here the 419 references to heaven, but we can print the nine or ten references

that look beyond the present limited firmament.

`Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God'

(Deut. 10:14).

Here Moses draws attention to the firmament which is `called' heaven, and

the heaven of heavens, the heavens in the highest degree that were created long

before the six days of Genesis 1:3 to 2:1.  No further reference is made to the

heavens themselves, until the days of David and Solomon, where in Psalm 8:1;

57:5,11; 108:5; 113:4; 115:16 and 148:4 we have six references to a glory that

is above the present limited heavens; making, with Deuteronomy 10:14, seven in

all, the perfect number; in all other places the heavens referred to are put

into correspondence with the firmament (Psa. 19:1) either by actual statement,

or by implication.  Five hundred years after Moses, Solomon recognized that

neither the present heavens, nor the heaven of heavens could `contain' God (1

Kings 8:27) and the last reference to the heaven of heavens, in contrast with

the firmament, is found in the Levites' prayer (Neh. 9:6).

Even when we bring these passages forward, they only emphasize the fact

that `the heaven' of the Old Testament was the `firmament' of Genesis 1:8,

stretched out like a curtain or a tent for God to dwell in (Isa. 40:22), and

any reference in Psalm or Prophecy that speaks of heaven as God's `dwelling

place' refers to this tabernacle formed by the firmament.  See illustration to

the article Pleroma3.  When we open the New Testament it is pardonable if we

there expect to find a great advance upon this limitation of the term `heaven'.

Twelve times do we read in Matthew of the `Father which is in heaven', but we

also read that the heavens were opened at the baptism of the Lord, that the

heavens are to pass away, and unless it is a matter beyond dispute that

`angels' inhabit the heaven of heavens, we shall find no instance in the gospel

of Matthew of a reference to any other `heaven' than the firmament of Genesis

We have to wait until we reach the gospel of John for any explicit

reference to the highest heavens, and there the Saviour speaks of ascending up

to heaven to where He was before (John 3:13; 6:62), to the glory that He had

`before the world was' (John 17:5).  In these few references is contained

practically all that is said of the `heavens' of Genesis 1:1 in the four

gospels.  The only calling and company, hope and sphere of blessing, that

pierces the present firmament above us and ascends to where Christ sits at the

right hand of God, is the Church of the Mystery.  Christ is set forth, in

Ephesians 4:10, as having ascended `far above all heavens' yet revealed as

seated at the right hand of God `in the heavenly places'.  These heavenly

places therefore must be above the limitations of the outstretched heavens.

This is not invalidated by the fact that the selfsame sphere is called in

Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians `heaven', for we must not allow ourselves

to rob `heaven itself' of its true title, simply because we have used it so

often of the limited firmament.  In connection with this same calling Christ

can be said to be both `far above all the heavens' yet `in heaven' at the right

hand of God.  The reference to `heavenly places' (Eph. 1:3) is discussed in the

articles entitled Ephesians1 and Three Spheres5, as well as in the succeeding

article.  There are eleven references to `heaven' in the epistle to the

Hebrews, one only speaks of `heaven itself' (Heb. 9:24), the others refer to

the lesser and lower heavens.  For the heavens created as recorded in Hebrews

1:10 are to `perish', but this can never be said of `heaven itself', Christ is

said to have `passed through the heavens', dierchomai (Heb. 4:14), and as being

made `higher than the heavens' (Heb. 7:26), without involving any contradiction