Heaven or Heavens?

[StanJonesPhoto]

I’ve been reading the bible quite a bit more than often lately and I’ve come across the term ‘heavens’ quite often and I’m not exactly sure how to think of it, so I guess my questions are…

Are there multiple heavens?
and
IF so, what are the differences between them?

 

[FCEGM]

We get an understanding of what is mean by “heavens” by looking at 2 Cor. 2 where St. Paul writes of his experience of being in God’s Presence He does so in the language familiar to the Jews who spoke of the three heavens after the imagery of Genesis. The first heaven is the sky we see in the daytime; the second - and farther - is what we can see at night. Above these two “levels” is where God dwells. So, St. Paul isn’t saying that there are three levels within Heaven itself, but is merely saying that it was into God’s presence that he was drawn.

 

[StanJonesPhoto]

Aha, okay okay, so there’s only one Heaven then?

I was talking to an old family friend and she was discussing the heaven for people who had hearts for the good in life, and one who were in communion with God.

 

[FCEGM]

Aha, okay okay, so there’s only one Heaven then?

I was talking to an old family friend and she was discussing the heaven for people who had hearts for the good in life, and one who were in communion with God.

Only one Heaven, and being in Heaven is living in communion with God eternally. It is true, however, that because each person is unique then in their living in that Communion each experiences it uniquely and with no jealousy. The Blessed Mother experiences her union with the Most Holy Trinity at the deepest and highest intensity possible.

 

[patrick457]

I’ve been reading the bible quite a bit more than often lately and I’ve come across the term ‘heavens’ quite often and I’m not exactly sure how to think of it, so I guess my questions are…

Are there multiple heavens?
and
IF so, what are the differences between them?

Well, first of all, you would indeed encounter the term shamayim (Hebrew; sing. shameh), shmayin/shmaya (Aramaic) or ouranoi (Greek; sing. ouranos), both translated as “heavens”, quite often in the Bible.

Ancient Israelite thought seems to have distinguished between three levels of ‘heavens’. The first one would be the atmosphere where birds fly and clouds wander above the earth, while the second would be the one where the ‘wandering stars’ (planets) and the ‘fixed’ stars are. The third and final one would be what we often think of when we say “heaven” nowadays: the place where God and His heavenly court resides.

The heavens above as a whole is conceived as being a sort of solid dome, a vault or canopy (Hebrew raqiya, from raqa ‘to pound’, ‘to beat’, ‘to expand’ or ‘to stretch’; the image seems to be that of a metal pot or bowl being hammered or beaten into shape) onto which the sun, moon and stars, both wandering and fixed, are attached. In the open air below its lower surface is where the clouds float and the birds fly. The vault rests on foundations (pillars), as do the earth and the mountains.

This firmament are pictured to contained floodgates, where the heavenly waters reserved above it can be let out. Originally, the ocean of heaven and the the waters on and below the earth were one, but as per Genesis 1:6-8, God made the canopy “to separate the waters from the waters.” At the Flood, according to Genesis (7:11-12), not only were the “fountains of the abyss” broken up, but the “windows of the heavens” were opened fully as well, thus the Deluge was seen as a (partial) reunion of the heavenly and earthly waters. Over and beyond this vault, above the waters of chaos, is where God sits on His throne surrounded by His heavenly court.

A similar idea exists in Mesopotamian thought: Sumero-Babylonian texts at times describe three levels of heavens, the uppermost of which was the home of the sky-god Anu, with the middle tier serving as the residence of other gods (say, the Igigi or the wind god Enlil). The lowermost heaven was reserved for the stars and the constellations - sometimes this lower tier is also further divided into three zones. One variation puts Anu and the Igigi together in the upper heaven, while Bel (=Marduk) occupies the middle heaven.

 

[diggerdomer]

Are there multiple heavens?

no

 

[James224]

I’ve been reading the bible quite a bit more than often lately and I’ve come across the term ‘heavens’ quite often and I’m not exactly sure how to think of it, so I guess my questions are…

Are there multiple heavens?
and
IF so, what are the differences between them?

2 Kings 2:1 says, " And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias, into heaven, by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal." DRV Some commentaries (Haydock’s - haydock1859.tripod.com/id901.html) and some other places I’ve seen says there are literally levels of heavens. Elijah could not have gone to heaven as we think of it (Empreyean Heaven) because you have to die to go there and, even then, Christ had not opened the Gates yet. Some speculate that this is why Elijah will be one of the 2 witnesses that come to at the end times (Rev 11:3-12)

 

[Vladd]

2 Kings 2:1 says, " And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias, into heaven, by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal." DRV Some commentaries (Haydock’s - haydock1859.tripod.com/id901.html) and some other places I’ve seen says there are literally levels of heavens. Elijah could not have gone to heaven as we think of it (Empreyean Heaven) because you have to die to go there and, even then, Christ had not opened the Gates yet. Some speculate that this is why Elijah will be one of the 2 witnesses that come to at the end times (Rev 11:3-12)

A whirlwind??? Ahhhh , what this mean?