Hello Phil:
Yes, everyone to his own opinion...LOL However, these are not just opinions snatched out of the air, but are completely based on scripture. I don't claim to speak for God, and so I don't claim that my opinions are fact, but I am quite sure they are basicly the story that scripture tells.
Actually, Christ, the coming Christ, had followers in 6th century BC, because when the captive Jews received the prophecy that a child would be born who would receive the kingdom of his father David, they began watching and waiting for that child. Since he will receive the kingdom of his father David, then he will be king, and kings are called "annointed", so the child they were watching and waiting for would become "the messiah(the king)". These 6th century BC Jews were messianic because they were watching and waiting for the messiah, and if you translate "messiah" into first century Koine Greek, you get "christ". The 6th century Jews were messianic/christian, even though the first century Koine Greek word "christian" was not used to define them until Paul's church at Antioch. Remember that Paul's converts were "true" Jews, because the first century Jews were backslidden from the good news of the kingdom, and the converts of Jesus and the apostles were true, or real, Jews. First century Christianity was essentially a revival of 6th century BC Messianism. The gospel Jesus was not the messiah, but was changed into the messiah by the Romans, so that the Christians would stop looking for the one who would overthrow the Roman empire and resurrect the Davidic kingdom.
Regarding the kingdom of God; there is only one kingdom of God, and that is the kingdom of Israel. It is called the kingdom of David because God promised David that He would establish David's throne forever, with David's descendants always sitting on the throne(Davidic kingdom). With the ascension of David to the throne of Israel, it became God's kingdom, because God had not only chosen David, but God had prepared David while he was still in his mother's womb, and David ruled at the pleasure of God. "The spiritual kingdom" is simply the assembled body which has the coming resurrected kingdom in it's hearts and minds, and therefore has the incentive to fight for the resurrection of the Davidic kingdom. We must also remember that the 6th century BC prophecy, claimed that the one who would be the messiah, would receive the kingdom of his father David, not the kingdom of his father God, and that prophecy was the first proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus simply reproclaimed it to backslidden Jews, to heal their backsliding from the 6th century BC gospel of the kingdom.
Regarding who had Jesus killed and why, it is true that the council of the chief priests and pharisees was because if the Romans killed all the Jews because of something that Jesus did, it would be detrimental to the chief priests and pharisees, who, without all the Jews would be out of their jobs, if not dead. However, it was the high priest at that council, who pointed out that if they killed Jesus before he could anger Rome to the point of genocide, Jesus would die to save all the Jews...John 11 I believe.
The reason that you aren't aware that the first century Christian goal was to overthrow Rome and resurrect the Davidic kingdom, is because Rome took complete control of first century scripture and edited it as necessary for it's own purposes, which were to divert Christians from their goal of overthrowing the Roman empire.
If one reads scripture for the story it tells, rather than for the single verses and passages selected and assembled by the church, he would find the story of the kingdom goes something like this:
God chose the mixed assembly of the children of Israel to become Abraham's inheriting seed, to live by God's laws, become a great nation ruling all the land between the Euphrates and the Nile, and become a blessing(salvation) to all the nations of the earth. As a kingdom, Israel was well on it's way to conquering all the land between the Euphrates and the Nile, but it became divided against it'self during Solomon's reign, and fell into non-existence in the civil war following Solomon's death. The two resulting warring enemy nations both were destroyed by their enemies without the two nations ever repenting(reuniting as covenant Israel). Since God's everlasting plan for the blessing of all the nations is forever tied to covenant Israel becoming a great nation on all the promised land, the covenant nation of Israel must be resurrected from the dead for God's plan to continue. God has His face turned away from Israel, and all the nations, until covenant Israel is resurrected from the dead to repentance. That is why the 6th century BC Babylonian Jews, and later in the first century, Jesus and his apostles, were building a body(army) for the Christ to lead into the battle of Armageddon, to take back the land and resurrect the Davidic kingdom of covenant Israel from the dead. The backslidden Jews; the pharisees and the priesthood, did not want the kingdom resurrected because they were satisfied with their leadership status among the Jews, just the way it was, and they had Jesus killed to keep him from doing anything which might upset their apple cart.
What do you think Phil?
"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."
