'Heavens' in the Bible

I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. And [like the body of the calf] their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

He made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomAnd stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,And He causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth.He makes lightnings for the rainAnd brings out the wind from His storehouses.

You will pursue them in anger and destroy themFrom under the heavens of the Lord.

Now it came about [when I was] in my thirtieth year [of life], on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.

“I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers;You will fall on the open field; and you will not be gathered up or buried.I have given you as food to the [wild] animals of the earth and the birds of the sky.

‘All the birds of the sky made their nests in its twigs,And under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth [to their young],And all of the great nations lived under its shadow.

All the birds of the sky will nest in its ruins, and all the animals of the field will rest on its fallen branches

“Then I will leave you (Egypt) on the land;I will hurl you on the open field.And I will make all the birds of the sky dwell on you,And I will satisfy the animals of all the earth with you.

“And when I extinguish you,I will cover the heavens [of Egypt] and darken their stars;I will cover the sun with a cloudAnd the moon will not give its light.

“All the bright lights in the heavensI will darken over youAnd I will place darkness on your land,”Says the Lord God.

so that the fishes of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth will tremble and shake at My presence; the mountains will crumble, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.

and wherever the sons of men dwell, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You [king of Babylon] are the head of gold.

‘The tree grew large and became strongAnd its height reached to heaven,And it was visible to the end of the earth.

“Nevertheless leave the stump with its roots in the ground,Bound with a band of iron and bronzeIn the new grass of the field;And let him be wet with the dew of heaven,And let him feed with the animals in the grass of the earth.

The tree that you saw, which became great and grew strong, whose height reached to heaven and which was visible to all the earth,

it is you, O king, who have become great and grown strong; your greatness has increased and it reaches to heaven, and your dominion [reaches] to the ends of the earth.

In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Cut the tree down and destroy it; but leave the stump with its roots in the earth, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him feed with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,”

that you shall be driven from mankind and your dwelling place shall be with the beasts of the field; and that you be given grass to eat like the cattle and be wet with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know [without any doubt] that the Most High [God] rules over the kingdom of mankind and He bestows it to whomever He desires.

Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.

He was also driven from mankind, and his mind was made like that of an animal, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he came to know [without any doubt] that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind and He appoints it to whomever He wills.

“He rescues and saves and performs signs and wondersIn heaven and on earth—He who has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea (the nations).

“I kept looking in the night visions,And behold, on the clouds of heavenOne like a Son of Man was coming,And He came up to the Ancient of DaysAnd was presented before Him.

Then the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints (believers) of the Most High; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’

Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and] strong, the great horn (Alexander) was [suddenly] broken; and in its place there came up four prominent horns [among whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of heaven.

And He has carried out completely His [threatening] words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers [the kings, princes, and judges] who ruled us, to bring on us a great tragedy; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything [so dreadful] like that which [He commanded and] was done to Jerusalem.

But as soon as he (Alexander) has risen, his kingdom will be broken [by his death] and divided toward the four winds of heaven [the north, south, east, and west], but not to his descendants, nor according to the [Grecian] authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom will be torn out and uprooted and given to others (his four generals) to the exclusion of these.

And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he held up his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and a half a time (three and a half years); and as soon as they finish shattering and crushing the power of the holy people, all these things will be finished.

“And in that day I will make a covenant for IsraelWith the animals of the open countryAnd with the birds of the heavensAnd with the creeping things of the ground.And I will abolish the bow and the sword and [banish] war from the landAnd will make them lie down in safety.

“It will come about in that day that I will respond,” says the Lord.“I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they will respond to the earth [which begs for the rain],

Therefore the land [continually] mourns,And everyone who lives in it languishes [in tragic suffering]Together with the animals of the open country and the birds of the heavens;Even the fish of the sea disappear.

When they go, I will spread My net over them;I will bring them down like birds of the heavens [into Assyrian captivity].I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation (prophecy) to their congregation.

The earth quakes before them,The heavens tremble,The sun and the moon grow darkAnd the stars lose their brightness.

“I will show signs and wonders [displaying My power] in the heavens and on the earth,Blood and fire and columns of smoke.

The Lord thunders and roars from ZionAnd utters His voice from Jerusalem [in judgment of His enemies],And the heavens and the earth tremble and shudder;But the Lord is a refuge for His peopleAnd a stronghold [of protection] to the children of Israel.

It is He who builds His upper chambers in the heavensAnd has established His vaulted dome (the firmament of heaven) over the earth,He who calls to the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the face of the earth—The Lord is His name.

You have increased your traders more than the [visible] stars of heaven—The creeping locust strips and destroys and then flies away.

God [approaching from Sinai] comes from Teman (Edom),And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah (pause, and calmly think of that).His splendor and majesty covers the heavensAnd the earth is full of His praise.

And those who bow down and worship the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, and the stars] on their housetopsAnd those who bow down and swear [oaths] to [and pretend to worship] the Lord and [yet also] swear by [the pagan god called] Milcom [god of the Ammonites],

Therefore, because of you [that is, your sin and disobedience] the heavens withhold the dew and the earth withholds its produce.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

“Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

“Hear this! Flee from [Babylon] the land of the north [which shall come under judgment],” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord.

Then I looked up, and there were two women coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.

The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth,

‘For there the seed will produce peace and prosperity; the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will produce its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit and possess all these things.

The oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him:

After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus),

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Immediately coming up out of the water, he (John) saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him (Jesus);

and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

“Sell your possessions (show compassion) and give [donations] to the poor. Provide money belts for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

people fainting from fear and expectation of the [dreadful] things coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken.

For David did not ascend into the heavens, yet he himself says,‘The Lord [the Father] said to my Lord [the Son],“Sit at My right hand,

and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

For we know that if the earthly tent [our physical body] which is our house is torn down [through death], we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

He who descended is the very same as He who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all things [that is, the whole universe]).

And,“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,And the heavens are the works of Your hands;

Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior].

It was fitting for us to have such a High Priest [perfectly adapted to our needs], holy, blameless, unstained [by sin], separated from sinners and exalted higher than the heavens;

His voice shook the earth [at Mount Sinai] then, but now He has given a promise, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the [starry] heaven.”

Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its crops [as usual].

For they willingly forget [the fact] that the heavens existed long ago by the word of God, and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish with a [mighty and thunderous] roar, and the [material] elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are on it will be burned up.

[while you earnestly] look for and await the coming of the day of God. For on this day the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the [material] elements will melt with intense heat!

But in accordance with His promise we expectantly await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

and swore [an oath] by [the name of] Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer,

Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”