Discussion

Explain that the word “Heaven” appears more than 600 times in the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for “Heaven” is shamayim (Heavens). In the New Testament the Greek word is ouranos. A good starting place to learn about Heaven is to understand that the Bible uses Heaven to describe three different spheres of existence. However, there is also a popular expression in society about someone being in “seventh Heaven” when describing a person’s extreme state of happiness, but according to the Bible, there are not seven Heavens. You might be surprised to learn that the tradition of there being “Seven Heavens” comes from the teachings of Islam, not the Bible.

Also explain that another term for Heaven is Paradise. For instance, in Revelation 2, the resurrected and glorified Christ wrote to the church at Ephesus He says, “The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). I love that the narrative of the Bible begins with a garden and ends with a garden, don’t you? Genesis opens with God creating the Garden of Eden and enjoying fellowship with two people in a perfect paradise. Then the Bible concludes with the last book of the Bible in Revelation where God is enjoying eternal fellowship with a multitude of people in a Heavenly garden also called Paradise.