Quote:
Originally Posted by illusionznc
2 Corinthians 12:2
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,
(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the
body, I cannot tell: God knoweth; ) such an one caught up to
the third heaven"
Genesis 1:1 does not refer to "heaven" in a plural sense, yet 2 Corinthians 12:2 refers to a third heaven which would seem to suggest there is more than one.
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2 Cori 12:2 more than "seems to suggest" more than one heaven, it states it to be. You can believe it, it is the main proof text for the teaching of 3 heavens.
This is how I was taught to remember the difference between the heavens:
The 1st heaven is where the birds fly.
2 Samuel 21:10 ķAnd Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
The 2nd heaven is where the astronauts fly.
Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
The 3rd heaven is where the angels fly.
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
So from now on when you read "heaven" in your Bible, you know it's not always a reference to where God's throne is!