Heaven: 1. Definitions. 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 three heavens,
a. The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven"
(Genesis 2:19; 7:3,23)(Psalms 8:8) etc., "the eagles of heaven"
(Lamentations 4:19) etc.
b. The starry heavens
(Deuteronomy 17:3; Jeremiah 8:2; Matthew 24:29)
c. "The heaven of heavens," or "the third heaven"
(Deuteronomy 10:14)
(1 Kings 8:27; Psalms 115:16; 148:4; 2 Corinthians 12:2)
2. Meaning of words in the original,
a. The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is shamayim, a plural
form meaning "heights," "elevations"
(Genesis 1:1; 2:1)
b. The Hebrew word marom is also used
(Psalms 68:18; 93:4)
(Psalms 102:19) etc. as equivalent to shamayim, "high
places," "heights."
c. Heb. galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered "heaven" in
(Psalms 77:18) (R.V., "whirlwind").
d. Heb. shahak, rendered "sky"
(Deuteronomy 33:26; Job 37:18; Psalms 18:11)
plural "clouds"
(Job 35:5; 36:28; Psalms 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"
(Genesis 1:6; Deuteronomy 33:26) etc., regarded as a solid expanse.
3. Metaphorical meaning of term.
(Isaiah 14:13,14)
a. "doors of heaven"
(Psalms 78:23)
b. heaven "shut"
(1 Kings 8:35)
c. "opened"
(Ezekiel 1:1) (see)
(1 Chronicles 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"
(John 14:2)
b. It is called "paradise"
(Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7)
c. "The heavenly Jerusalem"
(Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12)
d. The "kingdom of heaven"
(Matthew 25:1; James 2:5)
e. The "eternal kingdom"
(2 Peter 1:11)
f. The "eternal inheritance"
(1 Peter 1:4; Hebrews 9:15)
g. The "better country"
(Hebrews 11:14,16)
h. 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)
to "reign with Christ"
(2 Timothy 2:12) and to enjoy "rest"
(Hebrews 4:10,11)
5. In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in:
a. the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of
glory"
(2 Corinthians 4:17)
b. an exemption from all sufferings for ever,
c. a deliverance from all evils
(2 Corinthians 5:1,2)
d. and from the society of the wicked
(2 Timothy 4:18)
e. bliss without termination, the "fulness of joy" for ever
(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 "place", a place "prepared" for them
(John 14:2)
