Whether Paul, When in Rapture, Saw the Essence of God?
Objection 1: It would seem that Paul, when in rapture, did not see
the essence of God. For just as we read of Paul that he was rapt to
the third heaven, so we read of Peter (Acts 10:10) that "there came
upon him an ecstasy of mind." Now Peter, in his ecstasy, saw not
God's essence but an imaginary vision. Therefore it would seem that
neither did Paul see the essence of God.
Obj. 2: Further, the vision of God is beatific. But Paul, in his
rapture, was not beatified; else he would never have returned to the
unhappiness of this life, but his body would have been glorified by
the overflow from his soul, as will happen to the saints after the
resurrection, and this clearly was not the case. Therefore Paul when
in rapture saw not the essence of God.
Obj. 3: Further, according to 1 Cor. 13:10-12, faith and hope are
incompatible with the vision of the Divine essence. But Paul when in
this state had faith and hope. Therefore he saw not the essence of
God.
Obj. 4: Further, as Augustine states (Gen. ad lit. xii, 6, 7),
"pictures of bodies are seen in the imaginary vision." Now Paul is
stated (2 Cor. 12:2, 4) to have seen certain pictures in his rapture,
for instance of the "third heaven" and of "paradise." Therefore he
would seem to have been rapt to an imaginary vision rather than to
the vision of the Divine essence.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine (Ep. CXLVII, 13; ad Paulin., de videndo
Deum) concludes that "possibly God's very substance was seen by some
while yet in this life: for instance by Moses, and by Paul who in
rapture heard unspeakable words, which it is not granted unto man to
utter."
_I answer that,_ Some have said that Paul, when in rapture, saw "not
the very essence of God, but a certain reflection of His clarity."
But Augustine clearly comes to an opposite decision, not only in his
book (De videndo Deum), but also in Gen. ad lit. xii, 28 (quoted in a
gloss on 2 Cor. 12:2). Indeed the words themselves of the Apostle
indicate this. For he says that "he heard secret words, which it is
not granted unto man to utter": and such would seem to be words
pertaining to the vision of the blessed, which transcends the state
of the wayfarer, according to Isa. 64:4, "Eye hath not seen, O God,
besides Thee, what things Thou hast prepared for them that love
[Vulg.: 'wait for'] Thee" [*1 Cor. 2:9]. Therefore it is more
becoming to hold that he saw God in His essence.
Reply Obj. 1: Man's mind is rapt by God to the contemplation of
divine truth in three ways. First, so that he contemplates it through
certain imaginary pictures, and such was the ecstasy that came upon
Peter. Secondly, so that he contemplates the divine truth through its
intelligible effects; such was the ecstasy of David, who said (Ps.
115:11): "I said in my excess: Every man is a liar." Thirdly, so that
he contemplates it in its essence. Such was the rapture of Paul, as
also of Moses [*Cf. Q. 174, A. 4]; and not without reason, since as
Moses was the first Teacher of the Jews, so was Paul the first
"Teacher of the gentiles" [*Cf. I, Q. 68, A. 4].
Reply Obj. 2: The Divine essence cannot be seen by a created
intellect save through the light of glory, of which it is written
(Ps. 35:10): "In Thy light we shall see light." But this light can be
shared in two ways. First by way of an abiding form, and thus it
beatifies the saints in heaven. Secondly, by way of a transitory
passion, as stated above (Q. 171, A. 2) of the light of prophecy; and
in this way that light was in Paul when he was in rapture. Hence this
vision did not beatify him simply, so as to overflow into his body,
but only in a restricted sense. Consequently this rapture pertains
somewhat to prophecy.
Reply Obj. 3: Since, in his rapture, Paul was beatified not as to the
habit, but only as to the act of the blessed, it follows that he had
not the act of faith at the same time, although he had the habit.
Reply Obj. 4: In one way by the third heaven we may understand
something corporeal, and thus the third heaven denotes the empyrean
[*1 Tim. 2:7; Cf. I, Q. 12, A. 11, ad 2], which is described as the
"third," in relation to the aerial and starry heavens, or better
still, in relation to the aqueous and crystalline heavens. Moreover
Paul is stated to be rapt to the "third heaven," not as though his
rapture consisted in the vision of something corporeal, but because
this place is appointed for the contemplation of the blessed. Hence
the gloss on 2 Cor. 12 says that the "third heaven is a spiritual
heaven, where the angels and the holy souls enjoy the contemplation
of God: and when Paul says that he was rapt to this heaven he means
that God showed him the life wherein He is to be seen forevermore."
In another way the third heaven may signify a supra-mundane vision.
Such a vision may be called the third heaven in three ways. First,
according to the order of the cognitive powers. In this way the first
heaven would indicate a supramundane bodily vision, conveyed through
the senses; thus was seen the hand of one writing on the wall (Dan.
5:5); the second heaven would be an imaginary vision such as Isaias
saw, and John in the Apocalypse; and the third heaven would denote an
intellectual vision according to Augustine's explanation (Gen. ad
lit. xii, 26, 28, 34). Secondly, the third heaven may be taken
according to the order of things knowable, the first heaven being
"the knowledge of heavenly bodies, the second the knowledge of
heavenly spirits, the third the knowledge of God Himself." Thirdly,
the third heaven may denote the contemplation of God according to the
degrees of knowledge whereby God is seen. The first of these degrees
belongs to the angels of the lowest hierarchy [*Cf. I, Q. 108, A. 1],
the second to the angels of the middle hierarchy, the third to the
angels of the highest hierarchy, according to the gloss on 2 Cor. 12.
And since the vision of God cannot be without delight, he says that he
was not only "rapt to the third heaven" by reason of his
contemplation, but also into "Paradise" by reason of the consequent
delight.
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