Nowhaving been questionedby the Phariseesas to whenthe kingdomof Godwas coming,He answeredthem and said,"The kingdomof Godis not comingwith signs to be observed;
"In the daysof thosekingsthe Godof heavenwill setup a kingdomwhichwill neverbe destroyed,and [that] kingdomwill not be leftfor anotherpeople;it will crushand putan endto allthesekingdoms,but it will itselfendureforever.
Then he saidto me, "Thisis the wordof the LORDto Zerubbabelsaying,Not by mightnorby power,but by My Spirit,'saysthe LORDof hosts.
Eventhe dustof your citywhich clingsto our feetwe wipe off[in protest] against you; yetbe sureof this,that the kingdomof Godhas come near.'
It happenedthat whenHe wentinto the houseof oneof the leadersof the Phariseeson [the] Sabbathto eatbread,they were watching Him closely.
"The Lawand the Prophets[were proclaimed] untilJohn;sincethat timethe gospelof the kingdomof Godhas been preached,and everyoneis forcing his wayinto it.
While they were listeningto these things,Jesus wenton to tella parable,becauseHe was nearJerusalem,and they supposedthat the kingdomof Godwas goingto appearimmediately.
Jesusanswered,"My kingdomis not of thisworld.IfMy kingdomwere of thisworld,then My servantswould be fightingsothat I would not be handedover to the Jews;but as it is, My kingdomis not of this realm."
