Three
Heavens and The Solar Eclipse: God’s Reminder
Many people in the United States and other Western
nations were recently able to witness and experience a very rare solar eclipse
on April 8, 2024. The event followed many weeks of advanced notice and
preparation geared primarily towards assuring the eye safety of the millions
who would be looking directly at the sun for a relatively prolonged period. The
path of the moon’s shadow as it covered the sun’s rays was relatively narrow as
it crossed the continent. But scientific technical advances have been such that
even those millions of people who lived hundreds of miles away from the actual
path could see this rare phenomenon on their televisions, computers or other electronic
devices.
The reactions of those seeing and experiencing the eclipse
were quite variable, running a full gamut of emotions. Many, especially the
young children, were in a state of awe and amazement. Some others were very cerebral and
“scientific” in expressing their reactions. Still
others even cried as they looked towards
the heavens, being reminded of some departed loved ones who had passed on to
the next phase of their lives. Considering the diverse nature of the millions
who comprise the population (age, gender, level of formal education, race /
ethnicity / culture, income status, etc.), it is not unexpected that there
should be wide-ranging reactions.
Because it is not often that the rapt attention of so
many people is focused on the heavens, I’d like to discuss further that area of
our Christian / Bible study.
As expected, our Bible includes several references to what
most people refer to as “heaven”. However, our study explains that that term
in the Scripture can refer to either of three areas called “heaven”, or
sometimes all three collectively.
In the Old Testament there were two Hebrew words
that were used to define “heaven”. The first and primary usage was the word
“shamayim” (Strong’s Concordance # 08064). That is the term used in Genesis Chapter
One, Verse One (and in most other occurrences) which reads: “In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth.” That usage was defined to mean:
· visible
heavens, sky; atmosphere, where the birds fly. (Genesis 1: 20, 26, 28, etc)
(See also: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/atmosphere/
and https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmosphere/layers-of-atmosphere ;
· visible
abode of the stars; and or
· Heaven
(as the abode of God).
The other less frequently used term for “heaven” was also
first used in Genesis Chapter One. It was specifically called the “firmament”
by God during the Creation, using the Hebrew word “raqiya” (Strong’s
Concordance # 07549). It is translated to mean:
· an expanse;
extended (solid) surface.
· the
visible arch of the sky; and
· firmament
(of vault of heaven supporting waters above).(Genesis 1: 14-18)
In the New Testament, the word “heaven” was
translated from the Greek word “ouranos” (Strong’s Concordance # 03772). It was
comparable to the Hebrew word “shamayim” in that it was variously used to convey
either the “First (aerial) Heaven”…the atmosphere where the birds
fly, and above the clouds where storms gather (; or the “Second (sidereal)
Heaven”… where the Sun and other stars and their planets are
found in what we call “Outer Space” or the “Universe”; and / or the “Third
Heaven”…the eternal dwelling place of God, and other heavenly beings. (John
3: 13; 2 Corinthians 12: 2; 2 Peter 3: 10; Revelation 20: 9-11, Chapter 21)
With those concepts in mind, consider how God would likely
have wanted to remind mankind to look beyond the First Heaven, through
which we are most familiar, to experience this solar phenomenon. Aside from requiring
the personal preparation of having protective eye wear, the event allowed
participation of people from all walks of life, in many different environments.
But how many do you think were aware that they were watching an event allowing
them to see our sun, some 93 million miles away…in the Second Heaven…without
damaging their sensitive eyes!!! Even
more, how many Christians and others do you think were aware that our Heavenly
Father and our Lord Jesus were watching our reactions from the even more
distant Third Heaven?
As I mentioned above, there were media reports of some who
viewed the eclipse in public areas who cried
as they looked towards the heavens, being reminded of some departed
loved ones who had passed on to the next phase of their lives. The number of
people whose souls actually felt some spiritual connection during the eclipse
will never be known, except by God Himself.
To this point I’ve tried to lay some groundwork to help establish
my speculation as to why our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus would want us
to witness and experience the eclipse.
From our study of the Scripture we’ve learned that since
Adam’s fall, the Enemy Satan has taken dominion over both the Earth, as our
Lord Jesus has called him “the prince of this world” (John 12: 31, 14: 30, and
16: 11) …and the atmosphere as the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians
2: 2, 6: 11-12) From those positions of
authority, Satan has been able to deceive mankind using his three primary devices
of temptation / testing to implant in *susceptible people: the “lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” (1 John 2: 15 – 16)
Under further examination, it is clear that “lust of the
flesh” and the “lust of the eyes” target three of our five senses (sight,
smell, and hearing) through the air / atmosphere. Of those senses, the sight
of the eclipse, and hearing the verbal reactions of others were the two
most dominant senses engaged by observers
during the event. [The other two senses
(taste and touch / feeling) are impacted by our Earthly environment; therefore they
are not key to this discussion.]
There are a number of Bible verses that point to sight
and hearing as key pathways to our soul and spirit. The Enemy has used his
“power of the air” to target those senses to both spread his lies and other
messages against God, and to keep man from receiving the truth. (John 12: 37-40;
also note the Lord Jesus’ “Parable of the Sower”: Matthew 13: 14-30, and
others.) Even so, our Omniscient and
Omnipotent God has used that which was meant for evil to be used for good. (Genesis
50: 14-20; Romans 11: 7-11) Key to man’s salvation today is that through
Israel’s “blindness” and failure to hear God’s word,(Isaiah 6: 9-10; Ezekiel
12: 2; Hebrews 5: 11)… we Gentiles receive salvation through faith in the
finished work of the Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Acts 28: 25-28)
As Christians, our faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10: 17) But the God who created everything would also
want Christians and others to fully appreciate the gift of our sight,
I’ve concluded that our Creator God is reminding mankind through
the solar eclipse, that there is a world and an infinite universe beyond our
Earth and the First Heaven…extending through the Second Heaven into the Third. In
fact, this fleeting view into the Second Heaven that holds our Sun, is only a meager
indicator of what lies beyond. God wants us to understand and believe in His
eternal Third Heaven as the most important and powerful. The Bible scripture has
taught us that: “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that
doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ (1 John 2: 17) Through Him / our Lord
and Savior Christ Jesus, we as believers are now sons of God. (Romans 8: 8-18) As such, because of our faith we have received
the greatest of all blessings… eternal life with Him.
*[Christians are to be less susceptible to the Enemy’s temptations
because we have access to the “Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6: 10 – 18) Further, the Scripture has taught us, saying:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10: 13)]
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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