Shalom, everyone.
This concept of ...
"1st heaven = of clouds,
2nd heaven = of stars,
3rd heaven = God's abode"
... is something one will never find in the Scriptures but was introduced to many in the last century in the center column notes of the old Scofield Reference Bible (KJV) on page 1237.
I agree with veteran. Shimown Kefa (Simon Peter) said it better than Scofield. We just never hear about it in our preachers' sermons:
2 Peter 3:3-13
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
KJV
By Peter's explanation, it would be...
1st heaven = the sky before the Flood,
2nd heaven = the present sky after the Flood and before the Fire, and
3rd heaven = the sky after the Fire.
The Hebrew word for "heaven" or the "sky" or the "skies" is "shaamaayim," spelled "shin-qamets-mem-qamets-yod-chireq-mem." (The bold-faced words are actual letters in the Hebrew alefbet; the rest are vowel pointing.) It's the word that was used in Genesis 1:1, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1, 4 (twice), 19, 20; 6:7, 17; 7:3, 11, 19, 23; 8:2 (twice); and 9:2.
So, not only is it the word for the place from where the waters of the Flood came, but it is also where the birds fly!
And, before someone else brings it up, although it is also used of where God created the "greater light" and the "lesser light" and the "stars," notice that the word used is "LIGHTS," "ham'orot," not the actual objects that radiate or reflect that light! He didn't use the words for "sun" and "moon" on Day 4, "shemesh" and "yaareeach." Why not?
The Greek word for "heaven" is "ouranos" (its plural is "ouranoi"); it also happens to be the same Greek word for "sky":
Matthew 16:1-4
1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven (ouranos).
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky (ouranos) is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky (ouranos) is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky (ouranos); but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
KJV
(In how many English translations of the Bible is THAT information found?)
There are a number of compound words - words with prefixes and/or suffixes - using the word "ouranos" as its root word in Greek: "ouranios," "ouranothen," "epouranios," and "mesouraneema." (I use "ee" for eta to distinguish it from "e" for epsilon.) The first means "of or belonging to ouranos"; the second means "from ouranos"; the third means "of or belonging to above ouranos"; and the fourth means "in the middle of ouranos."
When I was first studying this, I assumed I would find Greek words to back up what I had read from Scofield's notes. That's NOT what I found! The two of these words that suggest the place of "ouranos," are "epouranios" and "mesouraneema."
The word "epouranios" is translated as either "heavenly," "heavenly things," or "celestial" (in the KJV). It is found in Matthew 18:35; John 3:12; 1 Corinthians 15:40 (twice), 48 (twice), 49; Ephesians 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12; Philippians 2:10; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 3:1; 6:4; 8:5; 9:23; 11:16; and Hebrews 12:22 for a total of twenty times.
The word "mesouraneema" is translated as "midst of heaven" (in the KJV) in Revelation 8:13; 14:6; and 19:17, a total of three times.
Originally, I thought, "Well, if 'mesouraneema' is in the 'middle of the heaven,' and 'epouranios' refers to 'above the heaven,' then 'ouranos' would be the first heaven, 'mesouraneema' would refer to the second heaven, and 'epouranios' would refer to the third heaven." But, 1 Corinthians 15:40-41 blows that theory, because it is in "epouranios" that one finds the sun, moon, and stars!
1 Corinthians 15:40-41
40 There are also celestial (epouranios) bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial (epouranios) is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
KJV
Furthermore, "mesouraneema" is where the birds fly!
Revelation 19:17
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven (mesouraneema), Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
KJV
So, what do you do with THAT? Do birds fly where the sun, moon, and stars exist in the vacuum of space?!
I was forced to conclude that Scofield didn't know what he was talking about. Then, I discovered the way Peter described three "heavens and earths" in 2 Peter 3:3-13, and it all suddenly made sense.
The Isra'elites and all the nations around them looked up at the sky, and what did they see? During the day, they saw the sun, the clouds, and the birds of the air. At night, they saw the moon and the stars, as well. THAT'S what "heaven" is. It's the ATMOSPHERE of our planet! They saw the sun, moon, and stars ABOVE the atmosphere! The saw the birds flying THROUGH the atmosphere, in the MIDDLE of the atmosphere, above their heads, but below the clouds!
So, the "third heaven" is not a SPATIAL reference, that is, the third heaven AWAY from the earth; it's a CHRONOLOGICAL reference! It's the "third sky" in HISTORY! Not the past "first sky," or the present "second sky," but the future "third sky" around the New Earth "wherein dwelleth righteousness!"
Anyway, that's my opinion.