Heaven - Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

The word is used to identify certain spaces or certain conditions.

Since it is used in so many ways, we will in this paragraph just list a few, and these will cover a majority of the Scripture references.

1. The place where the birds fly (Gen 1:20; Lam 4:19).

2. The place in which are located the sun, moon and stars (Gen 1:14-17).

3. The place where the clouds are seen (Gen 7:11).

4. The place from which the lightnings come (Gen 19:24; Luk 9:54; Luk 10:18).

5. The place where GOD dwells (Gen 21:17; Gen 22:11).

6. The place where dew originates (Gen 27:28; Gen 27:39).

7. The place from which angels come (Gen 28:17).

8. The place from which rain comes (Deu 11:11; 1Ki 8:35; 2Ch 6:26; Jer 10:13).

9. The place which describes Israel's dispersion (Deu 30:4; Neh 1:9).

10. The place where the blessings of earth originate such as rain, dew, heat and cold. (Deu 33:13).

11. The place where storms form with thunder, lightning and wind. (Job 26:11).

12. The place where manna, the heavenly food, came from. (Psa 78:24; Joh 6:31, Joh 6:41).

13. The place which describes the supreme seat or throne of GOD. It is above all the other heavens. (1Ki 8:27; 2Ch 2:6; 2Ch 6:18).

14. The place where the believer, the Christian, the saved person, goes in his spirit when he dies.

We never read in the Bible that the believer "goes to Heaven." Probably the reason is that the Holy Spirit never calls our attention to the place where we are going, but always to the Person by whom we go, and to whom we go. We are said to be "absent from the body, and present with the Lord." We also read, "I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better." JESUS said, "I will receive you unto Myself." We should notice that it is always the Person, and never the place that gives comfort to the heart.