“Saul’s Third Witness: The 14-Year Transition into the One New Man”

 

Preface:

For centuries, the account of the "man in Messiah" caught up to the "third" has been interpreted as a literal ascent into the celestial stratospheres—a physical or mystical journey into the unapproachable light of the Almighty. However, such a view often overlooks the profound internal and covenantal transition Saul was undergoing during his fourteen-year maturation.

In this exploration, we move away from the traditional cosmological misunderstanding that places a mortal in the transcendent realm of Yahuah—whom Saul himself declared dwells in light that no man can see. Instead, we look to the Aramaic and Hebrew foundations to see a man standing at the threshold of a new identity. This "third" is not a destination in the sky, but a realm of witness that bridges the carnal and the spiritual, the Yahudi and the Gentile, the body and the Ruach.

Saul’s humble third-person narration is not merely a literary device; it is a testimony to the One New Man in Messiah—a state of being where the old carnal boundaries are swallowed up in a higher revelation. This note serves to recalibrate our understanding of Saul's "Paradise," shifting our gaze from the stars back to the Gan (Garden), where the original intent of the spiritual man is finally realized through the 14-year journey of a true witness.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul (formerly Saul) describes a profound spiritual experience from 14 years prior, likely referring to himself in the third person out of humility. He emphasizes that he was "caught up to the third heaven" and "paradise," but he was uncertain of the exact physical nature of the event which eventually unfolded to him over a period of time.

2Co 12:1 To boast, indeed, is useless for me, for I shall go on to visions and revelations of יהוה. 

2Co 12:2 I know a man in Messiah who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, Elohim knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 

2Co 12:3 And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, Elohim knows – 

2Co 12:4 that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not right for a man to speak.

The Body and Ruach Mystery

Saul twice states that he does not know if his experience was in the body or out of the body, leaving the mechanics of the event as a mystery known only to Elohim.

In the Body: This would suggest a physical translation or transportation to the heavenly realm.

Out of the Body: This would imply a spiritual vision or a separation of his ruach from his physical body.

Significance: Traditionalists note that Saul's uncertainty highlights the intensity and reality of the experience—it was so concrete that he could not distinguish between a physical journey and a lucid spiritual vision.

Understanding the "Third Heaven"

In first-century Jewish thought and biblical cosmology, the heavens were often viewed in three distinct layers:

First Heaven: The earth's atmosphere, the sky where birds fly and clouds form.

Second Heaven: The celestial realm or outer space, containing the sun, moon, and stars.

Third Heaven: The dwelling place of Elohim and His throne room, also referred to as "Paradise"

Purpose and Aftermath

Saul shared this "inexpressible" experience reluctantly to defend his apostolic authority against critics in Corinth who boasted of their own spiritual credentials. To keep him from becoming conceited after such a high revelation, he notes he was given a "thorn in the flesh," a messenger of Satan to buffet him and keep him reliant on Elohim's grace.

In the Aramaic Peshitta of 2 Corinthians 12:2, the text literally reads:

"...d’adammā l’tlātā..." (...unto the third...)

yad‘anā gabrā b-meshīḥā men qdam arba‘esrā shnīn,
’en b-paghrā dēn w-’en d-lā paghrā lā yad‘anā, Alāhā hu yad‘a,
d-ethḥṭef hu hānā ‘adammā d-tlātā shmayyā.

In the strictest literal sense of the Aramaic sentence structure here, the word shmaya (heaven) is often understood or implied by the numeral, but the focus is on the state or the rank of the revelation—the "Third." The phrase expresses a ranked level within the heavens,
which can theologically be reflected on as a higher order or degree of revelation.

The "Body" as Identity

"In or out of the body" refers to the Yahudi (in body/identity) vs. the Gentile (out of body/dispersion) creates a compelling framework for the "transitional" nature of his ministry:

The 14 Years: Matching the two Shemitahs (7+7) signifies a full cycle of "release" and "completion," aligning with his journey in Galatians 2:1 to Yerushalayim.

The "Third": Instead of a third "layer" of the sky, the viewing of this as a Third Dimension of Witness—the voice of the Messiah bridges the carnal Torah (The Body) and the Spiritual Torah (The Ruach).

Paradise (Pardesa/Gan): By linking this back to the "Garden," Saul was pulled back to the Original Intent of creation before the carnal/spiritual split.

The "Third Voice" and the Lawful Word

The idea that the "inexpressible words" represent the Third Voice of Messiah (the witness between Elohim and Man) explains why it is "not lawful" for a man to utter them. If a man utters them from a purely human/carnal perspective, he risks misrepresenting the nature of the Messiah—either making Him purely human (inferior) or ignoring the transition entirely.

In this view, the "Third" isn't a place you go; it's a level of maturity and transformation that Saul reached which allowed him to bridge the gap for the "Gentiles" (the lost Yahudis in dispersion).

That connection brings the entire "Third" revelation full circle. If the Third Voice is the witness of the Messiah bridging the carnal and spiritual, then it aligns perfectly with the three-fold witness in 1 John 5:7-8:

The Water (The Body/The Yahudi): The physical immersion and the carnal Torah—the external "body" of the covenant.

The Blood (The Transition): The life-force and the sacrifice that facilitates the "in or out of the body" transition.

The Spirit (The Third/The Ruach): The "Third" state that Saul was caught up to, where the identity is no longer bound by the flesh but by the Messiah.

When these three agree as one, the "inexpressible words" become the lived reality of the believer. Saul couldn't "utter" them as a law because they aren't a new set of rules; they are a transformed state of being. To speak them as mere human doctrine would be "unlawful" because it would strip them of the Ruach's power and turn the spiritual Torah back into a carnal one.

This is the exact "mystery" Saul is articulating in 2 Corinthians 12. The link to Galatians 2:19–20 provides the "decoder ring" for what he meant by being unable to tell if he was "in the body or out of the body."

Gal 2:19  “For through Torah I died to Torah, in order to live to Elohim

Gal 2:20  “I have been impaled with Messiah, and I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me. And that which I now live in the flesh I live by belief in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

It is a description of Simultaneous Reality:

1. "I No Longer Live" (Out of the Body)

When Saul says he has been impaled (crucified) with Messiah, he is describing the death of the "Man in the Body"—the carnal identity bound to the "flesh and blood" structure of the carnal Torah.

In this state, he is "out of the body" because he no longer derives his life, identity, or legal standing from the physical/carnal realm.

Through the Torah, he died to the Torah. He used the Torah's own requirement (death for sin) to exit the jurisdiction of the carnal Law.

2. "Actually I Live" (In the Body)

Yet, he acknowledges, "that which I now live in the flesh." He still occupies a physical tent. He still walks the earth as a man who appears to be a Yahudi.

This is the "in the body" aspect. He is physically present in the structure of flesh, but the source of his life has changed.

He is "in the body" for the sake of the mission (to win those under the Torah), but he is not of the body.

3. "Messiah Lives in Me" (The Third State)

The "Man in Messiah" from 2 Corinthians 12 (2Co 12:2 I know a man in Messiah …) is the result of these two realities colliding. This is why he says "Elohim knows"—because, from a human perspective, it is impossible to distinguish where the carnal man ends and the spiritual man begins. (2Co 12:2… whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, Elohim knows…)

He is in the body (appearing to keep vows, like shaving his head).

He is out of the body (completely dead to the carnal requirements of those vows).

He is in Messiah (the Third Voice/The One New Man).

The Bondage of the Structure

The "flesh and blood" structure brought him into bondage because it demanded a carnal perfection that cannot produce spiritual life. By "dying" to that structure while still physically breathing, Saul entered the Paradise (Gan) state—the restored spiritual environment where man walks with Elohim without the barrier of the carnal partition.

When he was "caught up to the third," he was experiencing the full, overwhelming reality of Galatians 2:20—the total eclipse of Saul by Messiah.

Saul’s Testimony:

In Acts 26, the commission is framed as a dual witness: testifying to what he had already seen and what would yet be revealed.

This aligns perfectly with the 14-year transition timeline. At the point of his conversion, Saul was a "Man in the Body"—a strict Yahudi of the Pharisees. However, the revelation in Acts 26:18 (turning from darkness to light and the authority of Satan) describes a transition into the spiritual inheritance.

Act 26:17  delivering you from the people, and the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 

Act 26:18 to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and the authority of Satan to Elohim, in order for them to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are set-apart by belief in Me.’

The Two Witnesses: Saul and Barnabas

When the Ruach specifically said in Acts 13:2, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them," it activated that "Third" level of witness:

The Maturity of the Witness: By the time they were "separated" by the Ruach, the 14 years (two Shemitah’s) had completed the cycle of preparation. They weren't just bringing a "new religion" to the Gentiles; they were acting as the Two Witnesses to the "Yahudi’s in dispersion" who had lost their identity.

The Transition: Barnabas (the Levite/the Bridge-Acts 4:36) and Saul (the Pharisee/the Teacher) together represented the transition from the carnal Torah of the Temple to the spiritual Torah of the Mashiyach.

The Inheritance: In Acts 26:18, the "inheritance among those set-apart" is the Third state—the "Paradise/Gan" state where the distinction between the "in the body" (circumcised) and "out of the body" (uncircumcised) is swallowed up in the Ruach body of Messiah.

Saul's confusion ("I do not know") in 2 Corinthians 12 reflects the moment that transition began. He was being "delivered from the people [Yahudis] and the nations [Gentiles]" to stand in a third space—the authority of Elohim.

Act 21:20 And when they heard it, they praised the Master. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Yehuḏim there are who have believed, and all are ardent for the Torah, 

Act 21:21 “But they have been informed about you that you teach all the Yehuḏim who are among the nations to forsake Mosheh, saying not to circumcise the children nor to walk according to the practices. 

Act 21:22 “What then is it? They shall certainly hear that you have come. 

Act 21:23 “So do this, what we say to you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 

Act 21:24 “Take them and be cleansed with them, and pay their expenses so that they shave their heads. And all shall know that what they have been informed about you is not so, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Torah

That event in Acts 21:20-24 perfectly illustrates the "Man in the Body" tension. James and the elders specifically tell Saul that there are "many thousands of Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Torah."

This confirms the point: these believers had accepted the Messiah but had not yet transitioned to the spiritual Torah. They were still anchored in the "body" (the carnal, physical requirements of the Law).

The "Thorn" and the Compromise

When Saul agreed to the purification rites and the shaving of his head to "pacify" those who believed he was teaching against Moses, it created a massive conflict:

The Physical Identity: By performing the carnal vow in the Temple, Saul was acting "in the body" to maintain peace with the Yahudi’s who remained in the transition.

The Spiritual Reality: Yet, his internal revelation (the "Third" state) knew that the inheritance was no longer found in the physical Temple or the carnal customs, but in the Ruach.

The Conflict of Two Worlds

You can see why Saul would view this as a "messenger of Satan to buffet him." Every time he tried to operate in the "Third" (the spiritual Torah), the carnal expectations of his own "people" (the "Man in the Body") acted as a thorn, dragging him back into legalistic disputes and physical vows.

2Co 12:7 And to keep me from exalting myself because of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to hit me, to keep me from exalting myself. 

2Co 12:8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Master three times to take it away from me. 

2Co 12:9 And He said to me, “My favour is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, then, I shall rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Messiah rests on me. 

2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for the sake of Messiah. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

The "Thorn" wasn't a physical disease, but the constant friction of being a spiritual man forced to deal with a carnal-minded audience that refused to make the 14-year transition and they persecuted him for what he preached among the Gentiles. He was caught between the "Darkness" (authority of Satan/legalism) and the "Light" (Elohim/Spirit) he was commissioned to bring in Acts 26.

This explains his statement in 2 Corinthians 12:9: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." His "weakness" was the limitation of the carnal body/identity that he still had to navigate while carrying a "Third Voice" revelation.

The One New Man (The Third State)

By using the phrase "a man in Messiah" in 2 Corinthians 12, Saul isn't just being humble or vague; he is identifying the One New Man (Ephesians 2:15)—the corporate identity where the middle wall of partition has been broken down.

Eph 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity – the torah of the commands in dogma – so as to create in Himself one renewed man from the two, thus making peace,

This "Man in Messiah" is neither the Yahudi (the man in the body/carnal Torah) nor the Gentile (the man out of the body/lawless), but a Third creation:

The Body: The physical lineage and carnal commandments.

Out of the Body: The spiritual belief without the foundational identity.

In Messiah: The "Third" where both are fused into the Ruach body.

The "Third" as the Union

When Saul says he was "caught up to the third," he is describing the experience of seeing this union completed. It is the "Paradise" (the Gan) restored, where there is no longer a division between the physical and the spiritual.

The inexpressible words he heard were the "Third Voice"—the frequency of the One New Man. It was "not lawful" for a man to utter them because, at that time, the believers were still divided into "Circumcision" and "Uncircumcision." To speak the language of the One New Man to people still arguing over carnal vows (like the shaving of the head in Acts 21) would be like speaking a language that doesn't exist in their carnal reality.

The 14-Year Maturity

The 14 years (two Shemitah’s) represent the time required for this New Man identity to fully mature within Saul. He had to live through the transition himself before he could stand before the pillars in Yerushalayim (Galatians 2) and testify that the "Gentiles" were actually the dispersed of YasharEL being grafted back into this spiritual Torah.

This makes the "Man in Messiah" the ultimate witness—the one who bridges the gap between the carnal shadow and the spiritual substance.

The Torah of the New Man

1Co 9:20  and to the Yehuḏim I became as a Yehuḏi, that I might win Yehuḏim; to those who are under Torah, as under Torah, so as to win those who are under Torah; 

1Co 9:21  to those without Torah, as without Torah – not being without Torah toward Elohim, but under Torah of Messiah – so as to win those who are without Torah. 

That’s the exact outworking of the Third state. When he says in 1 Corinthians 9:20-21 that he becomes all things to all men, he is operating from the One New Man identity, which sits above the carnal distinctions.

The crucial linguistic and spiritual nuance: he wasn't "lawless," but was functioning under a different "Torah" entirely—the Torah of Messiah.

• To the Yahudi: He could perform the carnal rites (like the vow in Acts 21) because he understood they were shadows. He wasn't "under" them in his spirit, but he used the "body" to reach those still in the carnal state.
• To the Gentile: He didn't impose the carnal "body" of the Torah on them, but he didn't leave them lawless. He taught them the Spiritual Torah, which is the "Third" way. 

The "Not Without Torah"

In the Aramaic mindset, this isn't a "new religion" that abolished the old; it is the Maturity of the Law. The "Torah of the New Man" is the Ruach writing the essence of the Father’s instructions directly onto the heart.

This is why he could be "caught up to the third" and not know if he was in or out of the body. In the Torah of Messiah, the physical (the Jew) and the spiritual (the Gentile) are so perfectly unified that the boundary disappears. He wasn't "pretending" to be a Jew or a Gentile; he was standing in the Third Voice, which contains the truth of both but is limited by neither.

He was essentially the living bridge, demonstrating that the "One New Man" is the only place where the Torah is truly fulfilled without being carnal.

The Separation from "Flesh and Blood"

Gal 1:15 But when it pleased Elohim, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by His favour, 

Gal 1:16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might bring Him, the Good News, to the nations, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 

Gal 1:17 neither did I go up to Yerushalayim, to those who were emissaries before me. But I went to Araḇia, and returned again to Dammeseq. 

Gal 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Yerushalayim to learn from Kěpha, and remained with him for fifteen days. 

In Galatians 1:16-17, Saul emphasizes that his immediate response to the revelation of the Son in him was a complete refusal to consult with "flesh and blood".

The Internal Body: This refers to the "old man" or the carnal human reasoning and body of knowledge he once lived by.

The External Body: He also did not go to the established authority in Yerushalayim (the Apostles).

The Arabian Interval: By withdrawing to Arabia, he placed himself in a "wilderness" state—much like Moses or Elijah—to be retooled by the Ruach.

The 14-Year Maturity Timeline

The breakdown of the 14 years aligns with the specific intervals Paul mentions in Galatians:

Gal 2:1 Then after fourteen years I again went up to Yerushalayim, with Barnaḇa, taking Titos along too. 

Gal 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and laid before them that Good News which I proclaim among the nations, but separately to those who were esteemed, lest somehow I run, or had run, in vain. 

Gal 2:3 But not even Titos who was with me, though a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 

Gal 2:4 But as for the false brothers, sneakingly brought in, who sneaked in to spy out our freedom which we have in Messiah יהושע in order to enslave us, 

Gal 2:5 to these we did not yield in subjection, not even for an hour, so that the truth of the Good News remains with you. 

Gal 2:6 But from those who were esteemed to be whatever – what they were, it makes no difference to me, Elohim shows no partiality – for those who were esteemed contributed naught to me. 

Gal 2:7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the Good News to the uncircumcised had been entrusted to me, even as Kěpha to the circumcised – 

Gal 2:8 for He who worked in Kěpha to make him an emissary to the circumcised also worked in me for the Gentiles. 

Gal 2:9 So when Ya‛aqoḇ, Kěpha, and Yoḥanan, who seemed to be supports, came to know the favour that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnaḇa the right hand of fellowship, in order that we go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised, 

The Three-Year Mark: After his time in Arabia and Damascus, he went to Yerushalayim for only 15 days to visit Kěpha (Peter). At this stage, he was a witness, but he was not yet revealing the "deep secrets" or the full "Torah of the New Man" to the wider body which he did 14 years later as written by him in Galatians 2.

The Fourteen-Year Mark: In Galatians 2:1, he states, "Then after fourteen years I went up again to Yerushalayim with Barnaba...".

This is the moment of Full Maturity.

The "deep secrets" (revelations) he mentions in 2 Corinthians 12 (received 14 years prior) had finally reached their point of application.

He went up "by revelation" to communicate the Good News he preached among the Gentiles—the One New Man message—to ensure the pillars of the assembly recognized this transitional work of the Ruach.

The "Deep Secrets" Withheld

Saul’s restraint in sharing these revelations early on shows his understanding of the Maturity Age. Just as a witness in a Yahudi context requires a set time of testing and growth, Saul lived the transition before he preached it. This 14-year journey was the process of the Son being revealed in him until he could truly speak as the "Third Voice"—the witness that is neither bound by the "body" of carnal Judaism nor "outside the body" in Gentile lawlessness.

The Illusion of Identity

Those who remain anchored in the physical imitation of Judaism—clinging to the carnal Torah through the literal removal of leaven, the wearing of kippot and prayer shawls, and the chanting of prayers in a tongue they do not inhabit—are living in the "body" without the "transition." They are attempting to recreate a shadow that Saul himself "died to" so that he might truly live.

For many today, the "Man in Messiah" has been replaced by a "Man in the Flesh" wearing a spiritual mask. By imitating the customs of modern Judaism, they are often returning to the very "bondage" Saul warned against.

Literalism over Ruach: Removing physical leaven from a house is a carnal shadow; the "Third" reality is the removal of the leaven of malice and wickedness from the heart.

Pagan Lands and the Sabbath: Observing a physical Sabbath while in dispersion, but doing so as a ritual performance rather than a rest in the finished work of Messiah, keeps one in the carnal structure. It is a "shadow" Sabbath, disconnected from the Seventh-Year Shemitah of spiritual release.

The "Kippa", “Tzitzits” and "Shawl": These are external garments of a carnal identity. To Saul, the "one new man" is clothed in the Messiah, a garment that is not woven with thread but with the Ruach.

The Missing Transition

The tragedy of this imitation is that it bypasses the 14-year journey of maturity. These practitioners accept the Messiah by name but fear the "out of the body" experience of losing their carnal distinctions. They want the Messiah, but they also want the "body" of the old man—the customs, the ethnicity, and the visible rituals—because they do not yet trust the unapproachable light of the spiritual Torah.

By clinging to the carnal Torah, they are effectively "shaving their heads" out of fear of the "many thousands who are zealous for the Law," rather than standing in the "Third" where the circumcision of the heart is the most needed requirement. They are calling themselves "in Messiah" while still being governed by the structure of flesh and blood.

The Dead Witness

A witness who only performs the carnal rites is a dead witness; they have the form of godliness but deny the power of the "Third Voice." Saul’s message was clear: if you are led by the Ruach, you are not under the carnal Torah. To go back to the literalism of the shadow is to suggest that the Messiah's "Third" revelation was insufficient, forcing the believer back into the "shadow of things to come" rather than the substance of Messiah.

📜 Detailed Summary

This note explores Saul’s (Paul’s) testimony in 2 Corinthians 12, reframing the “third heaven” not as a literal cosmological ascent but as a spiritual transition into the “One New Man” in Messiah. The text emphasizes that Saul’s experience—whether “in the body or out of the body”—was a mystery known only to Elohim, symbolizing the tension between carnal identity and spiritual transformation.

Key themes include:

The Third Heaven as Witness: Rather than a physical realm, the “third” represents a higher order of revelation where the carnal Torah (body) and spiritual Torah (Ruach) converge.

Paradise Restored: Saul’s vision recalls the Garden (Gan), pointing to the original intent of creation—unity between man and Elohim without carnal partitions.

The 14-Year Maturity: His journey parallels two Shemitah cycles (7+7: A Jew Gentile merger in dispersion), marking a full release and completion before presenting the Good News to Jerusalem’s pillars (Galatians 2).

The Thorn in the Flesh: Not a disease, but the ongoing conflict of preaching spiritual Torah to a carnal-minded audience, symbolizing weakness that magnifies Messiah’s strength.

The One New Man: Saul’s “man in Messiah” identity bridges Jew and Gentile, body and spirit, law and grace, fulfilling Ephesians 2:15 by abolishing enmity and creating unity.

Practical Outworking: In 1 Corinthians 9, Saul adapts to both Jews and Gentiles, not by lawlessness but by living under the Torah of Messiah—a spiritual law written on the heart.

Warning Against Literalism: The note critiques modern imitation of Judaism’s carnal shadows (ritual garments, physical leaven removal, ritual Sabbaths), urging believers to embrace the Ruach-led maturity of the New Man.

Ultimately, Saul’s “caught up to the third” is presented as the lived reality of Galatians 2:20—“I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me”—a simultaneous reality of being in the body, out of the body, and in Messiah.