An exposition of the Symbol or Creed of the Apostles according to the tenor…An exposition of the Symbole or Creed of the Apostles according to the tenour…

And thus much of the Creation in general. Now it followeth ⟨p. 68⟩that we come to the handling of the parts thereof. For it is not said barely that God is a creator; but particularly that he is a creator of heaven & earth: of both which we will speak in order: and first of the creation of heaven. Heaven] in Gods word it signifieth all that is above the earth: for the air wherein we breath is called Heaven. And according to this acception of the word, there are three heavens, as Paul saith, He was taken up into the third heaven. The first of these Heavens is that space,¹ which is from the earth upward unto the firmament, where the stars are. Thus we read often in the Psalms, the birds which fly in the air between the earth and the stars, are called the fowls of the heaven: and when God sent the flood to drown the old world, Moses saith, the windows of heaven were opened: ²meaning, that God poured down rain from the clouds abundantly, for the making of a flood to drown the world. The second heaven is that which containeth the Sun, the Moon, and the stars: so Moses saith, that God in the beginning created the Sun, the Moon,³ and the Stars, and placed them in the firmament of heaven. Besides these two heavens, there is a third which is invisible: and yet it is the work of Gods hands: and it is that glorious place where Christ in his manhood sitteth at the right hand of the father: and whether the souls of the faithful departed are carried, and placed: and in which at the end of the world shall all the elect both in body and soul, have perfect joy and bliss in the glorious sight and presence of God for ever. But for the better conceiving the trueth, we are to scan and consider three questions. First, whether this third heaven be a creature; for many have thought it was never created, but was eternal with God himself: but it is a gross error contrary to Gods word.⁴ For the Scripture saith, Abraham looked for a city (meaning the heavenly Jerusalem, this third heaven) having a foundation whose builder and maker is God. Further, if it be eternal, it must either be a creator or a creature: but it is no creator, for then it should be God: and therefore it must needs be a creature.