Third Heaven

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The Third Heaven, also known as Sagun or Shehaqim,[1] is a spiritual division of the universe within Judeo-Christian cosmology. In some traditions is it considered the abode of God,[2] and in others a lower level of Paradise, commonly one of seven.[3]

Contents

[edit] References in the Bible

[edit] The Old Testament

References to distinct concepts known as "Heaven" occur in the very earliest books of the Old Testament.[2] The first, in Genesis 1:9 and 20 is the atmosphere over the earth in which birds fly. The second, mentioned in Genesis 1:14, is the setting for the celestial lights, later identified (Genesis 1:16) as the sun, moon and stars.

The Third Heaven, also called shamayi h'shamayim (ם‎שמי‎ה‎ שמי: the "Heaven of Heavens") is mentioned in such passages as Genesis 28:12, Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Kings 8:27 as a distinctly spiritual realm containing (or being traveled by) angels and God Himself.[4]

Due to the ambiguity of the term "Heaven" as it is used in the Old Testament books, and the fact that the word in Hebrew, shamayim, (ם‎שמי‎) is plural, a number of interpretations have been offered for various texts involving its nature, notably the assumption of the prophet Elijah.

[edit] The New Testament

An Epistle of the apostle Paul, included in the New Testament, contains an explicit reference to the Third Heaven. In a letter to the Corinthian church he writes, "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. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

The apparent parallelism of the passage equates the Third Heaven with "Paradise"[2] the traditional destination of redeemed humans and the general connotation of the term "Heaven" in mainstream Christianity.[5]

[edit] References in other Hebrew literature

[edit] Location and geography

In the Pseudopigraphal Book of the Secrets of Enoch, the Third Heaven is described as a location "between corruptibility and incorruptibility" (2 Enoch 8:5) containing the Tree of Life, "whereon the Lord rests, when he goes up into paradise." (verse 3) Two springs in the Third Heaven, one of milk and the other of honey, along with two others of wine and oil, flow down into the Garden of Eden, which is also located there. (verse 6)

In contrast with the common concept of Paradise, 2 Enoch also describes a place of torment existing in the Third Heaven, "a very terrible place" with "all manner of tortures" in which merciless angels torment "those who dishonour God, who on earth practice sin against nature," including sodomites, sorcerers, enchanters, witches, the proud, thieves, liars and those guilty of various other transgressions. (2 Enoch 10:1-3) In the Slavonic version of the 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."[6][7]

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."[3]

[edit] 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. These include, by source,

  • The Apocalypse attributed to James:[8]
  • John the Baptist
  • The Legends of The Jews by Louis Ginzberg:[3]

[edit] References in Islam

According to Islamic legend, Muhammad's journey into Paradise included an admission to the Third Heaven by the angel Gabriel, in which he met Joseph, who received him warmly.[9]

Mohammedan tradition also places Azrael, the angel of death, in the Third Heaven.[8]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Angels A-Z at sarahsarchangels.com
  2. ^ a b c Henry, Matthew, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc6.viii.xiii.html Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation): Second Corinthians Chap. XII], Public domain, Library of Congress call no: BS490.H4, at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
  3. ^ a b c Ginzberg, Louis (1909) The Legends of the Jews, Chapter 1, at sacred-texts.com
  4. ^ van der Toorn, Becking, van der Horst (1999), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in The Bible, Second Extensively Revised Edition, Entry: Heaven, pp. 388-390, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, ISBN 0-8028-2491-9
  5. ^ "Is heaven located in the northern sky?" at christiananswers.net
  6. ^ Baruch, Apocalypse of at jewishencyclopedia.com
  7. ^ 3 Baruch at The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
  8. ^ a b Davidson, Gustav (1967), A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels, Entry: Third Heaven, p. 288, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757
  9. ^ Mi'raj at the Canadian Society of Muslims Website

[edit] External links

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