Heaven, Heavenly (-ies)
Heaven, Heavenly (-ies)
probably akin to ornumi, “to lift, to heave,” is used in the NT (a) of “the aerial heavens,” e.g., Mat 6:26; Mat 8:20; Act 10:12; Act 11:6 (RV, “heaven,” in each place, AV, “air”); Jam 5:18; (b) “the sidereal,” e.g., Mat 24:29, Mat 24:35; Mar 13:25, Mar 13:31; Heb 11:12, RV, “heaven,” AV, “sky;” Rev 6:14; Rev 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,” Mat 5:16; Mat 12:50; Rev 3:12; Rev 11:13; Rev 16:11; Rev 20:9. From thence the Son of God descended to become incarnate, Joh 3:13, Joh 3:31; Joh 6:38, Joh 6:42. 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, 1Pe 3:22. Since His ascension it is the scene of His present life and activity, e.g., Rom 8:34;. Heb 9:24. From the thence the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, 1Pe 1:12. It is the abode of the angels, e.g., Mat 18:10; Mat 22:30; cp. Rev 3:5. Thither Paul was “caught up,” whether in the body or out of the body, he knew not, 2Co 12:2. It is to be the eternal dwelling place of the saints in resurrection glory, 2Co 5:1. From thence Christ will descend to the air to receive His saints at the Rapture, 1Th 4:16; Phi 3:20-21, and will subsequently come with His saints and with His holy angels at His second advent, Mat 24:30; 2Th 1:7. In the present life “heavens,” is the region of the spirtual citizenship of believers, Phi 3:20. The present “heavens” with the earth, are to pass away, 2Pe 3:10, “being on fire,” 2Pe 3:12 (see 2Pe 3:7); Rev 20:11, and new “heavens” and earth are to be created, 2Pe 3:13; Rev 21:1, with Isa 65:17, e.g.
In Luk 15:18, Luk 15:21, “heaven” is used, by metonymy, for God. See AIR.
Notes: (1) For the phrase in Luk 11:13, see Note on B, No. 2.
(2) In Luk 11:2, the AV, “as in heaven,” translates a phrase found in some mss.
denotes “mid-heaven,” or the midst of the heavens (mesos, “middle,” and No. 1), Rev 8:13; Rev 14:6; Rev 19:17.
signifying “of heaven, heavenly,” corresponding to A, No. 1, is used (a) as an appellation of God the Father, Mat 6:14, Mat 6:26, Mat 6:32, “your heavenly Father;” Mat 15:13, “My heavenly Father;” (b) as descriptive of the holy angels, Luk 2:13; (c) of the vision seen by Paul, Act 26:19.
“heavenly,” what pertains to, or is in, heaven (epi, in the sense of “pertaining to,” not here, “above”), has meanings corresponding to some of the meanings of ouranos, A, No. 1. It is used (a) of God the Father, Mat 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,” Eph 1:3; (c) of Christ as “the Second Man,” and all those who are related to Him spirtually, 1Co 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,” Eph 6:12, RV, “in heavenly places,” for AV, “in high places;” (e) of the Holy Spirit, Heb 6:4; (f) of “heavenly things,” as the subjects of the teaching of Christ, Joh 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; Heb 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 spiritual Jerusalem, Heb 12:22; (i) of the kingdom of Christ in its future manifestation, 2Ti 4:18; (j) of all beings and things, animate and inanimate, that are “above the earth,” Phi 2:10; (k) of the resurrection and glorified bodies of believers, 1Co 15:49; (l) of the “heavenly orbs,” 1Co 15:40 (“celestial,” twice, and so rendered here only).
Note: In connection with (a), the word “heavenly,” used of God the Father in Luk 11:13, represents the phrase ex ouranou, “from heaven.”
formed from A, No. 1, and denoting “from heaven,” is used of (a) the aerial heaven, Act 14:17; (b) heaven, as the uncreated sphere of God’s abode, Act 26:13.