A third concept of Heaven, also called shamayi h'shamayim (שׁמי השׁמים or "Heaven of Heavens"), is mentioned in such passages as Genesis 28:12, Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Kings 8:27 as a distinctly spiritual realm containing (or being traveled by) angels and God.
In the Talmud, it is suggested that the upper part of the universe is made up of seven heavens (Hebrew: shamayim):
Paul wrote that he was “caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2)—the celestial kingdom. In 1836 the Prophet Joseph Smith also had a vision of the celestial kingdom.
Divisions. The book can be divided into four sections: In the first section (chapters 1–22), Enoch, at the age of 365, is taken by two angels through the ten heavens , one by one.
The first line of the Bible states that heaven is created along with the creation of the earth (Genesis 1). It is primarily God's dwelling place in the biblical tradition: a parallel realm where everything operates according to God's will.
The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man. it is we who extol the LORD, both now and forevermore. Praise the LORD.
In the seventh heaven, all outer forms cease to be. The soul rests still within God. Love, happiness, and peace in the seventh heaven are so big that there is no more room for movement. The holy beings here are simply enjoy their rest within God.
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that three other persons were taken bodily into heaven: Enoch, Elijah (Elias) and the Theotokos (Virgin Mary).
One possible reason for Jewish rejection of the book might be the textual nature of several early sections of the book that make use of material from the Torah; for example, 1 En 1 is a midrash of Deuteronomy 33.
The early church fathers, many of whom were taught directly by the Apostles, spoke of three heavens. It was not an attempt at science, but similar to many sayings in modern English.
And those men took me from there, and they brought me up to the third heaven, and set me down |there|. Then I looked downward, and I saw Paradise. And that place is inconceivably pleasant. And I saw the trees in full flower.
Hebrew Bible
In Second Temple era Judaism, "paradise" came to be associated with the Garden of Eden and prophecies of restoration of Eden, and transferred to heaven.
Shamayim (Hebrew: שָׁמַיִם šāmayīm, "heavens") is the dwelling place of God and other heavenly beings according to the Bible.
Eastern Orthodox cosmology perceives heaven as having different levels (John 14:2), the lowest of which is paradise.
Cremation is acceptable in most branches of Christianity, including Baptist, Lutheran, and Methodist. These denominations state that there is nothing in the Bible to condemn cremation, therefore the decision between burial and cremation can be left to personal choice.
You enter heaven by forgiveness and through the righteousness that Jesus gives you. You do not enter into heaven by the Christian life. It's always true that where faith is birthed, works will follow, but salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Because the Bible records Elijah as being taken to the heavens while still alive, he became a candidate for one who would one day return to proclaim the coming of the messiah. A second biblical figure that is said to never have died is Melchizedek, the ethereal priest-king of Salem.
The revelation to John supports Matthew 8:11, which says that many will come from every corner of the earth to sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The number 144,000 that were sealed or chosen are not pre-chosen. The number 12 itself is symbolic.
Heavens, Earth, and underworld
The Hebrew Bible depicted a three-part world, with the heavens (shamayim) above, Earth (eres) in the middle, and the underworld (sheol) below.
Muslims believe in the existence of seven skies or heavens. The seven skies serves as a reminder of the vastness and complexity of the universe, and the power and majesty of Allah.
Psalm 19:1 describes the heavens as declaring and proclaiming the glory of God. The Psalmist goes on to say in verses 2-6 that the heavens “reveal knowledge.” God's glory can be heard throughout the “ends of the earth” and booms with “joy.” The heavens are meant to reveal God's glory to us plainly.
In ancient European cosmologies inspired by Aristotle, the Empyrean Heaven, Empyreal or simply the Empyrean, was the place in the highest heaven, which was supposed to be occupied by the element of fire (or aether in Aristotle's natural philosophy).
Psalms 115:16 New Living Translation (NLT)
The heavens belong to the LORD, but he has given the earth to all humanity.