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2 Corinthians 12 · a question people ask

"I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago" (12:2). Who is he?

In the text

The chapter doesn't name him. It says, "I know a man in Christ" (12:2) and "I know such a man" (12:3). These notes don't say who he is, and say no more of him, or of where he was caught up, than these verses do.

The verses

“I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago—whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know; God knows. I know such a man (whether in the body, or outside of the body, I don’t know; God knows), how he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12: When I am weak

2 Corinthians 12 will boast on behalf of a man in Christ, but on its own behalf, "I will not boast, except in my weaknesses." (12:5). And it says, "For when I am weak, then am I strong." (12:10).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions