Caught Up to the Third Heaven: The Climax of Spiritual Awakening

“…such a man—whether in the body, or out of the body, I do not know; God knows—was taken up into the third heaven.”

(2 Corinthians 12:2, BBE)

In Neville Goddard’s teaching, the “third heaven” is not a physical location but a state of consciousness—the peak of the spiritual ascent, where the self is fully unified with the divine awareness of "I AM".

Just as the Hebrew temple had three chambers—the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies—this “third” realm symbolises the deepest interior state, where man meets God within.

Symbolic Levels of Heaven

1. First Heaven – The world of appearances: assumption is still externalised, dependent on the five senses. One is ruled by facts.

2. Second Heaven – The world of belief: the imaginal act is known but wavers. Here, one battles inner doubts, like Jacob wrestling the angel.

3. Third Heaven – The state of full identification with the I AM. No more separation between self and assumption. It is done.

This “being caught up” is the moment Neville refers to when consciousness is raised, and the assumed identity is fully fused with the divine name—I AM THAT I AM.

In Neville’s Terms: The Birth of the New Man

Being taken to the third heaven is the spiritual birth Neville often speaks of, where the awareness of being becomes fixed in its new identity. This is not a dream or vision, but a felt shift, a mystical knowing that bypasses the rational mind.

In this “heaven,” the imaginal act has no gap between inner assumption and outer fact. It is the fulfilment of the law: “When you pray, believe you have received it, and you will.”

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In summary:
The “third heaven” represents the state of consciousness where imagining and being are one. It is the seat of creation, the inner Holy of Holies, where God reveals Himself not as other, but as your own wonderful human imagination.