A STUDY ON HEAVEN AND WHAT HEAVEN IS

Those who research this blog will view this as continuing commentary on where we go after we die.

Strong’s 8064 = samayim = region above the earth: the heavens, place of the stars, sky, air, heaven: invisible realm of God. Region = space or body, entirety of a space or area

Strong’s 8064 = s’mayim = the heavens of this world, sky, air. Heaven, realm of God. Heaven is a euphemism for “God”.

                              Heaven and earth combine into one – the totality of all that exists = the universe

                              Realm = a royal domain, kingdom

In the Old Testament the word for heaven is overwhelmingly Strong’s 8064 = samayim. A few references are 8065 s’mayim. Both basically mean the same thing.

The Bible speaks of the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” in the New Testament. What is the Kingdom of Heaven? The Kingdom of Heaven is the coming millennial reign of Yeshua and His saints in the Millennial Kingdom (MK) as described in Revelation 20. Heaven is not a place we go when we die. (Review study on death and resurrection.)

The following verses are a representation of all the references to heaven in the Bible. There are many more verses but they all are like the ones printed here. Heaven is God’s throne and place of government. It is not a place we go when we die. At death, we await to hear the voice of our Lord, resurrect from the dead, receive a new immortal body, and enter into the MK where we rule and reign with the Lord.

OUR FOCUS IS TO ALLOW THE BIBLE TO INTERPRET ITSELF AND REVEAL THE TRUTH

Old Testament:

Genesis 24:7  The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants^[a] I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 28:12, 16 ¹² Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Genesis 49:25 By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above….

Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

Exodus 20.22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

Exodus 24:10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.

Deuteronomy 4:11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.

Deuteronomy 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.

Deuteronomy 4:36 Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.

Deuteronomy 4:39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

Deuteronomy 9:14 Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

Deuteronomy 10:14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

Joshua 2:11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

2 Samuel 18.9 Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.

1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

1 Kings 8:30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

1 Kings 22:19New King James Version (NKJV)  Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.

2 Kings 2:1, 10 - Elijah Ascends to Heaven (the sky) - 2 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ² Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.” ¹⁰ So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Note: Later the sons of the prophets ask Elisha for permission to look for Elijah 2 Kings 2.16-18. Later, after this event, Elijah writes a letter to the king (2 Chronicles 21.12). Elijah was taken up into the heavens and was relocated to another area.

2 Kings 17:16  So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

2 Kings 23:5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

2 Chronicles 2:6 But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

2 Chronicles 6:26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them,

2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 30:27 Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

Ezra 5:12 But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon.

Nehemiah 9:13 “You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.

Job 16:19 Surely even now my witness is in heaven, And my evidence is on high.

Job 22:14 Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle (circuit or compass) of heaven.’

Job 38:33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

Psalm 11:4 The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

Psalm 78:23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,

Psalm 85:11 Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Psalm 104:12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches.

Psalm 119:89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.

Isaiah 14:12-13 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground…¹³ For you have said in your heart:‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

Isaiah 34:5 “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?

Jeremiah 7:33 The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away.

Jeremiah 19:13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”

Jeremiah 31:3 Thus says the Lord: “If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Jeremiah 51:9 We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.

Lamentations 2:1 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in His anger! He cast down from heaven to the earth the beauty of Israel, And did not remember His footstool In the day of His anger

Ezekiel 8:3 He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.

Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:

Daniel 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand

Daniel 7:2New King James Version (NKJV) Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.

Hosea has three references

Haggai 1:10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.

Summary: We see heaven as Yahweh’s throne, place of government, judgment, withholding, secrets, armies of the Lord or Hosts, an unmeasurable place or expanse, where Yahweh hears us and our prayers, where angels reside and Lucifer was cast out of, where records are kept and your name can be blotted out, from where we hear His voice!

New Testament:

All N.T. references are Strong’s 3772 Greek = sky, air, firmament, any area above earth, the place of sun, moon, stars; heaven, in which God dwells, the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2)  being the area of God’s dwelling, in some places a euphemism for “God”, such as,  Kingdom of God (Heaven).

Euphemism; noun

1.

the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.

2.

the expression so substituted: “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”.

Matthew 3:2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Matthew 18:10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

Luke 10:20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather^[a] rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 18:22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Strong’s paradise = 3857, used in 2 Corinthians 12.4, and Rev 2.7 – Base meaning = of a garden, a place of blessedness. In Jewish thought = Gan Eden, the garden = the Millennial Kingdom to come; MK O.T. Eden = Strong’s 5731 = paradise, delight, the world to come.

John 3:13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven! Ref: Acts 2.42-36

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Romans 10:6-7 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁷ or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss? Grave” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead (resurrection).

2 Corinthians 5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, (our resurrected immortal bodies, 1 Cor 15).

2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

Ephesians 3:13-15 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Ephesians 6:9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Colossians 1:5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

Colossians 4:1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

2 Thessalonians 1:7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

 

Hebrews 10:34 for you had compassion on me^[a] in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

Summary: We have a Master in Heaven, no man has ascended into heaven, our inheritance or possession is recorded in heaven, the Lord will appear from heaven with His angels, our conversation should “be on heavenly things”, God will be revealed from heaven, not everyone will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (MK).

Bosom of Abraham: A figure of speech for the life hearafter. According to the Old Testament, when a person died he went to “be with his fathers” (Gen 15.15; 47.30; Deut 31.16). The patriarch, Abraham was regarded as the “father” of the Jews (Luke 3.8). At death, therefore, the Jew went to his forefathers, or, more specifically, to join “father Abraham.”

The only use in the Bible of “Abraham’s bosom” occurs in Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19-31), in which the beggar is described as being “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.” Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Abraham’s Bosom is a euphemism for the place of honor. Soon, the poor man (the Gentiles) would be supplanting the rich man (Jews) as the receivers of the Gospel. The Gentiles would be in “the place of honor” represented by Abraham’s bosom. This parable was not about heaven as a place people go to when they die.

There are more scriptures then these about heaven, but they all repeat what the ones above say. Read this study prayerfully and ask for God’s understanding. When we die we go asleep in the grave, we await the voice of Yeshua, rise up from the dead, receive a new immortal body, and rule and reign with Him in the Millennial Kingdom (MK).

This is the first resurrection. After the 1000 year reign the rest of humanity which has died will rise from the dead and the “White Throne” judgment will occur. This is called the second death. Those who are judged are thrown into the Lake of Fire or Hell at that time (Read Revelation 20).