Extreme Walking - Tom de Bruin

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Testament of Levi, we discovered new knowledge of the ideas that Jews and Christians in those days had about heaven.

      Back to Paul

      Should we, based on the Testament of Levi, conclude that there really are seven heavens? Should we believe that some man named Levi, many thousands of years ago, went on a trip all the way to the seventh heaven? You could, but I wouldn’t. That is by no means why we went on this voyage of discovery. We want to use this extrabiblical knowledge to understand the Bible better. We are not looking for ideas that we can add to the Bible, but ideas that can help us place the Bible better. We want to broaden our horizons and broaden our understanding of the Bible. We are looking for new perspectives on the well-worn paths of the Bible.

      We started our trip with a couple of intriguing sentences written by Paul. Let’s return there now (2 Corinthians 12:1–4). The church in Corinth had some issues and Paul seems to have written quite a few letters to this church. We have two of these letters in the New Testament, and we know that there was at least one more (2 Corinthians 2:4). In Corinthians 12, Paul reacts to a big problem in Corinth. Other teachers are comparing themselves to Paul, and Paul’s status is dropping fast.

      The teachers are boasting. They say: “Look how amazing we are” and “Look at Paul, he’s nowhere near as good as we are!” Not only are they boasting, they are smart about it. Never do they claim that they are richer or smarter than Paul. They only brag about how holy they are and how close to God they are. They know what could influence the Corinthians, and they know what was attractive to them: visions and tongues.

      Speaking in tongues was already an issue in Corinth, we know this because Paul wrote to them about that earlier (1 Corinthians 14). Paul doesn’t like these very exuberant signs of the Spirit. He much prefers it when churchgoers talk about God in a way others can understand, rather than shouting incomprehensible gibberish (1 Corinthians 14:5). This is not to say that Paul couldn’t speak in tongues. He has that gift better than anyone (1 Corinthians 14:18). He can speak in tongues; he just feels that it is useless in a worship service.

      The boasting teachers in Corinth could probably speak in tongues with the best of them. They constantly brag about the visions that they receive from God. Their actions are all geared towards showing how incredibly holy they are. Poor Paul has not been in Corinth for months, and thanks to these teachers he has been pushed to the back of everyone’s minds. He’s losing touch with the brothers and sisters in Corinth. But he is not worried about his status, as a good pastor he is worried about the salvation of the Corinthians, he is worried that they will end up going the wrong way. He reacts to these boasting teachers in a long letter. A letter steeped in irony.

      A Little Bit of Irony Never Hurt Anyone

      I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! (2 Corinthians 11:1)

      Paul is about to get foolish. Just like those boasters, he too is going to brag. He tells the Corinthians that he is absolutely not inferior to the “super-apostles” in Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:5). He has more than enough knowledge, he proclaims God’s good news, and he has always been self-sufficient (2 Corinthians 11:6–11).

      Now Paul gets even more foolish. He’s going to compare himself to these super-apostles even more (2 Corinthians 11:21–28). Are these teachers Hebrews? So is Paul. Are they Israelites, descendants of Abraham? So is Paul! Are they ministers of Christ? Paul is more. Paul has worked harder, he has spent more time in prison. He has had more beatings and floggings. He has been shipwrecked more often, been hungry more often, been thirsty more often. Not to mention the psychological pressure of ministering to dozens of churches. These teachers can boast, but Paul can boast more . . . and it’s all true!

      In the middle of Paul’s foolish boasting, we arrive at the passage that sent us out on this voyage of discovery. Here Paul suddenly boasts of the third heaven. Paul does not want to boast, but these other teachers have made it necessary. He simply has to fight fire with fire, otherwise the members in Corinth will no longer listen to him—a real apostle, as opposed to these newcomers. Just as Satan disguised himself as an angel of light, these teachers disguise themselves as ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13–14). To counteract these false ministers Paul has been bragging for a while, and now he adds to it:

      It is necessary to boast; nothing is to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows—was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:1–5)

      Humble Boasting

      The Corinthians are interested in visions and revelations. Their teachers have been boasting about their visions and therefore Paul must too. He says he knows “someone” who went all the way to the third heaven. We could wonder who this someone was. Up till now Paul has been boasting about himself. It would be very illogical if Paul were suddenly boasting about his friends. But at the same time he has been very clear that Christians should not boast. So, he tries to be humble and to boast at the same time: He introduces this “someone” about whom he will boast. In all humility, he can boast about “someone” because it is not himself. But everyone who reads this will know that this “someone” is none other than Paul himself. Think of it as a way for Paul to do what is necessary, even though he has ethical issues with it.

      Paul has been taken up into heaven. He received the heavenly tour, just like Levi did. A heavenly visit is a very special revelation, an extraordinary vision. You have to be someone special to be invited to see heaven. Paul shows that he is part of a very select group. He has added his name to the list of VIPs: Moses, Abraham, Levi, Enoch, and Isaac—not bad company.

      Paul didn’t just visit though; he must have also seen things in heaven. He seems unwilling to talk about what he saw. Levi discussed the details extensively, but Paul gives none. This is probably because the Testament of Levi was never intended to be a revelation of God. It was written, just like Christian books are written nowadays, to help its contemporaries to think and discuss faith and heaven. Back then you did that by narrating visions, even if you had just made those up. The author never actually had that vision, he is only speculating on what may or may not be in heaven.

      Paul is a different case. I strongly doubt that Paul is just making this vision up. Why would he be lying and boasting, when he was so against boasting in the first place? He knows what he has seen. He has experienced something, and has learnt something, that need not and should not be shared. Paul is not speculating about what may or may not be in heaven. He is only sharing that he saw heaven. He has no intentions of teaching about heaven; he only wants to keep his church members on the right path . . . and to remind them not to boast. He gives them just enough information to show that he was taken up by God, but nothing more or less. Quite a pity from our point of view as we would have loved to have some more information!

      Hebrews

      You could summarize the book of Hebrews like this: “Jesus is better than everything and everyone.” That might sound a bit simplistic, but all summaries are. Hebrews gets its name from the fact that it seems to be written to Jews (i.e., Hebrews). So, it was written for people who did not believe in Jesus, but did believe in God and in the Old Testament. That means that the book attempts to convince its audience to believe in Jesus.

      Hebrews

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