Unreal sometimes means “not true, deserving of doubt, not authentic.” But when I say “UNReal,” I mean amazing, awe inspiring, and hard to put into words. In that sense, Heaven is UNReal because it is so REAL.
The fact that Heaven is a REAL place makes it amazing. The writers of scripture use earthly descriptions to describe an actual place that is not earthly at all. God’s word tells us a lot about Heaven, but it’s nothing new for people to want to imagine more. A lot of people have no earthly idea what Heaven is like, but we only have to look to God’s word to find out. What God tells us about heaven in the Bible is for Real.
The Bible uses the word for heaven almost 600 times. In the Old Testament, it’s a word that means “the heights.” In the New Testament, it’s a word that means “raised up or lofty.” Both words are used to describe 3 distinct locations. There are 3 heavens.
The Apostle Paul is in a privileged, but very small, group of human beings. He gave testimony in 2 Corinthians 2 about how he was “caught up” and given special revelation of Heaven. He said about himself, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” (vv. 2-4) He visited one of the 3 heavens.
What Paul saw was so awe inspiring that he could not and would not speak about it. The only right response was reverent silence born out of humility. And so he would not become prideful or exalted or benefit from the gift of seeing Heaven, God gave him a reminder to insure his humility. “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited,” (v. 7). Paul’s privileged insight was never meant to be for his own benefit.
So what about the 3 heavens?
The 1st of the 3 heavens
The atmosphere around earth is described in Genesis 7:11-12 when “the windows of the heavens were opened.” These heavens cover the earth, according to Psalm 147:8.
The 2nd of the 3 heavens
The sun, moon, and stars hang in the planetary heavens. Genesis 1:14-17 describe this as the “expanse of the heavens.”
The 3rd of the 3 heavens
Unlike the other 2 of the 3 heavens, this one won’t pass away (2 Peter 3:10). This Heaven is where God dwells, along with his angels and saints who have passed from their earthly life.
The 3rd Heaven is where Jesus prepares a place for those who belong to Him. This is the Heaven we look forward to, the Heaven that changes the way we live life today. This is the Heaven that is so amazing that it is just UNReal. This is the Heaven we’ll learn more about tomorrow.
