“‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:21)
This is one of the favorite proof texts used by Amillennialists or Anti-Premillennialists, those who deny the coming future Kingdom. For them it means the Kingdom is already in our midst, right now.
The other is found Luke 11:20 which has a parallel in Matthew 12:28 that we already discussed here: Is the Kingdom already here, right now?
But why do we say that they use this passage as proof text? That’s because it’s a cherry picked passage, taken out of the entire whole Lucan context.
By itself they made it appear as if Luke believed in some sort of Amillennialism or the Lord himself taught an Amillennial eschatology.
Context, Context, Context
When asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom would come Jesus told them it is not coming in ways they can observe from just any place (Luke 17:20-21). It will not be subjective or dependent on someone saying he has seen it somewhere or he knows where it is (Luke 17:21), “For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
If we stop right here, it does seem to say the Kingdom is already in their midst, doesn’t it? However, as we continue reading through its immediate and broader contexts the meaning becomes clearer.
The Lord went on to say that time will come they will look for him and they will not find him (Luke 17:22) and so he warned them not to follow (“Do not go out or follow them.” Lk 17:23b) or believe any mediator (anyone) who claims that he is already somewhere (“Look, there!” or “Look, here!” Lk. 17:23a) assuring them that he is coming from heaven and everyone will see him (“from one side to the other another,” Lk 17:24). His coming will be a surprise (Lk. 17:27-30). However, before that would happen, he must first suffer and be rejected by their generation (Luke 17:25).
In other words, they should not expect to see a gradually appearing Kingdom of God just from anywhere on this planet, they would not be needing anyone to tell them that it has already come from somewhere. It will come as a surprise but for everyone to see because the event will be visible from heaven, just as lightning is seen from one side to the another. This is what he means when he said, “For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
A quick survey of Luke will further establish the futuristic expectation of the Kingdom of God.
First, when he sent his disciples to heal the sick he told them to say to them, “the Kingdom of God is near you” (Luke 10:9). If what the Lord meant to say in Luke 17:21 is that the kingdom is already in their midst, why preach “the Kingdom of God is near you?” They should have been preaching: “the kingdom of God is already in your midst.”
Second, When the Lord taught them how to pray he said in Lk. 11:2, “say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.'” If the Kingdom is already in their midst, don’t you think they should be thanking God and say this instead, “Father thank you for Kingdom is already in our midst”?
Third, the Lord gave them the Parable of Ten Minas (Lk. 19:12-27) to correct their wrong notion that, “the Kingdom of God was to appear immediately” (Lk. 19:11).
In this parable, the crown prince left only to reign in his Kingdom upon his return but he tasked his servants to attend to his business while he was away (Lk. 19:12). However, his own people hated him and rejected him as their ruler (Lk. 19:14).
Upon his return he rewarded his faithful servants by entrusting them with greater responsibilities (Lk. 19:15-19) but slaughtered as enemies those who rejected him. (Lk. 19:27).
Why did they have to learn the Parable of Ten Minas if the kingdom of God is already in their midst? Isn’t the very lesson of this parable is that he will at first be rejected only to sit on his throne in glory when he returns?
Fourth, in Luke’s version of the Olivet Discourse (Lk. 21:5-28 c.f. Mat. 24:1-3), Jesus taught his disciples that they will have opportunity to bear witness to kings and governors when they are persecuted and delivered to them (Lk. 21:12-13), it will then be followed by the destruction of Jerusalem, which will lead to death and captivity of many (Lk. 21:20-24). Jerusalem, as the Lord said, will be “trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24). And then he told them of signs in heaven (Lk. 21:25-27) will culminate in his, “coming in a cloud with power and glory” which he compared by the parable of the fig tree (Lk. 21:29-33) saying, “When you see these things taking place… you will know that the kingdom of God is already near” (Lk. 21:31).
Are these things not explicit enough to make us fully aware that the Kingdom of God is not yet in our midst? That the King must first come back for his servants before the establishment of his Kingdom?
If in the order of eschatological events, the coming of Kingdom precedes the coming King why did he not say, “the kingdom of God is already in our midst” and not “the Kingdom is near”?
Fifth, Even if we continue our survey up to the second volume of Luke’s writing, the Acts of the Apostles, we read the disciples asking him in Acts 1:6, “Lord, are you AT THIS TIME going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” If the Kingdom of God is already in their midst why did the disciples had to ask when the restoration of the Kingdom be?
If there ever was a perfect opportunity to assure his disciples that the Kingdom of God is already in their midst, this was it. But no. The Lord did not correct their future expectations, they had every right to expect what was promised by God however the timing is not for them to know, the Father has it fixed by his own authority (Acts 1:7).
Just like what Jesus told them in the Mount of Olives (Mat. 24:3) they must first bear witness (Acts 1:8 c.f. Lk. 21:12-13). And as he was taken up to heaven and disappeared from their sight, two angels reminded them of what Jesus taught them early on saying he, “will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11 c.f. Lk 21:27)
Last but not the least, if Paul also received an Anti-premillennial eschatology, how come when he went on to strengthen the faith of the brothers in Antioch (Acts 14:21) he told them, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” instead of telling them, “to continue in the faith because through many tribulations the Kingdom of God is already in their midst”?
All these only means one thing: tribulations in this world will precede the coming of the King, and the coming of the King will precede the coming of the Kingdom. And when the Son of man is seen coming from the clouds of heaven that’s when we will truly say, “Behold the Kingdom in our midst!” But in the meantime we must attend to the King’s business, to bear witness to him, “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24 c.f. Rom. 11:25).