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 therefore unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall rest with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;
And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said to Jesus, "Master here is good being for us. If thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He that descended, is even the same also that ascended up, even above all heavens, to fulfill all things.
Of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: that we have such a high priest, that is sitten on the righthand of the seat of majesty in heaven;
For Christ is not entered into the holy places, that are made with hands, which are but similitudes of true things: but is entered into very heaven, for to appear now in the sight of God for us. Not to offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with strange blood: read more. for then must he have often suffered since the world began: But now in the end of the world, hath he appeared once, to put sin to flight, by the offering up of himself. And as it is appointed unto men that they shall once die, and then cometh the judgment, even so Christ was once offered to take away the sins of many, and unto them that look for him, shall he appear again, without sin, unto their 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).
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In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
And God said, "Let there be a firmament between the waters, and let it divide the waters asunder."
Thus was heaven and earth finished with all their apparel:
And after that the LORD God had made of the earth all manner beasts of the field, and all manner fowls of the air, he brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And as Adam called all manner living beasts: even so are their names.
likewise of the birds of the air seven of every kind, male and female to save seed upon all the earth.
Thus was destroyed all that was upon the earth; both man, beasts, worms and fowls of the air, so that they were destroyed from the earth: save Noah was reserved only and they that were with him in the ark.
Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's, thy God, and the earth with all that therein is:
so that they have gone and served strange gods and worshipped them, whether it be the sun or moon or anything contained in heaven which I forbade,
There is none like unto the God of Israel: he that sitteth upon heaven shall be thine help, whose glory is in the clouds:
There is none like unto the God of Israel: he that sitteth upon heaven shall be thine help, whose glory is in the clouds:
If heaven be shut up, that there be no rain, because they have sinned against thee: yet if they pray in this place and praise thy name and turn from their sins, through thy scourging of them:
And David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and heaven with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out toward Jerusalem. Then fell David and the elders of Israel, clothed in sack, upon their faces.
Look unto the heaven, and behold it: consider the clouds, how they are higher than thou.
together for to rain, so that they pour down and drop upon men.
Hast thou helped him to spread out the heavens, which are strong and bright as a looking glass?
the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, and whatsoever walketh through the paths of the sea.
He made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him; with dark waters and thick clouds to cover him. {TYNDALE: And he made darkness a tabernacle round about him, with water gathered together in thick clouds.}
Thou art gone up on high; thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea, even for thine enemies, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
Ascribe ye the power unto God; his glory is in Israel, and his might in the clouds.
The voice of thy thunder was heard round about; the lightnings shone upon the ground. The earth was moved, and shook withal.
The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly; but yet the LORD that dwelleth on high is mightier.
For he looketh down from his sanctuary; out of the heaven doth the LORD behold the earth,
All the whole heavens are the LORD's; but the earth hath he given unto the children of men.
For thou thoughtest in thine heart, "I will climb up into heaven, and make my seat above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the holy mount toward the North; I will climb up above the clouds; and will be like the highest of all."
and laid against the Sun, the Moon and all the heavenly host: whom they loved, whom they served, whom they ran after, whom they sought and worshipped. They shall neither be gathered together nor buried, but shall lie upon the earth, to their shame and despising.
May any man hide himself so, that I shall not see him, sayeth the LORD? Do not I fulfill heaven and earth, sayeth the LORD?
{Kuf} Our persecutors are swifter than the Eagles of the air, they followed upon us over the mountains, and laid wait for us in the wilderness.
It chanced, in the thirtieth year, the fifth day of the fourth Month, that I was among the prisoners by the river of Chebar: where the heavens opened, and I saw a vision of God.
I say therefore unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall rest with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;
Immediately after the tribulations of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall move.
Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went to meet the bridegroom:
And it fortuned that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: The rich man also died, and was buried in hell.
neither are married, nor yet can die any more. For they are equal unto the angels: and are the sons of God, inasmuch as they are the children of the resurrection.
And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
God, that made the world, and all that are in it, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, he dwelleth not in temples made with hands,
For our exceeding tribulation, which is momentary and light, prepareth an exceeding and eternal weight of glory unto us,
We know surely if our earthy mansion wherein we now dwell were destroyed, that we have a building ordained of God, a habitation not made with hands, but eternal in heaven: And herefore sigh we, desiring to be clothed with our mansion which is from heaven:
And I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth not from a servant; though he be lord of all,
Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, Amen. {Unto the Galatians, Written from Rome}
And when the epistle is read of you, make that it be read in the congregation of the Laodiceans also: and that ye likewise read the epistle of Laodicea.
The salutation by the hand of me, Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you, Amen. {Sent from Rome by Tychicus and Onesimus.}
If we be patient, we shall also reign with him; If we deny him, he also shall deny us;
And the Lord shall deliver me from all evil doing, and shall keep me unto his heavenly kingdom. To whom be praise for ever and ever. Amen.
And for this cause is he the mediator of the new testament, that through death which chanced for the redemption of those transgressions that were in the first testament, they which were called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
They that say such things, declare that they seek a country.
But now they desire a better, that is to say a heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed of them, even to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
But ye are come unto the mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the celestial Jerusalem: and to an innumerable sight of angels,
Hearken, my dear beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, which are rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he promised to them that love him?
to enjoy an inheritance immortal, and undefiled, and that perisheth not; reserved in heaven for you
Yea, and by this means an entering-in shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.
Let him that hath ears hear, what the spirit saith unto the congregations. To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.'
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him, the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God and I will write upon him 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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And God said, "Let there be a firmament between the waters, and let it divide the waters asunder."
And God said, "Let the water bring forth creatures that move and have life, and fowls for to fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven."
And God said, "Let us make man in our similitude and after our likeness: that he may have rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over all worms that creep on the earth."
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, that same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened,
And he was afraid, and said, "How fearful is this place? It is none other, but even the house of God and the gate of heaven!"
and will break the pride of your strength. For I will make the heaven over you as hard as iron, and your land as hard as brass.
Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's, thy God, and the earth with all that therein is:
but the land whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven,
And the earth trembled and quoke, and the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was angry.
Then a great lord on whose hand the king leaned, answered the man of God and said, "Though the LORD would make windows in heaven, yet would not this be." And he said again, "Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes and shalt not eat thereof."
Tush, the clouds cover him that he may not see, for he dwelleth in heaven.'
The very pillars of heaven tremble and quake at his reproof.
Hast thou helped him to spread out the heavens, which are strong and bright as a looking glass?
Thou, LORD, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. read more. But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
{Praise the Everlasting} O Praise the LORD of heaven; praise him in the heights.
For thus sayeth the LORD thy redeemer, even he that fashioned thee from thy mother's womb: I am the LORD, which do all things myself alone. I only have spread out the heavens, and I only have laid the foundation of the earth.
For lo, I shall make a new heaven, and a new earth. And as for the old, they shall never be thought upon, nor kept in mind:
For like as the new heaven and the new earth which I will make, shall be fast established by me, sayeth the LORD, So shall your seed and your name continue.
and upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them against the same four winds. And there shall be no people, but some of Elam shall flee unto them.
In the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up an everlasting kingdom, which shall not perish, and his kingdom shall not be given over to another people. Yea, the same shall break and destroy all these kingdoms, but it shall endure forever.
Moreover, whereas it was said that the root of the tree should be left still in the ground: it betokeneth that thy kingdom shall remain whole unto thee, after thou hast learned to know that the power cometh from heaven.
Bring every tithe into my barn, that there may be meat in mine house: and prove me withal, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven unto you, and pour you out a blessing with plenteousness.
And straightway there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly soldiers, lauding God, and saying, "Glory to God on high: and peace on the earth, and unto men, rejoicing." read more. And it fortuned, as soon as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is happened, which the Lord hath showed unto us."
Jesus answered and said unto them, "The children of this world marry wives, and are married, but they which shall be made worthy to enjoy that world, and the resurrection from death, neither marry wives, read more. neither are married, nor yet can die any more. For they are equal unto the angels: and are the sons of God, inasmuch as they are the children of the resurrection.
And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, comforting him.
If any man minister unto me, let him follow me: and where I am, there shall also my minister be. And if any man minister unto me, him will my father honour.
In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again: and receive you even unto myself, that where I am, there may ye be also. read more. And whither I go, ye know; and the way ye know."
that is, to wit, Jesus Christ: which must receive heaven until the time that all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began, be restored again.
Then God turned himself, and gave them up, that they should worship the stars of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'O ye of the house of Israel: gave ye to me sacrifices and meat offerings by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Meats are ordained for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Let not the body be applied unto fornication, but unto the Lord, and the Lord unto the body.
I know a man in Christ above fourteen years agone - whether he were in the body I cannot tell, or whether he were out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth - which was taken up into the third heaven.
He that descended, is even the same also that ascended up, even above all heavens, to fulfill all things.
Seeing, then, that we have a great high priest which is entered into heaven - I mean Jesus the son of God - let us hold our profession.
This Melchizedek, king of Salem - which being priest of the most high God, met Abraham, as he returned again from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him: to whom also Abraham gave tithes of all things - first is, by interpretation, king of righteousness, after that he is king of Salem, that is to say king of peace, read more. without father, without mother, without kin, and hath neither beginning of his time, neither yet end of his life: but is likened unto the son of God, and continueth a priest forever. Consider what a man this was, unto whom the patriarch Abraham gave tithes of the spoils. And verily those children of Levi, which receive the office of the priests, have a commandment to take according to the law, tithes of the people, that is to say, of their brethren, yea though they sprung out of the loins of Abraham. But he whose kindred is not counted among them, received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Such a high priest it becometh us to have, which is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than heaven.
It is then need that the similitudes of heavenly things, be purified with such things: but the heavenly things themselves are purified with better sacrifices than are those. For Christ is not entered into the holy places, that are made with hands, which are but similitudes of true things: but is entered into very heaven, for to appear now in the sight of God for us.
whose voice then shook the earth, and now declareth, saying "Yet once more will I shake, not the earth only, but also heaven." No doubt the same that he sayeth, "yet once more," signifieth the removing away of those things which are shaken, as of things which have ended their course: that the things which are not shaken may remain. read more. Wherefore if we receive a kingdom which is not moved, we have grace, whereby we may serve God and please him with reverence and godly fear.
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar, the souls of them that were killed for the word of God, and for the testimony which they had,
And another angel came and stood before the altar having a golden censer, and much of odours was given unto him, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the seat.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen, in his temple, the ark of his testament: and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunderings and earthquake, and much hail.
And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, having also a sharp sickle.
And after that I looked, and behold the temple of the tabernacle of testimony was open in heaven,
And the temple was full of the smoke of the glory of God and of his power, and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were vanished away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw that holy city, new Jerusalem, come down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride garnished for her husband. read more. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, neither crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the old things are gone.
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and a high mountain, and he showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
And there was no temple therein. For the Lord God almighty and the lamb are the temple of it.
And there shall enter into it none unclean thing; neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh lies, but they only which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
And there shall be no more curse, but the seat of God and the lamb shall be in it: and his servants shall serve him.
And there shall be no more night there and they need no candle, neither light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for evermore.
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, heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's, thy God, and the earth with all that therein is:
Smoke went up out of his nostrils, and consuming fire out of his mouth, that coals were kindled of him.
For when he made the heavens, I was present; when he set up the depths in order; when he hanged the clouds above; when he fastened the springs of the deep; read more. When he shut the sea within certain bounds, that the waters should not go over their marks. When he laid the foundations of the earth,
For when they shall rise again from death, they neither marry, nor are married: but are as the angels which are in heaven.
I know a man in Christ above fourteen years agone - whether he were in the body I cannot tell, or whether he were out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth - which was taken up into the third heaven.
in the which, in time past, ye walked, according to the course of this world, and after the governor that ruleth in the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of unbelief,
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood: but against rule, against power, and against worldly rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness for heavenly things.
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 said God, "Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day from the night; that they may be unto signs, seasons, days and years. And let them be lights in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth." And so it was.
And God put them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth,
Thus was destroyed all that was upon the earth; both man, beasts, worms and fowls of the air, so that they were destroyed from the earth: save Noah was reserved only and they that were with him in the ark.
Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's, thy God, and the earth with all that therein is:
but the land whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven,
Now upon a time, when the servants of God came and stood before the LORD, Satan came also among them.
It happened also upon a time, that when the servants of God came and stood before the LORD, Satan also came among them, and stood before him.
He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: the Lord shall have them in derision.
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's seat is in heaven. His eyes consider the poor, and his eyelids try the children of men.
Sing unto God, O ye kingdoms of the earth: O sing praises unto the LORD, Selah,
O God, wonderful art thou in thy holy places, even the God of Israel; he will give strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
whose leaves were fair, and the fruit much; under the which the beasts of the field had their habitation, and upon whose branches the fowls of the air did sit.
But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's seat:
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are married: but are as the angels of God in heaven.
But of that day and hour knoweth no man: no not the angels of heaven, but my father only.
So then when the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received into heaven, and is set down on the righthand of God.
for as the lightning that appeareth out of the one part of the heaven, and shineth unto the other part of heaven, So shall the son of man be in his days.
But he, being full of the holy ghost, looked up steadfastly with his eyes into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the righthand of God,
I know a man in Christ above fourteen years agone - whether he were in the body I cannot tell, or whether he were out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth - which was taken up into the third heaven.
Nevertheless, though we ourselves, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, hold him as accursed.
Nevertheless, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which day, the heavens shall perish with terrible noise, and the elements shall melt with heat, and the earth, with the works that are therein, shall burn.
looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens shall perish with fire, and the elements shall be consumed with heat. Nevertheless, we look for a new heaven, and a new earth, according to his promise, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
And there was great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not: neither was their place found any more in heaven. read more. And the great dragon, that old serpent called the devil and Satan; Was cast out. Which deceiveth all the world. And he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out also.
And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were vanished away, and there was no more 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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and then of the evening and morning was made the third day.
There is none like unto the God of Israel: he that sitteth upon heaven shall be thine help, whose glory is in the clouds:
Look unto the heaven, and behold it: consider the clouds, how they are higher than thou.
He shall send down from on high to fetch me, and shall take me out of many waters. {TYNDALE: He sent from on high and fetched me, and plucked me out of mighty waters.}
For he looketh down from his sanctuary; out of the heaven doth the LORD behold the earth,
It will come to pass, that whoso escapeth the terrible cry, shall fall in to the pit. And if he come out of the pit, he shall be taken with the snare. For the windows above shall be opened, and the foundations of the earth shall move.
"'Therefore tell them all these words, and say unto them: The LORD shall cry from above, and let his voice be heard from his holy habitation. With a great noise shall he cry from his regal court. He shall give a great voice, like the grape gatherers, and the sound thereof shall be heard unto the ends of the world.
Namely, upon the high hill of Zion will I plant it: that it may bring forth twigs, and give fruit, and be a great Cedar tree: so that all manner of fowls may bide in it, and make their nests under the shadow of his branches.
I know a man in Christ above fourteen years agone - whether he were in the body I cannot tell, or whether he were out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth - which was taken up into 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 firmament "heaven." And so of the evening and morning was made the second day.
"Blessed be Abram unto the most highest God, possessor of heaven and earth.
Which giveth us more understanding than he doth the beasts of the earth, and teacheth us more than the fouls of heaven?'
Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words in to the ends of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
which also said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, even as ye have seen him go into heaven."
which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Which hope also entereth in, into those things which are within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered in, I mean Jesus that is made a high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.
But ye are come unto the mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the celestial Jerusalem: and to an innumerable sight of angels, and unto the congregation of the first born sons, which are written in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of just and perfect men: read more. and to Jesus, the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood that speaketh better than the blood of Abel.