Reference: Heaven
American
In the Bible, means primarily the region of the air and clouds, and of the planets and stars, but chiefly the world of holy bliss above the visible heavens. It is called "the third heaven," "the highest heaven," and "the heaven of heavens," expressions nearly synonymous. There holy beings are to dwell, seeing all of God that it is possible for creatures to see. Thither Christ ascended, to intercede for his people and prepare for them a place where all shall at length be gathered, to go no more out forever, Eph 4:10; Heb 8:1; 9:24-28. In this life we can know but little of the location and appearance of heaven, or of the employments and blessedness of its inhabitants. The Scriptures inform us that all sin, and every other evil, are forever excluded; no fruits of sin will be found there-no curse nor sorrow nor sighing, no tear, no death: the former things are passed away. They describe it figuratively, crowding together all the images which nature or art can supply to illustrate its happiness. It is a kingdom, an inheritance: there are rivers of pleasure, trees of life, glorious light, rapturous songs, robes, crowns, feasting, mirth, treasures, triumphs. They also give us positive representations: the righteous dwell in the presence of God; they appear with Christ in glory. Heaven is life, everlasting life: glory, an eternal weight of glory: salvation, repose, peace, fullness of joy, the joy of the Lord. There are different degrees in that glory, and never-ceasing advancement. It will be a social state, and its happiness, in some measure, will arise from mutual communion and converse, and the expressions and exercises mutual benevolence. It will include the perfect purity of every saint; delightful fellowship with those we have here loved in the Lord, Mt 8:11; 17:3-4; 1Th 2:19; 4:13-18; the presence of Christ, and the consciousness that all is perfect and everlasting. We are taught that the body will share this bliss as well as the soul: the consummation of our bliss is subsequent to the resurrection of the body; for it is redeemed as well as the soul, and shall, at the resurrection of the just, be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body. By descending from heaven, and reascending thither, he proves to the doubting soul the reality of heaven; he opens it door for the guilty by his atoning sacrifice; and all who are admitted to it by his blood shall be made meet for it by his grace, and find their happiness for ever in his love. See KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
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"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. read more. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Easton
(1.) Definitions. The phrase "heaven and earth" is used to indicate the whole universe (Ge 1:1; Jer 23:24; Ac 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens,
(a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" (Ge 2:19; 7:3,23; Ps 8:8, etc.), "the eagles of heaven" (La 4:19), etc.
(b) The starry heavens (De 17:3; Jer 8:2; Mt 24:29).
(c) "The heaven of heavens," or "the third heaven" (De 10:14; 1Ki 8:27; Ps 115:16; 148:4; 2Co 12:2).
(2.) Meaning of words in the original,
(a) The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is shamayim, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" (Ge 1:1; 2:1).
(b) The Hebrew word marom is also used (Ps 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim, "high places," "heights."
(c) Heb galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered "heaven" in Ps 77:18 (R.V., "whirlwind").
(d) Heb shahak, rendered "sky" (De 33:26; Job 37:18; Ps 18:11), plural "clouds" (Job 35:5; 36:28; Ps 68:34, marg. "heavens"), means probably the firmament.
(e) Heb rakia is closely connected with (d), and is rendered "firmamentum" in the Vulgate, whence our "firmament" (Ge 1:6; De 33:26, etc.), regarded as a solid expanse.
(3.) Metaphorical meaning of term. Isa 14:13-14; "doors of heaven" (Ps 78:23); heaven "shut" (1Ki 8:35); "opened" (Eze 1:1). (See 1Ch 21:16.)
(4.) Spiritual meaning. The place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed spirits.
(a) Christ calls it his "Father's house" (Joh 14:2).
(b) It is called "paradise" (Lu 23:43; 2Co 12:4; Re 2:7).
(c) "The heavenly Jerusalem" (Ga 4:1; 6:18; Heb 12:22; Re 3:12).
(d) The "kingdom of heaven" (Mt 25:1; Jas 2:5).
(e) The "eternal kingdom" (2Pe 1:11).
(f) The "eternal inheritance" (1Pe 1:4; Heb 9:15).
(g) The "better country" (Heb 11:14,16).
(h) The blessed are said to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," and to be "in Abraham's bosom" (Lu 16:22; Mt 8:11); to "reign with Christ" (2Ti 2:12).
In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of glory" (2Co 4:17), an exemption from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2Co 5:1-2) and from the society of the wicked (2Ti 4:18), bliss without termination, the "fulness of joy" for ever (Lu 20:36; 2Co 4:16,18; 1Pe 1:4; 5:10; 1Jo 3:2). The believer's heaven is not only a state of everlasting blessedness, but also a "place", a place "prepared" for them (Joh 14:2).
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth.
Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
"Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.
and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded,
"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty.
"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty.
"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,
Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.
"Look at the heavens and see; And behold the clouds--they are higher than you.
Which the clouds pour down, They drip upon man abundantly.
"Can you, with Him, spread out the skies, Strong as a molten mirror?
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, Even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there.
Ascribe strength to God; His majesty is over Israel And His strength is in the skies.
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.
More than the sounds of many waters, Than the mighty breakers of the sea, The LORD on high is mighty.
For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,
The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, But the earth He has given to the sons of men.
"But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'
"They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground.
"Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.
Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They chased us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand Remember my imprisonment Grace be with you.
If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'
'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Fausets
From "heaved up;" so "the heights" (Ps 148:1). The Greek ouranos and the Hebrew shamaim, are similarly derived. It is used of the surrounding air wherein "the fowls of heaven" fly (Ge 1:26, compare Ge 1:20); from whence the rain and hail fall (De 11:11). "I will make your heaven as iron," i.e. your sky hard and yielding no rain (Le 26:19). "The four quarters of heaven" (Jer 49:36) and "the circuit of heaven" (Job 22:14) refer to the atmospheric heaven. By metaphor it is represented as a building with foundations and pillars (2Sa 22:8; Job 26:11), with an entrance gate (Ge 28:17) and windows opened to pour down rain (Ge 7:11, compare 2Ki 7:2; Mal 3:10). Job 37:18, "spread out the sky ... strong ... as a molten looking glass," not solid as "firmament" would imply, whereas the "expanse" is the true meaning (Ge 1:6; Isa 44:24), but phenomenally like one of the ancient mirrors made of firm molten polished metal.
Matthew, who is most Hebraistic in style, uses the plural, the Hebrew term for heaven being always so. "The heaven of heavens" (De 10:14) is a Hebraism for the highest heavens. Paul's "third heaven" (2Co 12:2) to which he was caught up implies this superlatively high heaven, which he reached after passing through the first heaven the air, and the second the sky of the stars (Eph 4:10). Heb 7:26, "made higher than the heavens," for Christ "passed through the heavens" (Heb 4:14, Greek), namely, the aerial heaven and the starry heaven, the veil through which our High Priest passed into the heaven of heavens, the immediate presence of God, as the Levitical high priest passed through the veil into the holy of belies. The visible heavens shall pass away to give place to the abiding new heaven and earth wherein shall dwell righteousness (Ps 102:25-27; Isa 65:17; 66:22; 2Pe 3:7,13; Re 21:1; Heb 12:26-28).
The kingdom of the heavens in Matthew, for "the kingdom of God" in Mark and Luke, is drawn from Da 4:26, "the heavens do rule," (Da 2:44) "the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed." It consists of many stages and phases, issuing at last in heaven being brought down fully to earth, and the tabernacle of God being with men (Re 21:2-3,10, etc.). The plurality of the phases is expressed by "the kingdom of the heavens." The Bible is distinguished from the sacred books of false religions in not having minute details of heavenly bliss such as men's curiosity would crave. The grand feature of its blessedness is represented as consisting in holy personal union and immediate face to face communion with God and the Lamb; secondarily, that the saints are led by the Lamb to living fountains of water, and fed with the fruit of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, the antitype of the former Adamic paradise.
It is no longer merely a garden as Eden, but a heavenly "city" and garden combined, nature and art no longer mutually destructive, but enhancing each the charm of the other, individuality and society realized perfectly (Revelation 2-3, 7, 21-22). No separate temple, but the whole forming one vast "temple," finding its center in the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, who are the temple to each and all the king-priests reigning and serving there. This was the model Moses was shown on Sinai (Heb 7:1-6). The earthly tabernacle was its pattern and figure (Heb 9:23-24). The "altar" (Re 6:9) and the "censer," etc. (Re 8:3), the "temple" in heaven (Re 11:19; 14:17; 15:5,8), are preliminary to the final state when there shall be "no temple therein" (Re 21:22), for the whole shall be perfectly consecrated to God.
Negatives of present provisional conditions and evils form a large part of the subordinate description of heaven's bliss: no marriage (Lu 20:34-36), no meats for the belly (1Co 6:13), no death, no sorrow, crying, pain; no defilement, no curse, no night, no candle, no light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light (Re 21:4,27; 22:3,5). Heaven is not merely a state but a place. For it is the place where Christ's glorifed body now is; "the heaven must receive Him until the times of restitution of all things" (Ac 3:21).
Thither He will "receive His people to Himself" after He hath "prepared a place for them" (Joh 14:2-4), that where He is there His servants may be (Joh 12:26). From heaven, which is God's court, angels are sent down to this earth, as the multitude of the heavenly host (distinct from the host of heaven," Ac 7:42), and to which they return (Lu 2:13-15; 22:43). God Himself is addressed "Our Father who art in heaven." His home is the parent home, the sacred hearth of the universe.
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Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens."
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
'I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.
"Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.
"But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven,
"Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.
The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, "Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" Then he said, "Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it."
'Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.'
"The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.
"Can you, with Him, spread out the skies, Strong as a molten mirror?
"Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. "Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. read more. "But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone,
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
"For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure.
'I will bring upon Elam the four winds From the four ends of heaven, And will scatter them to all these winds; And there will be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
"In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
'And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." read more. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; read more. for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
"If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. read more. "And you know the way where I am going."
whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
"But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'IT WAS NOT TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL?
Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. read more. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest's office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.
For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;
Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. read more. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. read more. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
Hastings
In the cosmic theory of the ancient world, and of the Hebrews in particular, the earth was flat, lying between a great pit into which the shades of the dead departed, and the heavens above in which God and the angels dwelt, and to which it came to be thought the righteous went, after having been raised from the dead to live for ever. It was natural to think of the heavens as concave above the earth, and resting on some foundation, possibly of pillars, set at the extreme horizon (2Sa 22:9; Pr 8:27-29).
The Hebrews, like other ancient peoples, believed in a plurality of heavens (De 10:14), and the literature of Judaism speaks of seven. In the highest, or Aravoth, was the throne of God. Although the descriptions of these heavens varied, it would seem that it was not unusual to regard the third heaven as Paradise. It was to this that St. Paul said he bad been caught up (2Co 12:2).
This series of superimposed heavens was regarded as filled by different sorts of superhuman beings. The second heaven in later Jewish thought was regarded as the abode of evil spirits and angels awaiting punishment. The NT, however, does not commit itself to these precise speculations, although in Eph 6:12 it speaks of spiritual hosts of wickedness who dwell in heavenly places (cf. Eph 2:2). This conception of heaven as being above a flat earth underlies many religious expressions which are still current. There have been various attempts to locate heaven, as, for example, in Sirius as the central sun of our system. Similarly, there have been innumerable speculations endeavouring to set forth in sensuous form the sort of life which is to be lived in heaven. All such speculations, however, lie outside of the region of positive knowledge, and rest ultimately on the cosmogony of pre-scientific times. They may be of value in cultivating religious emotion, but they belong to the region of speculation. The Biblical descriptions of heaven are not scientific, but symbolical. Practically all these are to be found in the Johannine Apocalypse. It was undoubtedly conceived of eschatologically by the NT writers, but they maintained a great reserve in all their descriptions of the life of the redeemed. It is, however, possible to state definitely that, while they conceived of the heavenly condition as involving social relations, they did not regard it as one in which the physical organism survived. The sensuous descriptions of heaven to be found in the Jewish apocalypses and in Mohammedanism are altogether excluded by the sayings of Jesus relative to marriage in the new age (Mr 12:25|), and those of St. Paul relative to the 'spiritual body.' The prevailing tendency at the present time among theologians, to regard heaven as a state of the soul rather than a place, belongs likewise to the region of opinion. The degree of its probability will be determined by one's general view as to the nature of immortality.
Shailer Mathews.
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"Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.
"Smoke went up out of His nostrils, Fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.
"When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, read more. When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
"For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Morish
The principal words so translated are shamayim, from 'the heights,' and ???????. They are used in a variety of senses: as
1. The atmosphere in which the birds fly, and the lightning appears, and from whence the rain descends. Ge 7:23; De 11:11; Da 4:21; Lu 17:24. It will pass away. 2Pe 3:10,12.
2. The firmament or wide expanse in which are seen the sun, moon, and stars. Ge 1:14-15,17.
3. The abode of God, where His throne is. Ps 2:4; 11:4; Mt 5:34. Whence the Lord descended and to which He ascended, and where He was seen by Stephen. Mr 16:19; Ac 7:55; 1Co 15:47.
4. The abode of angels. Mt 22:30; 24:36; Ga 1:8.
It is important to see that, in forming the present system of this world, God made a heaven to this earth, so that the earth should be ruled from heaven. The blessing of the earth, either materially or morally, depends upon its connection with heaven. This blessing will be full when the kingdom of the heavens is established in the Son of man, and He will come in the clouds of heaven. Ps 68:32,35. It is the place of angelic power, 'the principalities and powers in the heavenly places' being angelic, Satan and his angels, though fallen, still being among them. Job 1:6; 2:1; Re 12:7-9.
That there are various heavens is evident; Satan cannot have entrance into the glory, and Paul speaks of being caught up into the third heavens, 2Co 12:2; and the Lord Jesus passed through the heavens, and we read of 'the heaven of heavens.' De 10:14; 1Ki 8:27. Very little is said of the saints going to heaven, though their citizenship is there now, Phi . 3:20; but they are to be where Jesus is, and He went to heaven, and prepared a place for them. In the Revelation the four and twenty elders are seen in heaven sitting on 'thrones.' To Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Believers "look for NEW HEAVENS and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2Pe 3:13; Re 21:1.
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Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.
God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
"Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.
"But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven,
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people Blessed be God!
and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged--
"But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
"For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
"For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. read more. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
Smith
Heaven.
There are four Hebrew words thus rendered in the Old Testament which we may briefly notice.
1. Raki'a, Authorized Version, firmament. [FIRMAMENT]
See Firmament
2. Shamayim. This is the word used in the expression "the heaven and the earth," or "the upper and lower regions."
3. Marom, used for heaven in
Ps 18:16; Isa 24:18; Jer 25:30
. Properly speaking it means a mountain as in
4. Shechakim, "expanses," with reference to the extent of heaven.
De 33:26; Job 35:5
St. Paul's expression "third heaven,"
had led to much conjecture. Grotius said that the Jews divided the heaven into three parts, viz.,
1. The air or atmosphere, where clouds gather;
2. The firmament, in which the sun, moon and stars are fixed;
3. The upper heaven, the abode of God and his angels, the invisible realm of holiness and happiness the home of the children of God.
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There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty.
"Look at the heavens and see; And behold the clouds--they are higher than you.
He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,
Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit, And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare; For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.
"Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them, 'The LORD will roar from on high And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
"On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
Watsons
HEAVEN, the place of the more immediate residence of the Most High, Ge 14:19. The Jews enumerated three heavens: the first was the region of the air, where the birds fly, and which are therefore called "the fowls of heaven," Job 35:11. It is in this sense also that we read of the dew of heaven, the clouds of heaven, and the wind of heaven. The second is that part of space in which are fixed the heavenly luminaries, the sun, moon, and stars, and which Moses was instructed to call "the firmament or expanse of heaven," Ge 1:8. The third heaven is the seat of God and of the holy angels; the place into which Christ ascended after his resurrection, and into which St. Paul was caught up, though it is not like the other heavens perceptible to mortal view.
2. It is an opinion not destitute of probability, that the construction of the tabernacle, in which Jehovah dwelt by a visible symbol, termed "the cloud of glory," was intended to be a type of heaven. In the holiest place of the tabernacle, "the glory of the Lord," or visible emblem of his presence, rested between the cherubims; by the figures of which, the angelic host surrounding the throne of God in heaven was typified; and as that holiest part of the tabernacle was, by a thick vail, concealed from the sight of those who frequented it for the purposes of worship, so heaven, the habitation of God, is, by the vail of flesh, hidden from mortal eyes. Admitting the whole tabernacle, therefore, in which the worship of God was performed according to a ritual of divine appointment, to be a representation of the universe, we are taught by it this beautiful lesson, that the whole universe is the temple of God; but that in this vast temple there is "a most holy place," where the Deity resides and manifests his presence to the angelic hosts and redeemed company who surround him. This view appears to be borne out by the clear and uniform testimony of Scripture,; and it is an interesting circumstance, that heaven, as represented by "the holiest of all," is heaven as it is presented to the eye of Christian faith, the place where our Lord ministers as priest, to which believers now come in spirit, and where they are gathered together in the disembodied state. Thus, for instance, St. Paul tells the believing Hebrews, "Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written," or are enrolled, "in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel," Heb 12:22-24. Here we are presented with the antitype of almost every leading circumstance of the Mosaic dispensation. Instead of the land of Canaan, we have heaven; for the earthly Jerusalem, we have the heavenly, the city of the living God; in place of the congregation of Israel after the flesh, we have the general assembly and church of the first-born, that is, all true believers "made perfect;" for just men in the imperfect state of the old dispensation, we have just men made perfect in evangelical knowledge and holiness; instead of Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, we have Jesus the Mediator of the new and everlasting covenant; and instead of the blood of slaughtered animals, which was sprinkled upon the Israelites, the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, to make a typical atonement, we have the blood of the Son of God, which was shed for the remission of the sins of the whole world; that blood which doth not, like the blood of Abel, call for vengeance but for mercy, which hath made peace between heaven and earth, effected the true and complete atonement for sin, and which therefore communicates peace to the conscience of every sinner that believes the Gospel.
3. Among the numerous refinements of modern times, that is one of the most remarkable which goes to deny the locality of heaven. "It is a state," say many, "not a place." But if that be the case, the very language of the Scriptures, in regard to this point, is calculated to mislead us. For that God resides in a particular part of the universe, where he makes his presence known to his intelligent creatures by some transcendent, visible glory, is an opinion that has prevailed among Jews and Christians, Greeks and Romans, yea, in every nation, civilized or savage, and in every age; and, since it is confirmed by revelation, why should it be doubted? Into this most holy place, the habitation of the Deity, Jesus, after his resurrection, ascended; and there, presenting his crucified body before the manifestation of the divine presence, which is called "the throne of the Majesty in the heavens," he offered unto God the sacrifice of himself, and made atonement for the sins of his people. There he is sat down upon his throne, crowned with glory and honour, as king upon his holy hill of Zion, and continually officiates as our great High Priest, Advocate, and Intercessor, within the vail. There is his Father's house, into which he is gone before, to prepare mansions of bliss for his disciples; it is the kingdom conferred upon him as the reward of his righteousness, and of which he has taken possession as their forerunner, Ac 1:11; Heb 6:19-20.
4. Some of the ancients imagined that the habitation of good men, after the resurrection, would be the sun; grounding this fanciful opinion on a mistaken interpretation of Ps 19:4, which they rendered, with the LXX and Vulgate, "He has set his tabernacle in the sun." Others, again, have thought it to lie beyond the starry firmament, a notion less improbable than the former. Mr. Whiston supposes the air to be the mansion of the blessed, at least for the present; and he imagines that Christ is at the top of the atmosphere, and other spirits nearer to or more remote from him according to the degree of their moral purity, to which he conceives the specific gravity of their inseparable vehicles to be proportionable. Mr. Hallet has endeavoured to prove that they will dwell upon earth, when it shall be restored to its paradisaical state. The passages of Scripture, however, on which he grounds his hypothesis, are capable of another and very different interpretation. After all, we may observe, that the place of the blessed is a question of comparatively little importance; and we may cheerfully expect and pursue it, though we cannot answer a multitude of curious questions, relating to various circumstances that pertain to it. We have reason to believe that heaven will be a social state, and that its happiness will, in some measure, arise from mutual communion and converse, and the expressions and exercises of mutual benevolence. All the views presented to us of this eternal residence of good men are pure and noble; and form a striking contrast to the low hopes, and the gross and sensual conceptions of a future state, which distinguish the Pagan and Mohammedan systems. The Christian heaven may be described to be a state of eternal communion with God, and consecration to hallowed devotional and active services; from which will result an uninterrupted increase of knowledge, holiness, and joy, to the glorified and immortalized assembly of the redeemed.
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God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
He blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, read more. and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.