Heaven is a fascinating place to those who believe; made even more fascinating by the fact that the Bible really doesn’t tell us a lot about it. There’s enough that we can be sure that it exists as God’s abode; but as for specific detail, there really isn’t much. We don’t find an explanation for this lack of detail; so, we can do nothing more than acknowledge its existence, while we await our time to join our Heavenly Father there.
There could be many different reasons why the Bible doesn’t tell us more about heaven than it does. Probably the most plausible of these is that our finite minds are unable to understand it. How do you describe a color that doesn’t exist here on earth? How do you convey the feeling of walking in the River of Life and breathing in its waters, without harm? How can anyone even explain the wonder of being in God’s presence?
Paul wrote about a man who was taken up to heaven, telling us that he couldn’t describe his experience to us.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows –
4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. – 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
Most theologians agree that Paul was actually talking about himself here, even though he makes it sound like he’s talking about someone else. Even if he was talking about himself, it is clear from his repetition of the phrase “whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows” that he was unsure of just how he had this experience. But the interesting part is what he says about this man’s trip to heaven. He calls it “inexpressible” and claims that what he heard “is not lawful for a man to utter.”
If we look at these words in the original form, in Greek, the translation in our Bibles is correct. What that man saw and heard was impossible to express, leaving him speechless in regard to explaining his experience. The part about it not being lawful is likewise translated extremely accurately, although it could also mean that it is not possible to utter. But just what law would be broken by talking about heaven?
The only law that Paul could be referring to is the Old Testament Law, found in the first five books of the Bible. He would not be making reference to Roman Law in his writings to any of the churches, except in the most general sense (i.e. “obey rulers appointed over you”). Nor does the Bible make any reference to natural law or the laws of physics (which were unknown at that time). Therefore, the only possibility would be the Old Testament Law, as the Jews interpreted it.
There is one thing that the Jews say cannot be uttered, even though there is no specific commandment against it in Scripture. That would make it part of the Jewish “oral law.” This one word is the name of God. Their reason for this, is that the Old Testament was written as “unpointed text,” meaning that it was written without vowels. It was also written without spaces or punctuation. Because of this, we have no way of knowing for sure, just how God’s name is to be pronounced. Therefore, in an effort to avoid mispronouncing God’s name and insulting Him thereby, the Jews do not speak His name; doing so is considered “unlawful.”
The Biblical foundation for this could come from the third Commandment, depending on how one understands the concept of “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” In their minds, mispronouncing His name could be a form of taking His name in vain. That’s not how Christians understand it; but we’re talking about Jews, not Christians.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. – Exodus 20:7
But it is the other possible definition that is of greater import to us, especially as it connects well with the phrase “inexpressible words.” The two terms together support the idea that Paul saw and heard things in heaven, which he is unable to tell us about; not because of it breaking any law; but because it is beyond our understanding. Put another way, heaven is such a marvelous place, that we are unable to understand it while we remain here in the flesh.
Which Heaven is That?
Of course, when we’re talking about heaven, we need to be sure we understand what we’re talking about. In the passage above, from Second Corinthians, Paul mentions the “third heaven,” indicating that there are at least three heavens. But there is no single verse in the Bible which tells us what these three heavens are, although there are a number of references to “heaven,” providing us with some information from which we can derive an understanding.
Some of these references are clearly talking about a natural “heaven,” as they make reference to the rain. We see this reference in the story of Noah (Genesis 7:11 & others), amongst other places. We also see God making references to the physical abode of the stars as “heaven” (Genesis 15:5) when making His promise to Abraham. The Bible also makes reference to the “firmament” above us in the creation story (Genesis 1:8), as well as in the story of Noah.
The possibility exists that there are more than three distinct areas which are referred to by the term “heaven,” but that is unlikely. Deuteronomy 10:14 makes reference to the highest heaven belonging to the Lord. If this highest heaven is the abode of God, as the third heaven seems to be, that pretty much precludes the possibility of there being more than three heavens.
From just this evidence, it seems to be pretty clear what at least two of those heavens are. The third heaven is God’s abode, which is a spiritual place and the first is the sky above us, where rain comes from. But there is some disagreement about just what the second heaven is. I have seen several different definitions presented for this, all of which are presented with the same certainty and Biblical backing. While it is possible that this heaven fulfills more than one of these roles, there’s nothing to say that it does. Nevertheless, the three are:
- Outer space
- The firmament
- The spiritual realm, outside of heaven, where Satan and his demons work, through which angels travel going from the third heaven to our realm and from our realm to the abode of God
We have a bit of trouble with the term “firmament” because it is not something in common use today. Some translations replace this word with “expanse,” in an attempt to rectify this. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines this as “the vault or arch of the heavens,” which is a vague enough definition as to not mean a whole lot. Biblical scholars tend to define it as the sky, which God caused to appear, when he separated some water above and other water below, so that the dry land might appear. This definition is well-supported by the creation account:
Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Then God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. – Genesis 1:6-9
Based on this, we can easily connect the atmosphere around the world and the firmament as both being the first heaven. That leaves outer space and the realm of spirits to be the second heaven. However, Paul seems to clarify this, when he calls Satan the Prince of the Power of the Air (Ephesians 2:2). That puts Satan and his demons as living and working in the first heaven, our atmosphere.
Of course, this would mean that the first heaven has both a physical and a spiritual aspect to it. The Bible doesn’t actually say that it does; but then, it doesn’t say that it doesn’t either. We live in that atmosphere and we have both a physical and spiritual aspect to us, with our physical bodies living in this physical world, while being connected to our spirits, which live in the spirit realm. If we can do that, it proves that both co-exist. Therefore, Satan and his demons can live in the spiritual realm that is associated with the first heaven.
That leaves the second heaven open and available to be what we know of as outer space. I can’t say that this process I’ve just walked through creates a definite proof for this, it is a logical approach to the question.
Who is in Third Heaven?
This brings us closer to our original question, about how many people are in heaven right now. We can’t actually pin that down to an exact number, but we can at least see what categories of people are there. The Bible gives us criteria for entry into heaven, which we can use to determine who would be there.
This is all dependent on the work of Jesus on the cross. His sacrifice, in dying on the cross, made it possible for people to go to heaven. Without that sacrifice, there would not be any hope for us; not because God doesn’t want us in His heaven; but because we aren’t good enough to go there on our own. We all sin, excluding us from entry into heaven. Yet those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are forgiven of their sins and made righteous, giving them the right to enter into heaven and abide with God the Father.
Some think that this is what Jesus said to the thief who was hanging on the cross with Him, when He said, ”Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). But the word that is translated as “paradise” in that verse, refers to a walled garden. It is the word used to describe the place that the righteous Jewish or Israeli dead awaited the coming of the Messiah. The same place is also called “the Bosom of Abraham” in the Bible.
This actually tells us two important things. The first is that this thief, who asked to be remembered, was pardoned by Jesus. Otherwise, he would not have been righteous enough to even make it into this part of Hades, let alone being able to make it into heaven. It also tells us that after Jesus died, He went there as well, as Paul wrote about to the Ephesians.
Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended” – what does it mean but that he also first descended into the lowest parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) – Ephesians 4:8-10
Where did He descend to? Some might say to Hell; but what we refer to as “hell” is actually the lowest part of what is known by the broader term of “Hades,” the realm of the undead. It is also known by the name “The Lake of Fire,” which we know is reserved for Satan and his fallen angels (demons) (Revelations 20:10). This isn’t where the thief went. Rather, he went to the Bosom of Abraham, which is also where Jesus descended to, in order to set the prisoners free and “led captivity captive” as we just read.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison – 1 Peter 3:18-19
The idea that Christ descended into hell was declared to be part of the essential doctrines of Christianity by the Apostle’s Creed. This declaration of faith was created during the years of the Early Church, to teach the basic tenants of the faith. Some say that it was written by the original 12 apostles, but it probably was not. Rather, like other similar creeds, it was created by church leaders and adopted by at least part of the church, before the time of the first ecumenical council.
All this makes reference to those who died in faith, before the death of Jesus on the cross. They are considered righteous for the same reason that we are, for their faith. As it said of Abraham, who lived before the time of the Law, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). It was faith in God and the promise of the coming Messiah that made people in Old Testament times righteous, just as it is faith in Jesus Christ that makes people righteous today. The same faith, just different times. As Paul said:
We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and no by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. – Galatians 2:15-16
We have no idea just how many of the people of Israel fall into this category. As we read the Old Testament, there are many we can look at and see that they were not righteous. On the other hand, we can look at Moses, Daniel, King David, Abraham and others, and see why God would call them righteous, even though they were not perfect and still committed sin. Yet there is a vast sea of people in between those two groups, who we can’t identify that clearly. Fortunately, it is not our responsibility to decide which of them were sufficiently righteous that the blood of Jesus would apply to them, just as it does to us.
In the Time Since Christ
All this changed with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Where previously believers had to go to the Bosom of Abraham and await the coming of the Messiah, they no longer had to wait. The Messiah had come and opened the gates of Heaven for those who followed Him. Paul made this eminently clear in his second letter to the Corinthians:
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. – 2 Corinthians 5:8-9
To “be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” sounds rather clear like we enter into heaven, the abode of the Lord, as soon as we die, assuming that we meet the criteria for entering into heaven? Just what are those criteria? That we have confessed our sins, repenting of them and have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Please note that there is no sin that can keep us out of heaven, other than a failure to accept Jesus. All the sins listed in the Bible aren’t there talking about unbelievers; but about believers. While unbelievers commit all those sins, that isn’t keeping them out of heaven. What is keeping them out of heaven is a failure to accept the Lord.
It is not up to you and I to decide who can get into heaven and who can’t or to say who has made it and who has not. We are not able to do this, as we are unable to look into someone’s heart. All we can do is look at the outward fruit of their life. While that allows us to see evidence of their conversion; it is not enough for us to know what was in their hearts. Only God knows that.
The 144,000 mentioned in the book of Revelations is not the fullness of those who will make it to heaven. That only refers to those saved out of the people of Israel. It is likely not a complete number; but rather a symbolic one. there may very well be many more from among the Nation of Israel and the Jews who accept Christ and ultimately end up in heaven. That number may very well only refer to those of the nation of Israel who are persecuted or even martyred during the End Times.
On the other hand, we who have accepted the Lord will have to answer for those sins, when we come before His throne. If we continue reading what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, we find:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. – 2 Corinthians 5:10
On that day, the only acceptable defense is to claim the blood of Jesus, which is given freely to all believers. It is that blood, poured out on the cross, which has cleansed us from our sins. Those sins have been washed away and exist no more.
How Many People Will Heaven Hold?
If we can’t tell how many people are in heaven, by trying to add up how many have gone before, perhaps we can look at it another way, looking at how many people heaven will hold. That will give us a top end number that we can work with… or can it?
While we don’t find a physical description of heaven anywhere in Scripture, we do find a description of the New Jerusalem, including its dimensions. Assuming that this is the part of heaven we’ll all live in, we can see from John’s description, just how big this city is.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its’ gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. It’s length, breadth, and height are equal. – Revelations 21:15-16
Twelve thousand furlongs equals right at 1,400 miles; so, the city is 1,400 x 1,400 x 1,400 cubic miles. That works out to 2,744,000,000 cubic miles. If you got lost in all those zeroes, that’s 2.7 billion cubic miles. If each person was given one cubic mile, that means 2.7 billion people could live there. if we cut down the space per person to one cubic mile, it works out to 21.952 billion people.
Obviously, even one-half mile cubed is much more space than any of us will need; so there’s always a good chance that there will be many more people living in that amount of space. For comparison’s sake, Shanghai is currently the world’s largest city, with a population of 25 million people. It covers 2,448 mi2.
It’s clear that heaven, or even just the New Jerusalem, is big enough for however many people accept the Lord and are counted amongst God’s adopted children. If anything, it’s going to be sparsely populated, because of all the people who think they should have a right to be there, without having met the biblical requirements, even though those requirements are quite simple. Those of us who are there, won’t have to worry about overcrowding.