Where do you think the HEAVEN is ?
Heaven is a real place where the people of God will live one day. In fact, heaven is where God and the angels live.
John 14:1-3 even says that Jesus is in heaven preparing a place for us to live. In heaven, those saved by God will have new bodies without the curse of sin! There will be no one who is blind, deaf or lame in heaven (Isaiah 35:5, 6 and Philippians 3:21). Although Jesus builds houses in heaven, the Bible also says that those saved will also build their own houses and inhabit them as well as plant and eat from vineyards (Isaiah 65:21). Most importantly, God will be in heaven and He wants to be your friend. He wants to dwell with you and wipe away all your tears (Revelation 21:1-4).
I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me.
—Luke 22:29
Many people have asked, “Where is heaven?” We are not told in the Scripture where heaven is. Some students have tried to take some Scriptures and put them together and say that heaven is in the north. They quote Psalm 48:2, “The joy of the whole earth is . . . on the sides of the north . . . ” The magnetic needle points north. Perhaps the Celestial City is in the north. We do not know. But no matter where heaven is, it will be where Christ is.
Many people ask, “Do you believe that heaven is a literal place?” Yes! Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” The Bible teaches that Enoch and Elijah ascended in a literal body to a literal place that is just as real as Los Angeles, London, or Algiers! The Bible also teaches that heaven will be a place of beauty. It is described in the Bible as “a building of God”-“a city”-“a better country”-“an inheritance”-“a glory.”
Heaven is most certainly a real place. The Bible very definitely speaks of heaven’s existence—and access to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ—but there are no verses that give us a geographical location. The short answer to this question is, “heaven is where God is.” The place referred to in this question is called the “third heaven” and “paradise” in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, where the apostle Paul tells of a living man who was “caught up” to heaven and was unable to describe it. The Greek word translated “caught up” is also used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in describing the rapture, wherein believers will be caught up to be with the Lord.
Other verses indicating heaven to be “above” the earth” are numerous. At the Tower of Babel, God says, “Come, let us go down” (Genesis 11:7) Heaven is described as “high above the earth” in Psalm 103:11, and the place from which the Lord “looks down” in Psalm 14:2. Jesus is described as having “ascended into heaven” and “descended from heaven” in John 3:13 (ESV). In Acts 1:9–11 Jesus is described as being taken “up” into heaven, and when God takes John to heaven in Revelation 4:1, He says, “Come up here.” These passages have led to the conclusion that heaven is beyond the earth’s airspace and beyond the stars.
However, since God is spirit, “heaven” cannot signify a place remote from us which He inhabits. The Greek gods were thought of as spending most of their time far away from earth in sort of a celestial equivalent of the Bahamas, but the God of the Bible is not like this. He is always near us when we call on Him (James 4:8), and we are encouraged to “draw near” to Him (Hebrews 10:1, 22). Granted, the “heaven” where saints and angels dwell has to be thought of as a sort of locality, because saints and angels, as God’s creatures, exist in space and time. But when the Creator is said to be “in heaven,” the thought is that He exists on a different plane from us, rather than in a different place.
That God in heaven is always near to His children on earth is something the Bible expresses throughout. The New Testament mentions heaven with considerable frequency. Yet, even with this frequency, detailed description of its location is missing. Perhaps God has intentionally covered its location in mystery, for it is more important for us to focus on the God of heaven than the description or location of His dwelling. It is more important to know the “why” and the “who” than the “where.” The New Testament focuses on the purpose of heaven and who is there instead of telling us exactly what it is like or where it is. Hell is a place of separation and punishment (Matthew 8:12; 22:13). Heaven, on the other hand, is a place of fellowship and eternal joy and, more importantly, worshipping around the throne of God.
The Bible tells us that God set a firmament in the midst of the waters, divided the waters from the waters, and called the firmament “Heaven” (Genesis 1:6–8 NKJV). The word firmament is one we aren’t accustomed to hearing anymore; it comes from a Hebrew word meaning “firm” or “fixed.” The Bible clearly defines Heaven as a created place. God said, “My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens.” (Isaiah 48:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9)
Where is Heaven? The Bible says, “The heavens… cannot contain [Him]” (1 Kings 8:27) — but He can contain His whole creation in His hands. He measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, marked off the Heavens, held the dust of the earth in a basket, and weighed the mountains on scales (Isaiah 40:12).
While Heaven captures our imagination, it’s more important that the God of Heaven captures our souls; for God is greater than Heaven.
Where is Heaven? The Bible says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Just because Heaven is beyond the reach of man’s satellites and telescopes, however, does not mean that Heaven is beyond the reach of our hearts. The Bible says, “[Christ] is the image of the invisible God… by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible . . . all things were created by Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:15–16).
Where is Heaven? Heaven is where the Lord is, and Christ is Lord of Heaven and earth. He is able to rule from Heaven and also live within our hearts.
The place where God is with us.
Heaven is where God dwells and where I am going to be.