• Spiritual meaning. The place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed spirits.

    (A) Christ calls it his "Father's house" (John 14:2 ).

    (B) It is called "paradise" (Luke 23:43; 2 co 12:4; Revelation 2:7 ).

    (C) "The heavenly Jerusalem" (Galatians 4 :: 26; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12 ).

    (D) The "kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 25:1; James 2:5 ).

    (E) The "eternal kingdom" (2 Peter 1:11 ).

    (F) The "eternal inheritance" (1 Peter 1:4; Hebrews 9:15 ).

    (G) The "better country" (Hebrews 11:14,16 ).

    (H) The blessed are said to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," and to be "in Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22; Matthew 8:11 ); to "reign with Christ" (2 Timothy 2:12 ); and to enjoy "rest" (Hebrews 4:10,11 ).

    In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17 ), an exemption from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2 Corinthians 5:1,2 ) and from the society of the wicked (2 Timothy 4:18 ), bliss without termination, the "fulness of joy" for ever (Luke 20:36; 2 co 4:16,18; 1 Peter 1:4; 5:10; 1 John 3:2 ). The believer's heaven is not only a state of everlasting blessedness, but also a "place", a place "prepared" for them (John 14:2 ).

    Copyright StatementThese dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

    Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. Entry for 'Heaven'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/h/heaven.html. 1897.