The Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God) is God in Christ in the saints performing God's will.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb, the Body of Christ, the Church, the eternal Temple of God.

Christians speak of "going to Heaven" as though our goal were to go to a place to a Paradise that will put an end to all our pains and dreads.

But the Scriptures speak of entering or inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a somewhat different concept from that of merely going to a delightful place.

Because God, His Christ, the saints, and the holy angels have their residence in the spirit realm above us in beautiful surroundings, the goal of the Christian salvation often is thought to be that of entering this desirable environment when we die. The idea that the principal objective of the Christian believer is to enter the spirit Paradise when he dies is one of the most widely embraced concepts in all Christendom.

We may be looking forward to residing for eternity in the spirit realm above us. But the Scripture teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is coming to the earth. In that day the "heaven" to which we aspire will be located in the earth.

Because the Kingdom of Heaven is God in Christ in the saints performing God's will, the "heaven" we desire is not primarily a place but a state of being, a state of being based on a set of relationships with God and people. "Heaven" will be a city, the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is above us and we hope to see it and become part of it when we die. Nevertheless the Kingdom of God primarily is a state of being based on relationships with God and people. Let us explain.

We think of Heaven in terms of mansions, jewels, valuable minerals, and sometimes as a beautiful garden of birds and flowers. All these are present in the spirit Paradise above us to which the saints go when they die.

But let us reflect for a moment. What we actually desire is righteousness, peace, and joy, as well as freedom from sorrow, fear, and pain.

Now, what is it that brings peace and joy to our heart?

The peace and joy of a human being can come only from his relationship to God and to people.

There are individuals on the earth who can afford to own a mansion, jewels, gold, silver, and other articles of value. Their mansion may be secluded in an Eden-like setting a paradise on the earth.

It is not unusual for such persons to be miserable most of the time. Sometimes such idyllic environments are filled with hatred, greed, violence, immorality, and other sinful attitudes and behaviors. Often there are scenes of strife with children in rebellion against their parents.

Notice that these wealthy estates may contain most of the tangible elements that are often mentioned when we are describing the beauties of Heaven above. Yet there may be far more anguish present than there is peace of mind.

It is clear that mansions, gold, silver, jewels, and paradisiac surroundings cannot by themselves bring peace and joy.

On the other hand, picture a humble dwelling in which lives a family filled with the love of Christ and love for one another. There, we must agree, is the essence of what we mean by "heaven." It is not the external things that bring peace and joy to our hearts, it is relationships. (from Entering the Kingdom of Heaven)