Let's Talk About Heaven

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain." 1 Corinthians 3:19

Dictionary Definition of "Heaven"

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

The region or expanse which surrounds the earth, and which appears above and around us, like an immense arch or vault, in which are seen the sun, moon and stars.
Among Christians, the part of space in which the omnipresent Jehovah is supposed to afford more sensible manifestations of his glory. Hence this is called the habitation of God, and is represented as the residence of angels and blessed spirits.
Among pagans, the residence of the celestial gods.
The sky or air; the region of the atmosphere; or an elevated place.
The Supreme Power; the Sovereign of heaven; God.
Elevation; sublimity.

Man's dictionaries do not reflect the truth or falsehood of words. They only site the way men use the words, right or wrong. In this lesson we will explore the way the Bible uses the word "heaven" and the way the various heathen thought about heaven.

Man has always wanted to live without ever dying. For centuries mankind has searched for security and happiness in the hope of going to heaven at death. However, the concept of Christians spending eternity in a place called "heaven" cannot be found in the Old Testament and Jesus's teaching did not include the idea either.

Heaven, described as a sacred place or paradise, does appear in the myths and legends of cultures around the world. According to these legends, Heaven can be the dwelling place of the god or gods or the place where people who have lived virtuously find their reward after death.

Heaven has often been described as a paradise of some kind, located above the earth - somewhere. In our own lifetime, the trips to outer space has disproven that idea for millions.

God reveals the answers to the mysteries of life and death in His Word, the Holy Bible. For people who have "eyes to see and ears to hear", the Bible does not suggest heaven is a physical, literal place where God, angels, or souls of dead people live . Rather the Bible says that God is Spirit, omnipotent, and not confined to physical boundaries. Regrettably, too many people have embraced pagan beliefs that cannot be proven true according to God's Word.

Matthew 24:14; "And this gospel of the Kingdom [NOT heaven] shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

BUT God does have good things planned for us, including immortality. The first thing we will experience after we are called from our sleep (death) is Jesus' presence. We will not escape physical death. We all will die, and we are indeed dead when we die. But when we are awaken, we will reign with Jesus Christ.

II Timothy 2:12; "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him [Jesus]: if we deny him, he also will deny us:"

Revelation 5:10; "And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." "Not a place called "heaven"). See also Revelation 20:6.

Ecclesiastes 9:5; "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."

Ecclesiastes 9:10; " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."

Psalms 6:5; "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"

Since we all have this inner longing to live forever and a sickening fear of death, it is easy on the ears to be told what we want to hear. We want our hopes to be confirmed that we will immediately, painlessly, go to a beautiful place to "live" after our life on earth is over. This is why man, all over the world, has developed beliefs in an "afterlife", each with their own variations of how to get there - all from man's own imaginations.

Even many so-called Christian Churches preach that we are being watched over by our departed loved ones. They tell us there will be no pain, no sickness, no death, no bills, no worries in heaven where they say we go immediately after death. We desperately WANT to believe what they say is true. But is it?

Let's study out the history of the "Heaven" doctrine to see if we can discover how we were fooled into embracing this false doctrine. Study "The Immortal Soul Doctrine" lesson under Bible Nuggets Study Index to learn what God's Word has to tell us about what will happen when we die.

The Pagan Origins of Heaven

The idea that “souls go to heaven" at death originated in ancient pagan religions, not the Bible. A brief look at ancient history reveals that the people of Babylon, Egypt, and other pagan civilizations imagined an afterlife where godly souls go after death.

Osiris Jesus

According to This Believing World, by Lewis Browne, the Egyptian god Osiris was thought to have been killed, resurrected and taken to heaven: “Osiris came to life again! He was miraculously resurrected from death and taken up to heaven; and there in heaven, so the myth declared, he lived on eternally”.

Browne explains: “The Egyptians reasoned that if it was the fate of the god Osiris to be resurrected after death, then a way could be found to make it the fate of man, too…The bliss of immortality that had formerly been reserved only for kings was then promised to all men… .

The heavenly existence of the dead was carried on in the realm of Osiris, and it was described in considerable detail by the Egyptian theologians.

It was believed that on death the soul of a man set out at once to reach a Judgment Hall on high…and stood before the celestial throne of Osiris, the Judge. There it gave account of itself to Osiris and his forty-two associate gods”. If able to satisfy the gods, “the soul was straightway gathered into the fold of Osiris. But if it could not, if it was found wanting when weighed in the heavenly balances, then it was cast into a hell, to be rent to shreds of the ‘Devouress.’ For only the righteous souls, only the guiltless, were thought to be deserving of life everlasting”.

Egyptian Judgement Hall with Osiris the Judge and the 42 associate gods

Browne continues. “In very early times that idea flourished not alone among the Babylonians and Egyptians, but also among the barbaric tribes in and around Greece…These mysteries [came] down from Thrace or across the sea from Egypt and Asia Minor…They declared that for every man, no matter how poor or vicious, there was a place in heaven. All one had to do was to be ‘initiated’ into the secrets of the cult…then salvation was assured him, and no excess of vice and moral turpitude [i.e., depravity] could close the gates of paradise in his face. He was saved forevermore”.

The idea of a heavenly destiny was common in the first century among pagans schooled in Greek philosophy as well. It entered Christianity gradually after the deaths of the Apostles, through the incorporation of elements of Gnosticism. (A prominent heretical movement of the 2nd - century Christian Church, partly of pre-Christian origin.)

Gnosticism

Gnostic = from Greek "gnosis" (knowledge).
Meaning: of or relating to knowledge, esp. esoteric mystical knowledge.

Gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme devine being, esoteric knowledge (gnosis) of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.

Gnostic Christian "gospels" are Gnostic writings dressed up to look like Christianity.

Its practices came principally from the Mystery Religions.
Its theology came principally from Dualistic religion, such as Zorastrianism and Manichaeism.
Its philosophy came principally from neo-Platonism (Plato, Plotinus).
Its story (or myth) came from Christianity.

More Foolish Thoughts of Man Concerning "Heaven"

Zoroastrian writings describe Heaven as "lofty, supreme, most brilliant, fragrant, pure, filled with beautiful existences, most desirable and most good which is the place and abode of the sacred beings where is found all comfort, pleasure, joy, happiness and welfare, better even than the greatest and most supreme welfare and pleasure in the world." (The Zoroastrian Religion)

Zorastor

The Taoist tradition of Chinese mythology spoke of Penglai Shan (Mount Penglai), a mountain with eight peaks. On each was perched the palace of one of eight immortal beings. Like many heavens, Penglai was described in terms of precious things: it had trees of coral that bore pearls instead of fruit. No human could enter Penglai because it was surrounded only by air.

The Eight Taoist (Chinese) Immortal Beings

A sect of Buddhism based on Armida or Amitabha, the Buddha of boundless light, emerged in Japan in the 1100's. They believed in an eternal afterlife in a realm called the Pure Land or the Western Paradise. Anyone could enter the Pure Land through sincere spiritual devotion to Armida, who taught that the road to salvation lay in saving others from suffering. Other versions of Buddhism described the soul's ideal fate not as arriving in a heaven but as achieving nirvana, a state of being in which individual desires ceased to exist.

Sakaru at Tian-Yuan Gong - Temple of Heaven Pagoda

Traditional Chinese religion and mythology included multiple concepts of heaven. Tiān (天) is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. The Chinese believed that their rulers' authority came from Tian, and they called their Emperor Tianzi, Son of Heaven. Heaven worship was, before the 20th century, an orthodox state religion of China.

Japanese Amida Budda

Islamic mythology envisioned a multilayered paradise (this was based on earlier Jewish and Christian traditions). Heaven was a pyramid, cone, or mountain rising from the lowest level to the highest. The phrase "seventh heaven," meaning the highest happiness, comes from this image. The Muslim heavens are garden paradises of shade trees, flowing streams, and abundant pleasure. The various levels are associated with precious substances such as gold, silver, and pearls, but the highest level is made of pure, divine light and is devoted to the ceaseless, joyous praise of God.

Islamic Concept of Heaven

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, the topmost realm of existence. It was ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death. Here they spent their afterlife in joyous fighting and feasting. The other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr. In Old English, Odin is named Woden. The name of Wednesday in English comes from "Wodens day".

Norse God, Odin ruler of Asgard

The Greeks believed the underworld was a place inside the earth where the dead went for an after-life experience. The underworld was made up of three places: Tartarus, The Asphodel Fields and The Elysian Fields. They believed the heroic people went to the Elysian Fields upon death. Here they rested and enjoyed lives of luxury and bliss. If you went to the Elysian Field three times you could go to the Isles of the Blessed and never leave.

The Elysian Field of the Greek Underworld

In Mesopotamia, the oldest written story in history is one of Gilgamesh, dating around 2600 BC. It gives us an insight into the Sumerian belief in an afterlife. Gilgamesh struggles with the inevitability of death and his desire for immortality. In Gilgamesh's city of Uruk, the popular gods were Anu (father of the gods), Ishtar (goddess of love), and Lugulbanda (Gilgamesh's personal god).

Ishtar (goddess of love)

Heaven and Immortality

We have examined some of man's ideas and concepts of heaven. The idea of "heaven" is bound up with that of eternal life. Descriptions of many pagan heavens make a special point of mentioning immortality, whether of the gods or of humans. This concept comes from the pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul (see the study of the "Immortal Soul"). No where in God's Word can be found these wicked, deceitful doctrines.

Jeremiah 17:9; "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 Now let us examine what God's Word has to say.

These words were translated into "heaven" or "heavenly"
in the King James Version of the Bible

Uses of the Word "Heaven" and "Heavenly" in the Bible

The Scriptures use the word "heaven" in multiple ways, determined by the context in which it appears.

1. The atmosphere surrounding the surface of the earth - the locality of the clouds - the
sky. Deuteronomy 11:17; "And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven,
[#8064, Shamayia] that there be no rain, ... "

Acts 14:17; "Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, [#3771 Ouranothen]  and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
  See also: Genesis 1:6-8; Deuteronomy 28:12; Judges 5:4; Psalms 77:17-18, 104:1-3.

2. The vast stretched out expanse of space above the earth's atmosphere where the sun, moon, stars and planets are located. Isiah 13:10-13; " For the stars of heaven [#8064, Shamayia] and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be
     darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine."
See also: Genesis 1:14-17, 15:5, 22:17; Jeremiah 8:2

3. A reference or figurative reference to God or His presence often alluding to his
   elevated position as supreme, sovereign, omnipotent, omnipresent, immortal
   Creator of all things. These are tangible terms to identify an intangible  God.
Daniel 4:26; "... after that thou shalt have known that the heavens [#8065] Shamayin] do rule." ( It is God that rules, not in a place!)

Luke 15:21; "And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, [#3772 Ouranos] and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son."
(We can sin against God, but we cannot sin against a place).

"Heavenly" in these verses refer to God's elevated position.

Matthew 18:35; "So likewise shall my heavenly [#2032 Epouranios] Father do also unto you, ..."
Luke 11:13; Jesus states, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly [#3772, Ouranos] Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

"Heavenly" in these verses refer to higher level things.

In John 3:12; Jesus says, "If I have told you earthy things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly [#3770 Ouranios] things?"
I Corinthians 15:48 states, "As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and is the heavenly [#2032, Epouranios] such are they also that are heavenly [#2032, Epuranios]."