The Bible describes three heavens: the atmosphere, the starry heavens or space, and the third heaven, which is God's abode.
In Genesis 1:8, the firmament is called Heaven. Scripture also refers to the area of the stars as the heavens. Then 2 Corinthians 12:2 explicitly mentions a man caught up to the third heaven, which verse 4 identifies as paradise.
2 Corinthians 12:2 — This verse explicitly names the third heaven, the place Paul was caught up to.
Genesis 1:8 — This verse records God calling the firmament (the atmosphere) Heaven, giving the first heaven its name.
The Bible uses the word heaven for more than one place. In Genesis 1:8, after God made the firmament and divided the waters, He called the firmament Heaven. This is the first heaven, the atmosphere that surrounds the earth. Scripture also speaks of the heavens as the area of the sun, moon, and stars. In 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul writes of a man caught up to the third heaven, and verse 4 identifies that place as paradise, where he heard unspeakable words.
Les Feldick teaches that Scripture mentions three heavens. The first heaven is the atmosphere, the area where the birds fly; he points out that the Bible speaks of "the birds of the heaven." The second heaven is the area of the stars and planets, what we call space. The third heaven is the very abode of God, the heaven of the heavens, and is also called paradise. Les also connects Paul's experience in 2 Corinthians 12 to his stoning at Derbe, noting the chronological fit for when Paul would have been caught up to the third heaven.
Les Feldick identifies the first heaven as the atmosphere around the earth. He notes that Scripture uses this same terminology when it speaks of "the birds of the heaven," and he connects this to Genesis 1:7-8, where God made the firmament and called it Heaven.
Les explains that the second heaven is the area we call space, the region of the sun, moon, and stars. He notes that Scripture uses the plural "heavens" for this area and points to Deuteronomy 4 as a reference for this second heaven.
Les teaches that the third heaven is the very abode of God, also called paradise. He explains that Paul was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words that he was not permitted to utter. Les also connects this event chronologically to Paul's stoning at Derbe, after which Paul was dragged out of the city as dead.
Timing of Paul's Third-Heaven Experience
Les ties Paul's being caught up to the third heaven to his stoning at Derbe, showing the chronological fit between that event and Paul's later reference in 2 Corinthians.
The Three Heavens Defined
Les gives a clear breakdown: the first heaven is the atmosphere where birds fly, the second heaven is space, and the third heaven is the very abode of God, as mentioned in 2 Corinthians.
Paul's Third-Heaven Vision
Les explains that Scripture calls the atmosphere one heaven, the starry area the heavens, and the third heaven the abode of God, where Paul was caught up into paradise.
First and Second Heaven Distinction
Les repeats the distinction: the first heaven is the atmosphere where birds fly, and the second heaven is the area of the stars, pointing to Deuteronomy 4 as a reference.
Three Heavens Restated
Les again distinguishes the three heavens—the atmosphere, space, and the third heaven mentioned in 2 Corinthians—while commenting on the fowls flying in the midst of heaven.
What Happens When Satan Is Cast Out of Heaven?
And the third part of the moon saw the third part of the stars, and the third part of them, and so on and so forth. And the day shone not for a third part, and the light likewise. And I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three, which are yet to sou…
Noah’s Flood Was Not Just Rain: The Fountains of the Great Deep Explained
If you'll go back with me, remember to chapter 1. Those of you who have been with me now ever since we started in Genesis 1, verse 1, we pointed out that back there in verse 7, when that present earth had been flooded from a previous judgment, not on man but on what we think is an angelic kingdom, but nevertheless it was covered with water, and God is now getting it ready for the human inhabitatio…
Who Really Created the Universe? (Genesis 1:1 Explained)
But for here, as God, the triune God, spoke the Word, and out of nothing He created everything, the heavens as well as the earth. Now I think it's rather interesting that way back here in the very first verse of Genesis before the nation of Israel has even been hinted at, before we have any idea of the call of this one man, Abraham.
Genesis 1:8: And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
This is the foundational verse showing that God Himself called the atmosphere 'Heaven.'
2 Corinthians 12:2: 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.
This verse is the only place in Scripture that explicitly uses the phrase 'third heaven.'
2 Corinthians 12:4: How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
This verse identifies the third heaven as paradise, where Paul heard words that could not be repeated.
The first heaven is the atmosphere around the earth, the area where the birds fly. Les Feldick points to Genesis 1:8, where God called the firmament Heaven.
The second heaven is the area of the sun, the moon, and the stars—what we call space. Les notes that Scripture speaks of this area as the 'heavens.'
The third heaven is the very abode of God, also called paradise. In 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul was caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words.
Watch the Teaching: Caught Up to the Third Heaven — 2 Corinthians 12 Explained