I knew a man in Christ fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;) such a one caught up to the third heaven.
Read Chapter 12
Ambrosiaster
AD 400
Paul mentions both things because either is possible. It may seem to someone that it is nothing much to be caught up into the third heaven, since that is where the moon is, but that is not right. What this means is that he was caught up beyond all the stars of the universe into the heaven which is third in the hierarchy of spiritual heavens. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
I knew a man in Christ. A Christian. He thus describes him, says Theophylact, that it may be clear that Paul was taken up by the grace of Christ, and not, like Simon Magus, by the power of the devil.
Above fourteen years ago. Hence we conclude that this rapture of S. Paul took place about nine years after his conversion, which took place A.D36; Paul, therefore, was taken up A.D44 , which was the ninth year from his conversion. It was in this year that, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, he was ordained, with Barnabas, Apostle and Doctor of the Gentiles ( Acts 13:2), that is to say, a little before he began this apostleship. This is evident, because, as I said at the beginning of this Epistle, S. Paul wrote this A.D58 , in the second year of Nero. This rapture of S. Paul did not take place, therefore, in the year of his conversion ( Acts 9:12), i.e, A.D36 , though some join S. Thomas in assigning it to that year.
Theophylact remarks on the modesty of the Apostle in having kept this ...
I know a man He speaks of himself, as it were of a third person.
Whether in the body, I know not. If St. Paul himself knew not, how can we pretend to decide, whether his soul was for some moments separated from his body, or in what manner he saw God. (Witham)
It appears that this took place about the period when the Holy Spirit commanded that he should be separated for the work whereunto he was called. (Acts xiii. 2.)
Had Paul been able to express the experiences gained from the third heaven and his progress, ascent or assumption to it, we should perhaps have known more about God—if this really was the secret meaning of his rapture. But since they were ineffable, let them have the tribute of our silence. Let us give this much attention to Paul when he says: “We know in part and we prophesy in part.” This and the like is the confession of one who is no mere layman in knowledge, of one who threatens to give proof of Christ speaking in him, of a great champion and teacher of truth.
Paul the apostle, he says, knew of this gate, partially opening it in a mystery, and stating "that he was caught up by an angel, and ascended as far as the second and third heaven into paradise itself; and that he beheld sights and heard unspeakable words which it would not be possible for man to declare."
For that there are spiritual creatures in the heavens, all the Scriptures loudly proclaim; and Paul expressly testifies that there are spiritual things when he declares that he was caught up into the third heaven,
Paul specifies that it was fourteen years before in order to show that he would not normally have spoken about it at all had he not been provoked. And even then, notice that there are some things he is still ignorant about. He knows that he was in paradise, but whether he was in the body or not he cannot tell. Why did this happen to him? I think it was probably so that he would not feel inferior to the other apostles, who had all been with Christ while he was on earth.
Great indeed was this revelation. But this was not the only one: there were many others besides, but he mentions one out of many. For that there were many, hear what he says: Lest I should be exalted overmuch through the exceeding greatness of the revelations. 'And yet,' a man may say, 'if he wished to conceal them, he ought not to have given any intimation whatever or said any thing of the sort; but if he wished to speak of them, to speak plainly.' Wherefore then is it that he neither spoke plainly nor kept silence? To show by this also that he resorts to the thing unwillingly. And therefore also he has stated the time, fourteen years. For he does not mention it without an object, but to show that he who had refrained for so long a time would not now have spoken out, except the necessity for doing so had been great. But he would have still kept silence, had he not seen the brethren perishing. Now if Paul from the very beginning was such an one as to be counted worthy of such a revelat...
For the apostle, he says, does not suppose paradise to be in the third heaven, in the opinion of those who knew how to observe the niceties of language, when he says, "I know such a man caught up to the third heaven; and I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, God knoweth, that was caught up into paradise."
