2 Cor. 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. The term “third heaven” refers to the religious rulership in the world to come, the spiritual control of the Kingdom under Christ. The Scriptures speak of three worlds: the “world that then was [before the Flood],” the “present evil world,” and the “world to come” wherein “dwelleth righteousness” (Matt. 12:32; Gal. 1:4; 2 Pet. 3:6,7,13). Therefore, it is more reasonable to see the “third heaven” as the religious rulership of the third world, or dispensation, rather than the third level of going up into heaven, as some in the nominal system believe. Paul was not just caught upward and given a marvelous vision but onward, forward, way into the distant future, to see things as they will happen. He was caught up prophetically and given an advanced preview of things to come, seeing events as though they were actually occurring. The vision was so real that he did not know if he had been literally and miraculously transported in the flesh or just in a vision. Because the expression “third heaven” is so misunderstood, we will state the matter another way. Many might think the “third heaven” is above us in the heavens. From this vertical standpoint, there is, first, our solar system consisting of the sun, moon, and nine planets. When we look beyond them at the starry host above our solar system, we see another “heaven,” the galaxies. Still higher is the “heaven of heavens” (Deut. 10:14). However, Paul was not speaking of vertical heavens but of horizontal heavens, traveling dispensationally from the world before the Flood, through the world that now is, to the world to come; that is, Paul was speaking about being translated in time down to the Kingdom Age and seeing events taking place there. God sees things future as though they are either the present or the past depending on how He chooses to view them. Time is not what man thinks it is. Isaac Newton’s concept of mathematics and astronomy is the most practical way for man to view things under the present circumstance. However, Einstein brought in another perspective with a deeper view and thus opened up a wealth of information that is like a Pandora’s box in that the attention of scientists is taken away from the Lord in trying to fathom the mysteries of the universe. Instead of trying to understand these mysteries, they should be seeking to understand the mysteries of the Author of the universe. Paul was caught up in vision to the “third heaven” and to “paradise” (see verse 4). “Paradise” was lost in the Garden of Eden, and it will be restored in the Kingdom. Paul was given a vision of the third world, or dispensation, so that in explaining different subjects to Christians, he would have a depth of understanding others did not have. He was forbidden to talk directly about what he saw.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:27:38 +0000
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