In Hebrew legend, the Seven Heavens are:
Top of Page
The idea of there being seven Heavens first appears in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
and other Jewish texts, as is also found in Persian and Babylonian lore. The Persians place God in
the highest of the Seven Heavens, "seated upon a great white throne, surrounded by winged cherubim."
Sura 23 of the Koran also mentions seven Heavens.
Top of Page
In Enochian lore there are 10 Heavens, the other three being:
8. Muzaloth, Hagiga says that this is really the Seventh Heaven.
9. Kukhavim, home of the 12 signs of the zodiac.
10. Aravoth (the Hebrew term for the 12 signs of the zodiac), where Enoch is said to have seen the face of the Lord.
The confusion of the Heavens lies in the fact that the signs of the zodiac
don't reside in the Heavens that are named for them.
Top of Page
According to The Zohar
there are 390 heavens and 70,000 worlds. The gnostics Balisades mention 365 Heavens and Jellinek in
Beth Ha-Midrasch contains a legend that tells of 955.
Top of Page
It should be noted that because angels are bodiless,
their actual place of residence in any heaven, or in any other place, is figurative.
Angels are residents of wherever they happen to be at any given time.
It is only for man's convenience that they are given a locus operandi (location of operations).
All material descriptions of angels, such as wings, size, speech, physical actions, etc. are also figurative.
Top of Page
|
|
NEXT