By James B. Hartline
All our lives we are taught that when we die we go immediately to heaven or hell. Most people don't really understand what the Bible says concerning either. I have heard preachers talk about someone having some kind of sin problem and they would say, "Oh, he will go to heaven, but. . ." We need to know more than that. Do we really go to heaven or hell when we die? Well, this page is directed toward understanding heaven. Hell is on another page.
Look up the word "heaven" in your Strong's Concordance.
The Old Testament Hebrew word is "Shamayim"and the definition is: dual of an unused singular: to be lofty: the sky.
What does that mean? It simply means that there was no singular usage of the word which we translate "heaven." It was always "the heavens," that is, it was always plural. It means everything in the sky or the universe.
The New Testament Greek word is "ouranos," and the definition is: (through the idea of elevation, the sky; by extension, heaven, as the abode of God. This word is the Greek equivalent of "Shamayim."
Words translated "heaven" in the King James Bible:
Hebrew:
8064 Shamayim: dual of an unused singular, (the sky as aloft).
8065 Shamayin (Chaldean): equivalent to 8064 above.
1534 galgal: Wheel, whirlwind, dust.
7834 Shachaq: a powder (as beaten small) vapor, firmament.
6160* Arabah: desert.
6183* ariyph: the sky (as drooping at the horizon).
Greek:
2032 Epouranios: above the sky (celestial).
3321 mesouranema: mid-sky.
3770 ouranios: belonging to or coming from the sky.
3771 ouranothen: from the sky.
3372 ouranos: sky (through the idea of elevation).
Ouranos is translated “heaven” 268 times in the Authorized Version, it is rendered “air” 10 times and “sky” only 5 times.
I looked up the following phrases in Strong's Concordance on my computer, and got the indicated results:
“heavenly home,” no verses found
“go to heaven,” no verses found
“taken to heaven,” no verses found
“live in heaven,” no verses found
“life in heaven,” no verses found
“going to heaven,” no verses found
“mansions in heaven,” no verses found
Bottom line: So shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thes. 4:17.
Where does God abide?
Where does God abide? Isn't He everywhere?
Then how is it that we try to confine Him to a specific place that we call "heaven?"
God inhabits the universe. He lives in "the heavens."
"But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by earth for it is the footstool of His feet. . . Mt. 5:34.
"The throne of the Majesty in the heavens. . ," Hebrews 8:1.
The earth is in the heavens. Just go to the moon and you will see that the earth is suspended in the heavens, just like everything else in the universe.
Isn't God present on the earth?
If God is everywhere, where is Jesus?
1. He is standing at the right hand of God, Acts 7:55.
2. He is at the right hand of God, Romans 8:34.
3. He is "set" at the right hand of God in the heavenly places (plural), Ephesians 1:20.
4. Therefore having been exhalted to the right hand of God. . . Acts 2:33.
"Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet."
The Greek word rendered "sit," in Hebrews 1:13, Acts 2:34 and Luke 20:42, is "katemai," which can mean: sit down, remain or reside.
"Sit on thrones" in Luke 22:30 is the Greek "kathizo" which is an active form of “katemai” and means to "seat down" or "appoint." This is a figurative expression "to seat in judgment."
Is God literally sitting down? Is Jesus sitting beside Him?
God is everywhere and Jesus resides beside Him at His "right hand," the hand of "power." Matthew 14:62.
Jesus said: "All power has been given to Me in heaven and in earth." Matthew 28:18.
To be at the right hand of God is to have His power.
We have been taught (from John 14) that Jesus is up in "heaven," preparing a “mansion” for each of us to live in when we get to heaven. Was that really what He was talking about? You must see this one: When you finish this article, click on the link "MANSIONS."
What about the city, coming down out of heaven (in Revelation)? Is that heaven?
That city is adorned as a bride. It is not a natural city, but is the bride of Christ, the church. All the attributes of the city have spiritual implications. It is not a city for us to live in, we (Christians) are the city. The city exists right now.
Eternal Life
Most of us think of eternal life in terms of the life we now live on this earth. That is, we imagine some form of physical existence, and no wonder, that is all we know from our life's experience. We've never been totally spirit beings, but the Bible says that God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth. John 4:24.
It also says, speaking of Jesus, that when we see Him we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2.
It says our body is sown a natural body, but raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual. (1 Corinthians 15:44)
45. As it is written, "the first man, Adam, became a life giving soul (natural, procreation).
The last Adam became a life giving spirit (endued with the power of God.) However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.
47. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from the heavens. (plural)
48. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also those who are heavenly.
49. And just as we (Paul speaking here) have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable (this is speaking of spirit, not flesh), and we shall be changed.
53. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. [Put on: Greek word is "enduo:" in the sense of sinking into a garment."]
54. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory:
55. "O' death, where is your victory? O' death, where is your sting?"
56. The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law;
57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is." 1 John 3:2.
1 Corinthians 15:45 says Jesus (the last Adam) became a life-giving Spirit. If He became a Spirit and we are to be like Him, doesn't it follow that we will also become spirits?
We shall bear His image. 1 Corinthians 15:49.
1 Corinthians 15:50 says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. That is to say, the natural part of us cannot. It is entirely a spiritual matter.
Hebrews 4:14—“Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
As human beings, who have spent all our conscious existence in bodies of flesh, with our pleasures and miseries, it is hard for us to understand what it will be like after we die.
The Bible assures us that death is not the end of our existence. Even though the life force (called "the breath of life" in Genesis) has gone out of our mortal bodies, never to return, we are told with surety that we shall live.
Through the angel Gabriel, God said to Daniel, "But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into your rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age." Daniel 12:13.
‘And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. "Even after my skin is flayed, yet without my flesh I shall see God;"’ Job 19:25.
"The earth will give birth to the departed spirits (ghosts)." Isaiah 28:19.
Those who died, before Jesus gave His life for our redemption, actually slept in the grave until Jesus made a way for them to be rescued by resurrection. He foretold the resurrection from death, and He did it for us so that we could partake of resurrection life by accepting His atonement through His blood, the perfect sacrifice.
At His crucifixion, many saints (blameless and pure) of old were resurrected. The tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints were raised; and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection entered the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:52.
The Bible does not tell us what happened to these resurrected saints.
Some teach (in error) that Jesus descended into "hell" and released all the captives there. "Stole them right out from under Satan's nose."
Actually, those who teach such doctrine do not understand "hell." Hotlink to Hell.
Although such teaching of Jesus descending into "hell" is merely borne of ignorance of the truth, the effect of what Jesus did is the same.
The Bible tells us that men were held captive all the days of their lives by the "fear" of death. They knew that their forefathers had died and remained in the grave. They thought that death was final, the end. There was no hope of a life after death.
But, Jesus came preaching resurrection from the dead. He even demonstrated it at least three times before He laid down His own life for mankind and then He really gave a demonstration of His awesome power when He took His life back up again. John 10:17&18.
After the resurrection of Jesus, I believe that there was a change in what happens to us after death. If we belong to Christ, we will not sleep in the grave, but discard the body of flesh (clay) and take on an entirely spiritual nature or form for eternity. [What our parents taught us about going immediately to be with the Lord when we die is true for us, but not for those who died prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus.]
The resurrection for the believer is not that his physical body comes out of the grave. We will have no need for our human physical bodies, once we have laid them down. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. John 11:25.
"Any who believed on Him (before His crucifixion), although they died, yet they lived again after His resurrection." Matthew 27:52, John 11:25.
Those who believed on Him and survived until after His resurrection shall never die. John 11:26.
The death that is avoided by believing on Him is spiritual death in the lake of fire, called in Revelation 20:14&15, the second death. Of course, it is appointed unto every man once to die (Hebrews 9:27 the physical death),
and that will happen. The second death is a spiritual death (cessation of life) and will not happen to those who trust Jesus, the Christ.
Did Jesus go to Hell for us?
Jesus did not go into a place call "hell," that is burning with fire, He merely went into the tomb (hades, sheol, the grave. The word "hell" comes from old English "helan," which means to cover something over).
By His death and resurrection, Jesus took away the authority which the devil had in the earth, so, you could say He "spoiled" the devil.
He did not lead away a large number of captives from "hell" (a burning fire) but freed them from the power of death and the grave (hades, or sheol).
When it is said that He lead captivity captive, the clear meaning is just that. He captivated what had held men captive, the fear of death and the grave. He captivated captivity itself. But, here again, the end result is the same. The saints of old (before Christ) and the saints after Christ were all freed from the wages of sin (2 Peter 2:13, Romans 6:23) and given the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. They will never die the second death, but will live with Him throughout eternity.
Those of us who follow Jesus Christ and trust Him for our eternal destiny will also go to be with Him when we give up this mortal life, and thus we shall forever be with the Lord. Not necessarily in a place called "heaven," but wherever He is.
Jesus never said that we would go to "heaven." If He did, show it to me in the Bible. Instead, He invited us into the “kingdom” of heaven which John the baptist came preaching was then at hand.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Matthew 3:2.
Jesus stated the same thing in Matthew 4:17, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to WHEN the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God IS NOT COMING WITH SIGNS TO BE OBSERVED, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is! or there it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst (literally: within you). Luke 17:20-21, NASB.
The way into the kingdom started with the preaching of John the baptist and was opened by Jesus and people have entered that kingdom through Him ever since.
If you are a born again Christian, you are partaking of the kingdom of heaven (also called the kingdom of God in Luke 8:10, 9:2, 11, 22, 60, 62, etc.) "For the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17.
So where do we go when we die?
We go to forever be with the Lord, wherever He is.
That will be heavenly.
