Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
Consider this text.... and think outside the box of anything we've been told.... what might it mean if we "unshackled" it?
The King James Version reads:
Luke 17:21 (KJV)
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. A better rendering of the original language reads:
Luke 17:21 (ESV)
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” The most literal translation of the ancient tongues is the NASB, and it renders the text as saying:
Luke 17:21 (NASB)
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
My friends.... the kingdom of God, or the spiritual realm, is all around us. Verily, it is in our midst. |
This passage can be interpreted in different ways. Jesus may have been talking about a spiritual reality that, while invisible, overlays and is dispersed throughout natural reality...
...or, He could have simply been referring to Himself. When you look at the Greek word behind "kingdom", you'll see it's less about a place or even a concept, and more about the right and privilege to rule, i.e. royal power.
In this way, since God sent His Son to be, among many other things, King of kings and Lord of lords over all the created cosmos, it can be correctly said that Jesus is the Kingdom of, or rather, the Royal Power of, God.