he answered them and said, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you
Honestly, I don't read that the way you do.
he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation
That tells me that "observing" the scriptures (or anything else) isn't the way to heaven, individually or collectively
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you
Says, very explicitly, that the kingdom of God is within you
Jesus does NOT qualify that in any way; He doesn't say "the kingdom of God is within (a particular group of people but not within others)."
Honestly, I don't read that the way you do.
That tells me that "observing" the scriptures (or anything else) isn't the way to heaven, individually or collectively
Says, very explicitly, that the kingdom of God is within you
Jesus does NOT qualify that in any way; He doesn't say "the kingdom of God is within (a particular group of people but not within others)."