Yesterday we began taking a look at an experience the Apostle Paul had when he was pelted with rocks at Lystra, dragged outside the city gates, and left in the dust for dead. His enemies thought he was dead, and it's likely they were right. Paul says he can't say for sure whether he was dead or alive; all he knows is that he saw a vision of heaven and heard things there that are too awesome to repeat.
He says he was caught up to the "third heaven". (2 Corinthians 12:2) The people of his day considered the atmosphere above them to be the first heaven, outer space as the second heaven, and the dwelling of God (or the gods if you were a pagan) as the third heaven. It was a common concept in ancient times to describe big ideas or holy things in an ascending order of threes. This is similar to the idea of the three different holy places we find in the Scriptures. For example, the outer portion of the temple was considered "holy", the room within the veil where only the high priest could go was the "holy holy" (sometimes referred to as the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies), and God's throne was the "holy holy holy"---the pinnacle of holy spaces. (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8)
So Paul is saying he was caught up to the holiest of all holy places, straight to the throne room of God, and that while there he heard "inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell". (2 Corinthians 12:4) I would love to know what he heard, but his human mind was unable to put what he heard into words. Plus he was forbidden either by commandment or by reverence for God to repeat it. The Apostle John also heard words he was forbidden to repeat when the Lord Jesus gave him the revelation of things to come. John was commanded by the Lord to write down the things he was going to see and hear during this revelation, but there was one experience he was not allowed to write about. John says he heard seven thunders speaking: "And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.'" (Revelation 10:4)
Did Paul and John hear the same things? We don't know. What did they hear? It's not lawful for us to know because God does not want us to know, at least not while we live in the flesh. Some scholars think Paul and John may have heard the real name of God, a name so holy that no human being is permitted to speak it or write it. There is some evidence to back up this theory, for in Revelation 19:12 we learn that Christ has a name "that no one knows but He Himself". Whatever this name is, perhaps it completely and perfectly sums up everything about the character of our Lord. And whatever this name is, it has never been blasphemed by anyone. I am thankful that my Redeemer has a name that no one can ever abuse. He endured enough abuse while He walked the earth in the flesh; He deserves a name no one can take in vain or use as a curse word.
Earlier in the week we found Paul doing what he called "boasting" about the things he's endured while serving the Lord and while serving the believers. He considers all boasting about human accomplishments to be foolish unless those accomplishments were made possible by the Lord. So he says today that he will not boast about himself, but he will boast about his weaknesses. So he boasts about the man (himself) who while likely dead was caught up to heaven, "I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations." (2 Corinthians 12:5-7a)
Paul says, "I would not be sinning if I boasted about my experience because I'd be telling the truth. I really did enter heaven and I really did hear things that no human being is permitted to hear. But telling this story far and wide might elevate me too high in people's eyes. I'm just a regular human being and I don't want anyone to deify me in any way. Plus I don't want to think more of myself than I should." The Lord doesn't want Paul to think more of himself than he should either, and tomorrow we will study about a permanent difficulty the Lord placed in Paul's life to prevent him from becoming prideful.
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