The Kingdom of God Shall Be Taken From You
by Philip du Nard
In Matthew 21:43, Christ, speaking to the "chief priests and elders of the people" (v.23), said the kingdom, that is to say, the kingdom of God, would be taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. The disciples, undoubtedly, heard this declaration.
This is one of the passages showing that the kingdom would be taken from the Jews and given to another entity: “a nation...” The typical evangelical futurist will protest that it was only the Jewish religious leaders of that day that would lose the kingdom. In any case, they had the kingdom at that time or it would not be necessary to take it from them.
In Acts 1, the disciples asked the Lord if He would at that time restore the kingdom to Israel. It is apparent that in their minds, while the Jewish leadership were in possession of the kingdom as the Lord Jesus Christ said, Israel was not. It is also apparent that they considered Israel to be the nation to which the kingdom of God would be given and that it had to be taken from the Jews in order for that to transpire. One can only conclude that they did not consider the scribes and Pharisees to be of Israel. Did they know something the average evangelical Christian does not? What about the people who follow the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees to this day?
by Philip du Nard
In Matthew 21:43, Christ, speaking to the "chief priests and elders of the people" (v.23), said the kingdom, that is to say, the kingdom of God, would be taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. The disciples, undoubtedly, heard this declaration.
This is one of the passages showing that the kingdom would be taken from the Jews and given to another entity: “a nation...” The typical evangelical futurist will protest that it was only the Jewish religious leaders of that day that would lose the kingdom. In any case, they had the kingdom at that time or it would not be necessary to take it from them.
In Acts 1, the disciples asked the Lord if He would at that time restore the kingdom to Israel. It is apparent that in their minds, while the Jewish leadership were in possession of the kingdom as the Lord Jesus Christ said, Israel was not. It is also apparent that they considered Israel to be the nation to which the kingdom of God would be given and that it had to be taken from the Jews in order for that to transpire. One can only conclude that they did not consider the scribes and Pharisees to be of Israel. Did they know something the average evangelical Christian does not? What about the people who follow the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees to this day?