Note 3 at 2 Cor. 12:2: Many people think Paul was speaking about himself as this man who was caught up to the third heaven. Paul's style of writing does not convey that. In fact, it leaves us with the opposite impression. It appears that Paul means just what he said-that this was someone else and not Paul.

Note 4 at 2 Cor. 12:2: It is interesting to note that Paul could not tell whether this man was in or out of his body during this experience. In other words, Paul was not sure whether this experience was strictly spiritual or partly physical. Sometimes it is difficult to draw a sharp line of demarcation between that which is in the spirit realm and that which is in the physical or natural realm. This reveals how the spirit world and the physical world are, in a sense, intermingled or coexistent.

Note 5 at 2 Cor. 12:2: Due to the similarity in wording of 2 Corinthians 12:2 ". . .caught up to the third heaven," and 2 Corinthians 12:4 ". . .caught up into paradise," it appears as though the third heaven and paradise are synonymous. According to Jewish tradition, the third heaven, or God's dwelling place, was thought to be the highest of three heavens.

In Genesis 1:20 the Lord created birds to fly ". . .in the open firmament of heaven." That designated the earth's atmosphere as "heaven," which would be the first heaven. In Genesis 1:6-8 God created a firmament which He called "heaven"-". . .and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. . . ." Then, in Genesis 1:14-19, God created the sun the moon and the stars and placed them in this firmament called heaven. This is the second heaven. It is certainly logical to suppose that the third heaven is above the firmament we call space, and this is where God dwells (see note 3 at Lk. 16:22, p. 362; see note 4 at Lk. 23:43, p. 536; see note 2 at Mk. 12:25, p. 439; see note 7 at Jn. 14:3, p. 490).