When the human brain mentions heaven, it quickly imagines what heaven looks like. Heaven is a literal place prepared by Christ for all those who are ready. John’s Gospel Chapter 14:2 reads, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? Jesus openly said it has mansions; it is a place. When I was young before I went to Kampala, my friends talked about Kampala, and they talked about Arua Park in Kampala. As they narrate about Kampala, I keep creating images of every description. The first time I traveled to Kampala, I began comparing what I used to imagine with what I saw and found that most of my imagination was wrong.

The word for “Place” “is “topos” in Greek, which refers to a physical place. When Jesus left this earth 2000 years ago, He allowed His doubting disciples to touch His physically glorified body before he was seen ascending just as He was. For more clarity, an angel had to repeat to the disciples that He would return similarly. Acts 1:11: “Men of Galilee,” they said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will return like you have seen him go into heaven.” We all spend our days busy in offices and at our business premises, but we all end up at home and on our beds for rest. Jesus knows that life on earth is like our workplace, so He promised heaven to prepare people. So heaven is an actual physical place; its occupants are Christ’s followers who will possess glorified sinless bodies.

HOW MANY HEAVENS ARE FOUND IN THE BIBLE?

1-FIRST HEAVEN-THE ATMOSPHERE:
This is the surrounding of the earth, where the birds fly, and the clouds’ domain. Isaiah 55: 9-10: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater; also read, Genesis 1:20 ” Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

2-SECOND HEAVEN-DOMAIN OF HEAVENLY BODIES:
The second heaven is the domain of the sun, moon, star, planet, and galaxies. Read Genesis 1:14-17 ” Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and days and years, and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the more excellent light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth,

3-THIRD HEAVEN: THIS IS BEYOND THE TWO ABOVE.
This is the dwelling place of God, which Jesus promised His followers. Paul mentioned this in 2 Corinthian 12:2, which reads, “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up even to the third heaven. Later in the coming verses, Paul called this place Paradise; verse four reads, “that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

WHERE IS THE EXACT LOCATION OF HEAVEN?

At least we know that heaven is up if we follow the scriptures. It is expected to find phrases like “Jesus looked in heaven.” The Old Testament uses “shamayim” for heaven, meaning ‘the heights.” In contrast, the New Testament uses “Ouranos,” meaning “raised. “Let’s look at Ephesians 4: 10: ” He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Note: “far above the heavens” refers to the first and second heaven above.

Location of heaven: Let’s get some clue from what Satan said in Isaiah 14:13: “You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the sky; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. The above verse does not give a detailed description, but this wouldn’t indicate that heaven is in the north. We do not know the exact location because we rely only on what the scripture offers.

Thank you.

Compiled By Andama Godfrey