This needs to be said because you don't often hear it today.
The destiny of the righteous is not to live on a cloud in some immaterial heaven forever. For the dead (in Christ), heaven is a temporary stop along the way.
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is crushed,
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring
and the wheel is broken at the well,
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.- Eccl 12:6-7
And then:
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
...And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out:
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give Him the glory.
For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready.
She was given clothing of fine linen,
bright and pure.”
...
Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True.
...
The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses...- Rev 19
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
- 1 Thes 4:15-17
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
- 1 Cor 15:51-52
David says 5 times in Psalm 37 that those who walk with the Lord and take refuge in Him will "inherit the land":
For the evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
But the meek will inherit the land
and delight in abundant prosperity.
Surely those He blesses will inherit the land,
but the cursed will be destroyed.
The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
and He will raise you up to inherit the land.
This is echoed in the Sermon on the Mount:
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. - Matt 5:5
Note that the "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" are synonymous terms used throughout the Bible. The kingdom "of" heaven does not imply a kingdom "in" heaven. It is simply stating the origin of that kingdom.
The reward is a restored earth.
“Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals,
because You were slain,
and by Your blood You purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom
and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign upon the earth.”- Rev 5:9-10
