Third Heaven

  • Thread starter Thread starter Redbandito
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Redbandito said:
What does 2 Cor 12 mean by “Third Heaven?”
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St. Paul writes of his experience in the language familiar to
the Jews who spoke of the three heavens after the imagery of
Genesis. The first heaven is the sky we see in the daytime; the second - and farther - is what we can see at night. Above these two “levels” is where God dwells. So, St. Paul isn’t saying that there are three levels within Heaven itself, but is merely saying that it was into God’s presence that he was drawn. (As you may know, this passage of St. Paul’s is used by Mormons in an attempt to uphold their teaching on three levels of Heaven: Telestial, Terrestrial and Celestial.)
 
That’s right. Among the ancients the heavens (the area above the earth) were thought of as having three parts. The 1st heaven is where the clouds float and the birds fly (what we would call the atmosphere). The second heaven is where the sun, moon and stars are (what we would call outer space). The third heaven is where God lives.
 
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