These are very interesting questions and the only place that we can find this information is in the Word of God, the Bible.
The spiritual realm is a fascinating subject. Physical can’t see spirit. Our physical life now, however long or short, will be a fraction of our life as a Spirit-born member of God’s Family if we make it into the Kingdom of God.
In an article entitled “What Science Can’t Discover About the Human Mind”, Mr Herbert W Armstrong (1892-1986), former leader of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God, wrote that “God has had to plan to bridge the gap between MATTER (of which MAN is now wholly composed) and SPIRIT (which God now is, and man must become). The body that comes in the (first) resurrection is not the same body that was flesh and blood in this human lifetime. God does not turn flesh and blood matter INTO Spirit. The flesh and blood physical body, after death, decomposes and decays, but the spirit that was IN that body, like the sculptor’s mold, preserves all the form and shape, the memory, and the character INTACT. And that mold, being spirit does not change — even though the resurrection may take place thousands of years after death.”
In his book “Beyond the Cosmos,” author Hugh Ross states on page 15 that “Since birth we have lived in the four dimensions of length, width, height and time. We will continue to reside there until the day of our physical death.” On page 19, we read: “With the help of supercomputers, mathematicians have designed realms with as many as a million dimensions of space. On page 20, we further read: “Physicists have just uncovered strong evidence that extra dimensions do indeed exist. Yet predating these physics discoveries by more than nineteen hundred years are the words of the prophets and apostles who penned the sixty-six books of the Bible. These ancients described phenomena – such as the creation event, miracles, [and] Jesus’ post-resurrection capacities… – that require the existence of extra dimensions or the functional equivalent of extra dimensions.”
We quote these comments to show how incredible the future will be when the physical will be but a fleeting moment of history and everything will then become spiritual. As Spirit beings, the people of God will understand all of this information, and much more as the sons and daughters of God.
Therefore, we will have a look at the spiritual world now and see how magnificent it is. This should encourage and motivate us about the future that is set before us and show us how much greater it will be than that which we enjoy today, and much greater than we can understand at this time. It is exciting to think about all of this and to pray for God’s Kingdom to come – and soon!
There are three heavens and we have written before, for instance in our Q&A https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-3756/, about these as follows:
“The Bible does indeed reveal the existence of ‘three’ heavens. While the first two heavens are ‘physical’ in nature, the third heaven is composed of spirit — it is referred to in Scripture as God’s dwelling place.
“The atmosphere or the ‘first heaven’ — the air that surrounds the earth — refers to the space where the birds fly, the clouds and the wind roam, and from which the dew comes. We read in Genesis 1:20: ‘…let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ We also read, in Genesis 27:28, that God promises to give ‘the dew of heaven.’ Finally, we are told in Deuteronomy 33:28, that Jacob’s ‘Heavens shall also drop dew.’
“The physical universe, which is beyond this earth’s atmosphere, can be described as the ‘second heaven.’ It represents the space where we find the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the other planets that God has created. We read, in Genesis 1:14-17, that God referred to sun and moon as ‘lights in the firmament of the heavens’ (verses 14, 15), and that He ‘set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’ (verse 17). David pondered, in Psalm 8:3, over God’s ‘heavens, the work of Your fingers,’ and he especially continued to talk about ‘the moon and the stars, which You have ordained.’
“In addition to these two physical ‘heavens,’ we find that the Bible speaks about another heaven, a heaven composed of spirit — the third heaven, where God lives. No human being has ever ascended to this heaven (compare John 3:13) — the only one who went to this heaven after His resurrection was Jesus Christ. We are specifically told that David did not ascend to heaven (Acts 2:34).’”
So, let us now look at the Heaven of God’s Throne and so much more. We will explore WHERE it is, WHO and WHO IS NOT in heaven, WHAT is in heaven.
One commentator opined that “I believe that heaven cannot thoroughly be explained, even by the Scriptures, for it must be too wonderful for words and it must be too indescribable to relate to by word pictures.” It would be difficult to disagree with that assertion!
So, where is the Heaven of God’s Throne?
In Isaiah 14:13, we read about Lucifer’s attempted coup d’etat, the most audacious but ridiculous attempt at a take-over bid in the history of the universe! But this verse does reveal a geographical location of the third heaven: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” (Authorized Version).
This reveals that it is in the north of the earth and the word ascend means to go or move upward, to rise. This is confirmed when we read that Jesus came down from heaven (cp John 3:13 and many other verses particularly in John 6 which are quoted further on in this Q&A. Therefore, it must be in the north.
There are many verses in the Bible where heaven is shown as in the north. Psalm 75:6-7 (Authorized Version) states: “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Promotion or “exaltation” comes from the north, where God’s throne is.
The Bible does not give other information about this location, geographically, but the location is immaterial anyway because, as it is spiritual, it can’t be seen by man.
Let us look WHO and WHO is not in heaven.
It is interesting to read about those spiritual beings who inhabit that wonderful spiritual place.
Wikipedia gives the following insight into the 3rd heaven: “A third concept of Heaven, also called shămei hashamayim (שׁמי השׁמים or ‘Heaven of Heavens’), is mentioned in such passages as Genesis 28:12, Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Kings 8:27 as a distinctly spiritual realm containing (or being traveled by) angels and God.”
We know, of course, that God the Father and Jesus Christ are in heaven. Let us review just a few of so many verses in the Bible that refer to this.
Psalm 11:4: “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.”
Psalm 115:3: “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”
Isaiah 66:1: “Thus says the LORD, Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?”
In the model prayer given by Jesus as recorded in Matthew 6:9, Jesus opens with the phrase “Our Father in heaven.”
In John 3:12, we read: “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Jesus knew about heavenly things because He had come down from there.
In John 6, Jesus refers to Himself as the bread which came down from heaven (see verses 33, 41, 48, 50, 51, 58).
Hebrews 8:1: “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,”
Mark 16:19: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”
Revelation 3:21: “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
And then there are the angelic beings.
On page 3 of our booklet “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” the question is asked: “How Many Angels Exist?” and the answer reads as follows:
“Man has no comprehension of how many angels exist. The revealed number is indeed mind-boggling. In Revelation 5:11, the number of angels that had assembled before the throne of God is given as ‘…ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.’ Hebrews 12:22 goes even further: ‘But you have come to… an innumerable company of angels.’ The Greek word for ‘innumerable’ is ‘anarithmethos,’ literally meaning, ‘unnumbered’ or ‘without number.’ Certainly, God knows how many angels He created but for man, angels are ‘without number.’”
Let us, from the same booklet on page 4, read about them having their own names:
“As individual beings with feelings and emotions, and with their own language, God also knows them by individual names. The Bible reveals two angelic names to us—Michael and Gabriel. It also talks about a third angel—Lucifer—who became Satan the devil. It appears, however, that all of the other angels have God-given names too. In Hebrews 1:4, we are told that Christ ‘…obtained a more excellent name than they,’ and Ephesians 1:21, in comparing Christ with the angelic world, states that Christ was seated at the right hand of God the Father, …far above…every name that is named.’ (Compare, too, Philippians 2:9.)”
Then on page 7, we read about the different orders of angels:
“There seem to exist different orders, categories or ranks of angels, with varying degrees of power and authority. When describing the angelic world, Colossians 1:16 speaks about ‘…thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.’ Ephesians 1:20–21 refers to angels as ‘…principality and power and might and dominion.’ In Ephesians 3:10, angels are identified as ‘…principalities and powers in the heavenly places,’ and 1 Peter 3:22 describes the created world of spirit beings as ‘…angels and authorities and powers.’
“In light of these Scriptures, the Swiss Zürcher Bible does refer to ranks among the angels. The Ryrie Study Bible states in an annotation to Ephesians 1:21: ‘These words (i.e., principality, and power, and might, and dominion) in rabbinical thought of the time, described different orders of angels.’
“As will become clearer in the remainder of this booklet, angels have been given varying degrees of power and glory. All of them are powerful and glorious, but not to the same extent. Revelation 5:2 speaks about a ‘strong angel.’ Revelation 10:1 and 18:21 describe ‘mighty’ angels. Revelation 18:1 introduces an angel ‘…coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.’ Other Scriptures imply that specific angels were given special powers over fire (Revelation 14:18) and water (Revelation 16:5).
“The following brief overview will summarize the varying orders or categories of angels, as revealed in Scripture.”
We then read about them on pages 6-10:
- Archangels
- Seraphim
- Cherubim
- Four Living Creatures
- The twenty-four Elders
- The seven Spirits of God
- The Remaining Angels
In heaven, there are God the Father, Jesus Christ the Word, and innumerable angels.
(To be continued)
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)