Christianity '', Plate VI: "The Ordering of Paradise" by
Michelangelo Caetani (1804–1882) The
New Testament does not refer to the seven heavens. A person being taken up in a vision to a "
third heaven" is mentioned in
Paul the Apostle's
Second Epistle to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 12:2–4). The description is usually taken as an oblique reference by the author to himself. Some Christian authors would go on to mention the seven heavens, such as the second century bishop
Irenaeus (
Demonstration of Apostolic Preaching 9; cf.
Against Heresies 1.5.2). A variant ten-tier heaven obtained some popularity among the
Scholastics during the
Middle Ages, reaching its most well-known expression in
The Divine Comedy by
Dante Alighieri. The idea of seven heavens is carried over into the esoteric
Christian cabala.
Gnosticism The
Gnostic text
On the Origin of the World states that seven heavens were created in
Chaos by
Yaldabaoth below the
higher realms, and each of them are ruled over by an
Archon. During the
end times, these heavens will collapse on each and the heaven of Yaldabaoth will split in two, causing its stars to fall upon the Earth, therefore causing it to sink into the
Abyss. In the
Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, the apostle Paul ascends through the lower Seven Heavens. At the seventh heaven, he meets an old man who opens the gate to the realm beyond the material universe, and Paul then ascends to the eighth, ninth, and tenth heavens.
Hinduism According to all
Puranas, the
Brahmanda is divided into fourteen worlds known as
lokas. Seven are
upper worlds:
Bhuloka (the Earth and sky),
Bhuvarloka,
Svargaloka,
Maharloka,
Janarloka,
Tapaloka and
Satyaloka; and seven are
lower worlds:
Atala,
Vitala,
Sutala,
Talatala,
Mahatala,
Rasatala and
Patala.
Islam depicting Muhammad's visit to one of the Seven Heavens The
Quran and
Hadith frequently mention the existence of seven
samāwāt (سماوات), the plural of
samāʾ (سماء), meaning 'heaven, sky, celestial sphere', and cognate with Hebrew
shamāyim (שמים). Some of the verses in the Quran mentioning the
samaawat are
Q41:12,
Q65:12 and
Q71:15. The seven heavens are not final destinations for the dead after the Day of Judgment, but regions distinct from the earth, guarded by angels and inhabited by souls whose abode depends on their good deeds (fasting, jihad, Hajj, charity), with the highest layer, the closest to
God. According to Quran and Hadiths, each of the skies has its own
Qibla or a structure which became direction of prayer, similar to
Kaaba of the mortal world, where the Qibla of highest heaven is called ''Bayt al-Ma'mur
, while the Qibla building for the lowest sky is called Bayt al-Izza''. In other sources, the concept is presented in metaphorical terms. Each of the seven heavens is depicted as being composed of a different material, and Islamic prophets are resident in each. The names are taken from
Suyuti's Al-Hay’a as-samya fi l-hay’a as-sunmya: • ''
Raqi'a (رقيعاء): The first heaven is described as being made of water and is the home of Adam and Eve, as well as the angels of each star. According to some narratives, Muhammad encountered the angel Habib'' here. •
Araqlun (أرفلون): The second heaven is described as being made of white pearls and is the home of
Yahya (
John the Baptist) and
Isa (
Jesus). •
Qaydum (قيدوم): The
third heaven is described as being made of iron (alternatively pearls or other dazzling stones);
Joseph and the
Angel of Death (named
Azrael) are resident there. •
Maʿuna (ماعونا): The fourth heaven is described as being made of brass (alternatively
white gold);
Idris (conventionally identified with
Enoch) and the "
Angel of Tears" reside there. • ''Di'a'' (ريقا): The fifth heaven is described as being made of silver;
Aaron holds court over this heaven. Sometimes, the
guardian of hellfire is assigned to this place. •
ʿAriba (عريبا): The seventh heaven, which borrows some concepts from its Jewish counterpart, is depicted as being composed of divine light incomprehensible to the mortal man (alternatively emerald).
Abraham is a resident there and
Sidrat al-Muntaha, a large enigmatic Lote tree, marks the end of the seventh heaven and the utmost extremity for all of God's creatures and heavenly knowledge. There are two interpretations of using the number "seven". One viewpoint is that the number "seven" here simply means "many" and is not to be taken literally (the number is often used to imply that in the Arabic language). One
modern interpretation of "heavens" is that all the stars and galaxies (including the
Milky Way) are all part of the "first heaven", and "beyond that six still bigger worlds are there," which have yet to be discovered by scientists.
Sefer HaRazim, written in the fourth century CE, describes the seven heavens and the angels residing there.
Talmud In the
Talmud, it is suggested that the upper part of the universe is made up of seven heavens (
Hebrew:
shamayim): •
Vilon (וילון), see () • ''
Raki'a'' (רקיע), see () •
Shehaqim (שחקים), see (, Midr. Teh. to Ps. xix. 7) •
Zebul (זבול), see (, ) • ''Ma'on'' (מעון), see (, ) •
Machon (מכון), see (, ) •
Araboth (ערבות), The seventh Heaven where
ophanim, the
seraphim, and the
hayyoth and the
Throne of God are located.
Mandaeism In
Mandaeism, a series of
maṭartas, or "toll houses", are located between the
World of Light (
alma ḏ-nhūra) from
Tibil (Earth). The term
maṭarta has variously been translated as "watch-station", "toll-station", "way-station", or "
purgatory". Maṭartas are guarded by various
uthras (celestial beings from the World of Light) and demons. In the
Ginza Rabba, seven
maṭartas are listed and described in
Chapter 3 in Book 5 of the
Right Ginza. However, the number of
maṭartas is not always seven.
Book 6 of the
Right Ginza (also known as the "Book of
Dinanukht") lists six.
Chapter 4 in Book 1 of the
Left Ginza lists eight. Alternatively, the Seven Heavens can also be seen as corresponding to the
Seven Planets, who form part of the entourage of
Ruha in the
World of Darkness. ==See also==