What is…
heaven
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Heaven—where God, His holy angels, and His believing children dwell
Heaven is the place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed souls whose names are written in The Lamb’s Book of Life.
In Heaven, the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of…
- “Eternal life” (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 19:29; 25:46; Romans 5:21)
- “An eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NASB)
- New eternal bodies
For we know that if our earthly house [physical body], this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven… —2 Corinthians 5:1-2 NKJV
- An exemption from all sufferings forever
- A deliverance from all wicked people and evils deeds (2 Tim. 4:18)
- Bliss without termination, the “fulness of joy” forever (Luke 20:36; 2 Corinthians 4:16, 18; 1 Peter 1:4; 5:10; 1 John 3:2)
The believer’s Heaven is not only a state of everlasting blessedness, but also a real “place,” a place “prepared” for them.
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” —John 14:2 NASB
It is called “Paradise” (; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Rev. 2:7).
And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” —Luke 23:43 NKJV
“The Heavenly Jerusalem” (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22)
The “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 25:1; James 2:5)
The “Everlasting Kingdom” (2 Peter 1:11)
The “eternal inheritance” (1 Peter 1:4; Hebrews 9:15)
A “better country” (KJV), “a heavenly country” (Hebrews 11:14-16 NKJV)
The blessed are said to “sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” and to be “in Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22; Matthew 8:11)
“Reign with Christ” (2 Tim. 2:12)
To enjoy “rest” (Hebrews 4:1-11)
First human in Heaven
Who was the first human to get to Heaven? It was likely Abel, the godly murdered son of Adam and Eve.
A later righteous pre-Flood descendant of Adam named Enoch was apparently taken directly to Heaven, without dying.
“The son of Jared, and father of Methuselah (Genesis 5:21; Luke 3:37). His father was one hundred and sixty-two years old when he was born. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch “walked with God three hundred years” (Genesis 5:22-24), when he was translated without tasting death. His whole life on Earth was three hundred and sixty-five years. He was the “seventh from Adam” (Jude 1:14), as distinguished from the son of Cain, the third from Adam. He is spoken of in the catalogue of Old Testament worthies in the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:5). When he was translated, only Adam, so far as recorded, had as yet died a natural death, and Noah was not yet born. Mention is made of Enoch’s prophesying only in Jude 1:14.” —Matthew G. Easton
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Heaven and Earth
The phrase “heaven and Earth” is used to indicate the whole universe (Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:24).
According to the Jewish notion, there were 3 heavens:
The firmament, as “fowls of the heaven” (Genesis 2:19; 7:3, 23; Psalm 8:8, etc.), “the eagles of heaven” (Lam. 4:19), etc.
The starry heavens (Deuteronomy 17:3; Jeremiah 8:2; Matthew 24:29)
“The third heaven” (the Heaven of God)
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.” —2 Corinthians 12:2 ESV
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Hebrew and Greek words translated as “heaven”
Meaning of words in the original:
Hebrew: שָׁמַיִם —transliteration: shamayim —meaning: heaven, the sky
This is the usual Hebrew word for heaven and it appears 421 times in Scripture.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. —Genesis 1:1 NKJV (Gen. 2:1)
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. —Genesis 1:9 NKJV
The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. —Deuteronomy 1:10 NKJV
…bird that flies in the sky… —Deuteronomy 4:17 NASB
…fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. —2 Kings 1:10 NKJV
Greek: οὐρανός —transliteration: ouranos —meaning: heaven
This was used to refer both to the visible heavens (the atmosphere, the sky, and the starry heavens) and the spiritual heavens.
“the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2 KJV)
“Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9 NKJV)
“till heaven and earth pass away” (Matthew 5:18 NKJV)
Hebrew: מָרוֹם —transliteration: marom —meaning: heights, high places, high, heaven
Used in Psalm 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim, “high places,” “heights”
Hebrew: שַׁחַק —transliteration: shachaq or shahak —meaning: clouds, sky or dust
“through the skies in His majesty” (Deuteronomy 33:26 NASB)
“behold the clouds— they are higher” (Job 35:5 NASB)
“Can you, with Him, spread out the skies” (Job 37:18 NASB)
“For who in the heaven can be compared…” (Psalm 89:6 KJV)
“For who in the skies is comparable…” (Psalm 89:6 NASB)Hebrew: רָקִיעַ —transliteration: raqia or rakia —meaning: expanse, an extended surface, firmament
Then God said, “Let there be a firmament [or expanse] in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” —Genesis 1:6 NKJV
There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds. —Deuteronomy 33:26 NKJV…like the brightness of the expanse of heaven… —Daniel 12:3 NASB
…Like the brightness of the firmament… —Daniel 12:3 NKJV
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Metaphorical uses
- “Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven” Psalm 78:23 NKJV)
- “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain” (1 Kings 8:35 NKJV)
- “the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God” (Ezek. 1:1 NKJV)
More information
- stars
- astronomy
- firmament
- paradise
- eternal life
- everlasting
- What is The Kingdom of God?
- glory
- Hell
- eternal death
- Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer
- How good is good enough? Answer
- Will all mankind eventually be saved? Answer
- Discover the good news that Jesus Christ offers
- Why is the world the way it is? If God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and loving, would He really create a world like this? (filled with oppression, suffering, death and cruelty) Answer
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