Jesus here speaks of the swiftness of his arrival, implying the urgency of the work of preaching.

  Verse 21, `within you', should rather be translated `in your midst', as would be consistent with the point being made, namely that the kingdom is coming when not expected, as he goes on to compare it to lightning, to the deluge, and to the destruction of Sodom. Thayer's Lexicon gives `in the midst of you' as the primary rendering of this phrase, and Strong gives the root of the Greek word `entos' (G1787) [according to Strong meaning inside, within] as `en' (G1722), `a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), that is, a relation of rest'.

  Further to this point, the Greek word for kingdom, `basiliah', used here is described by both Strong and Thayer as meaning primarily `royalty' or `royal power' respectively.

  Jesus is, in fact, in their midst at that time as a representative of the kingdom, and he refers also to a coming future time in verses 22-36. Jerusalem was actually destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. along with its temple, and so ended the system of worship associated with the Jews, their genealogical records having been destroyed thereby preventing the legal establishment of any priestly line. Since prophecies may have multiple fulfillments, some people have dared to hope for a much greater and later fulfillment as well. This is consistent with the concept of the fall of man and the need for the restoration of paradise on earth. The kingdom is not truly said to have come in its entirety until the earth is restored to that pristine, garden-like state that it had in the first days of Adam and Eve, when peace will reign supreme and death will be no more.

  Referring back to the original question of when the kingdom was coming, Jesus further points out the futility of looking for the kingdom's arrival, saying also that those who would seek to save their own lives would not be able, the undexpectedness of the event being such that only those prepared to offer their lives unselfishly could be expected to survive.

  Jesus is not saying, as some have wrongly inferred, that the kingdom is something completely internal, in the mind of each of us, but rather that it had already arrived, that it was real. He, as the Messiah, and as Moses the Messiah before him, was urging them not to underestimate the significance of this moment.

WG