It is apparent you have not thoroughly read that text book of yours, the scriptures are quite clear in respects to the
two phases of the kingdom, that is to say there will be an earthly phase as well as a spiritual phase to the kingdom.
"
My kingdom is not of this world: IF my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight..."(
John 18:36).
When our Lord stated that his kingdom was not of this world he did not mean to suggest that his kingdom would never be establish here on earth, if so he would have never admonished us to pray, “
Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth even as it is in heaven”. No what he meant was that his kingdom (that is the earthly phase of that kingdom) was not of this world, this “
present evil world” (
Gal 1:4), but that in due time following the completion of the Church and the destruction of the present order of things, his kingdom would be established on earth, and the Father’s will would be done here even as it is in heaven.
“
For the day of the Lord will come (Greek,
heko, will arrive; be here)
as a thief in the night (unobserved, quietly)
in which the heavens (the ecclesiastical heavens, the religious powers and influences of the world, both the seen and the unseen)
will pass away with a great noise (turmoil and confusion),
and the elements (of society)
will melt with fervent heat (great tribulation, tumult, strife, human passion and wrath, anarchy);
both the earth (the social order as now presently organized under Satan’s control)
and the works (pride, rank, aristocracy, royalty)
that are in it will be burned up (swallowed up, dissolved).”
2 Pet 3:10
“
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens (new powers of spiritual control, God’s Kingdom his glorified Church)
and a new earth (i.e. society reorganized and in harmony with God’s kingdom),
wherein dwells righteousness.” (
2 Pet 3:5-7, 10-13)
Jesus said, "
My kingdom is not of this world," and until the era or the "
world to come"
DOES COME, Christ's kingdom will not control the earth. And for this we are taught to hope and pray, "
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
The prophecies of Book of Revelation state that when Christ would return at the end of the Age, the seventh Trumpet would sound --
THEN the kingdom of this world would become Christ's. "
And the seventh angel sounded…The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever" (
Rev 11:15).
Not before.
Some doubt whether it really is a literal kingdom of God on earth for which we are to pray. When they read, “
the kingdom of God is within you” (
Luke 17:21), they erroneously conclude that the kingdom spoken of is only a condition of heart within a Christian, not a literal kingdom. This is a mistake. A better translation of
Luke 17:21 reads, “
The kingdom of God is (to be) in your midst,” or “
among you.” It is indeed to be a literal kingdom exercising supreme rule upon the earth, with Christ as king, causing God's will to be done on earth.
There is a great fallacy in the nominal Christian world today. Taking as their authority the mistranslated scripture “
The kingdom of God is within you”,
they teach that Christ rules only in the hearts of men, that when a man accepts Christ, Christ comes to that man; when all men have accepted him, he shall have fully come.
They say that will constitute the kingdom of Christ.
Even the pagan Roman ruler, Herod, knew better than that. He was a hard and realistic man. When he heard from the wise men of the East that someone had been born King of the Jews, he gave
no mystical meaning to it. He considered it a threat to his
physical ruler-ship of one segment of the Roman Empire. Believing in direct and decisive action, he went to the highest Jewish authorities he knew--the Chief Priests and Scribes, and demanded to know where, according to their prophets, this new king should be born. They quoted the prophecy of
Micah 5:2:
“
And thou, Bethlehem, in the Land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”--Matt 2:6
In other words, “
The government shall be upon his shoulder.” Herod did not ascribe some
symbolic meaning to this prophecy. He did not limit it to
a mere spiritual ruler-ship in the hearts of men. On the contrary, he considered his worst fears confirmed. Here was a definite threat that, unless he acted, the government might be wrested from the Roman Empire and vested in another king.
After the reformation there was a tendency to give a purely spiritual connotation to the earthly kingdom promises. It was then that the translation was rendered, “
The kingdom of God is within you.” It should have actually read, “
God's Royal Majesty is among you.” In other words: “
The king is present. Christ is here. He is in your midst!”
Assuming a superior attitude, the Pharisees in
Luke 17:20 impatiently and arrogantly demanded to know, “
When will this Kingdom that you speak of come?”
Surely the Kingdom of God was not in the midst of the hearts of the Pharisees’! Hence Jesus meant “
The Kingdom of God is right here within your presence or midst.” Stated another way, “
In your very presence, the Kingdom work is going on and you are not aware of it. You are erroneously looking for an outward, spectacular display that would be apparent to everyone.”
The Kingdom was right there in the sense that the King of that Kingdom was present.
For further insight I would suggest the following two blog post, “
Two Phases of the Kingdom” and “
The Two Salvations”.