Matthew 3, verses 1 to 6, In those days came John the Baptist

 

Matthew 3:1 ¶  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4  And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

 

Luke is more specific in how he fixes a date.

 

Luke 3:1 ¶  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2  Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

 

Mark also references this and, in fact, starts there alluding to the Old Testament.

 

Mark 1:1 ¶  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2  As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

3  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

 

The kingdom of heaven is only used in Matthew as a reference to the kingdom of God which phrase Matthew also uses. For proof of this by the text itself see;

 

By the way, a difference in those two phrases is not necessary to prove the millennial reign of Christ or Israel’s importance. There are many other verses that speak prophetically of Christ’s reign on earth. For instance here is one in the Old Testament;

 

Isaiah 2:1 ¶  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.