The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum What is the 3rd Heaven?

While Swindoll is a dispensationalist, I have benefitted from his writings:<br><br>"Chuck Swindoll (b. 1934) - president of Dallas Theological Seminary until recently (though still on the faculty); attempting to de-emphasize the centrality of dispensationalism in the seminary's theology. Also host of Insight for Living. Though a non-charismatic in the Evangelical Free Church, Swindoll works closely with Baptists and calls for cooperation with charismatic evangelicals in evangelism and other ministries. His many books include the Great Lives from God's Word series, The Mystery of God's Will, Intimacy with the Almighty, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, and The Grace Awakening."<br><br>http://faith.propadeutic.com/authors/dispcont.html<br><br>By the way, the "free" in EFCA does not mean Arminian free will:<br><br>"The term Free refers to our form of church government as being congregational. Evangelical Free Churches depend upon the active participation of lay people in the decisions and directions."<br><br>http://www.efca.org/about/index.html<br><br>As for the third heaven, 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 reads:<br><br>1 Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. <br>2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven. <br>3 And I know how such a man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows--<br>4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. <br>5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. <br>6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.<br><br>Here is John Gill's exposition of "third heaven":<br><br>"the seat of the divine Majesty, and the residence of the holy angels; where the souls of departed saints go immediately upon their dissolution; and the bodies and souls of those who have been translated, caught up, and raised already, are; and where the glorified body of Christ is and will be, until his second coming. This is called the "third" heaven, in respect to the airy and starry heavens. The apostle refers to a distinction among the Jews of (yatt aymvw yaeuym aymvw) (yalye aymv) , "the supreme heaven, the middle heaven, and the lower heaven"; and who also make a like division of worlds, and which they call (lpvh Mlwehw yeumah Mlwew Nwyle Mlwe) , "the supreme world, and the middle world, and the lower world"; and sometimes the world of angels, the world of the orbs, and the world of them below; and accordingly the Cabalistic doctors talk of three worlds; (hatylt amle) , "the third world", they say, is the supreme world, hidden, treasured, and shut up, which none can know; as it is written, "eye hath not seen"… and is the same with the apostle's "third heaven"."<br><br>http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commenta...se=002&next=003&prev=001