The Heavens
There are many words in the English language that have multiple meanings. For example,
the time period between sunrise and sunset, or to a period of time (as in the phrase, ‘day’ can refer to a calendar day, “back in my day, we had to walk to school…uphill both ways”). Heaven is another such word.
“The heavens” can refer to what we now would call the atmosphere – the domain of all weather phenomenon on Earth – as in Isaiah 55:10-11a, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.” Earth’s atmosphere is a mixture of gases, primarily nitrogen (about 78%) and oxygen (about 20%). It protects Earth from harmful solar radiation while also redistributing heat and water vapor to sustain all life. The atmosphere can be thought of as the first heaven.
Heaven can also refer to the expanse of the Universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere – what we could commonly call “outer space” – as in Genesis 1:14, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ” It is difficult to grasp the vast size of the Universe. It has been estimated that there are over 300 sextillion stars (that’s the number 3 followed by 23 zeroes). This expanse can be thought of as the second heaven.
There is also a third heaven. In 2 Corinthians 12:2, St. Paul writes that a man (the Lutheran Study Bible notes that, “Clearly, Paul is speaking of himself”) was once “caught up to the third heaven – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know.” This refers to the place where God himself resides. (This is not to imply that Jesus is absent from us here in Earth; rather we know that, while he is now hidden for a time, he can be found just where he said – in his Word and Sacraments.) Psalm 11:4 states that, “The Lord is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven” This is the ‘highest heaven’ that is noted elsewhere in scripture, such as in Solomon’s dedication prayer for the temple in 2 Chronicles 6:18: “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!”
This third heaven was the destination of the repentant criminal who was crucified with Jesus (Luke 23:43), the paradise of God. It is also the destination of all the elect should we die before the Lord’s return. But it is not our final destination. Rather, as Pastor Baker recently noted in Sunday morning Bible study, we will live with the Lord himself in our resurrected bodies upon a new Earth with new heavens for all eternity. Now that sounds like heaven!
Author’s Note: Phillip Bell, CEO of Creation Ministries International – United Kingdom, had a wonderful piece on this topic in CREATION.com’s January 2026 newsletter, which served as the inspiration for this article.