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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But I say to you that many will come from east and west and {be seated at the banquet} with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. So Peter answered [and] said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good [that] we are here! If you want, I will make here three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."
The one who descended himself is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order that he might fill all [things].
Now [this is] the main point in what has been said: we have a high priest such as this, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a [mere] copy of the true [one], but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf, and not in order that he can offer himself many times, as the high priest enters into the sanctuary {year by year} with blood not his own, read more. since it would have been necessary for him to suffer many times from the foundation of the world, but now he has appeared once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself. And {just as} it is destined for people to die once, and after this, judgment, thus also Christ, having been offered once in order to bear the sins of many, will appear for the second time without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.
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).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth--
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth--
And God said, "Let there be a vaulted dome in the midst of the waters, and {let it cause a separation between the waters}."
And heaven and earth and all their array were finished.
And out of the ground Yahweh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought [each] to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called that living creature [was] its name.
as well as from the birds of heaven {seven pairs}, male and female, {to keep their kind alive} on the face of the earth.
And he blotted out every living thing upon the surface of the ground, from humankind, to animals, to creeping things, and to the birds of heaven; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah and those who [were] with him in the ark remained.
Look! For to Yahweh your God {belong} heaven and the {highest heavens}, the earth and all that [is] in it.
and by going and serving other gods and [so] he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any [of] the host of heaven {which I have forbidden},
"There is no [one] like God, O, Jeshurun, who rides [through] the heavens to your help, and with his majesty [through the] skies.
"There is no [one] like God, O, Jeshurun, who rides [through] the heavens to your help, and with his majesty [through the] skies.
When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them,
And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
"Look at [the] heavens, and see; and observe [the] clouds [that] are higher than you.
which [the] clouds pour down; they shower abundantly on human beings.
with him can you spread out [the] skies, hard as a molten mirror?
[the] birds of [the] sky and the fish of the sea, [everything] that passes along the paths of seas.
He made darkness his hiding place; all about him his covering [was] a darkness of waters, {thick clouds}.
You have ascended on high; you have led away captives. You have received gifts [from] among humankind, and even [from the] rebellious, so that Yah God may dwell [there].
Ascribe strength to God. His majesty [is] over Israel, and his strength [is] in the clouds.
The sound of your thunder [was] in the whirlwind; lightnings lit [the] world; the earth shook and quaked.
Nevertheless, he commanded [the] skies above and opened [the] doors of heaven,
[Mightier] than the rumblings of many waters, [mightier] than [the] mighty breakers of [the] sea, Yahweh on high [is] mighty.
that he looked down from his holy height. Yahweh looked from heaven over [the] earth
The heavens [are] Yahweh's heavens, but the earth he has given to [the] children of humankind.
And you yourself said in your heart, 'I will ascend [to] heaven; I will raise up my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on [the] mountain of assembly on the summit of Zaphon; I will ascend to [the] high places of [the] clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.'
And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground.
Or can a person hide himself in secret places and I cannot see him?" {declares} Yahweh. "[Do] I not fill up the heaven and the earth?" {declares} Yahweh.
Our pursuers were swifter than [the] eagles of [the] heavens; they chased us on the mountains, they have set an ambush for us in the desert.
And it was in [the] thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, and I [was] in the midst of the exiles by the {Kebar River}. The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
But I say to you that many will come from east and west and {be seated at the banquet} with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
"And 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 heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.'
"Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps [and] went out to meet the bridegroom.
Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to {Abraham's side}. And the rich man also died and was buried.
for they are not even able to die any longer, because they are like the angels and are sons of God, [because they] are sons of the resurrection.
And he said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
In my Father's house there are many dwelling places; but if not, I would have told you, because I am going away to prepare a place for you.
In my Father's house there are many dwelling places; but if not, I would have told you, because I am going away to prepare a place for you.
the God who made the world and all the things in it. This one, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,
For our momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory {beyond all measure and proportion},
For we know that if our earthly house, the tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this [house] we groan, [because we] desire to put on our dwelling from heaven,
Now I say, for as long a time [as] the heir is a child, [he is] no different from a slave, [although he] is master of everything,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
And whenever this letter is read among you, {see to it} that it is read also among the Laodicean church, and that you also read the [letter] from Laodicea.
The greeting [is] by my hand, Paul's. 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 save [me] for his heavenly kingdom, to whom [be] the glory {forever and ever}. Amen.
And because of this, he is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that, [because] a death has taken place for the redemption of transgressions [committed] during the first covenant, those who are the called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
For those who say such [things] make clear that they are seeking a homeland.
But now they aspire to a better [land], that is, a heavenly [one]. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering
Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?
into an inheritance imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you
For in this way entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied for you.
The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to him to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.'
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go outside again, and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And God said, "Let there be a vaulted dome in the midst of the waters, and {let it cause a separation between the waters}."
And God said, "Let the waters swarm [with] swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth across the face of the vaulted dome of heaven.
And God said, "Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth."
In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month--on that day all the springs of the great deep were split open, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Then he was afraid and said, "How awesome [is] this place! {This is nothing else than the house of God}, and this is the gate of heaven!"
And I will break the pride of your strength; and I will make your heaven like iron and your land like copper.
Look! For to Yahweh your God {belong} heaven and the {highest heavens}, the earth and all that [is] in it.
But the land that you [are] about to cross into to take possession of it [is] a land of hills and valleys, [and] by the rain of the heaven it drinks water,
The earth heaved and shook, the foundations of heaven trembled and heaved because {he was angry}.
Then the officer {on whom the king relied} answered the man of God and said, "Look, [even if] Yahweh [is] making windows in heaven, could this thing happen?" And he said, "Look, you [will be] seeing [it] with your eyes, but you shall not eat from it there."
Thick clouds [are] a covering for him, so that he does not see; and he walks about on [the] dome of heaven.'
"[The] pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astounded at his rebuke.
with him can you spread out [the] skies, hard as a molten mirror?
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and [the] heavens [are] the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure. And like a garment they will all wear out, you will replace them like clothing, and they will be set aside. read more. But you [are] the same, and your years do not end.
Praise Yah. Praise Yahweh from the heavens; praise him in the heights.
Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, and he who formed you in [the] womb: "I [am] Yahweh, who made everything, who stretched out [the] heavens alone, who spread out the earth--who [was] with me?--
For look! I [am] about to create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered, and they shall not {come to mind}.
"For just as the new heavens and earth that I [am] about to make shall stand before me," {declares} Yahweh, "so shall your descendants and your name stand.
And I will bring to Elam four winds, from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there will not be a nation where the scattered people of Elam will not go.
And {in the day of those kings}, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will {never} be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation, and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand {forever}.
{And in that} they said to leave alone the stump of the tree's root, so your kingdom [will be] restored for you {when} you acknowledge that heaven [is] sovereign.
Bring the whole tithe to {the storehouse}, so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you {an overflowing blessing}.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people {with whom he is pleased}!" read more. And it happened that when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began to say to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has revealed to us!"
And 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 [to] the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, read more. for they are not even able to die any longer, because they are like the angels and are sons of God, [because they] are sons of the resurrection.
And 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 there are many dwelling places; but if not, I would have told you, because I am going away to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am, you may be also. read more. And you know the way where I am going."
whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all [things], about which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times.
But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me [for] forty years in the wilderness, [did you], house of Israel?
Food [is] for the stomach, and the stomach for food, but God will abolish {both of them}. Now the body [is] not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
I know a man in Christ fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven,
The one who descended himself is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order that he might fill all [things].
Therefore, [because we] have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to 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 of everything--in the first place, [his name] is translated "king of righteousness," and then also "king of Salem," that is, "king of peace"; read more. without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God--he remains a priest for all time. But see how great this man [was], to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth from the spoils! And indeed those of the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood have a commandment to collect a tenth from the people according to the law, that is, from their brothers, although {they are descended from Abraham}. But the one who did not trace [his] descent from them collected tithes from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.
For a high priest such as this indeed is fitting for us, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and having become exalted [above] the heavens,
Therefore [it was] necessary [for] the sketches of the [things] in heaven to be purified with these [sacrifices], but the heavenly [things] themselves [to be purified] with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a [mere] copy of the true [one], but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf,
whose voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, saying, "Yet once [more] I will shake not only the earth but also heaven." Now the [phrase] "yet once [more]" indicates the removal of what is shaken, namely, things that have been created, in order that the things that are not shaken may remain. read more. Therefore, [since we] are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be thankful, through which let us serve God acceptably, with awe and reverence.
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had,
And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that [is] before the throne.
And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and sounds and thunders and an earthquake and large hail.
And another angel came out of the temple [that is] in heaven; he also had a sharp sickle.
And after these [things] I looked, and the temple, the tent of the 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 into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea did not exist [any] longer. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. read more. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God [is] with humanity, and he will take up residence with them, and they will be his people and God himself will be with them. And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist [any] longer, and mourning or wailing or pain will not exist [any] longer. The former [things] have passed away."
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb.
And every unclean thing and one who practices detestable things and falsehood will never enter into it, except those who are written in the book of life of the Lamb.
And there will not be any curse [any] longer, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his slaves will serve him,
And night will not exist [any] longer, and they will not have need of the light of a lamp and the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give light to 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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Look! For to Yahweh your God {belong} heaven and the {highest heavens}, the earth and all that [is] in it.
Smoke went up from his nostrils and fire from his mouth. Burning coals devoured, they burned from him.
{when he established} the heavens, there I [was], {when he drew} a circle upon the face of the deep, {when he made} skies from above, when he founded fountains of the deep, read more. {when he assigned} his limits to the sea, that waters shall not transgress his {command}, {when he marked} 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 fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or outside 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 ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience,
because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers 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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And God said, "Let there be lights in the vaulted dome of heaven {to separate day from night}, and let them be as signs and for appointed times, and for days and years, and they shall be as lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth." And it [was] so.
And God placed them in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth
And he blotted out every living thing upon the surface of the ground, from humankind, to animals, to creeping things, and to the birds of heaven; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah and those who [were] with him in the ark remained.
Look! For to Yahweh your God {belong} heaven and the {highest heavens}, the earth and all that [is] in it.
But the land that you [are] about to cross into to take possession of it [is] a land of hills and valleys, [and] by the rain of the heaven it drinks water,
And it happened {one day} {that} the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst.
{And then} one day the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh.
[He who] sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs. The Lord derides them.
Yahweh [is] in his holy temple; Yahweh [is] in the heavens [on] his throne. His eyelids see; they test [the] children of humankind.
O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praise to [the] Lord, Selah
Awesome [are you], O God, from your sanctuary. The God of Israel, [it is] he who gives strength and might to the people. Blessed be God.
and its foliage [was] beautiful and its fruit abundant, and [so there was] provision for all in it, [and] the animals of the field lived under it and in its branches nest [the] birds of heaven,
But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
"But concerning that day and hour no one knows--not even the angels of heaven nor the Son--except the Father alone.
Then the Lord Jesus, after [he] had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
For just as the lightning shines forth, flashing from [one place] under heaven to [another place] under heaven, so the Son of Man will be in his day.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
I know a man in Christ fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or outside 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 proclaim a gospel to you contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed!
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a rushing noise, and the celestial bodies will be destroyed [by] being burned up, and the earth and the deeds [done] on it will be disclosed.
[while] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed [by] being burned up and the celestial bodies will melt [as they] are consumed by heat! But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness resides.
And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels {fought against} the dragon, and the dragon and his angels {fought back}. And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them [any] longer in heaven. read more. And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, 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.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea did not exist [any] longer.
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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And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
"There is no [one] like God, O, Jeshurun, who rides [through] the heavens to your help, and with his majesty [through the] skies.
"Look at [the] heavens, and see; and observe [the] clouds [that] are higher than you.
He reached from on high; he seized me. He drew me from many waters.
that he looked down from his holy height. Yahweh looked from heaven over [the] earth
And this shall happen: The one who flees from the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and the one who goes up from {inside the pit} shall be caught in the snare, for [the] windows from heaven are opened, and [the] foundations of [the] earth tremble.
And you yourself shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them: 'Yahweh will roar from [on] high, and from {his holy dwelling place} he will give his voice. He will roar mightily against his settlement, a jubilant shout like those who tread [grapes], he will answer against all the inhabitants of the earth.
On the height of the mountain of Israel I will plant [it], and it will carry branches, and it will bear fruit, and {it will become a noble cedar}, and all of the birds of all wings will dwell under it in the shade of its branches.
I know a man in Christ fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or outside 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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And God called the vaulted dome "heaven." And there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
And he blessed him and said, "Blessed [be] Abram by God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth.
[who] teaches us more than [the] animals of [the] earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
[Yet] in all [the] world their line goes out, and their words to [the] end of [the] world. In them he has pitched a tent for the sun,
who also said, "Men {of Galilee}, why do you stand there looking into the sky? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven like this will come back in the same way you saw him departing into heaven!"
which we have like an anchor of the soul, both firm and steadfast, and entering into the inside of the curtain, where Jesus, the forerunner for us, entered, [because he] became 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, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous [people] made perfect, read more. and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and {to the sprinkled blood} that speaks better than Abel's [does].