Shalom, ajdiamond.
ajdiamond said:
Great words that every religionist today should read. The kingdom is within you and if you are looking anywhere else for it, then you are looking for something else.
Seriously, more great advice. Instead of working out their salvation (in reality, not just a mental belief); instead of the practical actualization and realization of Christ in them (in reality, not just a mental belief); the religionist is looking and waiting for something else: the rapture and what doctrinally is called the second coming. Instead of Christ coming in them, they await Jesus returning outside of them. It is a strong delusion.
Woe unto modern Pharisees. You preach a false kingdom and shut up the kingdom that is within men. You go not within yourself, nor do you enter the kingdom within; neither suffer ye them that are longing to go in or who have gone in. (paraphr Mat 23:13)
Sorry, but the REAL woe is to those who think that Yeshua` was saying that the Kingdom of God is WITHIN MEN! It most certainly IS NOT! The ONLY place in Scripture that says something that SOUNDS like that is Luke 17:21:
Luke 17:21
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
KJV
But, that is NOT what Yeshua` was saying here. First of all, He was talking to the P'rushiym - the Pharisees - who were attempting to discredit Him. So, you're trying to tell me that the Kingdom of God is within THEM?!
Secondly, He was talking to them AS A GROUP!
And, thirdly, He was saying that, while HE was there in their presence, the Kingdom was AMONG them as a group, not within each of them individually. LOOK AT THE CONTEXT:
Luke 17:20-25
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
KJV
Here's the Greek of verse 21:
Lukas 17:21
21 Oude erousin, “Idou hoode!” ee “Ekei!” Idou gar hee basileia tou Theou entos humoon estin.
The Greek New Testament (UBS)
21 Oude = 21 Nor
erousin, = shall-they-say,
“Idou = “Look
hoode!” = here!”
ee = or
“Ekei!” = “There!”
Idou = Look/Behold
gar = for
hee = the
basileia = kingdom
tou = of-the
Theou = God
entos = within/among
humoon = you (plural)
estin. = is.
21 Nor shall-they-say, “Look here!” or “There!” Look/Behold for the kingdom of-the God within/among you (plural) is.
Rearranged into normal English order,...
21 Nor shall they say, "Look, here!" or "There!" For - Look! - God's Kingdom is within/among you (plural).
First, Yeshua` was being interrogated by the P'rushiym DEMANDING to know as to WHEN the Kingdom of God, or God's Kingdom, should come. They were fully expecting a ceremonial display with a lot of pomp and circumstance as the King in His splendor would parade down the streets into Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). However, He answered them with the argument that the Kingdom of God would not come with observation or observing a ceremony. He said that they wouldn't say, "Look! Here it is," or "Look! There it is!" as if to say, "Here it comes!" HE WAS ALREADY THERE, RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM!! And, when the King is physically present, so is the Kingdom! The Greek word "
entos" often means "within," but when the context warrants it, it can also be translated as "among." The number of the word "
humoon," translated "you," the objective case of "ye," is plural. In the KJV, "thee" and "thou" are singular. He was not talking to one of them or to each of them; He was talking to them AS A GROUP! Therefore, the word "entos" would more likely refer to the group and therefore be rendered "among" as "within their group."
Second, this is just ONE verse compared to the MANY passages of Scripture that talk about the Messiah coming physically to reign primarily over Isra'el! It's not an immaterial "kingdom within"; it's a LITERAL, PHYSICAL, CONCRETE KINGDOM that will be established, beginning in Isra'el, but very soon expanding to other nations as they are annexed! For example, ...
Zechariah 2:1-13
2:1 Then I looked up — and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."
3 Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: "Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within.'
6 "Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north," declares the Lord, "for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven," declares the Lord.
7 "Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!" 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you — for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye — 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.
10 "Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the Lord. 11 "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."
NIV
Zechariah 3:8-10
8 "'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes (facets) on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
10 "'In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the Lord Almighty."
NIV
Zechariah 8:1-9:1
8:1 Again the word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."
3 This is what the Lord says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?" declares the Lord Almighty.
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built. 10 Before that time there were no wages for man or beast. No one could go about his business safely because of his enemy, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past," declares the Lord Almighty.
12 "The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me," says the Lord Almighty, 15 "so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the Lord.
18 Again the word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace."
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.' 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him."
23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'"
NIV
Zechariah 9:8-10:12
8 But I will defend my house
against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow
and fill it with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and make you like a warrior's sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who makes the storm clouds.
He gives showers of rain to men,
and plants of the field to everyone.
2 The idols speak deceit,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
3 "My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the house of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler.
5 Together they will be like mighty men
trampling the muddy streets in battle.
Because the Lord is with them,
they will fight and overthrow the horsemen.
6 "I will strengthen the house of Judah
and save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like mighty men,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will signal (whistle) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be room enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria's pride will be brought down
and Egypt's scepter will pass away.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his name they will walk,"
declares the Lord.
NIV
And, that's just from ONE BOOK, and there's more yet from this book and MUCH more in other books! This is not just a bunch of stuff that needs to be "allegorized"; There's nowhere in the book where we readers are told that this is allegorical!!! And, yes, there is that ONE passage that has already been fulfilled (9:9), but the rest has NOT been fulfilled, yet, and even that passage may have to be done again when He comes the second time so that it fits with the rest of what will be fulfilled!
Yeshua` TRIED to offer Isra'el God's Kingdom when He came the first time, but the elders of Y'hudah rejected Him at that time. They were subservient to Rome then and didn't want to strain their relationship with Rome. They couldn't trust God or His Messiah because they were a small nation and, like Peter, they looked down at the water and could no longer walk upon it! "Facing reality" and "being practical" took over and faith went out the door!
Yeshua` said He would try again in the future with a kind of people who could produce its fruit...
Matthew 21:1-46
1 As they were approaching Yerushalayim, they came to Beit-Pagei on the Mount of Olives. Yeshua sent two talmidim 2 with these instructions: “Go into the village ahead of you, and you will immediately find a donkey tethered there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him, ‘The Lord needs them’; and he will let them go at once.” 4 This happened in order to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet,
5 “Say to the daughter of Tziyon,
‘Look! Your King is coming to you,
riding humbly on a donkey,
and on a colt, the offspring of a beast of burden!’ (Zech. 9:9)
6 So the talmidim went and did as Yeshua had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put their robes on them, and Yeshua sat on them. 8 Crowds of people carpeted the road with their clothing, while others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds ahead of him and behind shouted,
“Please! Deliver us!”
to the Son of David;
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai!”
“You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!” (Psalm 118:25-26)
10 When he entered Yerushalayim, the whole city was stirred. “Who is this?” they asked. 11 And the crowds answered, “This is Yeshua, the prophet from Natzeret in the Galil.”
12 Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and drove out those who were doing business there, both the merchants and their customers. He upset the desks of the money-changers and knocked over the benches of those who were selling pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It has been written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it into a den of robbers!”
14 Blind and lame people came up to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the head cohanim and Torah-teachers saw the wonderful things he was doing, and the children crying out in the Temple, “Please deliver us!” to the Son of David, they were furious. 16 They said to him, “Do you hear what they’re saying?” Yeshua replied, “Of course! Haven’t you ever read,
‘From the mouths of children and infantsyou have prepared praise for yourself’?”
17 With that, he left them and went outside the city to Beit-Anyah, where he spent the night.
18 The next morning, on his way back to the city, he felt hungry. 19 Spotting a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to it, “May you never again bear fruit!” and immediately the fig tree dried up. 20 The talmidim saw this and were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked. 21 Yeshua answered them, “Yes! I tell you, if you have trust and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to this fig tree; but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ it will be done. 22 In other words, you will receive everything you ask for in prayer, no matter what it is, provided you have trust.”
23 He went into the Temple area; and as he was teaching, the head cohanim and the elders of the people approached him and demanded, “What s’mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? And who gave you this s’mikhah?” 24 Yeshua answered, “I too will ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. 25 The immersion of Yochanan — where did it come from? From Heaven or from a human source?” They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From a human source,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” And he replied, “Then I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.
28 “But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 He answered, ‘I don’t want to’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they replied. “That’s right!” Yeshua said to them. “I tell you that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you! 32 For Yochanan came to you showing the path to righteousness, and you wouldn’t trust him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn’t change your minds later and trust him.
33 “Now listen to another parable. There was a farmer who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower; then he rented it to tenants and left. 34 When harvest-time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the tenants seized his servants — this one they beat up, that one they killed, another they stoned. 36 So he sent some other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent them his son, saying, ‘My son they will respect.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ 39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They answered him, “He will viciously destroy those vicious men and rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop when it’s due.” 42 Yeshua said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Tanakh,
‘The very rock which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing’? (Psalm 118:22)
43 Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!” (Some manuscripts include verse 44: Whoever falls on this stone will be broken in pieces; but if it falls on him, he will be crushed to powder!")
45 As the head cohanim and the P’rushim listened to his stories, they saw that he was speaking about them. 46 But when they set about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.
CJB
So, from the Scriptures, it's a fable to think that God's Kingdom is "within men!'
