• Heaven
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • second presence of Christ Jesus that members of his congregation are resurrected and ascend to heaven, while “the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thess. 4:15-17) It may be noted that the “air” (Gr., a·erʹ, as at Acts 22:23) in which the surviving Christians meet the Lord is not the same as the “heaven” (ou·ra·nosʹ) and hence allowance must be made for something other than a literal ascension to heaven of these ‘surviving ones’ at this point. The text does not mention their dying, which is a prerequisite to their resurrection to spirit life.

      It is also true that even where the expression “heavenly places” is used, this may have a meaning other than literal. The context provides the key to understanding. Thus, the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians speaks of Christians then living on earth as though already enjoying such heavenly position, being raised up and “seated . . . together in the heavenly places in union with Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 1:3; 2:6) The context shows that anointed Christians are so viewed by God because of his having ‘assigned them as heirs’ with his Son in the heavenly inheritance. While yet on earth, they have been exalted or ‘lifted up’ by such assignment. (Eph. 1:11, 18-20; 2:4-7, 22) These points may also shed light on the symbolic vision at Revelation 11:12. Likewise it provides a key for understanding the prophetic picture contained at Daniel 8:9-12, where what has previously been shown to represent a political power is spoken of as “getting greater all the way to the army of the heavens,” and even causing some of that army and of the stars to fall to the earth. At Daniel 12:3, those servants of God on earth at the foretold time of the end are spoken of as shining “like the stars to time indefinite.” Note, too, the symbolic use of stars in the book of Revelation, chapters one through three, where the context shows that such “stars” refer to persons who are obviously living on earth and undergoing earthly experiences and temptations, these “stars” being responsible for congregations under their care.

      The way to heavenly life

      The way to heavenly life involves more than just faith in Christ’s ransom sacrifice and works of faith in obedience to God’s instructions. The inspired writings of the apostles and disciples show that there must also be a calling and choosing of such one by God through his Son. (2 Tim. 1:9, 10; Matt. 22:14; 1 Pet. 2:9) This invitation involves a number of steps or actions taken to qualify such a one for the heavenly inheritance, many of such steps being taken by God, others by the one called. Among such steps or actions are the declaring of the called Christian righteous (Rom. 3:23, 24, 28; 8:33, 34); bringing him forth (‘begetting him’) as a spiritual son (John 1:12, 13; 3:3-6; Jas. 1:18); his being baptized into Christ’s death (Rom. 6:3, 4; Phil. 3:8-11); anointing him (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:20, 27); sanctifying him (John 17:17); the called one must maintain integrity until death (2 Tim. 2:11-13; Rev. 2:10); and, the Christian having proved faithful in his calling and selection (Rev. 17:14), he is finally resurrected to spirit life.—John 6:39, 40; Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:42-49; see ANOINTED, ANOINTING; DECLARE RIGHTEOUS; RESURRECTION; SANCTIFICATION.

      THIRD HEAVEN

      At 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 the apostle Paul describes one who was “caught away . . . to the third heaven” and “into paradise.” Since there is no mention in the Scriptures of any other person having had such an experience, it seems likely that this was the apostle’s own experience. Whereas some have endeavored to relate Paul’s reference to the third heaven to the early rabbinical view that there were stages of heaven, even a total of “seven heavens,” this view finds no support in the Scriptures. As we have seen, the heavens are not referred to specifically as if divided into platforms or stages, but, rather, the context must be relied upon to determine whether reference is to the heavens within earth’s atmospheric expanse, the heavens of outer space, or the spiritual heavens. It therefore appears that the reference to the “third heaven” indicates the superlative degree of the rapture in which this vision was seen. Note the way words and expressions are repeated three times at Isaiah 6:3; Ezekiel 21:27; John 21:15-17; Revelation 4:8, evidently for the purpose of expressing an intensification of the quality or idea.

  • Hebrew, I
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • HEBREW, I

      The designation “Hebrew” is first used for Abram, distinguishing him thereby from his Amoritish neighbors. (Gen. 14:13) Thereafter, in virtually every case of its use, the term “Hebrew(s)” continues to be employed as a contrasting or distinguishing designation—the one speaking is of a non-Israelite nation (Gen. 39:13, 14, 17; 41:12; Ex. 1:16; 1 Sam. 4:6, 9), or is an Israelite addressing a foreigner (Gen. 40:15; Ex. 1:19; 2:7; Jonah 1:9), or foreigners are mentioned.—Gen. 43:32; Ex. 1:15; 2:11-13; 1 Sam. 13:3-7.

      As the above texts show, the designation “Hebrew” was already familiar to the Egyptians in the eighteenth century B.C.E. This would seem to indicate that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had become quite well known over a wide area, thus making the appellative “Hebrew” a recognizable one. When Joseph spoke of the “land of the Hebrews” (Gen. 40:15) to two of Pharaoh’s servants, he doubtless referred to the region around Hebron that his father and forefathers had long made a sort of base of operations. Some six centuries later the Philistines still spoke of the Israelites as “Hebrews,” and King Saul and the writer (or writers) of First Samuel show that “Hebrews” and “Israel” were then equivalent terms. (1 Sam. 13:3-7; 14:11; 29:3) In the ninth century B.C.E. the prophet Jonah identified himself as a Hebrew to sailors (possibly Phoenicians) on a boat out of the seaport of Joppa. (Jonah 1:9) The Law also distinguished “Hebrew” slaves from those of other races or nationalities (Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:12), and, in referring to this, the book of Jeremiah (in the seventh century B.C.E.) shows the term “Hebrew” to be then the equivalent of “Jew.”—Jer. 34:8, 9, 13, 14.

      In later periods Greek and Roman writers regularly called the Israelites either “Hebrews” or “Jews,” not “Israelites.”

      ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TERM

      The views as to the origin and significance of the term “Hebrew” generally can be resolved into the following:

      One view holds that the name comes from the root word ʹa·varʹ, meaning “to pass over.” The term would then apply to Abraham as the one whom God took “from the other side of the River [Euphrates].” (Josh. 24:3) The translators of the Septuagint Version so understood the term and thus at Genesis 14:13 referred to Abraham as “the passer” rather than