I know a man in Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not, or out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up to the third heaven.

“For that there are spiritual creatures in the heavens, all the Scriptures loudly proclaim; and Paul expressly testifies that there are spiritual things when he declares that he was caught up into the third heaven, and again, that he was carried away to paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. But what did that profit him, either his entrance into paradise or his assumption into the third heaven, since all these things are still but under the power of the Demiurge, if, as some venture to maintain, he had already begun to be a spectator and a hearer of those mysteries which are affirmed to be above the Demiurge? For if it is true that he was becoming acquainted with that order of things which is above the Demiurge, he would by no means have remained in the regions of the Demiurge, and that so as not even thoroughly to explore even these (for, according to their manner of speaking, there still lay before him four heavens, if he were to approach the Demiurge, and thus behold the whole seven lying beneath him); but he might have been admitted, perhaps, into the intermediate place, that is, into the presence of the Mother, that he might receive instruction from her as to the things within the Pleroma. For that inner man which was in him, and spoke in him, as they say, though invisible, could have attained not only to the third heaven, but even as far as the presence of their Mother. For if they maintain that they themselves, that is, their [inner] man, at once ascends above the Demiurge, and departs to the Mother, much more must this have occurred to the [inner] man of the apostle; for the Demiurge would not have hindered him, being, as they assert, himself already subject to the Saviour. But if he had tried to hinder him, the effort would have gone for nothing. For it is not possible that he should prove stronger than the providence of the Father, and that when the inner man is said to be invisible even to the Demiurge. But since he (Paul) has described that assumption of himself up to the third heaven as something great and pre-eminent, it cannot be that these men ascend above the seventh heaven, for they are certainly not superior to the apostle. If they do maintain that they are more excellent than he, let them prove themselves so by their works, for they have never pretended to anything like [what he describes as occurring to himself]. And for this reason he added, "Whether in the body, or whether out of the body, God knoweth," that the body might neither be thought to be a partaker in that vision, as if it could have participated in those things which it had seen and heard; nor, again, that any one should say that he was not carried higher on account of the weight of the body; but it is therefore thus far permitted even without the body to behold spiritual mysteries which are the operations of God, who made the heavens and the earth, and formed man, and placed him in paradise, so that those should be spectators of them who, like the apostle, have reached a high degree of perfection in the love of God.”

“For this, he says, is the Resurrection that takes place through the gate of heaven, through which, he says, all those that do not enter remain dead. These same Phrygians, however, he says, affirm again that this very (man), as a consequence of the change, (becomes) a god. For, he says, he becomes a god when, having risen from the dead, he will enter into heaven through a gate of this kind. Paul the apostle, he says, knew of this gate, partially opening it in a mystery, and stating "that he was caught up by an angel, and ascended as far as the second and third heaven into paradise itself; and that he beheld sights and heard unspeakable words which it would not be possible for man to declare."”

“For the apostle, he says, does not suppose paradise to be in the third heaven, in the opinion of those who knew how to observe the niceties of language, when he says, "I know such a man caught up to the third heaven; and I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, God knoweth, that was caught up into paradise."”

“Had Paul been able to express the experiences gained from the third heaven and his progress, ascent or assumption to it, we should perhaps have known more about God—if this really was the secret meaning of his rapture. But since they were ineffable, let them have the tribute of our silence. Let us give this much attention to Paul when he says: "We know in part and we prophesy in part." This and the like is the confession of one who is no mere layman in knowledge, of one who threatens to give proof of Christ speaking in him, of a great champion and teacher of truth.”

“Great indeed was this revelation. But this was not the only one: there were many others besides, but he mentions one out of many. For that there were many, hear what he says: "Lest I should be exalted overmuch through the exceeding greatness of the revelations." 'And yet,' a man may say, 'if he wished to conceal them, he ought not to have given any intimation whatever or said any thing of the sort; but if he wished to speak of them, to speak plainly.' Wherefore then is it that he neither spoke plainly nor kept silence? To show by this also that he resorts to the thing unwillingly. And therefore also he has stated the time, "fourteen years." For he does not mention it without an object, but to show that he who had refrained for so long a time would not now have spoken out, except the necessity for doing so had been great. But he would have still kept silence, had he not seen the brethren perishing. Now if Paul from the very beginning was such an one as to be counted worthy of such a revelation, when as yet he had not wrought such good works; consider what he must have grown to in fourteen years. And observe how even in this very matter he shows modesty, by his saying some things, but confessing that of others he is ignorant. For that he was caught up indeed, he declared, but whether "in the body" or "out of the body" he says he does not know. And yet it would have been quite enough, if he had told of his being caught up and had been silent [about the other]; but as it is, in his modesty he adds this also. What then? Was it the mind that was caught up and the soul, whilst the body remained dead? or was the body caught up? It is impossible to tell. For if Paul who was caught up and whom things unspeakable, so many and so great, had befallen was in ignorance, much more we. For, indeed, that he was in Paradise he knew, and that he was in the third heaven he was not ignorant, but the manner he knew not clearly.”

“Having praised his commendation as regards the evils he suffered, the Apostle here consequently, commending himself, shows the pre-eminence of his dignity as regards the goods he received from on high. But the first glorying was concerning his infirmities; this one, however, is concerning his goods. Hence concerning this he does two things. First he commends himself concerning the goods received from on high; second he excuses himself for this commendation, on the ground that he did this as though compelled, at I am become foolish, etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First he extols the greatness of those things which have been conferred on him by God; second he shows the remedy applied to him against the infirmity, against the danger of pride, at and lest the greatness, etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets down the good conferred on him from on high; second he shows how he conducted himself in glorying about a good of this kind, at for such an one, etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First he shows that this was conferred on him from on high in general; second in particular, at I know a man, etc. Now the good conferred on the Apostle from on high are the revelations made to him from on high, and it is of these that he wishes here to glory. Hence he says if it is necessary to glory, that is, because it is necessary to glory for your sake, yet in itself it is not expedient, because he who glories of a good he has received falls into the danger of losing what he has. Ecclesiasticus 43:15: the treasuries were opened, namely of the virtues, through empty glorying, and they vanished like clouds like birds. And this is signified in Hezekiah, Isaiah 39:2, when he showed the treasures of the house of the Lord to the messengers of the king of Babylon. And although simply speaking it is not expedient to glory, nevertheless sometimes on account of some special cause a man can glory, as is clear from what has gone before. And so he says: because it is necessary to glory, therefore, having set aside the commendations concerning his infirmities, I will come, commending myself, to the visions and revelations of the Lord. Here it must be noted that there is a difference between vision and revelation. For revelation includes vision, but not the reverse. For sometimes certain things are seen, of which the understanding and meaning is hidden from the one seeing, and then it is vision only. Such was the vision of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 2:1 and Genesis 41:1. But when along with the vision there is had the understanding of the meaning of the things seen, then it is revelation. Hence as regards Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, the vision of the ears of grain and of the statue was vision only; but as regards Joseph and Daniel, who had the meaning of the things seen, it was revelation and prophecy. Both, however, namely vision and revelation, are sometimes done by God. Daniel 2:28: there is a God in heaven revealing mysteries. Hosea 12:10: I have multiplied visions for them. Psalm 118:18: reveal my eyes, etc. But sometimes by an evil spirit. Jeremiah 23:13: the prophets prophesied in Baal. But to the Apostle there was made both vision and revelation, because the secrets which he saw he fully understood from the Lord, not from an evil spirit. Hence he says but I will come to the visions and revelations of the Lord. Now revelation is the removal of a veil. There can be a twofold veil. One on the part of the one seeing, and this is unbelief, or sin, or hardness of heart; and concerning this above, 3:14: even to this present day the veil, etc. The other on the part of the thing seen, namely when a spiritual reality is set before someone under the figures of sensible things, and concerning this it is said in Numbers 4:15, that the priests handed over to the Levites the vessels of the sanctuary veiled, because indeed the weaker cannot grasp spiritual things according to how they are in themselves. And therefore the Lord spoke to the crowds in parables, Matthew 13:13. Consequently these visions and revelations the Apostle makes known in particular, speaking of himself as of another. Hence he says I know a man in Christ, etc. And he sets down two visions. The first begins here, but the second begins there at and I know that such a man in Christ, etc. Now concerning the first vision the Apostle uses a certain distinction. For he says that, concerning this revelation, he knows certain things and does not know certain things. Now he says that he knows three things, namely the condition of the one seeing, whence I know a man in Christ; the time of the vision, because fourteen years ago; and the summit of the vision, because caught up even to the third heaven. But he says he does not know the disposition of the one seeing, because whether in the body, or out of the body, I know not. Let us then look at those things which he knew, so that, through the known, we may more easily arrive at the unknown. And first the condition of the one seeing, which is praiseworthy, because in Christ, that is, conformed to Christ. But against this: no one is in Christ except one who has charity, because it is said in 1 John 4:16: he who abides in charity abides in God. Therefore he knew that he had charity, which is against that saying: man does not know whether he is worthy of hatred or of love, etc. I answer that to be in Christ can be understood in two ways. In one way through faith and the sacrament of faith, according to that saying of the Apostle, Galatians 3:27: as many of you as have been baptized have put on Christ, namely through faith and the sacrament of faith. And in this way the Apostle knew himself to be in Christ. In another way someone is said to be in Christ through charity, and in this way no one knows with certainty that he is in Christ, except through certain experiences and signs, insofar as he perceives himself to be disposed and joined in Christ, in such a way that in no manner, even on account of death, would he allow himself to be separated from him. And this the Apostle had experienced of himself, when he said, Romans 8:38: for I am certain that neither death, nor life, etc., shall separate us from charity. Hence he could have signs of this kind, that he was in the charity of Christ. Second, the time of the vision, which was fitting, because fourteen years ago, because fourteen years had passed from that time when he had seen the vision up to the time when he wrote this epistle. For when he wrote this epistle, the Apostle was not yet placed in prison. And so it appears that it was about the beginning of the reign of Nero, by whom, after a long time, he was killed. Hence if we compute the years going down from the beginning of the reign of Nero back fourteen years, it clearly appears that the Apostle had these visions at the beginning of his conversion. For he was converted to Christ in the year in which Christ suffered. Now Christ suffered about the end of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, on whose death Gaius succeeded him as emperor, who lived four years, after whom Nero was made emperor. And so between Tiberius and Nero four years elapsed. And so, adding two years from the time of Tiberius, because he had not yet died when Paul was converted, and eight from the time of Nero, which had elapsed up to the time when he wrote this epistle, it remains that from the time of his conversion up to the time when he wrote this epistle, there were fourteen years. And therefore some say quite probably that the Apostle had these visions in that space of three days in which, after his overthrow, he stood before the Lord neither seeing, nor eating, nor drinking, Acts 9:9. Now the Apostle recalls the time of his conversion in order to show that if from the time of his conversion he was already so pleasing to Christ that such things were shown to him, how much more after fourteen years, since he had progressed both in authority with God, and in virtues, and in grace? Third, let us look at the summit of the vision, which indeed is excellent, because caught up even to the third heaven. But it must be known that stealing is one thing and being caught up is another. Stealing indeed is properly when a thing is secretly taken away from someone. Hence Genesis 40:15 Joseph said: I was stolen away secretly. But to be caught up is properly said of what is taken away suddenly and by force. Job 6:15: like a torrent, raptim, that is, suddenly and swiftly, it passes through the valleys. Hence it is that robbers, who plunder violently, are called raptores. But observe that a man is said to be caught up by men, as Enoch. Wisdom 4:11: he was caught up, lest malice, etc. Sometimes the soul is caught up from the body. Luke 12:20: fool, this night your soul, etc. Sometimes someone is said to be caught up from himself, when on account of something a man is made outside himself, and this is the same as ecstasy. But a man is made outside himself both through the appetitive power and the cognitive. For through the appetitive power a man is only in himself, when he cares for the things that are his own only. But he is made outside himself, when he does not care for the things that are his own, but for those that pertain to the good of others, and this charity does. 1 Corinthians 13:4: charity seeks not the things that are its own. And concerning this ecstasy Dionysius says, chapter 4 On the Divine Names: divine love is that which makes ecstasy, not allowing the lover to belong to himself, but to the beloved, namely of the things loved. But according to the cognitive power someone is made outside himself, when someone beyond the natural mode of man is raised up to see something, and it is of this rapture that the Apostle speaks here. But it must be known that the natural mode of human cognition is that it knows at the same time through the mental power which is the intellect, and the bodily power which is the sense. And hence it is that man does not have, in knowing, free judgment of the intellect, except when the senses have been well disposed in their vigor, without any impediment of binding; otherwise, when they are impeded, the judgment of the intellect too is impeded, as is clear in those who are sleeping. Then therefore a man is made outside himself according to the cognitive power, when he is removed from this natural disposition of cognition, which is that the intellect, abstracted from the use of the senses and of sensible things, is moved to see certain things. Now this happens in two ways: in one way through a defect of power, from whatever source such a defect may arise, as happens in the frenzied and others out of their mind, and this abstraction from the senses is not an elevation of man, but rather a depression, because their power is weakened. In another way through divine power, and then it is properly called elevation, because since an agent assimilates the patient to itself, the abstraction which comes about by divine power, and is above man, is something higher than man's nature is. And therefore rapture, so understood, is defined thus: rapture is an elevation from that which is according to nature into that which is above nature, by the force of a higher nature. In which definition indeed its genus is touched, when it is said elevation; the efficient cause, because by the force of a higher nature; and the two termini of the motion, namely from which and into which, when it is said from that which is according to nature, into that which is above nature. Thus, then, it is clear concerning rapture. There follows the terminus of the rapture, namely to which, when it is said even to the third heaven. Now it must be noted that the third heaven is taken in three ways. In one way according to those things which are below the soul; in another way according to those things which are in the soul; in a third way according to those things which are above the soul. Below the soul are all bodies, as Augustine says in the book On True Religion. And thus we can take a threefold bodily heaven, namely the aerial, the sidereal, and the Empyrean. And in this way it is said that the Apostle was caught up even to the third heaven, that is, even to seeing those things which are in the Empyrean heaven, not that he existed there, because then he would know whether it was in the body or out of the body. Or according to Damascene, who does not posit an Empyrean heaven, we can say that the third heaven, to which the Apostle was caught up, is above the eighth sphere, so that indeed he saw evidently those things which are above the whole of corporeal nature. But if we take heaven according to those things which are in the soul itself, thus we ought to call heaven a certain height of cognition, which exceeds natural human cognition. Now there is a threefold vision, namely corporeal, by which we see and know corporeal things, or imaginative, by which we see the likenesses of bodies, and intellectual, by which we know the natures of things in themselves. For properly the object of the intellect is what a thing is. Now visions of this kind, if they come about according to the natural mode, for instance, if I see something sensible, if I imagine something previously seen, if I understand through phantasms, cannot be called heaven. But then each of these is called heaven, when it is above the natural faculty of human cognition, for instance, if you see something with the bodily eyes, above the faculty of nature, thus you are caught up to the first heaven. As Balthasar was caught up seeing the hand writing on the wall, as it is said Daniel 5:6. But if you are raised up through imagination, or through the spirit, to know something supernaturally, thus you are caught up to the second heaven. Thus Peter was caught up, when he saw the sheet let down from heaven, as it is said Acts 10:10. But if someone should see the intelligible things themselves and their natures, not through sensible things, nor through phantasms, thus he would be caught up even to the third heaven. But it must be known that to be caught up to the first heaven is to be alienated from the bodily senses. Hence, since no one can be totally abstracted from the bodily senses, it is clear that no one can be said to be simply caught up into the first heaven, but in a certain respect, insofar as it happens that someone is sometimes so intent upon one sense that he is abstracted from the act of the others. To be caught up to the second heaven is when someone is alienated from sense so as to see certain imaginable things, hence such persons have always been accustomed to come to be in ecstasy. And therefore, Acts 10:10, when Peter saw the sheet, it is said that he came to be in ecstasy. But Paul is said to have been caught up to the third heaven, because he was so alienated from the senses, and raised above all corporeal things, that he saw the intelligible things bare and pure in the manner in which the Angels and the separated soul see them, and, what is more, even God himself through his essence, as Augustine expressly says, Book 12 on the Literal Meaning of Genesis, and in the Gloss, and to Paulinus in the book On Seeing God. Nor is it probable that Moses, the minister of the Old Testament to the Jews, should have seen God, and the minister of the New Testament to the Gentiles and teacher of the Gentiles should have been deprived of this gift. Hence he himself says above, 3:7: if the ministration of condemnation was in glory, etc. Now that Moses saw God through his essence is clear. For he himself asked of the Lord, Exodus 33:13: show me your face. And although this was then denied him, it is not therefore said that the Lord finally denied it to him. Hence Augustine says that it was granted to him through what is said, Numbers 12:6ff: if there be among you a prophet of the Lord, etc. But not so my servant Moses, etc. For openly, and not through riddles, he saw God. But could it have happened to Paul that, without being caught up, he saw God? It must be said, no. For it is impossible that God should be seen in this life by a man not alienated from the senses, because no image, no phantasm is a sufficient medium for showing the essence of God, and therefore it is necessary that he be abstracted and alienated from the senses. In a third way, taking heaven according to those things which are above the soul: and thus the threefold heaven is the threefold hierarchy of Angels, and according to this the Apostle was caught up even to the third heaven, that is, to this, that he saw the essence of God as clearly as the Angels of the higher and first hierarchy see him, who so see God that immediately in God himself they receive illuminations, and know the divine mysteries. And thus Paul saw. Thus, then, he saw the essence of God as the Angels of the higher hierarchy. Therefore it certainly seems that the Apostle was blessed, and consequently was immortal. I answer that although he saw God through his essence, nevertheless he was not simply blessed, but only in a certain respect. Now it must be known that the vision of God through his essence comes about through some light, namely through the light of glory, concerning which it is said in Psalm 35:10: in your light we shall see light. But some light is communicated to something by way of a passion, but to another by way of an inherent form, just as the light of the sun is found in a carbuncle and in the stars, as an inherent form, that is, made connatural, but in the air it is found as a transient form, and not permanent, because it passes away, the sun departing. Similarly the light of glory too is infused into the mind in two ways. In one way by way of a connatural and permanent form made, and thus it makes the mind simply blessed. And in this way it is infused into the blessed in the homeland, and therefore they are called comprehensors, and, so to speak, seers. In another way the light of glory comes to the human mind as a certain transient passion, and thus the mind of Paul was, in the rapture, illumined by the light of glory. Hence even the very name rapture shows this to have come about in passing. And therefore he was not simply glorified, nor did he have the endowment of glory, since that clarity was not made a property. And on account of this it was not derived from the soul into the body, nor did it remain perpetually in this state. Hence he had only the act of the blessed in the rapture itself, but was not blessed. Thus by this it is clear what the Apostle knew in his rapture, namely the condition of the one seeing, the time of the vision, and the summit of the vision. There follows what he did not know, namely whether he was in the body, or out of the body, which nevertheless he says God knows. Hence he says whether in the body, or out of the body, I know not, God knows; which some wished to understand in such a way that the rapture is referred to the body, saying that the Apostle said he did not know, not indeed whether the soul was joined to the body in that rapture or not, but whether he was caught up according to soul and body together, so that he was borne bodily at the same time into heaven, as Habakkuk was borne, Daniel, last chapter; or whether according to the soul only he was in the visions of God, as it is said Ezekiel 8:3: in a vision he brought me into the land of Israel. And this was the understanding of a certain Jew, whom Jerome expounds in the prologue on Daniel, where he says: finally he says also that our Apostle did not dare to affirm that he was caught up in the body, but said: whether in the body, etc. But Augustine chiefly disapproves this understanding, Book 2 on the Literal Meaning of Genesis, because it does not agree with the other words of the Apostle. For the Apostle says he was caught up even to the third heaven; hence he knew for certain that this was a true heaven. Therefore he knew whether that heaven was corporeal or incorporeal, that is, an incorporeal reality. But if it was incorporeal, he knew that he could not have been caught up there bodily, because in an incorporeal reality there cannot be a body. But if it was corporeal, he knew that the soul was not there without the body; because a soul joined to a body cannot be in a place where the body is not, unless an incorporeal heaven is called a likeness of a corporeal heaven. But if so, the Apostle would not have said that he knew that he was caught up into the third heaven, that is, into a likeness of heaven, because, by the same reasoning, he could have said that he was caught up in the body, that is, in a likeness of a body. It must therefore be said, according to Augustine, that no one placed in this life, and living in this mortal life, can see the divine essence. Hence the Lord says, Exodus 33:20: man shall not see me, and live, that is, man shall not see me, unless he is totally separated from the body, in such a way namely that his soul is not in the body as its form, or if it is in it as its form, nevertheless his mind, in a vision of this kind, is totally alienated from the senses. And therefore it must be said that this, which the Apostle says he does not know — namely whether in that vision his soul was totally separated from the body, hence he says or out of the body; or whether his soul existed in the body as its form, yet his mind was alienated from the bodily senses, hence he says or in the body. And this too others grant.”

“I knew a man in Christ. A Christian. He thus describes him, says Theophylact, that it may be clear that Paul was taken up by the grace of Christ, and not, like Simon Magus, by the power of the devil. Above fourteen years ago. Hence we conclude that this rapture of S. Paul took place about nine years after his conversion, which took place a.d. 36 ; Paul, therefore, was taken up a.d. 44, which was the ninth year from his conversion. It was in this year that, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, he was ordained, with Barnabas, Apostle and Doctor of the Gentiles (Acts xiii. 2), that is to say, a S. PAUL’S ECSTASY 177 little before he began this apostleship. This is evident, because, as I said at the beginning of this Epistle, S. Paul wrote this a.d. 58, in the second year of Nero. This rapture of S. Paul did not take place, therefore, in the year of his conversion (Acts ix. 12), *>., a.d. 3 6, though some join S. Thomas in assigning it to that year. Theophylact remarks on the modesty of the Apostle in having kept this silent for fourteen years. Secondly, he points out that Paul, fourteen years before, was privileged to contemplate such deep things, how much more did he merit it now, after the labours of so many years ? Whether in the body I cannot tell . Although the Apostle says that he knows nothing for certain about this rapture, yet S. Thomas (ii. ii. qu. 175, art. 5), and others think it probable that his soul remained united to his body as its form, otherwise Paul would have died and then risen again. Moreover, it does not beseem God, when He throws men into an ecstasy, to kill them ; nay, such a process would not be one of rapture and ecstasy, but a putting to death. This, too, would involve the multiplication of many miracles. But it is a principle that we should not multiply miracles; therefore it is easier and more natural to suppose that, like other Saints, Paul was carried up while remaining in the body. Caught up . “ To be caught up is” says S. Thomas, “ to be raised from what is natural to what is supernatural by the power of the higher nature .” Hence angels and the Blessed are not caught up when they see God. Although they are raised above nature, yet they are not cut off from nature, i.e. , from the power man has of naturally having consciousness of objects by means of his bodily senses and his re-presentative powers. But when “ caught up,” the soul is deprived of the use of its senses and imagination, and Paul, therefore, was so deprived, or he would have known that he was in the body. Moreover, such abstraction, as S. Thomas says, may take place under the influence of disease, as when a man is delirious, or even by the power of devils, as when they carry off* a man. It is not, however, called rapture or ecstasy, unless wrought VOL. 11. m 178 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE by Divine power, which withdraws the mind from the senses, and lifts it up to the contemplation of things supernatural To the third heaven . What is this heaven? 1. S. Basil {Horn. i. in Hexem.) infers from this that there is not merely one heaven, as Chrysostom thought, nor two, as Theophyiact held, but at least three. Some add that there are three only, and that the third is the highest. But all the astronomers of olden times will dispute this, for they reckoned eight at least, as will modems, who count at least eleven. 2. S. Thomas says (ii. il qu. 175, art 3, ad. 4): “By the third heaven may be understood any supernatural vision , and in three ways it may be called the third heaven . First, with relation to man's cognitive powers. Then the first heaven will be any supernatural , corporal vision , seen by the bodily eye , such as that of the handwriting on the wall described in Daniel v. The second heaven will be any vision presented to the imagination, such as that of Isaiah , and of S. John in the Apocalypse. The third heaven will be any intellectual vision, such as is explained by S. Augustine (super Gen . ad Litt. 12). “ Secondly , the distinction may be made according to the different orders of the objects of consciousness . Then the first heaven will be the knowledge of celestial bodies ; the second the knowledge of celestial spirits ; the third ’ the knowledge of God Himself. “ Thirdly , the three heavens may be the different steps of the knowledge by which God is seen. The first will then belong to the angels of the lowest hierarchy ; the second to the angels of the middle hierarchy ; the third to the angels of the highest.” According to this test, S. Paul would have been caught up to the third and highest hierarchy of angels, and standing there with the seraphim, have seen most clearly the essence of God, and from thence have been enkindled with that burning fire of charity with which he afterwards set on fire the whole world. But I should say that the third heaven is the highest, or the empyrean, where the Blessed dwell Hence, in ver. 4, it is called Paradise . It is called the third by a Hebraism. The number three denotes completion, being the first number to which the word THE THIRD HEAVEN 179 all may be applied We do not speak of " all two,” but we may and do say “all three.” Hence the poet says : “ Oh, thrice and four times blessed they,” &c, ie. f completely blessed Again (in Amos i. 3) we read, “ for three transgressions of Damascus, ” meaning, for all In ver. 8 of this chapter again, we have, “ I besought the Lord thrice,” or, very often, till I could ask no more, until the answer came : “ My grace is sufficient for thee.” 3. It is simplest of all to say with S. Thomas, in the passage above quoted, that w the first heaven is the sidereal the second the crystalline , the third the empyrean /” or, rather, that “the first is the aerialy the second the sidereal the third the empyrean ,” as Theophylact gives them. With him agree Julian Pomerius, and Damascene (de Fide , lib. iL c. 6), and many others. “ The air ” in Scripture is commonly called “ the heaven ; ” hence we g6t “ the birds of heaven.” The air, therefore, is the first heaven, and is called the aerial one. All the heavenly orbs are the second heaven, or the etherial, and the third is the empyrean. Hence Cajetan is wrong in rejecting the empyrean, in which the Blessed dwell, and supposing that the third is the crystalline. In this latter are the waters which, in Gen. i. and elsewhere, are said to be above the firmament Mystically, S. Bernard says that the three heavens are the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, and also the three virtues and gifts by which we ascend to them and to the highest pinnacle of grace and glory, viz., humility, charity, and perfect union. He says (Tract, de Grad. Humil.) : “ Those whom , by His word and cxampUy the Son has first taught humility , on whom the Holy Spirit has then poured the gift of charity , these the Father at length receives in glory. The Son makes them disciples , the Paraclete comforts them as friends y the Father exalts them as sons. Firstly , He instructs them as a Master ; secondly , He comforts them as a Friend or a Brother ; thirdly , He embraces them as sons. From the first union of the Word and reason is bom humility ; from the second union of the Spirit of God with the will of man comes charity ; then at last the Father unites to Himself His glorious bride. And thus reason is not suffered to think of itself or of the will of its neighbour , but the beatified 180 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE soul delights to say this alone : € The King hath brought me into His chamber These steps were not surpassed by S. Paul, who declares that he was caught up to the third heaven .” A second question arises : Was Paul truly and really caught up into the empyrean, so as to be in it as in a place, or was he there only by way of imagination or of understanding, so that he seemed to himself in his imagination to be in heaven, and saw what was being done there, while his body and soul remained on earth? Some think with probability that he was not caught up actually and truly, but only imaginarily, because he includes this rapture in vers, i and 7, under the head of visions and revelations of the Lord. God can bring it to pass that I in Belgium can see what is going on in India, and even what is passing in heaven. This may be brought about either through the imagination or the understanding, or even by the eyes of the body ; for God can so raise these above themselves, so co-operate with them above nature, so strengthen and extend the visual powers as to make them reach even to heaven. If that power may be increased beyond what is natural by spectacles or medicaments, why may not God extend this power yet further and further ? Thus it happened to S. Anselm, that he was able to see through a wall what was going on on the other side, by God imprinting the proper images on his retina. So Bede says that S. Diethelmus and others saw in imagination the pains of purgatory. Why, then, should not Paul have seen in the same way the empyrean, and what was passing in it ? Others, with perhaps greater probability on their side, think that he was actually and truly caught up into the empyrean. They give as their reasons ; (i.) That the Greek verb used is not the technical term for casting into an ecstasy, but a word which denotes an actual rapture (2.) That Paul is doubtful whether his soul was caught up with his body or without his body ; therefore he presupposes that his soul was truly and really caught up; for in a vision that is merely imaginary there is no doubt that the soul alone and not the body is caught up by the imagination. (3.) That there he actually heard mysterious words, so that, as the destined teacher S. PAUL IN PARADISE 181 of the world, he seemed to go forth from heaven, and to communicate to men what he had there seen and heard as God willed him, and so brought to men as from heaven heavenly wisdom. Cf. ver. 4, note. Now if the soul was really caught up, and yet remained united to the body (as I said in the opening note on this verse), then the body of Paul seems to have been caught up into paradise; and indeed this is as easy with God as taking up the soul only. This would be fitting to S. Paul’s office, who was to be the teacher and Apostle, not, like Moses, of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, and so should wholly come forth, like another Moses, from intercourse with God in heaven”

“And I knew such a man,.... The same man, namely himself, is here designed, and the same rapture spoken of, and the condition he was in expressed in the same words: which repetition is made for the more strong affirmation of what he delivered, and to signify the marvellousness of this vision, and how surprising and unaccountable it was. And I knew such a man,.... The same man, namely himself, is here designed, and the same rapture spoken of, and the condition he was in expressed in the same words: which repetition is made for the more strong affirmation of what he delivered, and to signify the marvellousness of this vision, and how surprising and unaccountable it was. 2 Corinthians 12:4 co2 12:4 co2 12:4 co2 12:4How that he was caught up into paradise,.... Not the earthly paradise in which our first parents were; this was destroyed by the flood, and the place where it was not now to be known; and to what purpose the apostle should be carried thither cannot be guessed at; though some have thought that this is here meant: but not this, nor any place distinct from the "third" heaven, or place of the blessed, is meant; which is the sense of many of the ancients, who suppose the third heaven and paradise to be two distinct places, and that the apostle had two separate raptures. Clemens Alexandrinus (m), reads the words thus, "I knew a man in Christ caught up to the third heaven, , from thence to paradise"; and so Theophilact upon the place says, "from the third heaven he was immediately called up into paradise"; and so Oecumenius, "he was caught up unto the third heaven, and so again from thence into paradise"; and some modern writers have been inclined to think there were two raptures, and the rather inasmuch as the apostle is said to be caught "up to" the one, and caught "up into" the other, and makes use of the words "caught up" twice; or otherwise he would be guilty of a tautology, both in that and in repeating his ignorance of the manner of the rapture; to which is added, that he proposed to speak of "visions" and "revelations" in the plural number, Co2 12:1, and afterwards calls this vision an "abundance of revelations", Co2 12:7, but as it was at the same time that he was caught up to the third heaven, and into paradise, there being one and the same date of fourteen years ago to both; and as, in the account of the one and the other, he was equally ignorant of the manner how he was caught up, whether in the body, or out of the body; and seeing that there is no account of what he saw and heard in the third heaven, but only what he heard in paradise, which is referred to be told in the after account of this vision; and as the third heaven and paradise are one and the same place, it seems most reasonable to conclude, that not two raptures and two visions are here designed, but only one; and without any show of a vain repetition, the apostle having begun the account of this vision, might reassume what he had said, in order to give a more plain and clear account of it; and especially as there were some things he had not yet mentioned, and the whole was not easy to be understood and taken in, and the manner of it even unknown to himself; and this he might do to raise the attention the more unto it, as being something wonderful and extraordinary; besides, if his design had been to have given an account of two raptures, he would have distinguished them in a numerical way; and would have told us that he was twice caught up, as well as he afterwards says that he besought the Lord "thrice", at another time; and this would have been necessary to have prevented a mistake, of taking the one and the other for the same rapture, as is generally done; heaven is called paradise, because as the garden of Eden, which bears that name, was of God's planting, so is this made and prepared by him; as that was a delightful place, so is this; also because of Christ the tree of life, which is in the midst of it, besides an innumerable company of angels, and spirits of just men made perfect, the pure and undefiled inhabitants of it; and because of the river of divine love, of endless pleasures, the saints there are made to drink of. It was usual with the Jews to call heaven , "the garden of Eden", or paradise; and which they (n) sometimes speak of as upper and lower; the lower they suppose the souls of men are introduced into, immediately upon their dissolution; where they stay a while, and then go up to the upper paradise, the world of souls, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are. The Jews ought not to object to the apostle's being had into paradise before his death, for they tell us of several that entered there whilst alive; "nine (they say (o)). , "entered in their life time into the garden of Eden", or paradise; and these are they, Enoch the son of Jared, and Elijah, and the Messiah, and Eliezer the servant of Abraham, and Hiram king of Tyre, and Ebed Melec the Ethiopian, and Jabez the son of Rabbi Judah the prince, and Bethiah the daughter of Pharaoh, and Sarah the daughter of Asher; and there are some that say also (p) Rabbi Joshua ben Levi"; and in another place (q), "four , entered into paradise; and these are they, Ben Azzai, and Ben Zoma, another, and R. Akiba;'' upon which is (r) added, "they entered into paradise as it were by the hands of God, and they did not ascend up above really, but it seemed to them as if they ascended;'' how far this may serve to explain and illustrate the apostle's case, I leave, with this observation more concerning another use of the word paradise with them; which sometimes signifies a considerable share of knowledge of mysterious things, relating to the nature of God, angels, &c. of which Maimonides having spoken, says (s), "these things the former wise men called "paradise", as they say, "four entered into paradise": and although they were the greatest men of Israel, and exceeding wise men, yet they had not all of them power to know and comprehend all these things clearly; and I say, that he is not fit to walk "in paradise", but he whose belly is filled with flesh and bread, and it is bread and flesh to know what is forbidden, and what is lawful, and the other precepts of a like nature;'' and again (t), "a man that is filled with all these virtues (meaning with wisdom, and understanding, and government of the passions and appetites) is perfect in his body, as he that enters into paradise, and inclines himself to these things which are great and afar off:'' once more (u), "the words of the tradition are comprehended in the written law, and the exposition of them in the oral law; and the things which are called paradise, are contained in the Talmud;'' this they (w) call , "the paradise of wisdom"; whether this sense and use of the word may be applied to the passage before us, and so be expressive of that large share of divine knowledge which was communicated in an extraordinary way to the apostle, may deserve some consideration: however, this is certain, that when he was caught up into paradise, he heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter; to instance in particular things, which be then either saw or heard, as some have done, is bold and daring; as that he saw the divine Being with the eyes of his understanding, the several angelic forms, thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, and the glory and beauty of the souls of departed saints; and heard the harmonious music of each of these happy creatures; had a view of the book of life, and was shown the order and method of divine predestination; was let into the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles, and the change that will be on living saints, and heard the whole account of the dispensation of things, in the church of Christ to the end of the world: the things were unspeakable, never yet related, and so not to be known: they were such things which the apostle himself, when out of the rapture, might have but very inadequate ideas of, and such as he was not able to put into proper words and language to be understood by others; and which as he heard them not from a mere man, but from the Lord, so no mere man was able to utter them, none but he of whom he had heard them: and besides, whatever conceptions the apostle might have of them himself, and how capable soever he was of expressing them; yet they were not fit and proper to be told in the present state of things, being no part of the counsel of God relating to man's salvation, the whole of which he faithfully declares; and yet were necessary to be heard by him, in order to establish his faith in the Gospel, to animate him in his ministry, and fortify his mind against all the afflictions, reproaches, and persecutions, he was to meet with for the sake of Christ. The phrase seems to be the same with , "it is impossible to say it" (x); and of such like secret things in paradise, or the world of souls, the Jews say (y) that "they are hidden, and which , "are not fit to produce in writing";'' and so these were such as were not lawful to speak out, "with human tongues", as Justin Martyr says (z); they were not in such sense "unspeakable", as not to be expressed by any; for they were expressed either by Christ himself, who was glorified in human nature, whom the apostle might now see and hear, or by some angel or angels, or they could not have been heard by the apostle as they were; but they were such as before never been spoken to any mortal man, and so could never have been spoken by any; and though they had been spoken to a mortal man, yet they could not be spoke by him to others; for though when he heard them, his human soul, for that present time, might conceive and take in much of the nature and meaning of them, yet they were such as he could not express by words, and represent to others by speech after the vision was over, and especially at this distance: not that it was sinful to have done it, if he could have done it; or that the things themselves were of such a nature, that it would have been criminal to have rehearsed them; but rather that it was impossible to do it, at least fully, since they might greatly regard the glory of the divine Being, and the worship paid him by the heavenly inhabitants: or could it be done in any tolerable manner, it might not be altogether convenient and proper in the present state of things; since the worship of the upper world lying in praise without prayer, might not be so fit to be related, lest it should be imitated by saints on earth: and seeing what the apostle heard was ineffable, and not to be spoken by himself; no credit is to be given to those spurious things called the Revelation and Ascension of Saint Paul, in which the author or authors of them pretend to tell us what these things were. (m) Strom. l. 5. p. 586. (n) Nishma Chayim, par. 1. c. 10. fol. 25. 2. &c. (o) Derech Eretz, fol. 19. 1. Zohar in Exod, fol. 102. 3. (p) Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 31. 1, 2. (q) T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 14. 2. (r) Tosephot, ib. (s) Jesode Tora, c. 5, sect. 19, 20. (t) Jesode Tora, c. 7. sect. 2. (u) Ib. Talmud Tora, c. 1. sect. 12. (w) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 96. 4. (x) T. Bab. Megilla, fol, 21. 1. (y) Nishmat Chayim, fol. 28. 1. (z) Expositio fidei, p. 379.”

“I knew a man in Christ - I knew a Christian, or a Christian man; for to such alone God now revealed himself, for vision and prophecy had been shut up from the Jews. Fourteen years ago - On what occasion or in what place this transaction took place we cannot tell; there are many conjectures among learned men concerning it, but of what utility can they be when every thing is so palpably uncertain? Allowing this epistle to have been written some time in the year 57, fourteen years counted backward will lead this transaction to the year 42 or 43, which was about the time that Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch, Act 11:25, Act 11:26, and when he and Paul were sent by the Church of Antioch with alms to the poor Christians at Jerusalem. It is very possible that, on this journey, or while in Jerusalem, he had this vision, which was intended to be the means of establishing him in the faith, and supporting him in the many trials and difficulties through which he was to pass. This vision the apostle had kept secret for fourteen years. Whether in the body I cannot tell - That the apostle was in an ecstasy or trance, something like that of Peter, Act 10:9, etc., there is reason to believe; but we know that being carried literally into heaven was possible to the Almighty. But as he could not decide himself, it would be ridiculous in us to attempt it. Caught up to the third heaven - He appeared to have been carried up to this place; but whether bodily he could not tell, or whether the spirit were not separated for the time, and taken up to the third heaven, he could not tell. The third heaven - The Jews talk of seven heavens, and Mohammed has received the same from them; but these are not only fabulous but absurd. I shall enumerate those of the Jews. 1. The Velum, or curtain, וילון - "Which in the morning is folded up, and in the evening stretched out." Isa 40:22 : He stretcheth out the heavens as a Curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. 2. The firmament, or Expanse, רקיע - "In which the sun, moon, stars, and constellations are fixed." Gen 1:17 : And God placed them in the Firmament of heaven. 3. The Clouds, or Ether, שקים - "Where the mill-stones are which grind the manna for the righteous." Psa 78:23, etc.: Though he had commended the Clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and had rained down manna, etc. 4. The Habitation, זבול - "Where Jerusalem, and the temple, and the altar, were constructed and where Michael the great prince stands and offers sacrifices." Kg1 8:13 : I have surely built thee a House To Dwell In, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. "But where is heaven so called?" Answer: In Isa 63:15 : Look down from Heaven, and behold from the Habitation, מזבול, of thy holiness. 5. The Dwelling-Place, מעון - "Where the troops of angels sing throughout the night, but are silent in the day time, because of the glory of the Israelites." Psa 42:8 : The Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me. "But how is it proved that this means heaven? "Answer: From Deu 26:15. Look down from thy holy habitation, ממעון, the Dwelling-Place of thy holiness; and from heaven, השמים, and bless thy people Israel. 6. The Fixed Residence, מבון - "Where are the treasures of snow and hail, the repository of noxious dews, of drops, and whirlwinds; the grotto of exhalations," etc. "But where are the heavens thus denominated?" Answer: In Kg1 8:39, Kg1 8:49, etc.: Then hear thou in Heaven thy Dwelling - Place, מכון שבת, thy Fixed Residence. 7. The Araboth, ערבות - "Where are justice, judgment, mercy, the treasures of life; peace and blessedness; the souls of the righteous, the souls and spirits which are reserved for the bodies yet to be formed, and the dew by which God is to vivify the dead." Psa 89:14, Isa 59:17; Psa 36:9, Jdg 6:24; Psa 24:4; Sa1 25:29; Isa 57:20 : All of which are termed Araboth, Psa 68:4. Extol him who rideth on the heavens, בערבות ba Araboth, by his name Jah. All this is sufficiently unphilosophical, and in several cases ridiculous. In the sacred writings three heavens only are mentioned. The first is the atmosphere, what appears to be intended by רקיע rekia, the firmament or expansion, Gen 1:6. The second, the starry heaven; where are the sun, moon, planets, and stars; but these two are often expressed under the one term שמים shamayim, the two heavens, or expansions, and in Gen 1:17, they appear to be both expressed by רקיע השמים rekia hashshamayim, the firmament of heaven. And, thirdly, the place of the blessed, or the throne of the Divine glory, probably expressed by the words שמי השמים shemei hashshamayim, the heavens of heavens. But on these subjects the Scripture affords us but little light; and on this distinction the reader is not desired to rely. Much more may be seen in Schoettgen, who has exhausted the subject; and who has shown that ascending to heaven, or being caught up to heaven, is a form of speech among the Jewish writers to express the highest degrees of inspiration. They often say of Moses that he ascended on high, ascended on the firmament, ascended to heaven; where it is evident they mean only by it that he was favored with the nearest intimacy with God, and the highest revelations relative to his will, etc. If we may understand St. Paul thus, it will remove much of the difficulty from this place; and perhaps the unspeakable words, Co2 12:4, are thus to be understood. He had the most sublime communications from God, such as would be improper to mention, though it is very likely that we have the substance of these in his epistles. Indeed, the two epistles before us seem, in many places, to be the effect of most extraordinary revelations.”

“I know a man, &c. He speaks of himself, as it were of a third person. — Whether in the body, I know not. If St. Paul himself knew not, how can we pretend to decide, whether his soul was for some moments separated from his body, or in what manner he saw God. (Witham) — It appears that this took place about the period when the Holy Ghost commanded that he should be separated for the work whereunto he was called. (Acts xiii. 2.)”

“Translate, "I know," not "I knew." a man--meaning himself. But he purposely thus distinguishes between the rapt and glorified person of Co2 12:2, Co2 12:4, and himself the infirmity-laden victim of the "thorn in the flesh" (Co2 12:7). Such glory belonged not to him, but the weakness did. Nay, he did not even know whether he was in or out of the body when the glory was put upon him, so far was the glory from being his [ALFORD]. His spiritual self was his highest and truest self: the flesh with its infirmity merely his temporary self (Rom 7:25). Here, however, the latter is the prominent thought. in Christ--a Christian (Rom 16:7). above--rather, simply "fourteen years ago." This Epistle was written A.D. 55-57. Fourteen years before will bring the vision to A.D. 41-43, the time of his second visit to Jerusalem (Act 22:17). He had long been intimate with the Corinthians, yet had never mentioned this revelation before: it was not a matter lightly to be spoken of. I cannot tell--rather as Greek, "I know not." If in the body, he must have been caught up bodily; if out of the body, as seems to be Paul's opinion, his spirit must have been caught up out of the body. At all events he recognizes the possibility of conscious receptivity in disembodied spirits. caught up-- (Act 8:39). to the third heaven--even to, &c. These raptures (note the plural, "visions," "revelations," Co2 12:1) had two degrees: first he was caught up "to the third heaven," and from thence to "Paradise" (Co2 12:4) [CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, Miscellanies, 5.427], which seems to denote an inner recess of the third heaven [BENGEL] (Luk 23:43; Rev 2:7). Paul was permitted not only to "hear" the things of Paradise, but to see also in some degree the things of the third heaven (compare "visions," Co2 12:1). The occurrence TWICE of "whether in the body . . . I know not, God knoweth," and of "lest I should be exalted above measure," marks two stages in the revelation. "Ignorance of the mode does not set aside the certain knowledge of the fact. The apostles were ignorant of many things" [BENGEL]. The first heaven is that of the clouds, the air; the second, that of the stars, the sky; the third is spiritual (Eph 4:10).”