What is your take on the Missionary Paradox?

Huh? How does the Kingdom become inaccessible?

That doesn’t change the grammar nor include the Pharisees.

You skipped the basic meaning of νέφος, which is “cloud”; what you quoted are derived meanings, which rarely (if ever) carry over to words that split from the root. I can’t find anywhere that νεφέλη indicates anything but a cloud, mist, fog, or smoke except when clouds are an indicator of divinity, yet even then they are actual clouds.

And the use of νεφέλη in apocalyptic passages or literature rests on the Hebrew עָנָן which also indicates a cloud or mass of clouds even though the primary usage is theophanic.

Indeed the construction “[ἔρχομαι] + μετὰ/ἐπί τῶν νεφελῶν” is practically a technical term that every Jew would have recognized immediately; the verb is usually third person singular, e.g. “he comes on/with the clouds”, and the phrase tends to be followed by τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, “of the heaven” or τῶν οὐρανῶν “of the heavens”.

So no, you can’t import “a dense crowd, a multitude, great company” from νέφος to νεφέλη, especially in apocalyptic usage such as at the Ascension or in Revelation – it’s creative but unfounded.

My point is that the Kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit are both present and accessible. If they are not present, they are not accessible.

Sorry, I feel like we are going down a rabbit hole, so lets pull our heads out, reevaluate and try again:

There is no problem with the grammar. We both agree “you” is plural. I am saying the body of Christ is a collective you (plural in KJV). If it was distributive, as within each one of us individually (singular), that would be Antichrist, as in each one of us running around by ourselves as our own little god with no regard or need for anyone else.

Another way of thinking about the body of Christ is to look at our own body as a multi-cellular organism. Each individual cell within the body represents us individually. Each cell works together to form the body, and somewhere within all that collective is a conscience, a living soul. The collective of the body of Christ has a conscience, the Holy Spirit which we all have access to. Signals are sent throughout the body and if individual cells die and become non responsive, they get flushed out.

There was no concept of a multi-celled organism at the time of Christ. Jesus instead uses the vine as an analogy. He is the vine and we are the branches. If we don’t produce fruit (gifts of the Holy Spirit) we are cast off (as the Pharisees).

  • Jhn15:4-6 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

  • …10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;

  • …12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

  • …19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Where are we if we are not in the world? We are in the Kingdom of God. We receive Christ, the Holy Spirit when we are grafted into the vine, when we gather together as one.

  • Acts 2:1-4 (ESV) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So we should be looking up in the sky whenever there is a storm cloud to see if we see Jesus coming? The whole world shall see him. Where shall we all get a plane ticket to to see him when its happening? It already happened in Acts 2. We can’t understand the scripture, what it is really saying if we only look at the literal meanings.

No, it didn’t.

The statement that Jesus will return in the fashion in which He left – with clouds – is critical to understanding His return because it refers back to Daniel. The events of Acts 2 do not meet the parameters – besides which Jesus said that the Holy Spirit coming required Jesus to go away, thus the presence of the Spirit indicates the absence of Jesus in the terms the angel explained.

But back to the main point: the Pharisees were not part of the Kingdom of God, thus the rendition “within you” fails.

  • Dan 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Interpretation:

  • Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

The Kingdom is given to the saints of the most High (through the Holy Spirit).

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus (the man) goes to the Father (takes on Spirit form) and returns to us as the Holy Spirit. Jesus is with us.

It does not fail because that is what Jesus said. Jesus addresses the crowd, which includes the Pharisees who he was answering, telling them that the Kingdom of God is within them. They did not believe it, did not access it, did not enter into its gates, but were instead looking for a physical Kingdom to be established, with the Christ to be King over the entire world.

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