Heaven as the First “Place” Created
Biblical Basis: The Creation of the Invisible and Visible Realms
The biblical account of creation begins with the profound declaration: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Hebrew word for “heavens,” shamayim (שָּׁמַיִם), appears in the plural form and encompasses both visible phenomena—such as the sky and celestial bodies—and invisible dimensions, including the spiritual realm in which God is enthroned and angelic beings dwell.
Other scriptural texts affirm the created status of the heavens:
- Nehemiah 9:6 proclaims: “You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host…”—highlighting the multiplicity and layered structure of the created heavens.
- Psalm 148:2–5 calls upon both heavenly beings and heavenly bodies to praise the Lord, “for He commanded and they were created.”
These passages confirm that heaven, though sacred and exalted, is not co-eternal with God, but part of the created order—a realm brought into existence at the inception of time.
Theological Implication: Heaven as a Created Spiritual Domain
Contrary to common assumptions that equate God with “heaven,” Scripture distinguishes between the Creator and His created dwelling place. While heaven is portrayed as the throne room of God (Isaiah 66:1) and the residence of angels (Matthew 18:10), it remains a created environment, not an aspect of God’s eternal essence.
This theological insight affirms:
- God’s transcendence – He exists beyond the created order, even beyond the spiritual realm.
- Heaven’s contingency – It came into being by divine fiat, not necessity.
- The distinction between God and place – God chooses to manifest His presence in heaven, but He is not bound by it.
The creation of heaven marks the first appearance of a “place” in any form—spiritual or material—where God would choose to reveal Himself, first to angelic beings and later to redeemed humanity.
Possible Gap: The Beginning of Space and Spiritual Locality
While Genesis 1:1 presents the simultaneous creation of “the heavens and the earth”, the theological ordering of reality suggests that heaven was the first “realm” to be created, as the dwelling place of spiritual beings prior to the formation of physical space-time.
This introduces the idea of a pre-material creation phase—a period in which heaven and angelic hosts were created before the material universe was shaped. Passages such as Job 38:4–7 suggest that “the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy” at the laying of the earth’s foundation, implying their prior existence.
Theologically, this indicates:
- Spiritual locality began before material geography.
- Heaven is not eternal but precedes Earth in the order of creation.
- Angelic beings were witnesses to, but not participants in, the creation of the physical universe.
Thus, while time, space, and matter in their physical form begin with Earth, spiritual locality begins with heaven.
Summary: Heaven as the First Created Place
Heaven, according to biblical revelation, is the first created realm—a domain distinct from God Himself, yet filled with His glory and purpose. It precedes the formation of Earth and serves as the initial stage for the divine unveiling of creation, including the establishment of angelic beings and the cosmic hierarchy.
Though heaven functions as the dwelling of God and the seat of divine government, it is a created place, not an eternal part of God’s own being. This affirms the foundational distinction between the uncreated Creator and the created cosmos, whether visible or invisible.
The recognition of heaven’s created nature provides the theological groundwork for understanding cosmic structure, spiritual rebellion, and ultimate restoration—all of which depend on the reality that God rules over heaven as its Creator, not its inhabitant by necessity.