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Is heaven really in the sky and is hell really below us?

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Deuteronomy 4:39

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. Revelation 1:7

No, not technically.  Heaven and hell exist in a spiritual dimension right now that is not found through the directions of up and down.  I remember as a kid looking out the window of the plane to see heaven and always being disappointed.

The Bible uses language of above and below to indicate status. Heaven far exceeds earth. It’s way above earth. The earth is the stomping grounds for Satan who “fell from” heaven (down from heaven or out of heaven). Jesus “ascended” into heaven (high and exalted).

The imagery of hell expresses fire and brimstone, elements that are found in the earth’s core below us, revealed through volcanic eruptions. Cartoonists and painters like to show the Devil in underground caves and God speaking from the sky, so they have helped emphasis that idea.

             Heaven, God’s home, has always been depicted as existing in clouds. Artists understood that heaven was out of our sight and above our earth.