How big is heaven?

Answer

The term for “heaven” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word shameh or shamayim, which denotes the sky, the lofty arch above the world where clouds move, and beyond that the place where the planets and stars exist. In the New Testament, the term heaven is a rendition of the Greek ouranos, signifying “the sky” and “the abode of God” and, by extension, “an eternal realm of happiness and glory.” The sky, in its vastness, serves as a metaphor for the vastness and loftiness of God. It is the most fitting earthly representation of the place where God resides.

How immense is heaven—how vast is the abode of God? We understand that God Himself is infinite. Heaven and earth cannot confine Him. Time-wise, there is no beginning or end to His years «But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.», (Psalm 102:27); concerning His kingdom, His reign will be perpetual «and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.», (Luke 1:33); with regards to His nature, He is immutable (Hebrews 1:12; James 1:17). God brought into being the heavens and the earth «In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.», (Genesis 1:1). Regarding God’s creation of the stars, Isaiah proclaims, “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” «Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness…

Of His might, for He is strong in power; not one fails.” , (Isaiah 40:26).

Scientists have not even been able to chart the size of the known physical universe. There is a photo known as the XDF (eXtreme Deep Field) that was created from images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope over a decade. It reveals a vast array of galaxies, each containing billions of stars similar to our sun. Our sun is located 93 million miles away from Earth. The galaxies are incredibly distant from each other—Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to our own, is 2.2 million light years away. To illustrate the vast distance, a shuttle traveling at 18,000 miles per hour would require 37,200 years to cover one light year. The universe is truly immense—and God brought it all into existence.

So, how large is heaven? The exact size is unknown. The Bible does not provide specific measurements. When John witnessed heaven in his vision, he described, “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” «After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; », (Revelation 7:9). Therefore, heaven is at least spacious enough for the countless multitude—and we can infer that there will be no overcrowding in heaven.