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SUBJECT: Heaven
QUESTION: Please explain the 3 heavens
ANSWER:
From the pages of the Bible we are aware of three distinct
heavens.
First Heaven: The atmosphere around the earth.
Second Heaven: Outer Space
Third Heaven: The place we typically think of as heaven
where God has His throne and where Christ ascended after He
was resurrected.
The following is taken from Vine's Expository Dictionary of
Biblical Words. It seems to indicated 5 heavens but the
first two clearly are descriptions of the atmosphere around
the earth and the 4th is actually unrelated as it is a word
that describes something else, namely, the whole creation of
God.
HEAVENS
shamayim ^8064^, "heavens; heaven; sky." This general
Semitic word appears in languages such as Ugaritic, Akkadian,
Aramaic, and Arabic. It occurs 420 times and in all periods
of biblical Hebrew.
First, shamayim is the usual Hebrew word for the "sky" and
the "realm of the sky." This realm is where birds fly. God
forbids Israel to make any "likeness of any winged fowl that
flieth in the air" <Deuteronomy 4:17>. When Absalom's hair
caught in the branches of a tree, he hung suspended between
the "heaven" and the earth <2 Samuel 18:9>. This area, high
above the ground but below the stars and heavenly bodies, is
often the locus of visions: "And David lifted up his eyes,
and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and
the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out
over Jerusalem" <1 Chronicles 21:16>.
Second, this word represents an area farther removed from
the earth's surface. From this area come such things as
frost <Job 38:29>, snow <Isaiah 55:10>, fire <Genesis
19:24>, dust < Deuteronomy 28:24>, hail <Joshua 10:11>, and
rain: "The fountains also of the deep and the windows of
heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was
restrained" <Genesis 8:2>. This realm is God's storehouse;
God is the dispenser of the stores and Lord of the realm <
Deuteronomy 28:12>. This meaning of shamayim occurs in
<Genesis 1:7-8>: "And God made the firmament, and divided
the waters which were under the firmament from the waters
which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God
called the firmament Heaven."
Third, shamayim also represents the realm in which the sun,
moon, and stars are located: "And God said, Let there be
lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from
the night..." <Genesis 1:14>. This imagery is often repeated
in the Creation account and in poetical passages. Thus the
"heavens" can be stretched out like a curtain <Psalm 104:2>
or rolled up as a scroll <Isaiah 34:4>.
Fourth, the phrase "heaven and earth" may denote the entire
creation. This use of the word appears in <Genesis 1:1>: "In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Fifth, "heaven" is the dwelling place of God: "He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them
in derision" <Psalm 2:4>; cf. < Deuteronomy 4:39>. Again,
note < Deuteronomy 26:15>: "Look down from thy holy
habitation, fromheaven, and bless thy people Israel...."
Another expression representing the dwelling place of God is
"the highest heaven [literally,
the heaven of heavens]." This does not indicate
height, but an absolute-- i. e., God's abode is a unique
realm not to be identified with the physical creation:
"Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's
thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is" <
Deuteronomy 10:14>. ~from
Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words
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What does it mean when the Bible refers to the Third Heaven?
At the time of ancient Israel they did not have as complete
an understanding of the universe as we do today. So they
wrote in terms they were familiar with. The Jews spoke of
three heavens. The first heaven consisted of the earth
atmosphere where the clouds and birds were. The second
heaven was where the sun, stars, and moon were. The third
heaven was the dwelling place of God. When Paul said he was
caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2), he was
referring to the very dwelling place of God.
As a note, the Mormons erringly teach that the three
heavens consist of telestial, terrestrial, and celestial.
They divide them into compartments dwelt by people after
they die.
The First Heaven: Earth
Atmosphere
Deuteronomy 11:17 -- Then the LORD's anger will burn against
you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain
and the ground will yield no produce.... Deuteronomy 28:12
-- The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his
bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all
the work of your hands. Judges 5:4 -- "O LORD, when you
went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down
water. Acts 14:17 -- "Yet he has not left himself without
testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from
heaven and crops in their seasons;...
The Second Heaven: Outer
Space
Psalm 19:4,6 -- In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the
sun... It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its
circuit to the other;... Jeremiah 8:2 -- They will be
exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the
heavens which they have loved and served.... Isaiah 13:10
-- The stars of heaven and their constellations will not
show their light.
The Third Heaven: God's
Dwelling Place
1 Kings 8:30 (phrase repeated numerous times in following
verses) -- then hear from heaven, your dwelling place...
Psalm 2:4 -- The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The LORD
scoffs at them. Matthew 5:16 -- In the same way, let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
andpraise your Father in heaven.
The highest heaven, the third heaven is indicated by the
reference to the Throne of God being the highest heaven:
1 Kings 8:27 -- "But will God really dwell on earth? The
heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
Deuteronomy 10:14 -- To the LORD your God belong the
heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything
in it.
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