I agree. The kingdom was something Jesus told us to pray for, so it was yet future when he walked the earth.
When he told the Pharisees that "the kingdom of God is within you" (or in your midst) he was telling them that as the appointed king of God's kingdom, he was right there among them, but they failed to recognise him.
Spiritually we become citizens of God's kingdom when we begin to serve God as disciples of his Christ. But the full blessings of the kingdom will not be realised until every vestige of satan's rulership over this earth is wiped away. (1 John 5:19)
The devil will not give up without a fight. He is in a contest for the hearts and minds of men before Jehovah cleanses the earth and brings the kingdom in by force. All human rulership under the devil's control, along with all who support it, will be eliminated. (Dan 2:44) We have to take action spiritually before it's too late. (Rev 18:4, 5)
I know we have beliefs that separate us from Christendom...but certainly not from Christ. I thank God for that every day.
I was trapped in that inept and hypocritical system for the first third of my life. I always felt like something was terribly wrong. I walked into church empty and walked out feeling the same way. I had so many questions but there never seemed to be satisfying answers.
I tried going to other denominations but felt exactly the same way because they taught exactly the same things, just under a different label. I knew that going from church to church wasn't the answer because it was the whole belief system that made no sense to me. Why be disunited when they were all supposedly serving the same God and teaching the same doctrines, yet they all felt that the others weren't quite right. I read the apostle Paul's words in 1 Cor 1:10 and saw that I had to get out of that whole disunited system to find the truth. I looked for God in eastern religions and philosophies but the idolatry put me off. Circular thinking never satisfied my spiritual hunger. And the beliefs were more like fantasy than truth about any real god(s) anyway.
I was about to give up because I felt that if there was a God out there, he didn't care about me! Then there was a knock at my door....I did not find God...he found me. When he sent his people out to search for me and I began getting answers to the same questions I had asked all my life with no solid Biblical answers from the churches, I knew I had found my spiritual home.
You are right...knowledge is something JW's don't lack. The knowledge that I have been able to take in over the last 40 odd years, has equipped me to become a teacher of God's word. I have used this knowledge to show others how to leave behind an inept and clueless "church" system and focus on the future with confidence. Giving people a real hope is very rewarding. I never tire of this work.
I am not a lone voice like so many others who ditch the denominational system, recognising them as merely label wearers. We can't be "Christians" in isolation, working alone...we must be part of God's nation....the ones that Peter called "a people for his name". (Acts 15:14) We have to meet regularly with fellow believers as Paul instructed. (Heb 10:24, 25)
Christianity started out well, but an apostasy was foretold. Many behave as if it never happened. The whole church system is proof that it did. These are the "weeds" of Jesus' parable.
We would expect something that God has formed to be organized and orderly in its structure and activities. You would expect to see the unity that Paul spoke about, not just congregation to congregation, but nation to nation, with no boundaries or barriers concerning race, social status or educational abilities. You would expect to see one set of beliefs accepted by all. And the one thing that would distinguish them from the counterfeit Christians would be the global preaching work that Jesus commanded. (Matt 24:14: 28:19, 20) He said he would be backing it, right up to the end of the present age. Where is the witness of the churches? None of them preach in any place I have ever lived, not locally, not nationally, not globally.
And how can individuals preach to the world in isolation and with no knowledge about the kingdom, which is the whole point of the Christian message?
The kingdom has not come physically yet...but it is certainly not far away now. Those who have not abandoned the broad and easy road will not fare well. (Matt 7:13, 14) Soon it will be too late to change course.