Heaven is a place we all long to go to when we die. You’ll hear people say during funerals that their loved one has gone to heaven to be with the Lord. Heaven is viewed as a beautiful and glorious place that anyone would want to catch a glimpse of, even for a split second.
Megan Bailey says that pop culture pictures heaven as being a fancy place where angels sit on clouds playing harps. She says it will be much bigger and grander than that.
But how does the Bible describe heaven?
God created heaven
God created heaven where He lives with the heavenly host. The Bible makes reference to the heavens, not heaven. This means there is more than one heaven.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
The Apostle Paul talked of a man caught up to the third heaven. He didn’t say what it looked like. If there is a third heaven, there must be two more, though the Bible doesn’t mention them.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
2 Corinthians 12:2
Don Stewart says the three heavens refer to three realms: our immediate atmosphere, outer space (sun, moon, and stars), and the home of God.
Heaven is organized into a kingdom
In the four Gospels, we see the phrase “kingdom of heaven” used several times. John the Baptist preached about the need to repent because the kingdom of God was coming. Jesus echoed the same words when He began His ministry.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 4:17
God’s throne is also in heaven. It is His dwelling place.
This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
Isaiah 66:1
Heaven opens and closes
There are accounts in the Bible where heaven opened and was visible to some people. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
Matthew 3:16
Stephen was taken to the Sanhedrin to answer false charges about the gospel he was preaching. Before they stoned him, he saw heaven open and Jesus standing.
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Acts 7:55-56
When Noah had completed the ark and was safely inside with his family, the floodgates of the heavens opened and the rain began pouring. After the forty days of rain, the heavens closed and the rain stopped falling.
Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.
Genesis 8:2
Heavenly Realms – blessings and spiritual warfare
Whatever happens on earth is a reflection of what has taken place in the spiritual realm. The realm we don’t see has a lot happening that we can only discern spiritually.
As believers of Jesus Christ, God has blessed us, and although we don’t see the blessings, they are in the heavenly realms. That is why every good and perfect gift comes from above.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3
The spiritual forces of darkness that torment us originate from the heavenly realms. The demonic attacks we battle with are commissioned from the heavens. This is where demonic authorities reside.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12
According to an article on Keep Believing Ministries, it’s not clear how we should differentiate between the forces of darkness. That perhaps it’s enough to know the demons are organized and serve different purposes in Satan’s service.
The heavens declare God’s glory
The heavenly beings in the heavens proclaim God’s righteousness and praise His wonders. Four living creatures sing “Holy holy holy” and twenty-four elders lay their crowns before God and worship Him declaring His glory, honor, and power. The heavens rejoice and declare God’s glory. They marvel at His work.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1
Heaven has many rooms
Jesus was comforting His disciples because He would no longer be with them after returning to heaven. He promised them that He was going to prepare a place for them. Jesus has prepared a place for those who die believing in Him.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
John 14:2
New Heaven
When the end of the world comes, the book of Revelation says there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The new heaven will have the New Jerusalem that will reflect the glory of God. The glory is described as follows:
It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
Revelation 21:11
How the Bible Describes Heaven
We are citizens of heaven and when we die we will be with God for eternity. Rest assured it will be a place with no pain or sorrow. You will rejoice and be in awe of the wonder that God.
Live for God and put your focus on heavenly things.
Time for another quick read? Head over to the blog roll and get closer to the Lord our God.
