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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Emile Vidrine who wrote (9056)	10/22/1997 3:10:00 PM
From: Jack Zahran	Respond to of 39621

Emile, Thanks for your posts, it's good to see that you have such a keen interest in this matter. As this is a weighty subject I wll not rush a reply to your scriptural arguments. However, whenever an interpretation of scriptures is required, it is important to remember that the One Perfect Auther of the Bible will not cotradict himself. A scripture standing on its own is powerful, but open to multiple understandings if not taken in the context of the entire Word of God, which include both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. I will reply in more detail shortly. Take Care, Jack

To: Emile Vidrine who wrote (9056)	10/22/1997 5:54:00 PM
From: Jack Zahran	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 39621

Hello Emile, I now have a little more time to discuss the subject of God's Kingdom with you. First let me state my belief in the Kingdom so you know where I am coming from. I believe from my study of the scriptures that The Kingdom of God is the expression of God's universal sovereignty toward his creatures, including the means used by him to express that sovereignty. In particular, the royal government headed by his Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes the Bible uses the word kingdom to refer to Jesus' rulership and at other times to the earthly realm ruled by the heavenly government. So the question arises, Is God's Kingdom a real government? Or, is it, instead, a condition in the hearts of men? Let's take a look at Luke 17 since you referred to that passage in verse 20 from your last post to me. (I'll use the King James translation (KJ) since you seem to be comfortable with it.): Luke 17:20,21 "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." Very interesting passage indeed, because it reveals much in its context and you'll also see that the KJ Bible sheds more meaning to it in the margin reference to this passage. Notice that, as shown by verse 20, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, whom he also denounced as hypocrites, so he could not have meant that the Kingdom was in their hearts. But the kingdom, as represented by Christ, was in their midst. In fact, the KJ Bible states in the margin reference that "within you" literally translated is "among you". That makes sense since Jesus, the King and foremost representative of that Kingdom was standing right there in front of them! The Emphatic Diaglott which is a close translation to the original language reads: "God's royal majesty is among you." The Revised Standard (RS) also agree's with the KJ margin note stating "is in the midst of you." Jesus, the King of that Kingdom was standing right next to them and they couldn't even recognize him for what he was. How blind they were. Why should have the Pharisees recognized that the King was among them or in their midst? The answer to this question is important because the Bible actually speaks of God's Kingdom as being a government. The Pharisees had no excuse, God prophesied through Isaiah the following: Isa. 9:6,7 RS : "To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government, will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end." Notice that the King James also uses the word government: "the government shall be upon his shoulder" and then "Of the increase of his government and peace..." Jesus is the King of God's Kingdom and it is a real government. Not a government in Israel or the U.S., nor is it the U.N. as various Popes have stated. It rules from the heavens and no imperfect man can enter it unless he is born again. But before we move on to the subject of being born again, I would like to entertain your comments on the above. I hope we could stick to this issue before we move on to the other ones you raised. Best regards, Jack