The entrance (into the Kingdom of God) of which Jesus speaks is a future entrance, coincidental with final judgment
JESUS' PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Central to the synoptic gospels is Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom
of God. Jesus' primary mission to his people was to offer them the
possibility of eschatological salvation, which, for the most part, he
expressed by the term "Kingdom of God." (A synonym for the Kingdom
of God is the Kingdom of Heaven, found in the Gospel of Matthew.)....
Luke 17:20-21
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming,
he answered them, "The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be
observed; 21 nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for
behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you."
The Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God will come. Jesus
replies that the Kingdom of God does not come in such a way that
people can say "Here it is" or "There it is," but that the Kingdom of
God is "in the midst of you" (entos humôn) (see Xenophon, Anab.
1.10.3; Hellen. 2.3.19; Herodotus, Hist. 7.100.3). The expectation of
those who posed the question to Jesus is that the Kingdom of God will
come "with careful observation" (meta paratêrêseôs). In other words,
it comes as observable and so full-blown, all at once, so that no one
who has given heed to the signs of its coming could deny that it has
come. Indeed, this conception of eschatological salvation is common
in second-Temple sources, having roots in the Old Testament. Jesus'
conception of the Kingdom of God, however, is that it begins
inconspicuously, so that it is possible to deny that it has come at
the earliest stages of its historical development. In addition, Jesus
affirms that insofar as he is present, the Kingdom of God is in the
midst of them: the Kingdom of God comes in his very appearance,
although this is not obvious to all. (The prepositional phrase entos
humôn could also be translated as "within you," and the linguistic
evidence may slightly favor such an interpretation. But the
interpretation "in the midst of you" better coheres with Jesus'
understanding of the Kingdom of God as already present in its
incipient stages.)
1.1.4. Mark 9:43-48 = Matt 18:8-9
Mark 9:43-48
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for
you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the
unquenchable fire. 44 [omitted] 45 And if your foot causes you to
sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with
two feet to be thrown into hell. 46 [omitted] 47 And if your eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the
Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into
hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Matt 18:8-9
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and
throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than
with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And
if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is
better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be
thrown into the hell of fire.
Jesus teaches that a person must remove all impediments in order to
to enter the Kingdom of God (eiselthein eis tên basileian tou theou)
(Mark 9:47), which is synonymous with to enter into life (eiselthein
eis tên zoên) (Mark 9:43, 45), since it is better to do without any
so-called advantage than to miss entering the Kingdom of God or into
life. (The term "Kingdom of God" is synonymous with "life.") This is
expressed hyperbolically as being willing to cut off one's hands and
one's feet and being willing to remove one's eye, if necessary. One's
bodily parts represent what is closest and most valuable to a person,
which must be given up if it impedes entrance into the Kingdom of God
or life. The consequence of not being willing to sacrifice anything
to enter the Kingdom of God or life is punishment in Gehenna (or
eternal fire). The entrance of which Jesus speaks is a future
entrance, coincidental with final judgment; in fact, one must pass
through final judgment in order to enter the Kingdom of God as future
or life.
JESUS' PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
www.abu.nb.ca/Courses/NTIntro/KingdGod2.htm
Related Articles
The new treasure is the fulfilment of the eschatological promises
The entrance of which Jesus speaks is a future entrance
NOTE: If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic or related issues are discussed in detail to promote global peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity:
www.adishakti.org/www.al-qiyamah.org/
www.adi-shakti.org/ — Divine Feminine (Hinduism)
www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/ — Divine Feminine (Christianity)
www.ruach-elohim.org/ — Divine Feminine (Judaism)
www.ruh-allah.org/ — Divine Feminine (Islam)
www.tao-mother.org/ — Divine Feminine (Taoism)
www.prajnaaparamita.org/ — Divine Feminine (Buddhism)
www.aykaa-mayee.org/ — Divine Feminine (Sikhism)
www.great-spirit-mother.org/ — Divine Feminine (Native Traditions)
