 | 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; Psalm 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; Psalm 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 (Psalm 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim, "high places," "heights."
(c) Hebrews galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered "heaven" in Psalm 77:18 (R.V., "whirlwind").
(d) Hebrews shahak, rendered "sky" (Deuteronomy 33:26; Job 37:18; Psalm 18:11), plural "clouds" (Job 35:5; 36:28; Psalm 68:34, marg. "heavens"), means probably the firmament.
(e) Hebrews 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; "doors of heaven" (Psalm 78:23); heaven "shut" (1 Kings 8:35); "opened" (Ezek. 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).
In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17), an exemption from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2 Corinthians 5:1, 2) and from the society of the wicked (2 Timothy 4:18), 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).
