scripture, none of which really addresses the issue.
Mr. Pearl's list of 8 (oddly, he did not choose to make it 7) kingdoms does not refer to "the kingdom of this world" of Revelation 11:15.
His scripture references are connected with leaps and assumptions with no scriptural backing. Pages 9-13 weave a fable with virtually no scriptural references. The book inconsistently uses hermeneutical principles in order to support its premises. He particularly targets those who want to believe a certain eschatology, as they are less likely to question his assumptions.

The best part of the book is the quoted scripture - don't bother with the book unless you can't get your hands on a Bible.

[Matt Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book that I think all Christians should check out if they want a better understanding of the four gospels.

[Martha Muskus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks 🕊