Is God's Kingdom Present Among Us Today?

"Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, "'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20, 21).

The kingdom is spiritual. It cannot be observed by the physical eyes. Just as God is Spirit and no man has seen his form or shape, no man can see a spiritual kingdom. One should not go looking for it in the clouds. When it arrived, Jesus said, it would be "within you." Learn the reality of God's kingdom presence.

Christ Comes in His Kingdom

The Bibles teaches that Christ comes in his kingdom, (Matt. 16:28). Christ is also said to come upon the clouds of heaven, (Matt. 24:30.) However, if his kingdom comes without observation, and he comes in his kingdom, then how can his coming in the kingdom be visible to one's physical eyes?

The Days of the Son of Man

"Then He said to the disciples, 'The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, "look here!" or "Look there!"

Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightening that flashes out of the one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His Day'." (Luke 17:22-23).

That verse is parallel to Matthew 24:27. It is clear from the context of Luke that Jesus speaks of His coming in the kingdom, which does not come by physical observation.

Christ in You The Hope of Glory

Further, if the kingdom comes "within" you, then it must be the case that Jesus' coming is a coming "within" us also. That is what Paul taught about Christ's return, saying it was the hope of glory. "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:27).

So, the hope of glory is Christ in you, not Christ in a mirror, nor in a literal cloud. That's why we don't say "See here" or "See there," because Christ's coming as the hope of glory was a coming within you.

Some interpret the words "among you" to mean in their midst. They ask, how could Jesus say the kingdom was within the Pharisees who did not believe in him? The issue hinges upon whether Jesus is speaking proleptically, i.e. of what would take place when the kingdom arrived, or in that moment. Robertson's Word Studies define the term as "inside." citing Matthew 23:36.

Jesus taught that the kingdom did not come immediately, (Lk. 19:11), but at the end of the age, Lk. 21:31. Therefore he could not have led the Pharisees to believe the kingdom was already present within them.

Some Would Not Die Until They Saw Jesus In His Kingdom

The kingdom would arrive at the end of the age within the first century generation. Jesus emphatically stated, that some would not die until they had seen Jesus come in his kingdom. Again, if the kingdom was spiritual, so was the coming. Jesus is seen in the kingdom with the "eyes of understanding," (Eph. 1:18)

All considered the fact is that the coming of Christ is the coming of the kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1) Too many clouds in our approach to prophecy may blur one's vision and understanding of Bible prophecy.

The kingdom is not merely among us, but in us as is Christ in all believers.

Seed Newsvine

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