1. “A man in Christ...was caught away to the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2).
2. “The heaven of heavens” (Deut. 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chron. 2:6).
In 2 Corinthians 12:2 Paul speaks of a man in Christ being caught away to the third heaven. This man was Paul. God wanted to show him the things in the heavens, so He caught him away to the third heaven. The Bible divides the heavens into several levels, the heaven of heavens and the heavens (Eph. 4:10; Heb. 7:26). The third heaven is above the stars; it is the highest heaven (Isa. 14:13-14).
1. “Your dwelling place in the heavens” (1 Kings 8:30).
1. “Into heaven itself, to appear now before the face of God” (Heb. 9:24; see also 1 Pet. 3:22).
The Chinese Union Version translates heaven in these two portions as “heavenly mansion.” This is not according to the original Greek. The Greek word in these two verses is the same word that is translated as “heaven” in Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:51. “Heaven” is the correct translation according to the original language.
1. “The height”; “On high” (Eph. 4:8; Heb. 1:3).
Ephesians 4:8 and Hebrews 1:3 both speak of the Lord Jesus ascending to the height or on high. The same Greek root word is used in both portions. This shows that the Lord Jesus today is in the height of the universe.
2. “Higher than the heavens” (Heb. 7:26).
3. “Far above all the heavens” (Eph. 4:10).
4. “I will ascend to heaven; / Above the stars of God / I will exalt my throne. / And I will sit upon the mount of assembly / In the uttermost parts of the north. / I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; / I will make myself like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13-14).
These verses clearly show that God is in the heaven that is above the stars and the clouds. It is in the uttermost parts of the north. This phrase the uttermost parts of the north must refer to the highest place where God sits on His throne. Thus, it is the highest place in the universe.
5. “Neither from the east nor from the west, / And neither from the south, does exaltation come; / For God is the Judge” (Psa. 75:6-7; see also 48:2; Ezek. 1:4).
Exaltation does not come from the east, the west, or the south, for only God is the Judge. The north is not mentioned in Psalm 75:6 because God is in the north. Since exaltation is by God, it must come from the north, not from the east, the west, or the south. This verse shows that God is in the north. Since God dwells in the north, the vision of God’s glory that Ezekiel saw also came from the north (Ezek. 1:4). Furthermore, when God commanded men on earth to build Jerusalem as a type of His heavenly dwelling, it was on the sides of the north (Psa. 48:2). All these verses signify that the third heaven is in the north.
1. “The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham from afar and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out...I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16:22-24; see also Job 24:19).
Hades is divided into two sections. The first section is the pleasant section, the section of comfort. The spirits and souls of the righteous are in this pleasant section, which is Paradise in Hades. The second section is a section of torment. The spirits and souls of the sinners come to this place after their death. According to Luke 16 the rich man who died was suffering in this section of torment, burning in a flame and being in terrible anguish. In his torment, however, he still could see the pleasant section of Paradise. His ability to see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom caused him to suffer even more. Job 24:19 says, “Drought and heat snatch the snow water, / As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.” There is no rest and enjoyment in the section of torment in Hades.
Hades follows after Death to collect the dead (Rev. 6:8). The spirits and souls of dead unbelievers go to the section of torment in Hades to wait for the resurrection. The section of torment in Hades is more than a temporary dwelling place, it is a temporary jail. Unbelievers are kept in this section of Hades as a temporary jail until after the millennial kingdom, when they will be resurrected to stand before the great white throne of judgment. Then their eternal fate will be determined; that is, they will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone to perish for eternity. The righteous in the Paradise in Hades will be resurrected before the millennial kingdom. After the millennial kingdom, the dead in the section of torment in Hades will be resurrected, and Hades will be emptied. At this point, no one will be in Hades.
2. “A great chasm is fixed, so that those wanting to pass from here to you cannot, neither from there to us may any cross over” (Luke 16:26).
Although people in the two sections in Hades can see each other and speak to each other, there is a great chasm fixed between them that cannot be crossed. This proves that the two sections are clearly separated even though they are not far apart.