“…how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” 2 Corinthians 12:4
Dear Ones:
Why does the Apostle Paul, at the end of his second letter to the Corinthians, take us to heaven by giving us a perception of what he saw in a vision, or revelation of the Lord? It is most certainly to give us a glimpse of what is the hope of the believer. When Scripture tells us, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints,” he means just that. There is a value that God has set upon the “coming home” of his children to heaven, to be “forever with the Lord,” that we have difficulty in grasping. Since we are limited in our understanding of the love of God, its scope, power, and permanence, so we are limited in our concepts and understanding of the heart of God, in the receiving his loved ones home forever.
We do not know when God gave this vision of heaven to the Apostle Paul. It might have been towards the end of his life on this earth. What we do know is that, at the moment of the revelation, Paul had the specific need to have a perception of that which was eternally before him. What did he see?
The first thing the believer needs to understand concerning “heaven” and that which awaits the believer, is that his perception of it will never rise to the reality of it. For example, the Lord Jesus had given his disciples power and authority to cast out demons, and to heal, as they preached the kingdom. The disciples returned one day, recounting what the Lord had done through them. The Lord’s response to them was very simple, though not a rebuke by any means: “…rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Lk.10:20) What did He mean by this? Certainly it is to reveal that the works of the disciples on this earth, even by the power and hand of God, are no comparison with the magnitude of the glory, and experience of the Lord’s presence in heaven. The fact that their names are written in heaven is the guarantee, and assurance, of blessings beyond measure, certainly beyond what one could ask or think.
The second thing that is needful to see is that it is impossible for mortal man, though he be filled with the Spirit, to communicate exactly the reality of what he sees. We see this in the visions that prophets of old received, and also, in the revelation given to the Apostle John. This is not to say that the ministry of the Spirit of God is imperfect in His ability to communicate perfectly the revelation. It does mean that the vessels He has to work with are flawed, and limited, in their ability to take that which is divinely revealed, and put it into verbal form, communicating the enormity and the eternal dimensions of it all. So then, what are we to do with this “imperfect” expression of a that which is divinely perfect? We are to believe God for His present presence, and for that which is promised. The Lord Jesus, prior to His crucifixion, told His disciples: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (Jn. 14:3) Did the disciples fully understand this place that Jesus was to prepare? Did they have a true and profound concept of the “…many mansions” to be prepared? No. But there was a hope and promise associated with those concepts, and it had to do with the heart being troubled in the face of difficulty and temptation. The cross was looming before the Lord Jesus, and He knew that soon there would be a time when the faith of so very many would be tested to the extreme. His call is to faith in Him, with a certain view towards heaven.
Dear Father, Strengthen our faith, with a vision of heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad