2nd Corinthians 12:1-6 | A Biblical Out-of-Body Experience
We are in 2nd Corinthians 12 which is the 2nd to last chapter in the book of 2nd Corinthians. If you remember in Chapter 11, the Apostle Paul was acting a fool. He talked about the foolishness of comparing and boasting but then he does that to defend himself. In chapter 12, Paul continues that thought. 2nd Corinthians 12:1 “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”. Expedient means convenient or proper or suitable. Glory means to boast or brag. He is saying that it is not the best thing for him to glory.
What we’re going to get through tonight are the first 6 verses of this chapter. He talks about this vision and revelation that he has. Paul goes into detail about a vision or revelation. He talks about a man who went to heaven. It’s an interesting passage. In these verses, there are so many doctrinal statements that we’re going to look at tonight. We’re not really going to get into the application of why he brings this up until next week.
What he is talking about might be what we would refer to as an “out-of-body experience” as we would say it now. He is saying that there may have been a man who went up to heaven and saw these things. There is a lot of debate about whether or not Paul is speaking about himself or some other person. Some people think he is talking about himself. Others say that he isn’t talking about himself. I believe the Apostle Paul is referring to himself. It’s ok if you disagree with me about it. It’s really not a big deal and I’m not dogmatic about it.
Let me just give you a few things here. #1 – A lesson on out-of-body experiences. Verse 2 “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.”. Paul is stating that he doesn’t know if this happened in the body or out of the body. Verse 3 “3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)”. We aren’t even sure if this was an out-of-body experience.
When people talk about these stories of when people go to heaven or they are in a hospital bed and their soul or spirit leaves their body and they see these things. This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about. I don’t necessarily believe the stories that people have that experience this but this is what the Apostle Paul is referring to. I will explain during the sermon why I don’t believe people’s stories who experience things like this.
Paul said “I knew a man” which is why there is debate if Paul is referring to himself or someone else. Again I am not dogmatic about it. However, let me give you some reasons why I believe he is referring to himself. If you have been with us in this series, Paul spoke against comparing and bragging but in the last chapter he does give his resume of the things that he has accomplished. Paul begins this chapter stating that he will not boast like this again. He then says that he will come to visions and revelations. Then he seems to almost randomly talk about someone else having a vision and revelation right after he says that he will come to visions and revelations. To me it seems kind of obvious that the Apostle Paul is saying that he won’t boast and brag again. Then he says he will come to visions and revelations. Then he talks about someone else who came to these revelations. I think he is just avoided saying that it is him.
People have problems with the idea of him referring to himself. They will say “He said ‘I knew a man in Christ’”. That is an interesting term. Turn back to Romans 7. Here is my thought and it is ok if you have a different thought. I believe when he says he knew a man in Christ that he is referring to himself. However, I believe he is referring to his spiritual man or the new man. The new man is the man who goes to heaven. That will explain to you a lot of these passages in 1st and 2nd and 3rd John where it says the saved man doesn’t sin. That is true because the new man does not sin. Paul himself has been known for separating himself from his old man. Look at Romans 7.
In Romans 7 he talks about doing the things he doesn’t want to do. Romans 7:17 “17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”. What he is saying is that it is his old man that is sinning and not his new man. I believe in 2nd Corinthians 12 he is doing the opposite. He is saying that it was not the old man that went to heaven but the new man.
2nd Corinthians 12:5 “5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.”. He is making a contrast here. “Of such an one” is referencing the one who went to heaven. Again people will look at verse 5 and say that he can’t be talking about himself because he says that he won’t glory in himself. However, if he is making a distinction between the old and new man then he is saying that he will glory in that new man. Here is how we know that he is associating himself with his flesh. He says “in mine infirmities”. It is the old man with the infirmities.
2nd Corinthians 12:7 “7 And 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.”. Paul does not want to boast and brag but he does say that he had these visions and revelations. Paul explains that the reason he has the thorn in the flesh is because he has been given these revelations.
I believe that Paul is being sarcastic. Paul has been dealing with people that have criticized him. In the last chapter Paul explains that maybe he has been too humble. Then in chapter 12, he says that if he isn’t that great then let me tell you about a man I knew who went to heaven. They criticize Paul for his infirmities so he explains the reason he has these infirmities is because of the revelations he has been given by God to make sure to keep him humble.
2nd Corinthians 12:13 “13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.”. Here Paul is being sarcastic. He says that he was not burdensome to them but he says forgive me for not being burdensome. He is being sarcastic. He is saying that maybe he should have been burdensome to them. Let me show you another place where he is being sarcastic. 2nd Corinthians 12:15 “15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”. He is obviously being sarcastic with them.
2nd Corinthians 12:16 “16 But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.”. He is being sarcastic here as he is saying “Obviously I was being subtle or dishonest to start this Church.”. He is being sarcastic and taking jabs at them. I believe when he says that he is not going to brag but he knew someone in Christ. Before that he said that he was given revelations but he isn’t going to brag. Then he says let me brag about this other guy and I have these infirmities because of the revelations he has been given. I just believe he is referring to himself and saying that he is better than they are making him out to be. It’s not a big deal. If you disagree with me then that doesn’t make a difference.
Go to Acts 14 really quickly. In Acts 14 we see that Paul had a near death experience or perhaps actually died. Acts 14:19 “19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.”. They threw stones at Paul until he stopped moving and thought he was dead. His body stopped moving. Acts 14:20 “20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.”. They beat Paul so much that they thought he was dead but then Paul just kind of wakes up. Paul speaks about this guy in 2nd Corinthians 12 of a guy from 14 years ago. I believe this is referring to this event in Acts 14. When you put the whole thing together, I believe it makes sense that Paul is referring to himself.
The first thing we saw was a lesson on out-of-body experiences. As far as we can tell or that I can tell, there is 1 out-of-body experience referred to in the Bible. It is this event in 2nd Corinthians 12. In the Bible, there is 1 possible out-of-body experience recorded in scripture. Here is what is interesting. People will take this and run with it. If Paul had this experience then people think that other people can. However, here is what I want you to understand. In the Bible, when there is a possible out-of-body experience, that guy is not able to repeat these things. Look at 2nd Corinthians 12:4.
2nd Corinthians 12:4 “4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”. The characteristic of this 1 possible out-of-body experience is that the person who saw this was unable to and not allowed to speak these words. It is not lawful for him to utter. This man was not allowed to speak about the things that he heard in heaven. Also, even if he had been allowed, he was unable to describe the things that he saw because they were unspeakable words.
Why is that a big deal? Compare that to all of the modern day “out-of-body” experiences that occur today. I just googled it and there was a list of books from people that supposedly had experiences like that. Here is an example. “Heaven is for Real” – A little boy’s astounding experience of going to heaven and back. Here are some others: “90 minutes in heaven”, “My Journey to Heaven – What I saw and how it changed my life”, “My time in heaven”, “9 days in heaven”, “To heaven and back”.
I don’t know whether these people are telling the truth. However, I know Paul was telling the truth. What he said is that it was not allowed and he was unable to write about the experience. If Paul went up to heaven or someone else and had this vision and couldn’t explain it then I believe all of these people are a bunch of frauds. The Bible says “The love of money is the root of all evil”. If someone said they went to heaven and couldn’t explain it then that would be more realistic to me. However, when they say they went to heaven and buy my book for $9.99 then I believe you are a fraud. In the Bible, the person who experienced this could not utter what was seen. Don’t read these books.
Here is the 2nd kind of doctrinal thing that we learn in this passage. First we saw a lesson on out-of-body experiences. Secondly, I want you to notice this lesson on heaven and specifically the 3rd heaven. 2nd Corinthians 12:2 “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.”. Why does Paul mention a 3rd heaven? Because there are 3 heavens. Go to Genesis 1.
There are people that take this “3rd heaven” teaching and make all of these strange things up. For example, Mormons teach that the good Mormons go to heaven. What we have talked about lately, if we find something in scripture that is new to us then we need to find out what the Bible says about it.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”. We see a contrast between the heaven and the earth. You might be thinking, well this is not 3 heavens. At this point there is only 1 heaven in the creation process. That will change as we go through the creation story. This heaven in Genesis 1:1 is what Paul is referring to as the 3rd heaven. It is what we call heaven and it is what is contrasted with earth. This is where God lives and the throne of God is. It is what Paul eventually calls the 3rd heaven.
Genesis 1:6 “6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”. In verse 8 we see that God calls the firmament heaven. When you see the word “firmament” in the Bible, just think of heaven.
Genesis 1:14 “14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”. This is referring to the sun and the moon. Look at verse 15 “15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,”.
We are told that there is a firmament referred to as heaven. In the firmament is the sun, moon and stars. This heaven is what we would call today as outer space. It is the location out of our atmosphere. Sometimes people don’t like you using that terminology. However, Job said this in Job 26:7 “7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”. This is a reference to outer space. We have the 3rd heaven where God dwells. Then we have the 2nd heaven which we would call outer space where the sun, moon and stars are. However, there is another heaven. Go to Genesis 1:20. This will mention what is the first heaven.
Genesis 1:20 “20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”. The birds or fowl fly in this area. This is referring to the sky or earth’s atmosphere. This is referring to where the clouds are. Birds don’t fly where the sun, moon and stars are though. That is the 2nd heaven. However, birds do fly in what we would refer to as our sky or atmosphere. The 3rd heaven which is where God lives.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”. Go to Genesis 2. Genesis 2:4 “4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,”. Genesis 2 is after the creation process. Now we see in chapter 2 that “heaven” is “heavens”. It is plural now because there are 3 heavens as opposed to just 1 as at the start of the creation process. Don’t get confused with the 3 heavens. The first heaven is the sky. The 2nd heaven is outer space. The 3rd heaven is where God lives.
Now I’m going to prove to you that this 3rd heaven is what we refer to as heaven. However, let us move on to a 3rd lesson from this passage in 2nd Corinthians 12. Let us talk about paradise in the Bible. Notice what it says in 2nd Corinthians 12:2 “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.”. Notice how it used the phrase “caught up”. Verse 4 “4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”. We see being caught up to paradise. This means that the 3rd heaven is paradise. What is paradise? It is the 3rd heaven.
Go to Revelation 2. The 3rd heaven and paradise are used interchangeably. Revelation 2:7 “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, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”. Notice the Bible mentions the tree of life. Now the tree of life was in the Garden of Eden but it is no longer there. The tree of life is somewhere else. Where is the tree of life? It is “in the midst of the paradise of God.”. It is in the midst or the middle of the paradise of God. Is that referring to the Garden of Eden? Go to Revelation 22.
Here is what we know. The 3rd heaven is used synonymously with paradise. Here is what we know. Whatever paradise is, the tree of life is in the midst of the paradise of God. Paul said paradise and the 3rd heaven is the same. Revelation 22:1 “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”. Where are we? We are wherever the throne of God is. Verse 2 “2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”. In Revelation 22:1, we are told that the tree of life is where the throne of God is. In Revelation 22:7 we are told that the tree of life is in the midst of the paradise of God. What is in heaven? The throne of God. What is in heaven? The tree of life. Do you see how all of these terms are being used interchangeably. What’s the point? Paradise is the same as the 3rd heaven.
Go to Luke 23. I bring this up a lot. I’ve often brought up the illustration to me that it is comical and funny. What the Devil does is that he gets people to believe the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. If you just think about what people believe and unsaved people believe. Their beliefs are constantly the exact opposite of what the Bible says. The #1 example is how the Bible says salvation is 100% free and unsaved people all think that you have to work for it. It’s the exact opposite of what the Bible says. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach only 144,000 go to heaven but the Bible says the 144,000 go to Earth and the rest to heaven that are saved. Jesus tells people not to pray vain repetitions and then he gives a sample and people vainly repeat it. It just proves to you that unsaved people can’t understand the Bible.
Here is the thing. The Bible says that paradise is heaven. We are caught up to the 3rd heaven. We are caught up to paradise. Do you know what people teach about paradise? People teach that paradise is hell. The exact opposite of what the Bible says. This is a teaching of the Dispensationalists. There are those people in every denomination but many of them in Baptist Churches. They will teach that though there is a burning hell, there is a nice part to hell also called paradise.
Let me give you the “proof” text that they use. Keep in mind, every other verse teaches that paradise is heaven. Luke 23:42 “42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”. Here is what a lot of people believe incorrectly. A lot of people believe that Jesus did not go to hell. Even though the Bible says about his soul that it was “not left in hell”. However, people still don’t think he went to hell. There are others that teach that Jesus went to hell but he went to the nice part of hell.
How is it that Jesus went to hell but he could tell that person that day he would be in paradise which is in heaven? The easy answer is that Jesus is omnipresent. He is everywhere. John 3:13 “13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus in his flesh and tells him that the Son of Man, referring to himself, is in heaven. How is that possible? He is God. If you need to get into the theological answer then the physical Jesus Christ was speaking to Nicodemus but in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily. He was able to say he was in heaven because he is God. We believe that there is 1 God that exists in 3 persons. When the 2nd member of the godhead went down to hell to pay for our sins, he was still able to say he is in heaven because Jesus is God.
If there are a lot of verses that say 1 thing but there is 1 verse that is confusing then go with the overwhelming number of verses. Paradise is heaven. Paradise is not hell. Paradise is the 3rd heaven where the tree of life is and where the throne of God is. Let me give you the other verse that they use to try to teach that paradise is hell. This next one is a huge stretch in my opinion but this one is more popular than the one in Luke 23. I can at least see where they are coming from in Luke 23.
Luke 16:22 “22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”. People will show you this and they think they won the argument. A bosom is a body part. It isn’t a place. When it says that he was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom, it means that Abraham embraced him. Abraham had his arm around Lazarus. His bosom is not a holding place in hell. There is nothing in the context to prove that or say that.
Go to 2nd Kings 2. People will say that all Old Testament saints could not go to heaven until Jesus died on the cross. After Jesus died on the cross, then those Old Testament saints were taken to heaven. They will say that Old Testament saints had to hang out in paradise which is the nice part of hell until Jesus rose again and took them to heaven. There is nothing in the Bible that says this. People try to use philosophical reasons to justify this. The Bible says that Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The sins were already told there.
If that is not enough for you, let us ask if there was anyone in the Old Testament that went to heaven before Jesus died. 2nd Kings 2:11 “11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” Elijah is not killed but he is taken by God before he dies. Where does Elijah go? Does it say hell? It says he went to heaven. It says he went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:20 “20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”. Remember, the spiritual man or the “spirit of man” goeth upward. Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. What happened to the thief on the cross? He went to heaven.
2nd Corinthians 12:5 “5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.”. Paul again brings up this idea that there is foolishness in boasting and bragging. Paul says that he will not boast and brag about himself. Paul explains how a person should get credibility. Here is how a person should get respect or renown or status. Verse 6 “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 prevent an impulse or desire. “… lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.”.
Here is what Paul said. He is saying that he could glory but he will restrain from glorying. Why is that? Paul is saying that what they think of Paul should not be based on his boasting and bragging but what they have seen Paul to be or heard of Paul to be. His testimony should speak for itself. Instead of telling me how great or wonderful you are, let me see it. Let me see your character and discipline and maturity. Paul is saying that he could talk about how great he is. However, your actions should do the talking for you. Your faithfulness and work ethic and character and integrity should speak for itself. Instead of going around telling everyone how great you are, just show people how great you are. Paul is saying that they shouldn’t think too highly of him. However, he is also showing and explaining to them that they shouldn’t think too lowly of him either.
Let’s pray.