To enter the Kingdom of Heaven/God, in all contexts, means “to be saved” — whether here during this life or in the life to come. The kingdom of heaven is not here or up there, it is inside you.

“Saved”, in the context of the spiritual state of man, is the context in which Jesus always used the term kingdom of heaven. Since the word “saved” can have several meanings, it seems Jesus always preferred to use entering the kingdom of heaven and interit everlasting life (as is translated in the KJV).

“Enter the kingdom of Heaven” and “inherit everlasting life”

These are two phrases that were used by Jesus to convey the meaning of a change that needed to take effect in order to “live in the house of Jesus’ God and no longer go out”.

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh [sin] will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:

The most probable reason Jesus frequently used these phrases instead of “saved” is because “saved” can have other meanings that could be misinterpreted — especially in those days. Saved can have the connotation of being delivered from one’s enemies, being healed from a disease, escaping tribulations, and so on.

The kind of “Salvation” that Jesus was referring to merely starts the minute that one begins to believe, continues on in a process that includes one into the kingdom of Heaven here and now on the Earth in which one puts into practice the teachings of Jesus. But it doesn’t stop there. It continues after one dies and on into the next life. The whole purpose of this experience called life is for our betterment. And those who “overcome”, as Jesus put it, “shall go no more out” of the presence of God.

There are many verses that expose this idea, but just to show a few…

Future life:

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Life in the present:

Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

You can’t see it, it’s inside of you:

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Changes must take place inside you to enter or even see it:

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Only the righteous and those who do God’s will enter:

Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Almost all Christians consider “entering the kingdom of Heaven” to mean that the “saved go to heaven”. However, the obvious thing that Jesus taught was that:

• Only the righteous enter the kingdom of heaven
• Good works were required to be righteous
• Not all those who believe, but only those who “do the will of the Father enter into the kingdom of Heaven”

Paul did NOT preach this, he taught the contrary.

Even the chief priests and the elders will enter, but long after even the publicans and the harlots:

Mat 21:28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
Mat 21:29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Mat 21:30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Mat 21:31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

The chief priests and the elders only enter after they have learned to do the will of the Father. Jesus is actually saying that only those who “do the will of the Father go into the kingdom of God” — not those who merely believe.

Everlasting life or eternal life

Everlasting life or eternal life as it is translated, is equivalent to entering the kingdom of heaven/God. This life also begins here and now and extends into the next life.

In this life:

Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath (Present tense) everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath (Present tense) everlasting life.

Believing (here and now) is where it starts, but doing God’s will is where it continues to.

In the life to come:

Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

The way to inherit eternal life:

Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Mat 25:46 And these (the unrighteous) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

The righteous do good works, the unrighteous do not. One must keep the commandments to inherit eternal life,