“The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”—Luke 17:20-21.

Discussion: Many churches talk about the second coming. They talk about the rapture, where people will be taken up from the earth into heaven. Airplanes will crash; cars will go out of control; mayhem will break loose because the good Christians will be taken away from the world up into heaven. Churches also look at China and Russia—now the middle East—and also at the United Nations and point their finger to signs of Christ’s second coming—“Here it is,” “There it is.” In doing this, churches simplify the complexity of the Bible. There are many passages about the second coming, and many of them are contradictory. Consider Luke 17:20-21. That passage clearly says the kingdom of God won’t come visibly. We won’t be able to point our finger and say, “There it is.” I think that God’s kingdom is in my heart. And I think that the whole book of Revelation takes place as good and evil war for power in my own soul. “The kingdom of God in within you” (Luke 17:21).