Amen. All right, we're there in 2 Corinthians chapter number 12. And of course, on Wednesday nights, we've been making our way through the book of 2 Corinthians verse by verse, chapter by chapter. And we find ourselves in chapter number 12, the second to last chapter in the book. And if you remember last time we were in the book of 2 Corinthians together, in chapter number 11, the Apostle Paul was acting a fool, if you remember. That was the theme where he kept talking about the fact that he realized that it was foolish to compare yourself and foolish to boast but he was gonna compare himself and boast because he had to do that to defend himself and in verse one he continues that that idea and I want you to notice it because it's important to understand the context as we we get into this chapter uh... tonight in verse one he says it is not expedient the word expedient means fit or suitable or proper he said it's not proper For me doubtless to glory and if you remember the word glory means to boast or brag could mean to rejoice he says it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord and again that word expedient means convenient or advantageous it means in one's best interest or to one's own advantage and he says it's not the best thing for me to glory he said it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory And then he says this, he says, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. And really, what we're going to get through tonight is the first six verses of this chapter. And in those six verses, he talks about these visions and this revelation that he has. And Paul goes into detail about a very special vision or revelation in which he talks about a man that went to heaven and that saw heaven. And it's an interesting passage, and in those six verses, as he explains that, there's so many doctrinal statements that he makes that we're just going to deal with that tonight. We're going to look at the several miscellaneous doctrinal statements in these verses that he talks about. this vision. We're not really going to get to the application about why he brings us up till next week when we get into verses 7 and beyond. But he talks about this, and what's interesting is that he talks about this experience, and it may be an out-of-body, what we would refer to, or what people today would refer to as an out-of-body experience, where he says, look, there might have been a man that came out of his body and went up to heaven and saw heaven, and he tells us this story. Now, there's a lot of debate in regards to this passage as to whether the Apostle Paul is speaking about himself or not, and it's not really a big deal. It doesn't really change anything, really, but there is some debate in regards to that. Some people believe that he's talking about himself, that he was the one that had that vision. Other people say, no, he's not talking about himself. And I'll tell you, just kind of up front, I believe the Apostle Paul's referring to himself in this passage. And I'll give you my reasons for that. And you can disagree with that. It's no problem. Just don't bring it up to me, because I don't want to talk to you about it. But you can disagree about it all you'd like. It's really not a big deal, and I'm not dogmatic. about it. But let me just kind of give you these different things here. The first thing we notice in this passage, and if you are taking notes, and I would encourage you to write down some things, number one is a lesson on out-of-body experiences. And he talks about this. Notice here in verse 2, he says, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago. I want you to notice the parenthetical statements he's making here. He says, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth." He says, you know, there was a man, he said, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, and he says, what I'm about to tell you, whether that happened in the body or whether out of the body, he says, I cannot tell, he says, God knoweth, such an one caught up to the third heaven. Verse three, he says, and I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth. He's telling us, look, I don't know if this was in the body or out of the body, and so we're not even for sure that this was an out-of-body experience, but the Apostle Paul is saying, what I'm about to tell you potentially was an out-of-body experience. You know, when people talk about these stories where people go up to heaven and, you know, they're laying in a hospital room and they're soul or spirit or body or whatever it is, comes out of their body and sometimes they tell these stories where they see themselves hovering over their bodies and then they go up to heaven and they have some experience and they come down. This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Now I don't necessarily believe those stories and I'll give you a reason as to why, but he's talking about the fact that there was an experience of somebody going up to heaven. They were in the body or out of the body and again he refers to the fact that He says, I knew a man, which is why there's debate as to whether Paul is speaking about himself or not. And like I said, I'm not dogmatic about it, but let me just give you, just as we kind of dig into this, just some thoughts in regards to why I believe that the Apostle Paul is speaking about himself. First of all, if you've been with us through this series, you'll know, especially in the last chapter, that the Apostle Paul just finished boasting in the last chapter, while acknowledging that his boasting was foolishness, he just got done giving us all this resume of himself, talking about pretty much just how awesome he is, and he really is awesome, and he realizes that a mature Christian shouldn't do those things, but his hand was kind of forced because people were comparing him and talking down to him, and then he begins, we saw it in verse one, with saying, look, it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory, And then he says, I will come to visions and revelations. So I want you to notice that he begins by saying, I'm not going to boast and brag anymore. I did enough of that in the last chapter. I was acting a fool in the last chapter. But he says, I will come to visions and revelations. So he says, I have been giving visions and revelations of the Lord. And then, it seems like almost randomly, he starts talking about someone else having a vision and a revelation right after he just gets done saying that, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. And he begins to say, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knows, such and one caught up in the third heaven. And to me, To me, it seems kind of obvious that the Apostle Paul is pretty much saying, look, I just got done boasting and bragging a lot, and I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to tell you about the visions and revelations that I've had. He says, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. But then he starts talking about this other person who had visions and revelations. And I think what the Apostle Paul is just saying, what he's avoiding is saying, by the way, it was me. Let me tell you even further how awesome I am. God allowed me to see heaven. Now, people will have a lot of problems with this. They'll say, no, well, he said, I knew a man in Christ. And that's an interesting term, that he says, I knew a man in Christ. Because Paul, and I'd like you to keep your place there in 2 Corinthians if you would, and turn back to Romans chapter 7. Here's my thought, and again, you can have your own thoughts on this, it doesn't make a difference to me. I believe when Paul says, I knew a man in Christ, that he is referring to himself, but he's referring to his new man, or his spiritual man. Because if you think about it, the fact that when we are saved, there's a new creature, a new man that is born in us, and that new man is the man that goes to heaven. And I don't have time to get into that whole doctrine. I'll preach other sermons on that at another time, and I preach sermons on that. But that'll explain to you a lot of these passages, like in 1st and 2nd and 3rd John, where we're told that the saved man doesn't sin. Well, it's true because of the fact that the new man does not sin. And Paul himself has been known, when he speaks and preaches, to separate himself or disassociate himself from his old man. If you remember there in Romans chapter 7, remember Romans chapter 7, the whole chapter is about the fact how he does the things that he does not want to do, and the things that he hates he does, and the things he wants to do he can't do. And then he says this in verse 17, he says, Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. And he talks about the fact that it's not me sinning, you know, it's sin that dwells in my flesh. And what he's saying is, it's not me sinning, it's my old man sinning. And in Romans chapter 7, he identifies with his new man and he disassociates himself or separates himself from his old man. He says, I realize that I keep messing up and I keep sinning, but it's not me doing it. It's my old man. It's my flesh. Well, I believe in 2 Corinthians 12, he's doing the opposite. And he's saying, there's a man that went up to heaven, but it wasn't me, it was the new man. It wasn't the old man. Now, notice here in verse 5, just to kind of give you. In verse 5, he gives us a contrast between himself and this new man. Notice verse 5. He says, of such and one, and the one he's referring to is the guy who got the out-of-body experience or the guy who went up to heaven. He says, of such and one will I glory. Because remember he said, I'm not going to glory anymore. I'm not going to boast or brag anymore. He says, he says, it is not explained for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. Then he begins to tell us about this vision and revelation that somebody else had. And he says, of such and one will I glory. He said, I'm going to glory in that guy. He says, yet of myself, I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. And again, people will look at verse 5 and say, see, Paul's not talking about himself. He can't be talking about himself. Because he says, of such and one will I glory. but yet of myself I will not glory." But I want you to notice, if you understand that he may be talking about the fact that he's separating himself into this old man and this new man, he's saying, I'm going to glory in that new man, that spiritual man. Of such and one will I glory. He says, yet of myself I will not glory. And then here's how we know he's associating himself with the flesh. He says, but in mine infirmities. So his old man, or who he's referring to as himself or myself, he says that's the man with the infirmities. Now here's the point and here's what I want you to see. If you look at verse 7 of the chapter, 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 7, and we're going to see this next week, he says He says, lest I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. In verse five, he says, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. And in verse seven, he tells us that the infirmity that he's referring to is the thorn in the flesh. Now, he says, look, I am not going to boast and brag, but I have received of the Lord, he said, I have received visions and revelations. Then he says, let me tell you about a vision and revelation, but he says, it was this guy that I knew about 14 years ago, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. Then he tells us, I'm not going to glory I'll glory in that guy, but I'm not glorying in myself, because myself has infirmities. But then he tells us in verse 7 that the reason he has the infirmities is because he has all these visions and revelations, and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh. So I think the Apostle Paul is kind of just being funny here. And what I believe he's doing is that he's being sarcastic. Now sometimes people, they have a problem with Paul being sarcastic, but if you remember the last chapter, he's being very sarcastic. Remember, he's very upset with these people. And what they've been doing is they've been criticizing him. They've been listening to people criticize him. And he pretty much just in the previous chapter said, look, maybe I've been too humble around you and I haven't, you know, pat myself on the back and told you how great I am, but let me go ahead and act like a foolish man and do that. Then he gets here and he's playing this game. He's saying, and by the way, if you don't think I'm that great, well, let me tell you about this guy that I knew. You know, because he went to heaven. And if you would have known that guy, you'd think he was awesome. He's like, I will glory in that guy. I'm not going to glory in myself, because I have infirmities, and I'm weak, and you think I'm weak. But then he tells us, by the way, the reason I have the infirmities is because I have the revelations. The reason I have the infirmities is because the Lord has given me these visions." So I think it's obvious that he's being sarcastic. And if you think like, I don't know if Paul's being sarcastic. Let me show you. Not only was he sarcastic in the previous chapter, he's sarcastic in this chapter. He's pretty upset with these people. Look at verse 13. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 13. He says, "'For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches?' Because remember, they're saying that he's inferior as an apostle. He says, look, I was not inferior to the chiefest apostle. Now he says, for what is it wherein you were inferior to the churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Now notice what he says. He says, I, when I was with you, when I was menacing to you, I was not burdensome to you. He said, I was not a burden to you. I did not create work for you. You did not have to support me. He says, I was not burdensome to you. Then he says this. He says, forgive me this wrong. Now, isn't that being sarcastic? Because not being burdensome is a good thing. But he's saying, like, well, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't burdensome to you. Forgive me this wrong. He's being sarcastic. He's kind of taking jabs at these people because they're saying, You know, well, these other guys are great. And he's saying, well, maybe I should have been burdensome to you. Maybe I should have came like a prima donna, you know, asking to be put in a nice hotel room and to get treated well. But he says, look, I wasn't burdensome to you. Forgive me this wrong. He's obviously being sarcastic. Here's another place where he's being sarcastic. Look at verse 15. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I belong. You know, he's obviously being sarcastic and saying, like, you know, you people are taking me for granted. Look at verse 16. He says, Notice what he says. He says, And again, he's being sarcastic here. He's saying, you know, I wasn't burdensome to you, but the way that I got influenced, the way that I started this church was, obviously, I must have just been crafty. What does the word crafty mean? It means indirect or deceitful in your attempts or measures. He says, I caught you with guile. What does guile mean? It means to be sly or cunning. So obviously, the Apostle Paul is a little upset with these people. And he's kind of being sarcastic and taking jabs at them. And I believe when he says, hey, look, I'm not going to brag, but I knew a guy 14 years ago in Christ. And before that, he says, I have been given revelations, but I'm not going to brag. But let me tell you about this other guy I know who got to see the third heaven. I'm going to glory in that guy, I'm not going to glory in myself because I just have infirmities. But I have infirmities because I have all these great revelations and then he tells you about these revelations. I just believe he's referring to himself. I think he's being a little sarcastic and obviously he's making a point like I'm better than you think or than you make me out to be. You know, if you're so impressed with these false prophets and you think I'm so lame, you know, why is it that God showed me and God allowed me to be able to see these visions? Go to Acts just real quickly, Acts chapter 14. And again, it's not a big deal. And if you disagree with that, it doesn't make a difference. But I just think it's interesting that Paul here, I believe he's referring to himself. And that I believe that he's the one that saw these visions. And it would make sense because he's about to get into this big ordeal about the thorn in the flesh that was given to him because of the abundance of the revelations. So it would make sense that he's bringing up an abundance of revelation that he had. Also what's interesting is that the Bible highlights for us that Paul had a what we might refer to as a near death, and it might have just been a full death experience, in Acts chapter 14, if you look at verse 19, it says, who persuaded the people on having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city. Notice, supposing that he had been dead. So these people, they took Paul and they stoned Paul. What does that mean? It means they picked up rocks and they threw them at him until they thought he was dead. I mean, until his eyes closed, he went unconscious, his body, not to be graphic, he's no longer twitching. I mean, the Bible says, there came another certain Jew from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing that he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and came into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. So, the Bible also tells us that there is a time when people, they beat Paul so much, people thought he was dead. And they threw him out of the city, and as the Bibles come around him, he just kind of wakes up. And then Paul says, hey, 14 years ago, in Christ, I knew this guy, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. He said, and he had this vision of revelation. And I'm not going to boast to you, but I've received visions of revelation. I'm not going to boast to you, though, about the visions. I'm just going to tell you about this other guy, because I'm going to boast in that guy and not in myself, because I have infirmities. But I have infirmities because I have visions of revelation. So just when you put the whole thing in its context, I think it makes sense that Paul is speaking about himself and that he's the one that had this vision. Go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Okay, let's get into the teaching. The first thing we see is a lesson of these out-of-body experiences. First, let me just say this. As far as we can tell in the Bible, there is one possible out-of-body experience recorded in the Bible, as far as I can tell. Maybe I missed something. But it's this, in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, when he says, I knew a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. He says it twice, whether in the body or out of the body, God knoweth. So in the Bible, there's one possible out-of-body experience recorded in Scripture. Now here's what's interesting, because people will take this and they'll run with it. They'll say, well look, if Paul had an out-of-body experience, which we don't even know that he did, he says, I may have been in the body or out of the body or may have been in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. But they'll say if he did, then other people can. But here's what I want you to understand. In the Bible, when there's a possible out-of-body experience, the guy who had that experience, whether you believe it's Paul or not, it doesn't make a difference whether it's Paul or not, that guy, notice in verse 4, the Bible says how that he was caught up into paradise, notice, and heard that guy, whoever that guy is, heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter." So here's the first kind of thought or takeaway from this passage. In the Bible, there is one possible recorded out-of-body experience. But the characteristic of that out-of-body experience is whoever that guy was, when he came back, it was what he saw, he could not describe. They were unspeakable words. And not only was he unable to, but he was not allowed to, because he heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. So this man was not allowed to speak about the things that he saw in heaven. It was unlawful for him to utter. But also, even if he had been allowed, he was unable to describe what he saw in heaven because they were unspeakable words. Now, you say, well, why is that a big deal? Here's why it's a big deal. Compare that to all the modern-day out-of-body experiences that people say when they go to heaven. I mean, I just quickly googled, you know, out-of-body experiences, people going to heaven. And here's what came up. A list of books. I mean, books that people have written when they supposedly came out of their body, died, and went to heaven, they came back down, and what'd they do? They wrote a book. Here's a famous book, Heaven is for Real, a little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back. Here's another book, 90 Minutes in Heaven. Here's another book. Here's another book. Here's another book. Now here's what's interesting. I don't know if these people are telling the truth. In fact, I tend to believe they're not telling the truth. Here's what I do believe. The Apostle Paul is telling the truth, and the Apostle Paul is telling us that there's a man that may have had an out-of-body experience, but when he came back, he didn't write a book. He couldn't write a book. He couldn't talk about it. It was unlawful for him to tell you what he saw in heaven, and even if he was allowed to, it was unspeakable words. So here's what that tells me. If Paul, or whoever Paul knew, went up to heaven, came back down, in the body, out of the body, I cannot tell how the vision of the third heaven comes back down and says, I can't even explain it to you, then I think these people are all a bunch of frauds. That's why they're allowed to come back and write books. You know, the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. Here's the thing, if somebody said, hey, I went to heaven and I came back, and I can't even explain to you, that would be more realistic to me, like, yeah, maybe. But when they're like, I went to heaven, I came back, I wrote a book, it's on sale, $9.99. Buy my book. Maybe I'll get picked up to get a movie. Then it's like, no, the loved one is the root of all evil, and you already broke the first law because in the Bible, the guy that had an outermodeling experience heard unspeakable words which is not lawful for a man to utter. So here's lesson number one. Don't read those stupid books. 90 Minutes in Heaven, Heaven is for Real. You know, Heaven is for Real, some four-year-old kid goes, look, little kids tell stories. My journey to heaven. Okay, here's the second kind of doctrinal thing we see from this passage. If you look at verse 2, go back to 2 Corinthians 12, in verse 2. First, we saw a lesson on this out-of-body experience. Secondly, I want you to notice this lesson on heaven, and specifically the third heaven. In verse 2 he says, I knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth. Then he says, such an one caught up to the third heaven. Caught up to the third heaven. So here the Apostle Paul mentions a third heaven. You say, why does he mention a third heaven? Here's why. Because there are three heavens. There's a 1st heaven, there's a 2nd heaven, and there's a 3rd heaven. There's no 7th heaven, but there's a 3rd heaven. Go to Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1 if you would. First book in the Bible should be fairly easy to find. Genesis chapter 1. Now look, there are people that take this 3rd heaven teaching and they make up all sorts of stuff. Like, I think the Mormons teach that, you know, the really good Mormons go to the third heaven. And people get, you know, they make up all these things. But, like we've been talking about lately, whenever you find something in Scripture, you know, you might be looking at this thing, the third heaven, I've never heard that before. Well, when you find something in Scripture, you've got to ask yourself, what does the Bible say? What does the Bible teach about these things? And the Bible teaches that there are three different heavens. I'll show them to you. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. We see them in the creation story. Genesis 1-1. Notice the very first verse in the Bible says, in the beginning God created, and I want you to notice these two words. He says, the heaven. Now I want you to notice that that's singular. The heaven, one heaven, and the earth. This heaven that he refers to here in verse one is THE heaven. It's the heaven that is compared to and contrasted with the earth. He says, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Now, you might be asking, well, I thought Paul said there was three heavens, and here we have one heaven, so isn't that a contradiction? Well, here's the thing. In Genesis 1-1, the Bible tells us there is the heaven, because at this point in the creation process, there's only one heaven. So when he says, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, there is only one heaven in Genesis 1-1. That's going to change as we go through the creation story. But let me just tell you, this heaven in Genesis 1-1 is what Paul is referring to as the third heaven. It is what we call heaven. It is the heaven that is contrasted with the earth. It is where God lives, is where the throne of God is. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. It's a singular heaven, and he's referring to what Paul eventually calls the third heaven. But notice, there's a second heaven. Skip down to verse number six in Genesis chapter one. Verse number 6, and I'm not going to go through the whole creation story, but I'll just highlight these heavens for you. Genesis 1 and verse 6, the Bible says, and God said, let there be a firmament. You see the word firmament there? God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters, verse 7, and God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament, and from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. Now why don't you notice verse 8, because sometimes people will ask, well what's a firmament? Well look, the Bible, our King James Bible serves as its own dictionary. The Bible often defines itself. Notice verse 8, and God called the firmament heaven. So what does the word firmament mean? It's heaven. When you see the word firmament, just think heaven, because God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day. So now, let's see these different heavens. Look at verse 14. And God said, let there be lights. Now here, when God says, let there be lights, and I'm going to prove it to you, but he's referring to the sun and the moon. And God said, let there be lights, notice, in the firmament of the heaven. So he said, I want there to be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night. What is that? The sun and the moon. and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. Isn't that what the sun and moon are for? They're for signs and for seasons. They tell us when the day ends and the day begins. They tell us when the year ends and when the year begins. And God says, I want to put lights in the firmament of heaven and divide the day from the night. Look at verse five, excuse me, verse 15, Genesis 1, 15. And let them be for lights the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth and it was so and God made two great lights the greater light to rule the day that's the Sun and the lesser light to rule the night that's the moon and he made the stars also and God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth so we're told that there is a firmament, which is referred to as a heaven, and in that firmament are the sun, the moon, and the stars. So what is that? That second firmament, or that second heaven, is what we would refer to today as outer space. It's the space that is out of our atmosphere where the sun, moon, and stars are. And sometimes people, you know, they don't like you using that terminology. But look, in Job 26 and verse 7, here's what Job said. He said about God that He stretched out the north over the empty place and hanged the earth upon nothing. According to the Bible, where the earth is hanging, it's hanging on nothing, and it's an empty space. Well, what do you call that? What is that? That's outer space. It's an area where there's nothing, and God calls that the firmament, and God says, the sun, moon, and stars in that firmament. So we have the first heaven, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Then we have a second heaven, which Job calls the empty place, or where the earth hangeth upon nothing place, what we would call outer space. God says where I put the sun, the moon, and the stars. But notice, there's another heaven. Go to Genesis 1, look at verse 20. Genesis 1, 20. So the third heaven, is where God lives. Okay? And I'm going to prove that to you even further as we continue in 2 Corinthians. The second heaven is where the sun, moon, and stars is. I mean, I think that's pretty clear when you look at Genesis 1 verses 14 through 17. Then in verse 20 we're told of another heaven, this would be the first heaven. Genesis 1-20, and God said, So here we have another heaven, We're told it's above the earth, and the fowls, or the birds, fly in that open firmament. What is that? That is referring to the sky, or the earth's atmosphere, the region of the clouds, or the upper air. Look, birds don't fly where the sun, moon, and stars are. That's the second heaven. That's the outer space. That's the empty place, according to Job. But birds do fly in what we refer to as our sky or our atmosphere. So you have the first heaven, it's the sky where the birds fly. You have the second heaven, It's the outer space, or a place of nothing, like Job said, the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. That's the second firmament, or heaven. And then you have the third heaven that Paul refers to, which is where God lives, and I'm gonna prove that to you here in a minute. But I want you to notice, in Genesis 1-1, the Bible says, in the beginning, God created the heaven, singular, and the earth, right? Now look at Genesis chapter 2 and verse 4. Now we've ended the creation process. Now God has established a firmament in which he put the sun, moon, and stars, and a firmament in which the fowls of the air fly, Genesis 2.4. These are the generations of the, don't miss it, heavens. You see a plural there? You see the S? Why is it plural now? Well, because now there's three of them. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created. Genesis 1-1, it was the heaven and the earth. Genesis 2-4, now it's the heavens and the earth when they were created and the day when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, plural. All three of them. So look, don't get confused. Three heavens and really good Mormons go to the third one, and I guess Jehovah's Witnesses go to the second one, and I don't know who else goes to the first one. No, look, it's just the sky, outer space, and then where God lives. It's the firmament where the birds fly, and then what Job calls the empty place where the earth hangeth upon nothing, where the sun and moon and the stars are. That's the second heaven. And then you've got the throne of God. Go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Now I'm going to prove to you that this third heaven is heaven, what we refer to as heaven. But let's move on to the third thing. The first lesson we saw was that of the out-of-body experience. The second lesson we saw was that of the third heaven. The third lesson is about paradise. Because I want you to notice in verse 2, Paul says, I knew a man, and again, I think he's referring to himself, in Christ about 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth, such in one, I want you to notice the words, caught up. So Paul says, look, this guy was caught up to the third heaven. Notice verse 3. And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell God. Notice verse 4, how that he was caught up. Notice he was caught up into paradise. Now in verse 2 we're told that he was caught up to the third heaven. In verse 4 we're told that he was caught up to paradise. What does that mean? Here's what it means. The third heaven equals paradise. or paradise equals the third heaven, they're used interchangeably because they're the same thing. You say, what is third heaven? Third heaven is paradise. What is paradise? It's the third heaven. This man was caught up to the third heaven and he was caught up to paradise. You say, well, what's paradise? Go to Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2, last book in the New Testament, book in the Bible, should be fairly easy to find, Revelation chapter 2. The third heaven And paradise are used interchangeably. He was caught up to the third heaven. He was caught up into paradise. Notice Revelation 2 and verse 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. Now I want you to notice the tree of life there. To he that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. Notice the tree of life. Remember the tree of life was in another place that was also paradise. It was the Garden of Eden. But now the Tree of Life is no longer there. The Garden of Eden is no longer there. The Bible tells us it's been covered up after the flood. But the Tree of Life is somewhere else. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life. Where is the Tree of Life? Notice, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. So where's the Tree of Life? It's in the midst, or in the middle, of the Paradise of God. You say, well, is that referring to the Garden of Eden? What is that referring to? Go to Revelation 22. Look at verse 1. Revelation 22, 1. Here's what we know. The third heaven is used synonymously with Paradise. He was caught up to the third heaven. He was caught up into Paradise. Here's what we know. Whatever Paradise is, the Tree of Life is in the midst of the Paradise of God. But Paul said that paradise and the third heaven are the same thing. Notice Revelation 22 in verse 1. So where are we? We're wherever the throne of God is. Notice verse 2. Notice the tree of life. which bear twelve manner of fruit, and yielded a fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." So, in Revelation 22.1, we are told that the tree of life is where the throne of God is. In Revelation 2.7, we're told that the tree of life is in the midst of the paradise of God. So, wherever the tree of life is, is where the throne of God is, and we know that's paradise, but then Paul says that he was caught up to paradise, and he was caught up to the third heaven. So, what's in heaven? The throne of God. What's in heaven? The tree of life. You see how all of these terms are being used interchangeably throughout the Bible? Here's the point. Paradise is heaven. Heaven, the third heaven, is paradise. It's where the throne of God is, it's where the tree of life is, it's the third heaven that Paul, or whoever Paul's talking about, was caught up to, and what he saw, he said, I couldn't speak to you about, I couldn't, I'm not allowed to talk to you about it. Now here's the point, go back to Luke 23. You know, I brought this, I'm sorry, I told you to go back to, but you haven't even gone to Luke. Go to Luke 23 if you would. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luke 23. I bring this up a lot. and I've never brought it up about this, but I've often brought up the illustration how it's very interesting to me and it's comical, it's funny, but it's so consistent that it's like, wow, there really is spiritual warfare, there really is a devil. Because you know what the devil does is he always gets people to believe the opposite, I mean the exact opposite, to the point where it's just kind of ridiculous, the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. I mean if you just think about just the thoughts that people have. that unsaved, unregenerate religious people have, and the beliefs they have, it's comical how they're constantly just the exact opposite of what the Bible says. Here's the number one example. The Bible says salvation is by grace, through faith, not of works. You don't have to do anything for it. You don't have to earn it. You don't have to pay for it. It's free! And then all these unsaved people say, well of course you gotta work for it. You can't just, you know, accept it and not earn it. You gotta do something. It's like, man, it's like, it's the exact opposite of it. You believe the exact opposite of what the Bible says. You know, the Jehovah's Witnesses teach that 144,000 people go to heaven and everybody stays on earth. The Bible teaches that 144,000 come down to earth when everybody goes up to heaven. Jesus is asked to give a lesson on prayer, and he says, OK, I'm going to teach you how to pray, but the first thing I want to say is I don't want you to pray vain and repetitious prayers. I don't want you to pray prayers that you just repeat over and over repetitiously like the heathen do. I don't want you doing that. So here's how I want you to pray. He says, pray like this. Our Father, which art in heaven. Then the chasms come along and say, let's take that prayer and repeat it over and over. I mean, it's like, you can't make this stuff up. It's just insanity. It just proves to you that unsaved people cannot understand the Bible when Jesus says, I'm going to teach you to pray, but I don't want you to repeat this over and over. And they're like, let's take that prayer and repeat it over and over. It's like, what in the world? Well, here's the thing. You know what the Bible says paradise is? It's heaven. You're caught up to the third heaven. You're caught up into paradise, where the tree of life, which is in the midst of paradise, where the throne of God is, where the tree of life is, it's all talking about heaven. But you know what they teach about paradise? It's hell. I mean, the Bible says it's heaven, and they're like, no, no, it's hell. I mean, the exact opposite. The teaching today is that paradise is hell. This is a false dispensational teaching. So dispensationalists, and look, dispensationalists are in all sorts of religions, but there's a whole lot of Baptists that are dispensational, unfortunately. And here's what they teach. They say that paradise is actually this, like, holding tank in hell. It's the nice part of hell. So they'll say, like, hell? You know all those verses you read about hell where it talks about, like, fire and torment and smoke and darkness and chains and wailing? Well, you must have just missed the part where it's, like, there's this other side where it's, like, a resort. You know, it's really nice. And it's called Paradise. You know, where they get that from? I have no idea. But here's the... Well, I'll give you the proof text. Luke 23, verse 42. Luke 23, verse 42. Now, keep in mind, every other verse tells us Paradise is Heaven. Caught up into Paradise, caught up into the third Heaven. I will give him to eat of the tree of life, which in the midst of the paradise of God. And he showed me a pure river of living water, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, of the Lamb, and in the midst of this tree of it, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life. I mean, the Bible's just consistent that paradise is heaven. But then in Luke 23 and verse 42, This is Jesus on the cross. This is the thief on the cross. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Now, here's what's interesting. These unsaved people, they can't get it right. Like, they can't get anything right. Because here's what a lot of people believe incorrectly. Many people believe this, that Jesus did not go to hell. that Jesus did not go to hell. When he died, he did not go to hell. Even though the Bible says this, that he is speaking of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Bible literally says about the resurrection of Christ that he resurrected because his soul was not left in hell. And they're like, he didn't go to hell. And then there are some people that are like, well, you know, we kind of can't get away from the fact that Jesus went to hell. So we have to teach that Jesus went to hell, but we're just gonna say when he went to hell, he went to the nice part of hell. So like, the people that say that he went to hell, they're still wrong because they're like, well, he went to paradise. He went to like the four-star hotel in hell, you know, and they'll say, well, on the cross, the people on the cross said, remember me when thou enters into thy kingdom. And Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. So like, well, he must be talking about hell, because isn't that where Jesus went? Yeah, but remember the guy asked, when you enter into your kingdom, referring to heaven, and Jesus said, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. You say, well, how is that? If paradise is heaven and Jesus went to hell, why would Jesus say that? Well, go to John chapter 3. And here's the easy answer. You're there in Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, John chapter 3. He said, did not Jesus go down to hell? Yes, I believe that. Is paradise heaven? Yes. Then why did Jesus tell this thief on the cross that today thou shalt be with me in paradise? Well, the same reason that Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 in verse 13, no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, notice these words, which is in heaven. I want you to understand the context here. Jesus, the second member of the Godhead, the Son of God, in the flesh, the Word made flesh, is standing on earth, in Jerusalem, physically speaking to Nicodemus, And he tells Nicodemus, no man has ascended up to heaven. No one of their own accord has gone up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, who came down from heaven? Even the Son of Man, which is a reference all throughout the Gospels about Jesus referring to himself, even the Son of Man, he says, which is in heaven. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, and he says, hey, the only person that's ever gone up to heaven is the same guy that came down from heaven. That guy is the Son of Man, and he's in heaven. He says, that's me, and I'm in heaven right now. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, and he says, I'm in heaven right now. You say, how can that be? Here's the short answer. He's God. He's God. That's how it is. And if you need to get into the theological answer, look, Jesus is the second member of the Godhead, the Son of God. The second member of the Godhead was physically speaking to Nicodemus, but he told Nicodemus that he's in heaven because the second member of the Godhead, the Bible tells us, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and God the Father was in heaven, and God the Holy Spirit was in heaven, so he's able to say, hey, I'm in heaven, Because He's God. That's the same reason why He can say, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father, why? Because we believe that there is one God that exists in three persons. And the second member, so look, when the second member of the Godhead went down to hell to pay for our sins, He could still say, today thou shalt be with me in paradise because God is in heaven and Jesus is God. So this teaching of paradise being hell, you know, just contradicts, and look, here's what you need to understand when it comes to Bible study, is that if there's just all these overwhelming verses that say one thing, paradise is heaven, paradise is heaven, paradise is heaven, and then you have this other verse that you're like, oh, it kind of makes it sound like, you know, go with the overwhelming amount of verses. And if there's an answer, if there's any answer for that other verse, then that's the answer. It's the deity of Christ. Let me give you another example. Go to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16. So look, paradise is heaven, paradise is not hell. Paradise is the third heaven, which is where God's throne is, which is where the tree of life is. Luke chapter 16. Here's their other text for proving that paradise is hell. I mean, Luke 23, I'll give them that's a good one. The problem with that is that the Bible specifically tells us paradise is heaven. Caught up into paradise, caught up to the third heaven. This one, in my opinion, is the stretch. But here's the funny thing. This is the more popular one. When you talk to people about this, this is the one they take you to, not Luke 23. If I was going to preach heresy, I'd take you to Luke 23, because at least there's a little bit more truth that you're deceiving people with. This one is the popular one, when they're like, hey, show me Paradise, being in hell, a holding place for Old Testament saints. Luke 16.22 is where they'll take you. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels. So here we have Lazarus the beggar. He's saved. He dies. He's carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom! Abraham's bosom! The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And these people are like, see there, right there. And you're like, what? They're like, that. And you're like, what? Bosom. And they're like, drop the mic. It's like, you got to pick that mic up. Because here's the thing. A bosom is a body part. It's not a place! It's denture, not hell! I mean, I don't know how bad Abraham's, you know, armpit smelled, or whatever thoughts you think about his bosom, but look, when it says that he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom, here's what it means, is that Abraham embraced him. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Abraham has his arm around Lazarus. His bosom is not a holding place in hell. That doesn't even make sense. There's nothing in the context to even show you that or prove that. But here's what they'll teach. We're almost done. Go to 2 Kings in the Old Testament. If you find all the one, two books, they're all close together. 1 Samuel, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles. 2 Kings chapter 2. Here's what they'll say. They'll say, well, here's the thing. All the Old Testament saints, when they died, even when they were believing on the Lord and they were saved, they couldn't go to heaven until Jesus died on the cross. Because when Jesus died on the cross, then they were able to go to heaven. So from whenever they died, to when Jesus died on the cross, since they couldn't go to heaven, they had to hang out in paradise, which is the nice part of hell. It's this like holding place where they hung out there, and then when Jesus died, he came and he brought them out of paradise and took them to heaven. And look, I just explained it to you, and there's nothing in the Bible that says that. There's no reference about it. That's just completely made up. You say, well, that sounds interesting. Well, Hollywood comes up with a lot of interesting movies too, but that doesn't make them true. I would say, well, could people go to heaven before Jesus died? Well, how about this? The Bible says that Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The Bible says that it was always God's plan for Jesus to come to this earth to redeem mankind. And the Bible says that when God does something, when he says something, it's as good as done. It's as if it's already done. So then you gotta ask this question, okay, well, is there any Bible, is there anybody in the Bible, in the Old Testament, that we're told went to hell, but they were saved, they went to paradise, and they're just waiting there till Jesus comes? Well, let's look at some examples. 2 Kings chapter two. Now, 2 Kings chapter two, forgive me if I'm wrong, I did not graduate from Bible college, but I'm pretty sure this is the Old Testament. 2nd Kings chapter 2 and verse 11, And it came to pass, as they still went on, and taught, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and part of them both asunder. Here we have Elijah. Remember Elijah gets taken? He doesn't die. He goes straight into the afterlife or eternity. So here we're told, so we gotta ask this question. Is he taken to hell? Well, look at it. And it came to pass, as they went on and taught, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire. Uh-oh. They mention fire. Maybe it's hell. And horses of fire. And part of them both asunder. And Elijah, here's where it falls apart, went on. went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Isn't that exactly what Paul said when he says that he was caught up into the third heaven, that he was caught up into paradise? So look, Elijah, an Old Testament saint, is taken from this world into the next world, and we're told that he went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Now you can drop the mic. Go to Ecclesiastes 3. Ecclesiastes 3, let me give you another one. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 20. 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 3, just to give you another example, we'll finish up. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 20. All go into one place, all are of the dust, and all turn to the dust. Verse 21. Who knoweth the spirit of man? Remember the new man is the spiritual man, the spirit of man. Who knoweth the spirit of man, notice, that goeth upward. and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth. Sorry, all dogs don't go to heaven. But the spirit of man goeth upward. And remember, to be saved, you have to have a spirit, because your spirit was dead in trespasses and sins. It's quickened at salvation. And the Bible tells us that the spirit of man goeth upward. Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Paradise, we're told, is being caught up into paradise, caught up into the third heaven. So you say, what happened to that thief on the cross? He went to heaven. Remember me when thou enterest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said, no, no, no, you're confused. You're not going to go to the kingdom. Haven't you taken a dispensational class? You're going to go down to a holding place in hell till I'm done. No, Jesus said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Because Old Testament saints went to heaven when they died. They went to paradise. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 12, look at verse 5. We're going to look at verses 5 and 6, and we're going to finish up. Now, here's the thing. This whole sermon was just prepping you for the next sermon when we actually get into what Paul's actually trying to teach and apply. All right? So you gotta come back next week and we'll continue this teaching. But notice verses five and six, he says, of such an one will I glory, he says, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. We're gonna see that next week. Paul explains, again, he brings up this idea, that the foolishness, there's foolishness in boasting and bragging, he says, I'm not going to glory, he said, I'm gonna just glory, he says, of myself I will not glory. He says, I'm not gonna boast and brag of myself. Now here's what's interesting in verse six, just as we finish this up. He says, here's why you shouldn't boast, or he's explaining, here's how you should get credibility. He says, here's how you should get respect. Here's how you should get renown. Here's how you should get status. He says, look, I want you guys to respect me. I want you to see me as credible. I could tell you stories about these revelations. I'm not going to do that. I'll tell you about another guy. He says, but yet of myself I will not glory. And he says, here's why, verse 6, for though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But now I forbear. The word forbear means to restrain or to restrain an impulse, to restrain yourself from doing something. He says, for now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that which he heareth of me. I don't want you to miss that. Here's what Paul says. Paul says, I could glory. I'm going to forbear. I'm going to restrain myself from glory. I'm going to restrain myself from telling you impressive stories about myself. I'm going to refrain myself from telling you the things that I would desire to glory about. He says, here's why. Because he says, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that which he heareth of me." Here's what he's saying. What you think of me, Paul says to the church of Corinth, what you think of me should not be me telling you what to think of me by boasting and bragging. He says what you think of me should simply come from what you have seen me to be or what you've heard of me. He says, my testimony should speak for itself. So he says, look, in church world, maybe you're like, I'd like to get some respect around here. I'd like to get some reverence. I'd like to get some notoriety. Why didn't pastor let me preach? Why does he let these other guys preach when he's out? Why doesn't he let me preach? Well, look, instead of telling me how great of a preacher you are and telling me how wonderful you are, why don't you just let me see it? Let me see your consistency. Let me see your faithfulness. Let me see your character. Let me see your discipline. Don't tell me how great you are. Paul says, look, I could tell you how great I am, but unless any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be or that he heareth of me. Your actions should speak. I mean your actions and your faithfulness. and your work ethic, and your character, and your integrity, and you should just be so awesome that we just look at you and we're like, there's somebody we could use. And by the way, that's not just in church, that's at your job too. That's everywhere. Instead of going around telling everybody how great you are, why don't you just show them how great you are. And Paul says, for though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he hear of me. He said, I don't want you to think higher than what you see of me. But Paul's telling them, just to give you the context, that you shouldn't think of me lower than what you've seen of me, or what you've heard of me. Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer. Heavenly Father. Thank you, Lord, for this passage of scripture, Lord, and these teachings. And I realize that there's just a lot of doctrinal error out there and things that people teach incorrectly. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to just have the right mindset and to study these things out and believe what the Bible says. And Lord, I do thank you for these Bible studies that we get to learn and study together. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.