For an Informed Love of God
Bill Mounce
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οὐρανός
οὐρανός means “heaven; sky.”
“May your kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in οὐρανός” (Matt 6:10).
“Look at the birds of the οὐρανός. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matt 6:26).
Mounce's Expository Dictionary (abridged):
Noun: οὐρανός (ouranos), GK G4041 (S G3772), 273x. οὐρανός is used in a variety of ways in the NT. At times it simply denotes the “sky” (Mt. 16:3; Mk. 13:25). Other times, God is shown to be the creator of heaven and earth (Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:24; Rev. 10:6; 14:7), and Jesus will return from heaven with his angels (Mt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 19:11f.). The Christian’s citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), along with his or her treasures and rewards (Mt. 5:12; 6:20; Lk. 5:23; 1 Pet. 1:4). In Revelation, we are given an extensive picture of heaven, where the slain Lamb reigns and is worshiped by his saints (Rev. 4:2ff.). While heaven is important in NT theology, the goal of God’s redemption is not a disembodied heavenly experience (as many hymns teach). Instead, all of creation itself is awaiting redemption (Rom. 8:19–22), and the consummation of God’s work will be a new creation, a new heaven and earth (Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1).