The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 17:21- Luke Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 17:22- Luke Clearly, the verse shows, the kingdom is not to be taken literal. If it was a literal kingdom and ruling, then it would come with observation.
Also, please note that, when Bible says "Within you" or "Within us", It means, internal belief. By "within" is meant within heart and mind, i.e. Belief. So, when it says "behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 17:22- Luke" it is talknig about the belief that would exist within people's hearts and minds (that's why it's not observable)
Let's reason together. Many erroneously conclude this verse says the kingdom of God is not a literal kingdom but it is within each believer Remember (2 Pet 1:20). To whom was Christ speaking? The beginning of verse 20 gives us the answer; The Pharisees. They asked him, "When the kingdom of God would come.." Christ answered in verse 21, ".....the kingdom of God is within you." Was Christ saying the kingdom of God was within the Pharisees? Men he called "hypocrites, blind guides, extortioners, who were like whited (tombs), which appeared beautiful outward, but ..within [were] full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matt 23:21, 23-27)?
A more in depth study shows that "within you" is a mistranslation. The New King James margin says, "in your midst." The Contemporary English Version reads, "is here with you." The New International Version renders it "among" you. Christ was telling them His kingdom was in their presence- but how? Christ was referring to Himself! While in the flesh, Christ represented God's kingdom! Reading the rest of the chapter will help put this conclusion in context. In John 3:3, Christ told Nicodemus, a Pharisee, "...unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Is this telling us that once a person becomes saved, the kingdom of God is within them and there's no literal kingdom? The next two verses give us the answer. ..."..unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (vs. 4-5) To enter God's kingdom, we must be transformed to spirit because Paul tells us, in our current physical state, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor15:50). That transformation will occur at the first resurrection when God's people will be "born again" as spirit beings to be a part of God's literal kingdom or government on this earth! (1 Cor 15:50-54; 1 Thes 4:16-17)
other places where "within" is used in Bible: Luke: 12:18, 16:4, 24:33 Mat.: 3:10, 9:22 etc....
BTW....These are all the wrong references. It's actually Luk 12:17; 16:3; Mat 3:9; 9:21.
They all use a different Greek word than our example!!! Look it up in a concordance. I could not find the correct reference for Mat 24:33.
Also, according to Old testimony, Messiah was supposed to be a Prince and also Elijah was supposed to return. None of these happened literally:Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD" -Malachi 4:1-5
Read the whole chapter. It is talking about the future judgment period. Mal 4:1 states, "For behold,
the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. " This has yet to happen! It's obviously referring to a future time where an Elijah like prophet will return!
And in new testimony, Jesus confirmed that Elijah was returned in the person of John the Baptist. But they didn't recognise him, since they interpreted Bible literally and expected return of the same exact person:"In fact, he [Elijah] already has come, but he wasn't recognized, and was badly mistreated by many... Then the disciples realized he was speaking of John the Baptist."-Matthew 17:10-13
Matthew 17:10-13 contains several key points. First, it speaks of two Elijahs—one who “is come already” (John the Baptist) and the second who “truly shall first come,” prior to Christ’s second Coming. Jesus could not possibly have been speaking of John the Baptist in both past and future tense. He clearly spoke of two separate men. Also, John did not come just before the Day of the Lord, but rather almost 2,000 years prior to it!
Second, the latter-day Elijah was foretold to “restore all things.” John restored nothing, to the Church or anyone or anything else. Over the course of an approximately one-year ministry (with about another six months in prison), he merely announced Christ’s first Coming and baptized many, probably in advance of a later conversion, as a means of “preparing a people for the Lord.”
Third, Jesus makes a tremendously important statement (about John) with a message for our time. Though there were clear differences, John was a type of the final Elijah. And, despite the fact that there was no greater human being who ever lived than John, Jesus proclaimed, “They knew him not.”
Therefore, clearly, what the Author of the Bible meant by ‘return’, ‘kingship’, ‘reign’ was not literal interpretation. It can only have a figurative meaning, otherwise, neither Elijah was returned, nor was Jesus a Prince.
This is one of the reasons the Christian faith is so divided. The Bible should be interpreted literally, unless it is proven otherwise. Jesus will literally return. The overwhelming evidence is undeniable and irrefutable for those that have eyes to see and ears to hear.
