THE KINGDOM INSIDE THE PHARISEES?

Many think that the kingdom had begun when Christ was ministering. They use Luke 19:21 which reads in the KJV and other older texts: "For behold, the kingdom of God is in you." But the NAS translates the passage correctly: "For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."    First of all, Christ is speaking to the Pharisees and surely they would not have the kingdom within! But there is more to the passage and to the idea of the "kingdom in their midst."    In most passages that mention this idea the Perfect Tense is used. For example: Luke 10:9, 11. To the disciples Christ said, say to the people "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (v. 9). And in verse 11: "Be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near." The verb is "agizo" which means "to come near."    I wrote in my commentary: "The kingdom of God has come near to you." It has arrived but it has not been inaugurated. "It has been on its way, and it has arrived, but it has in no way begun!"    In Luke 17:21 Jesus continued this thought and told the Pharisees, "It is existing in your midst, but it certainly has not started. When kingdom of God (and kingdom of heaven) is mentioned, it is accompanied by a Perfect Tense, meaning the kingdom has come up to the moment but it has not been inaugurated.    The kingdom, the messianic kingdom, was there because the King was in their presence. In my Luke commentary I wrote: "The doctrine of the postponement of the kingdom is clear in verse 25: "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." When the Messiah comes to reign, it will be like the judgment days of Noah and of Sodom. –Dr. Mal Couch (9/10)