Third Heaven

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In several

one of seven.[2]

Judaism

The early books of the

Tanakh reference Heaven (Heb. Shamayim), but not a Third Heaven or a specific number of heavens.[1] Heaven is mentioned several times in the first chapter of Genesis. It appears in the first verse as a creation of God. His dividing the light from the darkness in verses 4 and 5 has been interpreted as the separation of heaven into two sections: day (God's throne) and night (where our universe is contained). In verse 8 heaven refers to the atmosphere over the earth in which birds fly, and in verse 14 it's the setting for the celestial lights, later identified (verse 16) as the sun, moon and stars.[3]

A third concept of Heaven, also called shămei hashamayim (שׁמי השׁמים or "Heaven of Heavens"), is mentioned in such passages as

Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Kings 8:27 as a distinctly spiritual realm containing (or being traveled by) angels and God.[4]

The ambiguity of the term shamayim in the Hebrew Bible, and the fact that it's a plural word, give "heavens" various interpretations regarding its nature, notably the ascension of the prophet Elijah.

In the non-canonical

sorcerers, enchanters, witches
, the proud, thieves, liars and those guilty of various other transgressions. (chapter 10)

In the Slavonic version of the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, also known as 3 Baruch, the author is shown a phoenix, and a dragon residing there is said to eat the bodies of "those that have spent their lives in evil."[5]

In The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, this third division of Paradise is said to be, like the other six, "twelve myriads of miles in width and twelve myriads of miles in length," built of silver and gold, and containing "the best of everything there is in heaven."[2]

Residents

Aside from the redeemed, the transgressors and various angels mentioned in the Bible and other Hebrew literature, a number of specific figures and spirits are mentioned as residing in the Third Heaven. According to The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg these include:[2]

Christianity

Apostolic Fathers

The

God's abode
was deemed the third heaven.

New Testament

In

2 Corinthians 12, Paul the Apostle writes: "I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. Also, I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows—was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat."[6] According to E. W. Bullinger, the Greek reads "caught away", not "caught up," possibly reflecting Jewish beliefs that Paradise was located somewhere other than the uppermost heaven.[7] Other Christians argue that because the idea of three heavens is found nowhere else in the Bible, Paul is simply referring to the spiritual heaven, or non-physical place where God is, with the term "the third heaven." In this view, the first and second heavens then refer merely to the physical "heavens" where the atmosphere and outer space are respectively, and "the third heaven" is meant to signify that it is the "heavens" other than either of those.[8]

Ideas about

Second Book of Enoch
(see previous section).

New Testament apocrypha

According to the Apocalypse of James,[9] John the Baptist dwells in the Third Heaven.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LDS theology interprets the third heaven to be the Celestial Kingdom, the highest of three degrees of glory rewarded by God following the resurrection and final judgment.[10]

In

1st Corinthians
15 are mentioned three glories of heaven, which are compared to the sun, moon, and stars. Latter-day Saints believe that after the resurrection, there are three differing degrees of glory and that with few exceptions, all people will be judged and separated into these degrees.[11]

Islam

According to

Joseph, who received him warmly.[12] Islamic tradition also places Azrael, the angel of death, in the Third Heaven.[9]
The third heaven is depicted as being constructed of pearl and/or luminous metals.

According to

Sunni sources call the third layer Qaydum and consists of ruby.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Henry, Matthew,Archived 2006-08-25 at the Wayback Machine, Public domain, Library of Congress call no: BS490.H4, at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
  2. ^ a b c Ginzberg, Louis (1909) The Legends of the Jews, Chapter 1, at sacred-texts.com
  3. ^ See a good Commentary on Youtube (Ruckman, Andrew Gen. 1 part 1)
  4. ISBN 0-8028-2491-9
  5. ^ Baruch, Apocalypse of at jewishencyclopedia.com
  6. ^ 2 Corinthians 12:2–4
  7. ^ E. W. Bullinger A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek "2, 14, To this "Third heaven" and " Paradise " Paul was caught away, 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4, (not " up," see under " catch,") in "visions and revelations of the Lord," 2 Cor. xii. 1. One catching away – with a double revelation of the New heaven and the ..."
  8. ^ Got Questions Ministries, "What does it mean that Paul went to the third heaven?" https://www.gotquestions.org/Paul-third-heaven.html
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780029070505
  10. ^ "Celestial Glory". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  11. ^ Doctrine and Covenants section 76
  12. ^ Mi'raj at the Canadian Society of Muslims Website
  13. ^ Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an. V. 5. p. 415.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  14. ^ Anton M. Heinen Islamic Cosmology 1982 Beirut Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden isbn 3515-03177-4 p. 86
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