All we really know about heaven is what is revealed in Scripture. The term “heaven” appears 622 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. It appears 346 times in the Old Testament and 276 times in the New Testament. For this study, we will keep our focus on the New Testament references. There are four different Greek words translated in the NIV as “heaven” (4041; 5737; 2230;5734).
- The most common Greek word translated as “heaven” in the NIV is the Greek term Ouranos (n. 4041). This term refers to the sky, air, firmament, any area above the earth; heavens, the place of the sun, moon, and stars; heaven, in which God dwells.
- 2230-epouranios a derivative of the previous term meaning heavenly, celestial, heavenly realms.
- 5734 – hypselos; meaning high, mighty; proud, arrogant; highly valued, more exalted.
- 5737 – hypsos meaning height or a high position
Thinking of the celestial realm, one might approach the subject from three perspectives: logical, historical, and biblical.
Logic and Heaven
What happens to one’s personality when he dies? There are but two possibilities: something (continued existence), or nothing (non-existence). If nothing, life is an unfathomable mystery — a senseless riddle. If something, is there a relationship between the life that now is and the something yet to come? Philosophers have long recognized the connection between a moral sense of “oughtness” and the conviction of an existence beyond death.
The French philosopher Pascal wrote: “It is certain that the mortality or immortality of the soul must make an entire difference to morality” (1941, 219). If there is no afterlife consequence resulting from the way one lives on earth, there is no enduring motivation for noble existence.
If there is something after death, what is the nature thereof? If that state is happiness for everyone, then what is the ultimate benefit of goodness over evil? One might as well live wickedly if eternal bliss is inevitable. If the future is entirely bad, where is the incentive for benevolent conduct? The only proposition that makes sense, that compels a life of quality, is this: there are two eternal destinies—one is blessed, the other wretched. This reality is a powerful factor in the ordering of one’s life.