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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
to conclude that the evidence here is all one way, and that it establishes, beyond doubt, the fact that Jesus was a man of more than ordinary learning and wisdom.
It being established that Jesus was a wise man, the next point to consider is his system, in which the foremost place is occupied by the doctrine of the kingdom of God. The question is: what did he mean by the kingdom of Heaven which he constantly preached and referred to in his sayings? Did he mean a kingdom of the sort which we are familiar with among the nations of men ? His disciples, like many other men, at the time thought that he spoke of the kingdom of Israel under the patronage and suzerainty of God, and so deeply was this idea engraven on their minds that they asked him even after resurrection, “ Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel "(Acts, I. 6) ?.But Jesus never encouraged these notions, and on one occasion himself explained what he meant by the Kingdom of Heaven. He said :
" The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke, XVII. 20 and 21).
These words distinctly go to negative all such ideas as were held by the disciples. The kingdom, which Jesus was preaching, was not one that was to come with observation; it was not, and was not to be, an historical event, the coming of which could be observed by the people at large. Nor was it to be an affair confined to any particular locality, for no one could point it out as existing here, or there, or anywhere in the world. It was an affair strictly confined to the 'within' of men.
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