Isaiah 66:22 English Standard Version (ESV) “For as the new heavens and the new earth  that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain.

Ever since the fall of mankind and the separation from God because of sin, God has been trying to reunite us with Him.

We read scriptures that speak to the home being prepared for us, this new heaven and new earth. If we only focus on that reunion then we are ignoring the union which happened to us being born again in the spirit.

John 3:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Perhaps our understanding of the two Kingdoms is misleading. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place, the Kingdom of God is a relationship. One leads to the other but the Kingdom of God comes first.

What comprises a kingdom? People and their relationship to the King determines what defines a kingdom. Being a citizen of the Kingdom of God is different from being a citizen of heaven.

Ephesians 2:19 English Standard Version (ESV) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

We are members of His household because we are betrothed to His Son.

Exodus 21:9 English Standard Version (ESV) If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter.

We have been chosen to be with His Son and He treats us as daughters with all the rights and privileges of a daughter. When we accept the offer we become a member of the family in the Kingdom of God. That is a here and now relation that does not wait for us to be transfigured.

Conformation is not transfiguration.

Hebrews 4:2 English Standard Version (ESV) For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.[it did not meet with faith in the hearers]

The context of Hebrews 4 is those who followed God in the wilderness experience. This is a dangerous position to take in any bible study. It can lead to judgment of others when we say it is possible to follow God without faith.

That is for God to judge. We can only report what happened during the journey and not the eternal results. That is up to God to judge. We must look within ourselves to determine during this walk with Christ if we have mixed His word with faith and united them together in all that we are as individuals.

It is difficult to see faith as being more than just one thing. There is faith in His Word. If He is going to accomplish His will according to the Word He sent, then according to Hebrews 4:2 there is an expectation of meeting faith in us with faith in His Word. This union of faith is how He speaks to us, confirming in us what He wants us to know in truth.

If we discover faith has spoken to us in our Walk with Jesus it is still up to us to act in the world according to what we believe we heard and trust that God is at work in it.

Relating to what happened to those following God in their wilderness experience depends on our unity of faith. Do we access His Word by faith, or as an academic exercise?

2 Timothy 2:15 English Standard Version (ESV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,[passed the test] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Some versions say “Study to show” so it is important to understand how to study by faith.