The Coming Kingdom...
The scriptures never declare eternity in heaven to be the reward of the Saints. Jesus came to fulfil what the Holy Prophets had declared... God's Kingdom restored over all the Earth.
This will come with a re-genesis after the return of the Messiah, and the Saints will be resurrected into immortal bodies to reign over all nations.
What is The Coming Kingdom?
THE HONEST TRUTH ... God’s Coming Kingdom is a real government established by God to reign over all territories under His domain. In the Bible, “the kingdom of God” is also called “the kingdom of heaven”, because it extends heaven’s rule into the earth. This is what Jesus was speaking of in the “Lord’s Prayer” when he prayed “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Though God’s kingdom shares many attributes of human governments, it is vastly superior to them in every way. GOVERNING RULERS... KING OF KINGS - MESSIAH: The invisible God, who transcends our complete knowing, has manifested Himself in the flesh in Jesus Christ as the ultimate King of the Kingdom. (1 Tim 3:16 / 2 Cor 5:19) KINGS OVER THE NATIONS - THE SAINTS: The Saints who take part in the first resurrection are raised in immortal bodies to reign with Messiah over the Nations of the Earth. (Rev 20:4 / Rev 5:9-10 / Daniel 7:27) The first resurrection saints… - Have been baptized in the name of the messiah (Acts 2:38) - Keep the Commandments (Rev 14:12) - Restore the festivals in the Kingdom (Zech 14:16) - Are Holy Spirit baptized (Acts 2:38 / Rom 8:9) DURATION: Unlike human governments, which come and go, God’s Kingdom “will never be destroyed.”—Daniel 2:44. It will begin with a 1000 year inauguration, (Rev 20:6) then transition into a never ending kingdom after the renewal and re-genesis of the Earth at the end of the 1000 year period. SUBJECTS: The Subjects of the Kingdom will be made up of those from the second resurrection who have gone through the Great White Throne of Judgement. These, who are not the “bride”, are given their invitation from the spirit and the bride at the end of the 1000 year reign. (Rev 22:17) Anyone from any nation can be a subject of God’s Kingdom, without regard for ancestry or birthplace.—Acts 10:34, 35. LAW: God's 10 Commandments remain the Law of His Kingdom. These laws do more than just prohibit wrong behavior. They raise the moral character of its subjects. For example, the Bible says: “‘You must love Yehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39) Love of God and neighbor moves subjects of the Kingdom to act in the best interests of others. EDUCATION: While God’s Kingdom sets high standards for its subjects, it also teaches people how to meet those standards.—Isaiah 48:17, 18. MISSION: The Kingdom of God doesn’t enrich its rulers at the expense of its subjects. Instead, it will accomplish God’s will, including the promise that those who love him will live forever on a paradise earth.—Isaiah 35:1, 5, 6; Matthew 6:10; Revelation 21:1-4.
isn't The Kingdom of God Just In our Hearts?
THE HONEST TRUTH ... No, God’s Kingdom is not merely a condition in the hearts of Christians. The kingdom of God is realized in three phases: The Present Kingdom... The spiritual kingdom exists now as God rules in the hearts of obedient believers. This kingdom was announced and revealed through the prophets and the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. We surrender to this kingdom when we turn from sin to serve God through faith in Jesus Christ. Presently the Kingdom reigns in us though we do not yet reign in the Kingdom. The Millennial Kingdom... Jesus will return to earth in power and glory to resurrect the righteous dead in the first resurrection (immediately after the tribulation), bestow immortality and eternal life upon the resurrected and the living righteous.. This great Sabbath Rest of one thousand years will be a universal kingdom in which all principalities, powers, and enemies are overcome. During this age, the Messianic promises to Israel and the Oaths to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David will be fully realized. At the end of the thousand years, the rest of the dead will be resurrected, judged before the great white throne, and the wicked will suffer annihilation in the second death. The Eternal Kingdom... After the annihilation of the final rebellion, God’s eternal kingdom will last through ages without end. God will dwell with the redeemed in the heaven and earth made new where no disappointment, defilement, or death can enter and where righteousness and peace will prevail forever. - God’s Kingdom has rulers, subjects, laws, and a mandate to establish the will of God in heaven and on the earth.—Matthew 6:10; Revelation 5:10. - God’s government, or Kingdom, will rule over all “the peoples, nations, and language groups” of the earth. (Daniel 7:13, 14) The authority for its rulership comes, not from its subjects, but directly from God.—Psalm 2:4-6; Isaiah 9:7. - Jesus told his faithful apostles that they would join him in the Kingdom of heaven to “sit on thrones.”—Luke 22:28, 30. - The Kingdom has enemies, which it will destroy.—Psalm 2:1, 2, 8, 9; 110:1, 2; 1 Corinthians 15:25, 26. The Bible does not teach that the Kingdom of heaven is in your heart in the sense that it rules through a person’s heart. However, it does show that the “word of the Kingdom” or the “good news of the Kingdom” can and should affect our hearts.—Matthew 13:19; 24:14. What does “the kingdom of God is within you” mean? Some people have become confused about the location of the Kingdom by the rendering of Luke 17:21 in some Bible translations. For example, the King James Version says that “the kingdom of God is within you.” To understand this verse correctly, we must consider the context. Some of the religious leaders who opposed Jesus God’s Kingdom was not in the heart of Jesus’ obstinate and murderous opposers Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, a group of religious leaders who opposed him and shared in arranging for his execution. (Matthew 12:14; Luke 17:20) Does it make sense to think that the Kingdom was a condition in their obstinate hearts? Jesus told them: “Inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”—Matthew 23:27, 28. Other translations accurately clarify Jesus’ statement at Luke 17:21: “God’s kingdom is here with you.” (Italics ours; Contemporary English Version) “The Kingdom of God is among you.” (New World Translation, footnote) The Kingdom of heaven was “with” or “among” the Pharisees, in that Jesus, the one designated by God to rule as King, was standing before them.—Luke 1:32, 33.
Do The Saved Go To Heaven, To the city With Gates of Peal and Streets of Gold?
THE HONEST TRUTH ... This city described in the book of Revelation is not a description of "heaven". It is a description of God's central government "Coming down", "Out of Heaven". We do not go away beyond the stars to this city. The very opposite is true... That city comes down to Earth. Rev 21:2-4 "2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."