HEAVEN. Heaven and Earth in Gen. i. 1. are used for all sensible creatures. Heaven likewise is often taken for the Air: the birds of Heaven, are the birds which fly in the Air: the waters of Heaven, the cataracts of Heaven, are the rainwaters. God caused fire and brimstone to rain down from Heaven on Sodom; that is to say, to descend from the Air. The Dew of Heaven, the Manna which fell from Heaven; the Clouds of Heaven, the Winds of Heaven; in all which passages, Heaven is put for the Air.
The Stars are placed in Heaven, or in the Firmament. The Hebrews conceived the Heavens, where the stars appeared, to Gen. i. 14, 15, 16, 17.be a solid and extended vault. God placed the Sun and moon in the firmament of Heaven. The stars are called the host of Heaven. God, like a powerful Monarch, calleth the stars by their names, and giveth them his orders. The God of the Hebrews is named, not only by the Jews, but also by the heathens and strange people, the God of Heaven; because the Jews adored Ezra i. 2. v. 11. vi. 9, 10. vii. 12, &c. Judith v. 9, 12. Jonah i. 9.nothing sensible, and said their God was in Heaven; that there he had his throne, and exercised his sovereign dominion over all creatures.
The Heaven of Heavens is the highest Heaven, as the Song of Songs is the most excellent Song; the God of Gods, the Lord of Lords; the greatest of the Gods, the most powerful of Lords. There is likewise the third Heaven mentioned by St. Paul; for 2 Cor. xii. 2.the Hebrews acknowledged three Heavens; 1. The aërial Heaven, where the birds fly, the winds blow, and the showers are formed. 2. The Heaven or Firmament, wherein the stars are dispo-sed. 3. The Heaven of Heavens, or the third Heaven, which is the place of God’s residence, the dwelling of Angels and the Blessed.
The names of the Saints, of the Predestinated, Luke x. 20. Hebr. xii. 13.are written in Heaven, in the book of life. The Tables of Heaven, mentioned in the Testament of the twelve Patriarchs, and in some other ancient works, were, in all probability, certain apocryphal Books, wherein divers pretended prophecies had been collected. Others think, that they were secrets in judicial Astro-logy; others again, that they were the prototypes Vide Dodwell. Simon. apud Fabric. Apocryph. V. T. t. 2. p. 551.of Moses’s Laws, and even of the New Testament, which were believed to be in Heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven, is understood in different senses; as may be seen under the Article KINGDOM.