”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;)“
2 Corinthians 12:2-3 KJV
Paul says, “Someone I’m acquainted with, who is in union with Christ, was swept away fourteen years ago in an ecstatic experience. He was taken into the third heaven, but I’m not sure if he was in his body or out of his body—only God knows. And I know that this man (again, I’m not sure if he was still in his body or taken out of his body—God knows)“. It was a common literary practice to avoid speaking directly of oneself but to refer to themselves as “someone I’m acquainted with”. But we know that it was Paul himself because he knew the exact time he had this ecstatic experience, overhearing in the third heaven inexpressible things, not to be repeated. He was not certain whether it was an embodied or disembodied experience. Paul goes on later to say that a “thorn in the flesh was given to me” because of his extraordinary experiences and revelations. It was his humility that Paul didn’t want to boast but knew when to share such experiences. Let’s learn from Paul to walk in lowliness of mind and yet enjoy third heaven on earth. Amen!
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