*no this is not an April Fool's Joke
Heaven is not an alternate dimension or plane of existence, Heaven is simply the sky/clouds and it is referenced throughout the bible poetically and artistically. Understand the sky was a wonder back then as their knowledge of outer space was limited and all the knew was the world (earth). At the time the sky was something that they knew was there yet they could not grasp it (can't grab chunks of blue from the sky and air had no color) In a way like ones soul/consciousness which was present yet could not be grasped and was neither the body as loosing ones arm would not result in someone having less soul.
Heaven is defined in Genesis 1:1-20, I'll bold text the lines relevant to Heaven.
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
It is clear that earth begins as some water world. The firmament basically designates the sky. The waters of earth were separated from waters amidst the firmament. They clearly had an understanding of clouds and that they are composed of water. Thus water would have a spiritual significance and lines such as the son of man coming in the clouds begins to have more meaning.
Water is also necessary for crops to grow for life to drink, and because the process of evaporation would have been a mystery, the source of this life giving water would appear in the sky out of nowhere further giving credibility to its holiness and shines some light onto why you're submerged in water during a baptism and holy water.
Lastly the lights placed in the firmament of heaven clearly indicative of the stars in the sky.
Knowing that heaven is the sky, passages take on a different meaning, so what does Jesus mean by "heaven". Jesus often had indirect methods of explaining complex or deep topics such as when he compares faith to a mustard seed. His use of Heaven is likely no different, and interestingly enough I believe the meaning has been right under our noses.
Jesus came to earth and invested a lot into it, clearly he sought to bring about change and establish something here on earth. We also know that God's Kingdom is to come as in Revelations 21 "from heaven" down to EARTH. Yet there is no kingdom up in the clouds and the Tower of Babel did not reach God's Kingdom however the languages of man were a cause for confusion. Heaven is not the sky, another plane of existence or distant kingdom Heaven is what all the work has or will have been for, heaven is God's Plan, the goal of bringing great change on earth. Ironically I think the meaning is found in a common saying, as one who aspires to bring heaven is truly "reaching for the sky".
Matthew 6:10 says "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
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