When did Paul see the glories of Heaven that he describes in 2 Corinthians 12?
Paul saw the glories of Heaven when he was stoned at Derbe and dragged out for dead during his first missionary journey, around AD 41 or 42. His body lay outside the city while his soul and spirit were caught up to the third heaven.
Les ties Paul’s experience in 2 Corinthians 12 to the stoning at Derbe because it chronologically fits. Paul was probably about 41 or 42 AD on that first missionary journey, and he wrote II Corinthians about 60. Les explains that when Paul was stoned at Derbe and dragged out for dead, he experienced this tremendous opportunity then to see the glories of Heaven. Regarding whether it was in the body or out of the body, Les thinks it is pretty obvious Paul was out of the body. The body was the one lying outside of Derbe having been stoned, while the soul and spirit took flight, and Paul was caught up to the third heaven.
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.
See the restWhat did Paul actually see when he got a glimpse of heaven?
Paul was caught up into paradise and given a full exposure to heaven’s glories. He saw its beauty and heard magnificent, unspeakable words that were not permitted or lawful for a man to utter. God allowed him to see and hear these things but told him he could not repeat them.
What does Paul's going up to paradise confirm about where paradise is now?
Paul's going up to paradise confirms that paradise is no longer down below, as it once was in Hades or Sheol, but is now in glory above. Since Christ ascended, that is now where the present-day believer goes at death.
More Questions
Is Paul's reference to paradise in 2 Corinthians 12 consistent with the rest of Scripture?
Understanding paradise in both the Old and New Testaments shows that Paul's mention of being caught up into paradise in 2 Corinthians 12 is in accord with all of Scripture.