Heaven

Heaven

General Information

Heaven, a concept found in various forms in most world religions, refers to the dwelling place of God, gods, and other celestial beings and the place or state of being of the elect or righteous after death. In the Old Testament heaven is the abode of the Hebrew God Yahweh to which only exceptional human beings, such as Elijah, are raised after life on Earth. In the New Testament heaven is the place where all believers in Jesus Christ will reign with him in glory after the Last Judgment. The traditional Christian belief is that after the general Resurrection of the dead, bodies and souls will be reunited in heaven. In Islam, paradise (al-janna, "the garden") is a place of physical as well as spiritual delights for the saved. Some conceptions of heaven in Eastern religions, such as the Orthodox Buddhist Nirvana, differ vastly from Judeo-Christian and Islamic views; many, however, bear strong resemblance.

Although the popular theological interpretation of heaven is a condition of Grace with God, the allegorical depictions of heaven in the Bible, in other sacred scriptures, and in mythologies throughout the world are typically elaborate.

Bibliography:
Kohler, K., Heaven and Hell in Comparative Religion (1923); McDannell, C., and Lang, B., Heaven: A History (1988); Simon, U. E., Heaven in the Christian Tradition (1958).

Advanced Information

New Testament usage of the word "Heaven" is used chiefly in three senses:

The upper air where the birds fly
Mt 8:20 24:30
The region in which the stars reside
Ac 7:42 Heb 11:12
The abode of Christ's human nature, the scene of the special manifestation of divine glory, and of the eternal blessedness of the saints.
Heb 9:24 1Pe 3:22
Sometimes called the "third heaven."
2Co 12:2

The phrases "new heaven" and "new earth," in contrast with "first heaven" and "first earth," refer to some unexplained change by which God will revolutionise our portion of the physical universe, cleansing it from the stain of sin and qualifying it to be the abode of blessedness.

Terms used to designate the future blessedness of the saints

Literal terms:--

a. Life, eternal life
Mt 7:14 19:16,29 25:46
b. Glory, the glory of God, an eternal weight of glory
Ro 2:7,10 5:2 2Co 4:17
c. Peace
Ro 2:10
d. Salvation, and eternal salvation
Heb 5:7

Figurative terms:--

a. Paradise
Lu 23:43 2Co 12:4 Re 2:7
b. Heavenly Jerusalem
Ga 4:26 Re 3:12
c. Kingdom of heaven, heavenly kingdom, eternal kingdom, kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.
Mt 25:34 2Ti 4:18 2Pe 1:11
d. Eternal inheritance
1Pe 1:4 Heb 9:15
The blessed are said to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; to be in Abraham's bosom
Lu 16:22 Mt 8:11
to reign with Christ
2Ti 2:11,12
to enjoy a Sabbath of rest.
Heb 4:10,11

Heaven as a place

The Scriptures represent heaven as a definite place as well as a state of blessedness.
Joh 17:24 2Co 5:6-10 Re 5:6

Wherein does the blessedness of heaven consist as far as revealed?

In perfect deliverance from sin and all its evil consequences physical, moral, and social.
Re 7:16,17 21:4,27

In the perfection of our nature
1Co 13:9-12 15:45-49 1Jo 3:2

In the sight of our Redeemer, communion with his person, and fellowship in all his glory and blessedness, and through him with saints and angels.
Joh 17:24 1Jo 1:3 Re 3:21 21:3-5

In that "beatific vision of God" which, consisting in the ever increasingly clear discovery of the divine excellence lovingly apprehended, transforms the soul into the same image, from glory to glory.
Mt 5:8 2Co 3:18

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