Texts in Conversation
2 Corinthians 12 and 2 Enoch both describe journeys to the third heaven, where paradise is located, reflecting a common view of a layered cosmos. Paul withholds details of his vision, while 2 Enoch describes it thoroughly.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Enoch 8:1
Secrets of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And those men took me from there, and led me up onto the third heaven, and placed me there; and I looked down, and saw the produce of these places, whose goodness was beyond anything ever known. 2 And I saw all the sweet-flowering trees and saw their fruits, which were sweet-smelling, and all the food they produced bubbling and giving off a sweet fragrance. 3 And among the trees was the tree of life, in that place on which the Lord rests, when he goes up into paradise; and this tree is so good and fragrant that words cannot describe it, and adorned more than every existing thing; 4 and on all sides its form is gold-looking and vermilion and fire-like and covers all, and it has produce from all fruits. Its root is in the garden at the earth's end. 5 And paradise is between what can decay and what cannot decay. And two springs come out which send out honey and milk, and their springs send out oil and wine, and they separate into four parts, and go around with a quiet course,
Date: 1–100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
2 Corinthians 12:2
New Testament
1 It is necessary to go on boasting. Though it is not profitable, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows) 4 was caught up into paradise and heard things too sacred to be put into words, things that a person is not permitted to speak. 5 On behalf of such an individual I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses.
Date: 55–57 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... This means that for Paul, the third heaven and paradise are the same place, or that paradise is located in the third heaven. Here Paul's perception of the celestial order is in harmony with the cosmology of 2 Enoch (8:1-8) and the Apocalypse of Moses (40:2). For Paul, the third heaven may be the highest, though the tendency in later apocalyptic literature is to add heavens. In Paradise, Paul should have viewed the final abode of the souls of the righteous; and in the highest heaven, he should have seen cosmic paraphernalia, angelic beings, and the radian throne of God. However, Paul does not say that he saw anything, but that he heard 'unutterable utterances'. Paul does not relate anything about what he has heard or seen. 2 Corinthians 12, therefore, describes a revelatory experience through which nothing is communicated ..."
William Baird, “Visions, Revelation, and Ministry: Reflections on 2 Cor 12:1-5 and Gal 1:11-17,” JBL 104.4 (1985): 651–662.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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