The Bible speaks of only one eternal home for believers in which all of God's people will ultimately dwell with Him forever. However, there has been much confusion on this topic due to a passage in 2 Corinthians 12 in which Paul speaks of a third heaven. What did he mean by this?
Although stated in an anonymous fashion (v. 2), it appears clear that Paul spoke of himself when discussing his vision of the third heaven. In it, he made reference to the cultural idea that included three levels of "heaven." The first level referred to the sky. In fact, the Greek and Hebrew words for heaven and sky are the same. The second level referred to the night skies or what we would call outer space. The third heaven referred to the unseen heaven where God dwells with His people.
In addition to this passage, many people have been confused about levels of heaven because of the popular writing by Dante called the Divine Comedy. In it, he describes nine levels of heaven with details regarding each level. This writing, though creative, is a work of fiction and is not to be accepted as the teachings of the Bible.
Further, many other religious movements speak of multiple levels of heaven or the afterlife. For example, the Mormon Church (LDS) has a concept of the afterlife that includes more than one level of what would be considered heaven. The Mormon Church teaches that there are three levels of the afterlife called the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom. Mormon doctrine teaches that the celestial kingdom is the third heaven mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12, is reached by the most faithful Mormons and children who die before the age of 8 years old, and is where both God the Father and Jesus Christ dwell. However, no such thing is taught in the Bible.
While there are many views of heaven and the afterlife found in cultural and religious teachings, the Bible presents only two places in the afterlife—heaven and hell—and does not teach multiple levels of heaven. All of God's people will dwell in God's presence forever.
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