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31; Heb. 11:12,
RV
, “heaven,”
KJV
, “sky”; Rev. 6:14; 20:11; they, (a) and (b), were
created by the Son of God, Heb. 1:10, as also by God the Father, Rev. 10:6; (c) “the
eternal dwelling place of God,” Matt. 5:16; 12 :50; Rev. 3:12; 11:13; 16:11; 20:9. From
thence the Son of God descended to become incarnate, John 3:13, 31; 6:38, 42. In His
ascension Christ “passed through the heavens,” Heb. 4:14,
RV
; He “ascended far above
all the heavens,” Eph. 4:10, and was “made higher than the heavens,” Heb. 7:26; He “sat
down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,” Heb. 8:1; He is “on
the right hand of God,” having gone into heaven, 1 Pet. 3:22. Since His ascension it is the
scene of His present life and activity, e.g., Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24. From thence the Holy
Spirit descended at Pentecost, 1 Pet. 1:12. It is the abode of the angels, e.g., Matt. 18:10;
22:30; cf. Rev. 3:5. Thither Paul was “caught up,” whether in the body or out of the body,
he knew not, 2 Cor. 12:2. It is to be the eternal dwelling place of the saints in resurrection
glory, 2 Cor. 5:1. From thence Christ will descend to the air to receive His saints at the
Rapture, 1 Thess. 4:16; Phil. 3:20, 21, and will subsequently come with His saints and
with His holy angels at His second advent, Matt. 24:30; 2 Thess. 1:7. In the present life
“heaven” is the region of the spiritual citizenship of believers, Phil. 3:20. The present
“heavens,” with the earth, are to pass away, 2 Pet. 3:10, “being on fire,” v. 12 (see v. 7);
Rev. 20:11, and new “heavens” and earth are to be created, 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1, with
Isa. 65:17, e.g.
In Luke 15:18, 21, “heaven” is used, by metonymy, for God. See
AIR
.
Notes:
(1) For the phrase in Luke 11:13, see
Note
on B, No. 2. (2) In Luke 11:2, the
KJV
, “as in heaven,” translates a phrase found in some mss.
2.
$
(
$1
, 3321) denotes “mid-heaven,” or the midst of the
heavens (
, “middle,” and No. 1), Rev. 8:13; 14:6; 19:17.¶
B. Adjectives.
1.
$
(
'$1
, 3770), signifying “of heaven, heavenly,” corresponding to A,
No. 1, is used (a) as an appellation of God the Father, Matt. 6:14, 26, 32, “your heavenly
Father”; 15:13, “My heavenly Father”; (b) as descriptive of the holy angels, Luke 2:13;
(c) of the vision seen by Paul, Acts 26:19.¶
2.
$
(
# $1
, 2032), “heavenly,” what pertains to, or is in, heaven ( ,
in the sense of “pertaining to,” not here, “above”), has meanings corresponding to some
of the meanings of
$
, A, No. 1. It is used (a) of God the Father, Matt. 18:35; (b) of
the place where Christ “sitteth at the right hand of God” (i.e., in a position of divine
authority), Eph. 1:20; and of the present position of believers in relationship to Christ,
Eph 2:6; where they possess “every spiritual blessing,” 1:3; (c) of Christ as “the Second
Man,” and all those who are related to Him spiritually, 1 Cor. 15:48; (d) of those whose
sphere of activity or existence is above, or in contrast to that of earth, of “principalities
and powers,” Eph. 3:10; of “spiritual hosts of wickedness,” 6:12,
RV
, “in heavenly
places,” for
KJV
, “in high places”; (e) of the Holy Spirit, Heb. 6:4; (f) of “heavenly
things,” as the subjects of the teaching of Christ, John 3:12, and as consisting of the
spiritual and “heavenly” sanctuary and “true tabernacle” and all that appertains thereto in
relation to Christ and His sacrifice as antitypical of the earthly tabernacle and sacrifices
under the Law, Heb. 8:5; 9:23; (g) of the “calling” of believers, Heb. 3:1; (h) of heaven as
the abode of the saints, “a better country” than that of earth, Heb. 11:16, and of the