hoseahos Emi

In the Bible

Heaven is a term that has three distinct meanings in the Bible. It is most commonly known as the abode of God and the angels, and the final destination of all who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The word heaven is also used in scripture to refer to the Earth's atmosphere, and again in reference to interstellar space.

The most frequently used Hebrew word for heaven in the Old Testament is samayim, signifying "heaved up things" or "the heights." In the Greek New Testament it is ouranos, which denotes "sky", or "air". These words refer to the atmosphere just above the earth (Genesis 1:20, etc.); to the firmament in which the sun and moon and stars are located (Genesis 1:17, etc.); to God's abode, for, although God is omnipresent, He manifests Himself in a special manner in the light and grandeur of the firmament (Psalm 2:4, etc.); to the abode of the angels, for they are constantly with God and see His face (Matthew 22:30). The Old Testament has no word for universe, and to express the idea there is the frequent "heaven and earth." We read of "the heaven and the heaven" (Deuteronomy 10:14), and of a man's being "caught up into the third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2). With God in heaven are likewise the souls of the just (2 Corinthians 5:1; Matthew 5:3, 12). In Ephesians 4:8-16, we are told that Christ conducted to heaven the patriarchs who had been in limbo (limbus patrum). Thus the term heaven has come to designate both the happiness and the abode of just in the next life.

In Holy Scripture it is called:

the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3),

the kingdom of God (Mark 9:46), the kingdom of the Father (Matthew 13:43), the kingdom of Christ (Luke 22:30), the house of the Father (John 14:2), city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12), the holy place (Hebrews 9:12; Douay-Rheims Version: holies), paradise (2 Corinthians 12:4), life (Matthew 7:14), life everlasting (Matthew 19:16), the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:21), crown of life (James 1:12), crown of justice (2 Timothy 4:8), crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4), incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25), great reward (Matthew 5:12), inheritance of Christ (Ephesians 1:18), eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15).

In Christianity

Christianity defines heaven as being in the presence of God with places prepared for the faithful by Jesus and is viewed as eternal bliss beyond that which can currently be known. Those who are allowed into heaven are