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HEAVEN
(1.) Definitions. The phrase "heaven and earth" is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" (Gen. 2:19;7:3, 7: 23; Psa 8:8, Psa 8: etc.), "the eagles of heaven" (Lam. 4:19), etc. (b) The starry heavens (Deut. 17:3; Jer. 8:2; Matt. 24:29). (c) "The heaven of heavens," or "the third heaven" (Deut. 10:14; 1-Kings 8:27; Psa 115:16;148:4; 2-Cor 12:2). (2.) Meaning of words in the original, (a) The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is _shamayim_, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" (Gen. 1:1;2:1). (b) The Hebrew word _marom_ is also used (Psa 68:18;93:4;102:19, 102: etc.) as equivalent to _shamayim_, "high places," "heights." (c) Heb. galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered "heaven" in Psa 77:18 (R.V., "whirlwind"). (d) Heb. shahak, rendered "sky" (Deut. 33:26; Job 37:18; Psa 18:11), plural "clouds" (Job 35:5;36:28; Psa 68:34, Psa 68: marg. "heavens"), means probably the firmament. (e) Heb. rakia is closely connected with (d), and is rendered "firmamentum" in the Vulgate, whence our "firmament" (Gen. 1:6; Deut. 33:26, Deut. 33: etc.), regarded as a solid expanse. (3.) Metaphorical meaning of term. Isa. 14:13, Isa. 14: 14; "doors of heaven" (Psa 78:23); heaven "shut" (1-Kings 8:35); "opened" (Ezek. 1:1). (See 1-Chr 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-Cor 12:4; Rev. 2:7). (c) "The heavenly Jerusalem" (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12). (d) The "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 25:1; James 2:5). (e) The "eternal kingdom" (2-Pet 1:11). (f) The "eternal inheritance" (1-Pet 1:4; Heb. 9:15). (g) The "better country" (Heb. 11:14, Heb. 11: 16). (h) The blessed are said to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," and to be "in Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22; Matt. 8:11); to "reign with Christ" (2-Tim 2:12); and to enjoy "rest" (Heb. 4:10, Heb. 4: 11). In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of glory" (2-Cor 4:17), an exemption from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2-Cor 5:1, 2-Cor 5: 2) and from the society of the wicked (2-Tim 4:18), bliss without termination, the "fulness of joy" for ever (Luke 20:36; 2-Cor 4:16, 2-Cor 4: 18; 1-Pet 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).
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