Monday, June 14, 2021

Jonathan T. Pennington on the Development of Multiple Heavens in the New Testament Era

  

The case of plural ουρανοι and multiple heavens in the Second Temple apocalyptic literature is more difficult to navigate. It appears that some multiple heavens views were extant in the first-century CE, though how developed and widespread these were is unclear. Most notable is Paul’s reference to the “third heaven” in 2 Corinthians 12:2, one of the few indications of a multiple-heavens cosmology we can confidently date to the first-century CE. The more highly-developed seven-heavens views familiar to use from texts such as 2 Enoch and the rabbinic materials may be contemporary with the latest writings of the NT, though most of these likely come from a later period as these views developed. (Jonathan T. Pennington, Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2007], 129)