Heaven is our home and we’re in Seventh Heaven?!

Shamayim: heaven, sky יִםשָׁמַ֫  

Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-mah’-yim)

יִםהַשָּׁמַ֖  haš-šā-ma-yim   the heavens.

This is the word used in the expression, the heavens and the earth, or the upper and lower regions. Genesis 1:1

The usual Hebrew word for heavens is shamayim, a plural form meaning heights, elevations (Gen. 1:1; 2:1).

The Hebrew word marom is also used (Ps. 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim, high places, heights.   Used for heaven in (Psalms 18:16; Isaiah 24:18; Jeremiah 25:30). Properly speaking it means a mountain, as in (Psalms 102:19; Ezekiel 17:23)Heb. galgal, literally a wheel, is rendered heaven in Ps. 77:18 (R.V., whirlwind). like a spiral galaxy?Heb. shahak, rendered sky (Deut. 33:26; Job 37:18; Ps. 18:11), plural clouds (Job 35:5; 36:28; Ps. 68:34, marg. heavens),  probably means the firmament.

In the last post we looked at the universe and our place in it.We saw some of the amazing images sent back by Hubble.

The night skies have always fascinated mankind, who has always been searching for a way to get a closer look at those twinkling points of light in the heavens above.History records many who invented and built telescopes for that very purpose; including a 17^th century Christian, German astronomer, Johannes Kepler. (1571-1630). He used mathematics to calculate the path of the planets and discovered three laws of planetary motion, amongst other discoveries.Johannes had a friend who denied the existence of God and maintained the universe came into existence by itself.

This troubled Johannes, so he construct a model of the solar system. When he showed it to his friend, the friend exclaimed how beautiful it was and wanted to know Who had made it?

Cryptically Kepler replied that no one had, it had made itself! ‘Nonsense’ replied his friend ‘just tell me who made it’. Kepler proceeded to say to his friend that if he believed the model could not have made itself, which was but a simple imitation of the great universe, how could he believe the universe could make itself!It seems to be a silly statement, in light of what we know today. Johannes Kepler’s model could no more have made itself than a car could manufacture itself.

However according to many scientists, the universe came into existence by accident and so did human life!!!

Rest assured that your life was not an accident and God has a purpose for you.

You’re here because of Him and there is hope and a future.  I know the plans I have for you plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you the future and hope.  Jeremiah 29:11You are created from the high purposes of God.

Heaven is our home and one day we will be there with Him.

How to translate bikeseh hashimayim in Deut.30:4 which most English translations render as the outermost parts of heaven.

Are we talking about space travel here? Or is it just a metaphor?

Remember, nothing is placed in the Bible by accident.

Every note and detail has a reason for it being placed there. So there must be a reason why God is speaking of gathering the nation of Israel from the outermost parts of heaven. Bikeseh comes from the root kesah and has the proposition Beth (in or on) in front of it and literally means “in the end or extremity.”

 The following word “hashimayhim” is from the root shama’ which means heaven.

The word has a definite article Hei at the beginning and a plural ending and we would render that as the heavens. So we are not referring to our final resting place and the celestial city but most likely it is used to describe the sky or outer space. If the writer wanted to depict God gathering the Jews from the ends of the earth he would have said kesevi eres. So why does the writer say the heavens or sky? Here is where opinion comes into play. We creating an opinion that makes sense and we are left with just a metaphor, a poetic expression and a wonderful one at that. God will not only search out every corner to restore the ones He loves, but He will even look in the most unlikeliest places and if necessary in outer space.

 God cares for and is mindful of everything in His creation.

Taken from a study on the sparrow falling. In the Aramaic language, you say that God is aware of everytime a sparrow lands. He is not only aware when a sparrow dies, He is aware when a sparrow lands and they do a lot of landing. Again another verse to show how aware God is of every individual He created and how He longs to draw them to Him. He knows every corner and every rock on earth; and every place in the sky and the universe, we just cannot escape His noticeIsaiah 66:1 Heaven is my throne and the earth my foot stool.
Heaven is ‘as the chair’, to God.Because that’s where He dwells and the stool is the earth.

 By nature He doesn’t dwell there but He does touch it with the ‘feet of His presence’ as part of His footstool. It is therefore under ‘His feet’ and under His control and His perfect will and plans and purposes.

According to Ephesians 1:22, all things are under Messiah’s feet and under ours too!

The constellation in the picture above is called the hand of God.

When we have a friend we spend time in each other’s company, we have the same interests and talk about them together. So we should be the same with God. His home is in heaven as well as in our hearts; and we are already invited for a future event where He lives.

The marriage supper of the Lamb.

Home is where our hearts are fixed and focused.

Meanwhile we have His spirit with us and He never leaves us or forsakes us. Hebrews 13:5. Jesus told us,  I am with you always. Matt. 28:20

However our human curiosity wants to know what heaven is really like.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:2, he thought it was the third heaven.
Just how many are there?The Hebrew language gives seven words for heaven and the ancient model in the form of drawings illustrates what Genesis describes; and the meaning of the seven Hebrew words; and how they saw everything fitting together.This is the root of where we get our idiom to be in the seventh heaven.The word in Genesis, in the beginning God created the heavens and earth. The word heavens is plural; it is not singular, meaning, that there is more than one heaven.

God is the God of the Heavens El HaShamayim’

שָׁמַ֫יִם = heavens

2 Corinthians 12:2   (2 Cor. 12:7)

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,

Shechakim  “expanses,” with reference to the extent of heaven. (33:26; Job 35:5) Pauls’ expression “third heaven,” 2 Cor. 12:2, had led to much conjecture. Grotius said that the Jews divided the heaven into three parts:

1) The First Heaven: Earth & Man. The air or atmosphere, where clouds gather. The firmament, as “fowls of the heaven” (Gen 1:26 2:19; 7:3, 23; Ps. 8:8 etc.), “the eagles of heaven” (Lam. 4:19)

2) The Second Heaven: Space and Stars* The firmament, in which the sun, moon and stars are fixed;The starry heavens (Deut. 17:3; Jer. 8:2; Matt. 24:29).

(Isaiah 13:10)…(Isaiah 14:13)

Astronomy is the scientific study of the individual celestial bodies (excluding the earth) and of the universe as a whole.

Astrology is the study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of the heavenly bodies on human affairs. (a form of prophecy but is false prophecy, false predictions, demonic, a diversion away from God’s truth).

3) The Third Heaven: God and Glory The upper heaven, the abode of God and his angels, the invisible realm of holiness and happiness the home of the children of God. “The heaven of heavens,” or “the third heaven” (Deut. 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 115:16; 148:4; 2 Cor. 12:2, 

The Bible speaks of three heavens, the third heaven is the heaven of heavens, the dwelling place of God, where His throne has always been. Seven Hebrew Words translated into the word “Heaven” – (please note you will have difficulty in locating these words without extensive study. You will not find them in the Strong’s Concordance since the Majority Text utilizes only the Hebrew Word ùÑîä ùÑîéí shâmayim ).

The word for Heaven is always plural in Hebrew. Here are the seven levels noted in Scripture. The names are:

Dok 

Rakia

Shechakim

Maon

Machon

Aravot

The meanings are noted below for information, as the Hebrew words describe:

DOK

Pronounced like Coke, is the word used in Isaiah 40:22. In the Hebrew commentary they use another synonym. Vilon

Vilon or SHAMEH – Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: H8064 ùÑîä ùÑîéí shâmayim shâmeh

Vilon (“curtain”): a curtain which is rolled over the earth at nighttime to block the sun (Isaiah 40:22); contains the atmosphere, minor stars, snow and dew; abode of Adam and Eve; governed by Gabriel; called curtain or veil because it veils or hides the other six levels; represented by the moon – Word describing the hand of God stretching out like a tent or curtain separating the heavensDok retires in the morning and comes out in the evening and renews the work of creation daily. Dok is the entire universe, going beyond what we can see with telescopes.

ḵad-dōq       כַדֹּק֙ as a curtain 1852 [e] strongs

Rakia

– Genesis 1:17 – Word describing the physical and visible heavens of the stars, moon and sun.

Heb. rakia is closely connected and is rendered “firmamentum” in the Vulgate, whence our “firmament” (Gen. 1:6; Deut. 33:26, etc.), regarded as a solid expanse.

Rakia is where God set them in the firmament (Rakia) and spread them out like a tent to dwell in. Genesis 1:17Raqi’a/Raki’a (“expanse,” “canopy”): possibly refers to the frozen canopy over the earth before the Flood (Genesis 1:7-8; Deuteronomy 11:11); Did Moses visit Paradise here to receive the Ten Commandments? Fallen angels are imprisoned here for marrying human women (Genesis 6:4); dwelling place of souls awaiting judgment including “men of renown,” apostates, tyrants; called expanse because it’s where the sun and planets dwell (Genesis 1:14, 17); represented by Mercury.

 It’s a reference to the stars, Sun, Moon, and planets: it refers to outer space where the various heavenly bodies move in their prescribed orbits and or maintain relationships in constellations, solar systems galaxies etc. Rakia is the part of the heavens that can be seen with the naked eye both in the day and at night.

bir-qî-a‘     יעַבִּרְקִ֣     in the firmament 

SHECHAKIM

Psalm 78:23 – Word describing atmosphere/air

Shechakim is from the Psalms 78:23, 24. though He had commanded the skies (Shechakim) from above and opened the doors of heaven, and had rained down manna on them to eat and had given them the grain of heaven.

This is where it is believed the millstones are located that grind manna for the righteous.

His word is still miraculously feeding us.

Shechakim is the atmosphere.

wə-ḏal-ṯê יוְדַלְתֵ֖ and the doors

šā-ma-yim   יִםשָׁמַ֣ of heaven

Meaning of term. Isa. 14:13, 14; “doors of heaven” (Ps. 78:23); heaven “shut” (1 Kings 8:35); “opened” (Ezek. 1:1). (See 1 Chr. 21:16.)

Spiritual meaning. The place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed spirits.

Shehaquim/Shehaqim/Shehakim (“clouds”): Eden and Tree of Life, also includes paradise and hell/hades (Psalm 78:23-24); represented by Venus.

ZEBUL/ZEVUL

Zebul or Zevul – Isaiah 63:15 – Word describing where God’s glory exists as in a Heavenly City.

Zevul is the location for 1Kings 8:13 for I have surely build you a house of habitation (Zevul) a place for you to dwell in for ever. This is said to be the location of celestial Jerusalem and the Temple with the heavenly altar. How do we know that Zevul may be this place? Because Isaiah 63:15 tells us look down from heaven and behold from the habitation (Zevul) of your holiness and your glory.

zə-ḇul   לזְבֻ֖   to dwell in

Zebul (“habitation”): stratosphere, sun, moon, and “four great stars,” including celestial mechanics; dwelling of the winds; called habitation because it’s where the New Jerusalem is located with its temple (Isaiah 63:15); and is represented by the sun.

MAON

Maon – Psalm 42:8 – Word describing where angels reside which comes from songs

Maon is where the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime and in the night His song will be with me, according to Psalm 42:9. This is where He is ministering and it is said where angels stay. We know that this could be heaven because of Deuteronomy 26:15 looked down from your holy habitation (Maon) from heaven.

מָעוֹן Phonetic Spelling: (maw-ohn’) habitation, strongs 4584

Ma’on (“refuge”): apparently home to “Grigori” — fallen angels who mourn for their brothers in Raqi’a; hell/Gehenna; Michael possibly presides; filled with ministering angels who sing by night; called refuge because it’s where most of the angels reside; represented by Mars.

MACHON

Machon – Deuteronomy 26:15 – Word describing the location of God’s storehouses of treasures of rain and snow, rain, hail, whirlwinds, storms etc. for the earth.

The Lord will open unto you his good treasure. Deuteronomy 28:12. We know that this is heaven because the same word is used in 1Kings 8:39 then here in heaven your dwelling place (Machon).

מָכוֹן Phonetic Spelling: (maw-kone’)

1 Kings 8:39 
HEB: תִּשְׁמַ֨ע הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם מְכ֤וֹן שִׁבְתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְסָלַחְתָּ֣ 
NAS: Your dwelling place, and forgive
 KJV: thy dwelling place, and forgive,
 INT: hear heaven place your dwelling and forgive.

Makhon/Machon/Makon (“city,” “established place”): home for angels in charge of nature’s cycles and good governing systems of the world; angels who write men’s actions in books; (Deuteronomy 28:12); It is called city, because it is said here is the City of Angels; represented by Jupiter.

ARABOT/ AVAVOT

Arabot or Aravot – Psalm 6:4 – Word describing the storehouse of righteousness and peace, where angels also reside and it is thought by some scholars this is where souls of those not yet born are waiting. 

Aravot is that in which are, righteousness, judgement and charity. The storehouses of life, of peace and blessing, the spirits of the righteous, with which the Lord will hereafter revive the dead. Those living here, include the Ophannim, Seraphim, Holy Chayyot, the ministering angels, the throne of glory and the King of the universe; according to Psalm 68:5, extol Him who rides upon the clouds (Aravot) by His Name, Yahweh. YHWH

The storehouse of life contains the force of life for all those yet to be born because it is said that when God finished creation in Genesis 2:1; He had made everything that would ever be – including our descendants. It is also thought that here, the spirits of the righteous dead are sleeping with their fathers. An interesting concept!Araboth/Aravot (“deserts”): also known as the 10th heaven; The throne of Glory and God dwell here, as well as Seraphim, Cherubim, justice, righteousness, souls of the righteous, and ineffable light (Psalm 68:5); called desert because it has no moisture and no air; God also said to be above the seventh heaven; represented by Saturn.

It’s possible that Judaism’s belief in multiple heavens could have been influenced by their exile in Babylon.. In fact, the word “paradise,” one of many words used to reflect heaven, comes from the Persian for “enclosed park or garden.”

Also note here that the first three represent the universe, the visible night sky and sun, and the atmosphere. These are natural physical things even when beyond the range of telescopes.

Each of the other four levels is both physical and spiritual. Three levels are translated habitation. Three levels are said to be populated: Zevul Maon and Aravot with various heavenly beings, the throne, and the spirits of the Saints. That is probably the level Paul referred to, the third of the populated levels as the dwelling place of the Most High, the third heaven, is the highest heaven. (2 Cor. 12:2)

One thing is certain, whether 3, or 7, or how ever many heavens, levels, realms and dimensions there are…Heaven is our final home and the ‘heaven’ of it will simply be dwelling in His presence. Shalom!