How many heavens are listed in Scripture?
Scripture lists three heavens: the first heaven, the second heaven, and the third heaven. The first is the air or atmosphere where birds fly; the second is space, the area of the stars; and the third is heaven as commonly known. This threefold distinction is drawn directly from the biblical text.
Les teaches that Scripture lists three heavens: the first heaven, the second heaven, and the third heaven. He explains the first heaven is the air or atmosphere, the area where birds fly. The second heaven is what is now called space, or the area of the stars and so forth. The third heaven is heaven as we know it. Les goes back to Genesis chapter 7, verse 23, to show this from Scripture, where the Flood account refers to the fowl of the heaven, confirming that the atmosphere is part of what the Bible calls the first heaven.