Why Does the Bible Say Heaven Is Above and Hell Below?

Question of the Week: Why does the Bible speak of heaven as being “above” and hell being “below”?

My Answer: Heaven and hell are not above and below from our human perspective. Heaven is not located above Earth’s clouds and hell is not located in Earth’s mantle or core. Note that the Bible declares that both heaven and hell survive the future eradication of the universe, an eradication that includes the elimination of the cosmic space-time dimensions. Therefore, both heaven and hell must reside in dimensional realms distinct from space-time dimensions of the universe. I answer this question in much detail in my book, Beyond the Cosmos, 3rd ed. In Beyond the Cosmos, I use a flatland analogy (a two-dimensional realm) to demonstrate that any dimensions beyond the ones we presently experience would either be “above” or “below.”