Heaven

Heaven is a term that has three distinct meanings in the Bible. It is most commonly known as the abode of God and the angels, and the final destination of all who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The word heaven is also used in scripture to refer to the Earth's atmosphere, and again in reference to interstellar space.

There are several Hebrew words that have been translated as "heavens." Shamayim is a usual plural form meaning "heights" or "elevations." Also used is shahak meaning "sky", and rakia, which is typically regarded as a solid expanse as in.

Physical Heaven
The heavens created during the six days of creation in Genesis 1 are those that exist in the physical realm. Their creation occurred during the first, second, and fourth days of the creation.

Day 1

From the following passage, we can conclude that the physical heaven during the first day of the creation refers to everything that existed outside the Earth.

Day 2

The word Heaven is used on the second day of creation to refer to the firmament created by dividing the waters. However, there are no physical objects associated with the expanse formed by this action, and therefore, the word Heaven can not be defined with certainty. As such, there is some debate within the creation science community regarding what was created on this day.

Some hold that Earth's atmosphere was created by this expansion of the waters under from the waters above. In fact, the NIV Bible adds the word sky in place of Heaven in. In contrast, Russell Humphreys asserts that this division began the expansion of the universe which continued until day 6, and the waters above the firmament are the boundary of the cosmos. Support for this latter position may be found in, which says, Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that are above the heavens. The "heaven of heavens" are thought by most to be a reference to space (the realm of the stars), and this verse then implying the existence of water above these heavens.

Space
The creations that occurred on Day 4 are clearly taking place within the firmament of heaven which includes the sun, moon, and stars. In this context, the word heaven is referring to the region we would call space.

Atmosphere
The creation of birds on Day 5 describes them as also flying in the firmament of heaven. Therefore in the context of this passage, the word Heaven is being used to refer to the Earth's atmosphere.

First and Second Heaven
The Bible refers to the spiritual heaven as the third heaven (see ). In this context, the atmosphere (air) is considered to be the first heaven, with space (stars) being the second heaven or the heaven of heavens. This view originates before the middle ages, and was considered by Thomas Aquinas

See also.

Spiritual Heaven


The spiritual Heaven is referred to in the Bible as the third heaven, being distinct from the heaven (atmosphere) and the heaven of heavens (space). The spiritual heaven is the home of God and the final destination of all who have put their faith and trust in Jesus. This heaven existed before the six days of creation described in Genesis 1.

In the time before the Crucifixion, believers did not go to heaven (John 3:13) because they were still under Adam's sin and had not been redeemed. Upon his Crucifixion, Jesus descended to Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:22) to preach to spirits the Gospel, and that he was the fulfillment of the promise of a Messiah (1 Peter 3:18-19). Upon Christ's resurrection, these same spirits rose from their graves and walked around, and were seen by many (Matthew 27:53), ultimately ascending to heaven. Now when believers die, they are "absent from the body and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

New Heaven
In the New Heaven is described as as Holy city, the New Jerusalem with streets of gold and structures made from solid gems.

Many Christians believe that the new heaven and earth will be like the Garden of Eden, save for the fact that Satan will be locked up and will be unable to introduce sin to it.