Q. What is meant by the “third heaven” in 2 Cor. 12:2? Are there levels of heaven?
A. When speaking about Heaven, it is difficult to get specific. The simple reality is that, while we know there is a Heaven, “This mystery of blessed communion with God and all who are in Christ is beyond all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it in images: life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father’s house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1027). Because Heaven is so far beyond our Earthly experience, all we can do is speak about it in analogous ways, using imagery to try to explain the unexplainable.
Having said that, there are some aspects of Heaven that we do know. “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1024). In Heaven we will be perfectly content because we will “see God face to face,” that is, we will be in perfect communion with Him. We will not be limited by sin or attachment to worldly goods, but will be free to exist wholly in God’s love.
There are different interpretations of what St. Paul means by a “third Heaven.” The most basic is that he simply means Heaven, as opposed to the first heaven (the sky) or the second heaven (the stars). This is the argument put forth by Jimmy Akin of Catholic Answers. He bases this argument on the fact that the word for “heaven” and “sky” are the same in the New Testament, so St. Paul is saying third sky or, in other words, Heaven. This is certainly a reasonable interpretation and one that is in harmony with the teaching of the Catholic Church.
What is not in harmony with the teaching of the Church is the idea that there are levels or distinct, different places in Heaven reserved for different people. One of the dangers in trying to comprehend Heaven is projecting our material existence on it. We can get caught up in imagining Heaven as simply an Earthly paradise, full of every created comfort we can imagine. It is easy then to make the next jump that, if you are really holy, you get the best Heaven, whereas if you are only moderately holy, you only get the ‘okay’ Heaven. So essentially if you are a canonized saint you get to eat steak every day, whereas if you are just an average holy person in Heaven, you have to settle for a cheeseburger.
This version of Heaven is not accurate, even if it is how Heaven is popularly depicted. In reality, Heaven is not living in luxury for eternity. It is rather an eternal moment of the purest joy imaginable, joy that is founded not in worldly comforts but in true unity with the Trinity.
There are no “levels” in Heaven, but it is part of our Faith that our capacity to receive God’s love in Heaven is shaped by our time on Earth. All those in Heaven are perfectly happy because they experience God’s love without barrier. But some have a greater capacity to receive that love because on Earth they lived their lives more fully in God’s love, loving God and their neighbor by giving of themselves.
A common way of describing this is: imagine the Pacific Ocean and a regular cup. They are both filled with water, but the ocean contains far more water than the cup. They are both full, but their capacity to be full differs. Now imagine our Blessed Mother and someone like me. Mary is the ocean, I am the cup. In Heaven, Mary is full of God’s love like the ocean is full of water. If through God’s mercy I enter into Heaven one day, I will be full of God’s love the way a cup is full of water. Both perfectly happy and filled with God’s love, but to different degrees.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, vice chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
