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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
27 September 2026
The three heavens in the King James Bible
The word heaven does not always point to the same place. Sometimes it is the air where the birds fly; sometimes the expanse of sun, moon and stars; sometimes the dwelling place of God. Every verse below is from this site’s KJV.
No single verse says “there are three heavens”. The teaching is put together from how Scripture describes heaven, and from Paul’s words “the third heaven” in 2 Corinthians 12:2. Where there is a third, it is a fair inference that there is a first and a second. Weigh it against Scripture.
1. One word, more than one place
Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:6-8
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And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
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And 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.
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And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
The same word firmament is used for the expanse where the birds fly and for the expanse where the lights are set. The distinction between first and second heaven comes from what Scripture places in each, not from two different English words.
2. The first heaven: the air where the birds fly
Genesis 1:20
20
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Genesis 1:26
26
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Jeremiah 4:25
25
I beheld, and, lo, [there was] no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Matthew 6:26
26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Deuteronomy 11:17
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And [then] the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and [lest] ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
Acts 14:17
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Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
3. The second heaven: sun, moon and stars
Genesis 1:14-17
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And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
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And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Psalm 19:1
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To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psalm 8:3
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When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Genesis 15:5
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And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Deuteronomy 4:19
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And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Isaiah 13:10
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For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
4. The third heaven: the dwelling place of God
This is the only place in the KJV where the expression “the third heaven” occurs. In the same breath Paul says the man was caught up into paradise.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
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I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
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And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
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How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
1 Kings 8:30
30
And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
Psalm 11:4
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The LORD [is] in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne [is] in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
Isaiah 66:1
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Thus saith the LORD, The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the house that ye build unto me? and where [is] the place of my rest?
Matthew 6:9
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After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
The heaven of heavens
Deuteronomy 10:14
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Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens [is] the LORD’S thy God, the earth [also], with all that therein [is].
1 Kings 8:27
27
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
Nehemiah 9:6
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Thou, [even] thou, [art] LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all [things] that [are] therein, the seas, and all that [is] therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Psalm 148:4
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Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that [be] above the heavens.
5. Paradise
Paradise appears three times in the KJV: 2 Corinthians 12:4, and the two verses below.
Luke 23:43
43
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Revelation 2:7
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He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
6. Christ has passed into the heavens
Hebrews 4:14
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Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession.
Hebrews 9:24
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For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Ephesians 4:9-10
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(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
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He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
7. The three heavens at a glance
| Heaven | What Scripture places there | Key verses |
|---|---|---|
| First (the air) | Birds, rain | Genesis 1:20, 26; Jeremiah 4:25; Matthew 6:26; Deuteronomy 11:17; Acts 14:17 |
| Second (the stars) | Sun, moon, stars — the host of heaven | Genesis 1:14–17; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 8:3; Genesis 15:5; Deuteronomy 4:19; Isaiah 13:10 |
| Third (God’s dwelling) | Throne; paradise; heaven of heavens; where Christ has entered | 2 Corinthians 12:2–4; 1 Kings 8:27, 30; Psalm 11:4; Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 6:9; Luke 23:43; Revelation 2:7; Hebrews 4:14; 9:24; Ephesians 4:10 |
8. What Scripture says — and what it does not
“The third heaven” occurs once (2 Corinthians 12:2). “Second heaven” does not occur at all. “The first heaven” occurs once in Revelation 21:1 — there it means the present heaven that passes away, not the air of the birds. First and second are study labels, not biblical titles.
Revelation 21:1
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And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
9. Closing
The bird in the air, the star in the night, and the throne of God — all three are called heaven. The first two we can see. The third we do not yet see, but the Lord Jesus has entered there, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Test every quotation against this site’s KJV.