December 17 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 12:01 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 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. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Paul spent chapter 11 telling the Corinthians about the struggles he had gone through in order to carry out his apostolic responsibilities. As we begin chapter 12 he changes gears and tells them about a remarkable event that took place in his life years before. Just as the heretical apostles had no history of suffering for the cause of Christ like Paul had, they also did not have any experiences like the one he is about to describe. So, this "boasting" is also designed to bring glory to God and to stop the mouths of those who opposed Paul's teaching.

He opens by saying that it is not profitable ("expedient") for him to be talking about himself. He would much rather be teaching the truths of God instead of reciting his resume. Just as he was reluctant to speak of his trials, he is now hesitant to speak of the revelation that he had received. However, it is necessary for him to do so. So, he describes one of the visions that he had received from the Lord. We know from the Scriptures that Paul received numerous visions throughout his ministry. His first was when the Lord appeared to him on the Damascus road (Acts 9:3-12). Five more are recorded in the book of Acts (Acts 6:9-10; 18:9-10; 22:17-21; 23:11; 27:23-24). In addition, we know that Paul was taught the Gospel by "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). Here he speaks of yet another revelation that he received from God as further evidence of the legitimacy of his ministry.

Fourteen years earlier he had the experience of being caught up into the third heaven. He writes this as if he was speaking about someone else, but he is the person who had this experience. Notice that Paul has apparently not talked about this event for fourteen years, so no one could ever accuse him of bragging about it! When he speaks of the third heaven he is referring to the abode of God. The Bible uses the term "heaven" in three different ways. It can refer to the sky above the earth (Genesis 1:20), or the area that we call "outer space" (Genesis 15:5), or the throne room of God (II Corinthians 5:2), and this third usage is what Paul is speaking about, for he calls it "paradise" in verse 4. Revelation 2:7 states that the Tree of Life is located in "the paradise of God", which gives further evidence that Paul went to the place that believers go to when they die, which he refers to in II Corinthians 5:8 as being "present with the Lord". The verb translated "caught up" is the same one that Paul uses to describe the rapture in I Thessalonians 4:17. He writes that he doesn't know if he was caught up "in the body or out of the body". In other words, he doesn't know if his body was taken to Heaven as it will be at the rapture, or whether only his spirit was taken. God knows, but Paul doesn't know, and I don't think it matters to him at all.

He says that while he was there he heard "unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter". The two words translated "unspeakable words" come from the same Greek root. Paul heard "unutterable utterances"; which are apparently things that could not possibly be spoken by a finite human being, and should not be spoken, for it was not permitted ("lawful") for him to speak them. We do not know what Paul saw and heard while in Heaven. It is safe to say that he probably could never have found the words to describe it, and apparently God did not want him to try. The Bible never tells us of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, speaking of his experiences in Paradise when he was dead for four days, nor did Abraham allow the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16 to return to earth to warn the rich man's brothers about the reality of Hell. What God has given to us in His Word is sufficient, and we will have to wait until we get to Heaven to find out what the Lord has prepared for us there.