THE HEAVEN

 Without any other resources, one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible is the “man” who was “caught up” (raptured) to the third heaven. Where is that place in the heavens, who was raptured there, and what is in the Third Heaven? Those things are a great mystery. Only three others were known to have been raptured before this time: Elijah in a whirlwind, Enoch by an angel, and Jesus by His own Power. Now consider Paul’s words, inspired by God:

KEY VERSES: 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. ³ And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) ⁴ How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Cor 10:2-4)

  Paul wrote this second letter to the Corinthians in 55 AD, according to theologians. They did not guess, but based dating on historical events mentioned in the letters. There is no reason to question the date deduced by those with such knowledge. Those same theologians believe that Paul was speaking of himself. If the passages are taken literally, then it was not Paul. It would be another man.

  Paul gave a time. “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago.”  Does “above” point toward Christ, or does it point toward time? Or does it even point toward the Third Heaven?

  The Greek word translated “above” is pro. It could mean above, before, in front of, ago, or ever (Strong’s Dictionary). That helps little for whom or to what that pronoun applies. The New King James Version translates it “who.” That is not one of the definitions. If the pronoun points to Christ, it does apply, for Christ is a Man “above” in heaven.

  If it points to time, then it would mean exceeding fourteen years. In that case, consider time first. Fifty-five less 14 is 41 AD. But it was “above” that time. Hence, before 41 AD. Normally, Americans would say “about” 41 AD, but Paul thought it was definitely before that date. In that case, it could point to Jesus. Hence, time is a second pointer to Christ. Paul could have spoke of Jesus. Indeed, for now, take the “Third Heaven” as the location of Paradise. More on that shortly.

  If “above” refers to heaven, then that points toward the location of the Third Heaven. However, in English, the words “up” and “above” also refer to longitudinal coordinates, such as down to Egypt or up north. If there is an invisible realm with coordinates unknown, just how would its location be referenced? Perhaps “above” or “up” or maybe even “over.” The word “above” is therefore ambiguous and should be ignored. All that we know about Jesus is that he ascended in the clouds, and His Holy Ghost descended from the same place. When He raptures Christians, he again will come from the clouds. All that information provides is that Jesus was seen by people in the First Heaven. How he got to the Third Heaven is not explained. Jesus was translated several times. The first translation was when he was borne by God (John 5:37) to be born by Mary (Mat 1:16).

  “Born” means specifically, carried. Mary carried Jesus for nine months. “Carry” implies a burden or weightiness. Mary worked to deliver the baby, Jesus.

  “Borne” is more general. It means “transported.” Of course, carry is a means of transportation in the gravity of the world, but Jesus overcame the world (John 16:33). Perhaps Jesus was referring to the temptations of Satan, or perhaps He was referring to the world in general. We find out that He did overcome the world when He was raised from the dead! After that, He could translate himself wherever he willed without anyone carrying Him. The last time anyone carried Jesus was to the tomb. Jesus merely translated Himself out of the tomb and into a locked room where the eleven disciples were meeting.

  Likewise, the thief on the Cross was translated with Jesus that day. (Luke 23:43). It is implied that the “Ghost” of a dead “Man” carried the thief to Paradise without the interference of time since the Jewish “day” was about to end momentarily. Jesus not only overcame the world, but time as well. “Time” is applied only to the world to measure its decay. After Jesus was “glorified” there was no more decay nor a need for time for Him. He merely willed TO BE some place and He was there!

  “Translation” means, in this context, “to carry across” which can be seen from it root words. Jesus, since He is God, needed no one to carry Him except Mary. She did not carry God from Heaven to Earth though, but only in the world. God needed no assistance to carry Himself, so He merely willed Himself unto the womb, or vessel, that would incubate Him unto Flesh. Jesus is not Mary’s Flesh. He IS Hs own Flesh. He created an embryo in Mary’s empty uterus, which He provided for that occasion. Mary carried, nurtured, and labored for God, but God and His Image always were (John 1). As such, God translated Himself in Spirit and was the Seed planted in Mary’s “Garden.” She was the new Eve.

  Mary bore God for nine months, but God always WAS, IS, and WILL BE. He walked in the Garden in the beginning, with legs, and he will sit on Hs throne in the end, in bodily shape. God defied time, space, and matter to travel to planet Earth, but the trip was not distant or time dependent.

  Ezra was given information by an angel (Book of 4 Esdras). Ezra learned that “The Most High has not made one world but two” (4 Esdras 7:49-50). That says so much! It is written, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Of course, that applies to space and matter made in time, but it would also mean that God created the invisible world and the visible world because Ezra was told that there are two worlds.

  If those two worlds are examined, it should have been obvious. Study figure #1:

 

Figure 1: Celestial Sphere By Tfr000 (talk) 20:06, 29 March 2012 (UTC) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18893066

 

 The world called Earth rotates around an axis. On the other hand, the cosmos appears to be stationary. World “Earth” is matter and has size and time. The other world is the Cosmos. It does move, but at any moment due to the tremendous distances it appears stationary except for the Sun and Moon, the former which the Earth rotates about and the latter, which rotates about Earth. Thus, just as the Bible said, time was made for the world during the fourth creation process.

 The Globe of the Earth has diameter and is finite. The Celestial Globe is the second “world,” but its dimensions are infinite. It is so expansive and expanding that its dimensions are fluidic and without bounds. Scientists hypothesize that beyond the planetary bodies there is nothing! Enoch took a trip there and found out that God is even there!

  And I (Enoch) saw the ninth heaven, which is called in Hebrew Kuchavim, where are the heavenly homes of the twelve constellations of the circle of the firmament. (Secrets of Enoch 21:8) On the tenth heaven, (which is called) Aravoth, I saw the appearance of the Lord’s face, like iron made to glow in fire, and brought out, emitting sparks, and it burns. Thus (in a moment of eternity) I saw the Lord's face, but the Lord’s face is ineffable, marvellous and very awful, and very, very terrible. (Secrets of Enoch 22:1-2) 

  God is everywhere, even where there is no thing. He is Existence and is the “Great I AM THAT I AM,” which is abbreviated JHWH in the Hebrew, and is pronounced Yahweh.

  God is even there, but His throne is in the Third Heaven. That is where the “man” of which Paul spoke visited God. If indeed it was Paul himself, he visited God in the Third Heaven. That specific place is called Paradise, but in the beginning it was created a Garden. What happened to the Garden? After all, it has never been found. When a Garden it was perhaps in the visible world and after Adam and Eve left, it became invisible. Either it translated from one world to the other, or Adam and Eve were. Hence, Paradise may be the same place in two very different realms. Jesus merely willed Himself from one realm to another. 

  That is not to say that Heaven is on Earth, but that a specific place in earth (matter) is in heaven as well. From figure #1, note that the globe of Earth is in the Globe of the Cosmos. God is above the Cosmos, in the Cosmos (Third Heaven), and in Earth. The citizens of this planet call that “on earth.” God did just that; He translated Himself onto the surface of the Earth, not by Mary carrying Him there, but the “destination vessel.” He did not time travel, but went through the walls of her womb, just as he did with the tomb, and rested there until He was ready to emerge.

  The cosmos even pointed to His emergence into the world! The star that the magi followed guided them to God. For the first time ever, the magi saw the cosmos move! Some scientists say “not a star was in sight,” but in 6 BC, God aligned the planets of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars to be seen right above the Celestial Axis in Jerusalem — the “navel of the world,” as it is called, because it is the place of the Foundation Stone; and not only the “navel of this world,” but the “navel of the Cosmic Globe” as well!

  “Navel” would indicate birth, or the creation of the Cosmic Globe and the Globe of the Earth.

  Enoch saw the “twelve constellations of the heavens.” He saw the Cosmos in depth. Angels transported him there and defied time. Enoch was translated to the other world by angels.

  So, you think that is ridiculous? Well, do you think that black hole theory is fantastical? Scientists speculate that the tangential velocity of matter around a black hole in space is so great that it exceeds the speed of light and defies time. Science buys into that hypothesis but will not buy into translation of matter into another dimension! They have even discovered the invisible world to be  scientific, yet they deny its existence. Boson as “matter” with volume, mass, and charge. “Antimatter” has volume, mass, and an opposite charge. Boson’s can be seen and measured, but antimatter (fermions) only measured. God measured the heavens, to wit: “Who (God) hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance” (Isa 40:12). The “hand” of God is Jesus. He made it yo specific dimensions, apparently from the datum that we call the “Foundation Stone” from it’s hole and surface.

  God’s time is different than our time (2 Pet 3:8-9). He is outside the Cosmos and He does not revolve around the Sun. Neither does the Moon effect God. What was Peter saying about time? To the world, the cosmos is like a curtain, “It is He (God) that sitteth upon the circle of the Earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isa 40:22).

  Much is said therein: (1) The “circle of the earth” is more than the Globe of the World but the “circle of the Cosmos” as well. Both worlds are of the same circle. The inner circle moves, but the outer circle seems to never revolve. It is so predictable that navigators of all times used the same “curtain” as a map! The Earth’s revolution makes time, it rotates around the Sun; the Cosmos does not. From the reference point of the Earth, it “revolves” in 26,000 years or so. You can see from where the thousand years as one day comes. 

  For God, time is as well as stationary. His creation reveals that. “Eternity” is the “eighth day” according to Enoch. It is different than all the others because they each are one-thousand years. The Earth’s limit is seven days, or seven thousand years, and after that, eternity begins. In heaven, time is stationary!

  (2) Next, the inhabitants of the Earth are as grasshoppers. That has two meanings; one hidden. Man is not God; they only think of themselves “as God” *Gen 3:5). Compared to God, mankind are like grasshoppers. He is everywhere (omnipresent) and men are only present one place at one time. Just as our mind travels to the feet and back in an instant, God’s Mind travels beyond that “curtain” to the world and back without regard to Earth’s time! For God’s Mind, that infinite distance between Earth and the bounds of the Cosmos is nearly infinite, but to God it is merely a curtain!

  Scripture, perhaps, is referring to that “curtain” of the Cosmos as a “sea of glass,” to wit, “Before the throne (of God) there was a sea of glass like unto crystal” (Rev 4:6). At night look into the heavens. It does appear as a transparent sea of glass with lights within the sea. Of course, to those with the eyes of God, like Isaiah, they could see God beyond the cosmos! Those with “bright natures” had “bright eyes,” according to the writer of the Books of Adam and Eve. They see the Light of God beyond the pale of the stars, not with vision but insight.

  Compared to the Gregori of the fifth heaven, earthlings are indeed, as grasshoppers! They apparently, wrote Enoch and Moses, intermarried with the human species, and produced giant people, called Nephilim, who God caused to perish. The most assuredly were sucked into the center of the Earth when and where it was drained. Jews believe the world’s “drain” is the abys beneath the Foundation Stone in Jerusalem. That abys has never been explored.

  (3) “(It is God) that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.” The Celestial Dome is like a tent with a thin “canvas.”  From anywhere in the world, the Celestial Globe appears as a dome-shaped tent. Think of a geodesic dome covered with a thin material. That dome is right above the First Heaven… and that is the thermosphere and below. The Earth’s outer spheres are not thought of as a heaven, but it is. Jesus seemed to go to above the First Heaven to be translated. That makes sense, since the Second Heaven, according to the Secrets of Enoch, is where angels translate freely between the world and the second “world.” Why did Jesus ascend? To be translated where His Father resides!

  Since, for God, the cosmos is as a “curtain,” then, how much time to penetrate the curtain? Anyone who has accidentally punctured a balloon knows what time that takes. Well, that seems congruent with the time it takes for God to pass through the “cosmic curtain” from His realm to ours.

  God spread the cosmos as a curtain. Think of the speed of a spring-loaded transparent covering, much like a household blind. Just release, and by the power of the hidden spring, the curtain rolls up. God, with His Power, did that with the unfurling of the universe, but will roll it up again at the end of time when the cosmos is put away. Then, there will be no dome over Earth, and humans perhaps will be able to translate to and fro at will with no impedance in between! Well, God is that hidden “Spring” that we trust will open the heavens for us as He did for Enoch.

  Next, consider Paul’s possible translation to the Third Heaven. 

3 As he (Paul who persecuted Christians) journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” 5 And he said, “Who art thou, Lord?” And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutes…  6 And he trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” And the Lord said unto him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink… 17 Ananias (later, in Damascas) went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. (Acts 9)

  Paul had said that he knew a man who went to the Third Heaven. If it is him, would he not have said, “I went to the Third Heaven fourteen years ago?” Not necessarily because that would aggrandize himself, but Paul’s name means “humble.” Just think, like the first man on the moon, Paul would be exalted if they had known that he went to Heaven!

  Saul’s conversion is dated between 33 and 36 AD by theologians. Since the key verses were written in 55 AD, then that would be at least 19 years ago which satisfies the “above fourteen years ago.” Why did not Paul say, “nineteen years ago?” Because that would eliminate all doubt that it was him. He was wise, knowing full well that people are not stupid.

  Assuming Paul went to the Third Heaven, in the key verses, he said, “Whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell.” That was regarding his “trip” to the Third Heaven. In the sacred book of 1 Enoch, Enoch describes several times, “windows of heaven” from earth to heaven — from the physical world to the spiritual; albeit both are the “worlds” that were mentioned before. Enoch went from one world to the other and back through a “window” each time he translated.

  Enoch dreamed… or did he? Of course, Enoch was before the deluge, and Paul certainly was not referring to him. However, was Enoch dreaming, or was he really transported (borne by God) to see the heavens? It was real to Enoch, and certainly, he was unsure whether it was fact or dream. Paul was in the same situation.

  Mankind, unlike the beasts, have three substances: flesh, mind, and soul. The flesh, of course, is the substance of the entire body. The souls of men, because they are in the image of God, should be in the bodily shape of themselves, as it was so with Jesus (Luke 3:22). Of course, the brain is flesh, but the mind is the faculty of cognition.

  Lazarus and the rich man in Paradise indicate that their minds are part of their souls, even though their brains are part of the fleshes. A non-thinking soul would be lost and could not enjoy the fruits of the Spirit in Paradise. No wonder Paul said, if it was indeed him, “Whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell.” The same would apply to Enoch, but in his dream, Enoch went through open “windows” into another realm in bodily shape!

  Scripture, but especially sacred writings, point toward the same thing; that the Garden of Eden, Israel, and Paradise in Heaven occupy the same space. However, there are not three realms but two since the Garden and Paradise are the same place — one in the beginning and the other in the end. Paradise — the Garden, now the City of God — is entered through “windows,” according to Enoch. Angels accompanied Enoch.

  Who guarded the gate to the Garden of Eden? Angels (Gen 3:24). Who guards the throne of God in Paradise? Angels (Rev 4:6), with both described as cherubim.

  The “gate” described in the book of Genesis would be the “window” entrance into Paradise. Only by permission can entry be made, and angels accompany the righteous through (Heb 12:22-23).  

  Enoch surely entered windows to Heaven. “Israel” is the entire Kingdom of David, according to God’s gift to Abraham. The “Israel” of David’s time was likely the Garden Paradise. Israel, in the geography at the time, was in the “midst of the Garden” (Gen 2:9) where the Tree of Life stood. Jesus stood as the Tree of Life when he died on a “tree” in Jerusalem. 

  Jesus died and was entombed in the middle of the Garden of Eden, as many believe. The name Mediterranean means, “middle of the Earth.”

  Paul entered Heaven to the North on the way to Damascus. That was once part of David’s Kingdom. Like Enoch long before, Paul entered the “North Window,” one of the twelve “portals” or windows to heaven. [1] The twelve gates of Paradise, one for each tribe of Israel, would be those portals. Apparently, the North Window would be the land of Dan on the way to Damascus where the tribe of Dan finally settled.

  As a side note, Dan’s allotment of Israel by God was not where he remained. That place was in what was before (in history) named, “Eden.” Ironically, Dan was cast out of the midst of the Garden of Eden, possibly right to that north portal.

  (Some historians say that the Tribe of Dan was cast into the world, and that they were the first settlers of Ireland; see “Tea Tephi, Queen of Ireland, Daughter of Kings of Judah” on Rootsweb. Naming the Hebrew disciple, Milesus of the tribe of Dan, as king of Ireland).

  Paul, endeavoring to convince King Herod Agrippa, told him, “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me” (Acts 26:13). Perhaps Saul was escorted by angels to Paradise through the North Portal as Enoch was. Enoch, when at the North Portal saw three gates: two were horrible but one was good. Enoch saw one of the twelve gates to Paradise! Apparently, Paul entered that Gate!

  Paul described what he saw — light from Heaven. (I capitalized Heaven because it was, if I am correct, Light from Paradise.). Paul saw Jesus Glorified. He saw the Father in the Son! Paul saw Paradise but those with him did not. It was real to Paul because his mind and soul went to another realm, but his body stayed in the earth (the world) and was blind. His companions had to lead him as if he is not in this world.

  Paul, (in the key verses), opened his eyes but did not see. His body was blind, but in his mind saw a “man.” That “man” of course, is Jesus! Paul was in earth in body, but in heaven is bodily form. His soul was with Jesus, and where was Jesus? On His throne in the Third Heaven.

  The portals to heaven are twelve. Jesus will someday, in glorified flesh, enter His own gate, the Golden Gate, which at the present is sealed? Why is it sealed? Perhaps it is sealed until Jesus comes, and perhaps, since it is sealed with bricks, the bricks will “fall down,” as Isaiah saw (Isa 9:1). When that happens, Jesus, in defiance of the world, will indeed rebuild it with His own “hewn stones.” Surely with “Lively Stones” since spiritual people will be the ones living in New Jerusalem!

  I contend that heaven is a short “distance.” At death, the body dies, but the soul steps through a portal into another realm. In the end, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The entire world will be in another realm.

  Perhaps this physical world will not even exist any longer. That makes sense because even the sun, moon, and stars will cease to exist. The two realms will certainly become one when New Jerusalem replaces Old Jerusalem, and the new earth replaces the old Earth.

  Consider the daughter of Jairus who Jesus healed: 

⁵³ And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, “Maid, arise.” ⁵⁵ And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. (Luke 8:53-55)

  The soul of the dead girl departed and went some “place.” Perhaps it entered a “window” to Paradise, which of the twelve, I do not know. Perhaps in the spiritual realm, distance is traveled in God’s time; there, it takes no time to translate from one area to the next since God does the transporting.

  Paul was “born again” when God picked him. Paul did nothing to deserve selection. God had a purpose for him, but face it, not everyone is transported to heaven as I contend that Paul was.

  Why a new name for Saul? Because after He experienced Jesus, the Holy Ghost of Jesus baptized him (verse 17), and then he was baptized with the Baptism of John for his body to be in unity with his soul — thereafter, mind, body, and soul; one with God.

  Since the daughter was twelve, she would not be accountable for her soul. Jesus, by grace, borne her through one of the open windows, but God still had a purpose for her, so the angels would have borne her back to her body. I avoided using the word “carried” because that implies burdensome. The young girl, just as Paul, certainly saw Paradise when she was “asleep,” but Jesus brought her back as He did Paul.

  What was her purpose? For Jesus to show the world just who God IS. That young girl was useful to Him, and I bet that God used her until she died again… to live again!

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[1] Usually in this commentary, “heaven” with a small “h” refers, not to a place, but to the spiritual realm. If capitalized, it refers to Paradise in the heaven. “Heavens” in the plural, would indicate that there are ten heavens in the entire heaven, the Earth being the First of the heavens.