This is the same message that Jesus uses to begin his preaching/teaching ministry. (4:17)
I'm wondering about this translation and how I've been taught to understand it.
The Greek word metanoeo is translated here as repent, but it means to think differently or to reconsider how you think. It means to change your way of thinking.
What if John and then Jesus are teaching that the Jews of the day (and possibly us today) have the wrong idea of where (and what) heaven is? The Greek word ouranos -- the abode of God, is the word translated as heaven.
What if the real message for us is -- You've got it wrong. You need to change your way of thinking. Heaven isn't where you go when you die. Heaven is here! This is where God lives! God is with you and you are in God's presence right now!
If we believe that the Universal Christ--the very essence and Spirit of God, lives within us, then heaven is here. Is it possible that the spiritual realm of heaven and the physical place on earth overlap but we have forgotten how to see with our spirit?
I have repented about repenting.
I have changed how I think and am reconsidering what I've been taught.
I am re-examining life through the eyes of the Spirit in me rather than how I perceive things through this physical being.
Something to think about...
John
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