Stand Strong in the Word
Stand Strong in the Word is a weekly bible study that teaches through the Bible verse by verse in chronological order. For more information, visit www.standstrongministries.org.
Stand Strong in the Word
#297 “Paul’s Visit to Heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:1-6)
Can you imagine visiting heaven? Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 12:1-6, recounting his experience in paradise, where he heard sacred things. Instead of boasting, he embraces humility. The takeaway? We find strength in God, not in ourselves, even during remarkable experiences.
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Can you imagine visiting heaven? Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 12, verses 1-6, recounting his experience in paradise, where he heard sacred things. Instead of boasting, he embraces humility. The takeaway we find strength in God, not in ourselves, even during remarkable experiences. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12, and let's stand strong in the word of God together. Well, hey there, my friends, welcome to Stand Strong in the Word podcast, jason Jimenez, with you as always. Blessed to be with you.
Speaker 1:Guys, as we continue now in the study of 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, where the title here is Paul's visit to heaven, can you imagine, my friends, being caught up into the third heaven in the abode of God, and then come back and you don't really want to talk about it because it's too amazing, too beautiful, too breathtaking to explain your experience? Now, before we dive into this passage in 2 Corinthians 12, verses 1-6, and look at verse by verse and understand what Paul's meaning is for these visions and revelations, I want us to understand something First and foremost near-death experiences, my friends, are real. In fact, there's a great resource. It's called Imagine Heaven, near-death Experiences, god's Promises and the Exhilarating Future that Awaits you, and it's written by a pastor in Texas by the name of John Burke and it's a fascinating read. He actually has come out now with a second part to this about imagine god and the god of heaven. That is and it's. I just want to read a little bit of this. I wish I could really explore this a lot more with you guys. But I also want to add, before I read some of this in his introduction, in a story from an individual by the name of gray who had a near death experience a christian.
Speaker 1:I early on when I was doing a Q&A book with Dr Norman Geiser I mean we're talking well over 10 years as I'm recording this and we answer this question Now obviously it's like a page long, so it's not very lengthy. But I also had a lot of skepticism at the time to some of these things. I believe in them, but I will say this, 10 plus years removed I believe in them far more than I did then, and because it aligns itself to what we actually see about scripture and one of the things that John Burke mentions. He says this think about it this way the scripture tells us that all creation declares the glory of God, psalm 19, verse 1. But if you actually witness a glorious sunset of explosive colors, where the bluest Hawaiian ocean crashes into the majestic mountain-lined beaches of gold. Now you've experienced the black and white words of scripture in a color-saturated way that can glorify God even more.
Speaker 1:Near-death experiences do not deny or supplant what scripture says. They add color to scripture's picture. But of course, like any gift from God, people can miss what God wants them to understand, misinterpret the experience or even worship the gift instead of the gift giver. And in his book he explores over a hundred stories of people who are clinically dead or near death. And then they were revived and at some point in their life they reported on what they experienced, while their heart stopped, for example. Now, the thing that is so fascinating and this is so important because it reflects also the tone of Paul here in 2 Corinthians 12, that the vast majority of these near-death experiencers don't want to talk about what they saw, how they felt. They're very shy about it, they're very humble about it. And wouldn't that be true when you stand before the Lord in your spirit and for whatever reason, he says your time is not up. But I want to give you a glimpse. And some of them share that experience in their testimony.
Speaker 1:And all these people that Burke had interviewed. We're not trying to make money off of this. So let me just say a second aspect to this. There are individuals by the name of Jesse Duplantis who said decades ago that he was caught up to the third heaven, taking on what Paul experienced here. Because these guys believe that they're apostles, they believe that now they'll say like, oh, we're nothing like Paul, we gotta be more like Paul. You know who was really like Christ? Et cetera, et cetera. And they say those kinds of things, but they're boasting all along.
Speaker 1:In fact, I just recently did you guys can check it out on my YouTube channel about Todd White, who said in one of his teachings that I show that he hadn't lied in over 18 years, like literally, because he said this in other sermons that he hasn't told one lie, period. Now we all strive to be like Christ, to walk as he walked, to live as he lived, to imitate Christ. Paul says imitate me, for I imitate Christ and sanctification, walking in step of the Holy Spirit and putting to death sin and walk in the newness of life. We get all that, but on this side of heaven we will not be sinless To say that I have not told a lie. Go back to 1 John 1, verses seven through nine.
Speaker 1:We're calling him a liar. If we say that we are without sin, that doesn't mean that Todd's going around saying he's sinless and he's not sinful. He's just saying that I don't lie, and you and I know that we strive not to lie like we once did when we were in the flesh, but we will still tell lies. So that right, there was a big fat lie. The point is they make themselves more righteous than they really are was a big fat lie. The point is they make themselves more righteous than they really are, and that is a way to manipulate people. So people follow them and say, well, you must know something. Or hey, I'm striving to be holy. You found a key ingredient. What is it? Let me learn from you.
Speaker 1:So Jesse Duplantis years ago says not only am I, you know prosperity. Look at how I'm living. I'm living large. God wants that for you. But then I also got caught up in heaven because God himself wanted to. Jesus, that is, wanted to spend time with me. Jesus, god himself wanted to spend time with me and he said that Jesus gave him a tour where he encounters many of the Bible characters, paul himself going up to Jesse saying, oh Jesse, it's so great to meet you, you preaching the gospel, and he's like man, I'm preaching what you told us in the New Testament. Like that kind of stuff, that right, there is not just marketing, that's not just manipulation, that is a charlatan, that is a con artist. We don't get that with near-death experiencers who truly see a glimpse of heaven. Now, with that being said, let me just share with you guys a brief little story to kind of set the tone as we go into 2 Corinthians, chapter 12.
Speaker 1:George had felt so alive. So this is George. He's having a near-death experience and he said he had not really let it sink in that he was dead experience. And he said he had not really let it sink in, that he was dead. Now it hit him, in despair. He sunk down on the bed. The light in the room started to grow brighter and brighter, and this is what George says.
Speaker 1:I stared in astonishment as the brightness increased, coming from nowhere, seeming to shine everywhere at once. It was impossibly bright. It was like a million welder's lamps all blazing at once. And right in the middle of my amazement came a prosaic thought, probably born of some biology lecture back at the university. I'm glad I don't have physical eyes at this moment. I thought this light would destroy the retina in a tenth of a second. No, I corrected myself. Not the light, he, he would be too bright to look at For now I saw that it was not light, but a man who had entered the room, or rather a man made out of light.
Speaker 1:The instant I perceived him, a command formed itself in my mind Stand up. The words came from inside me, yet they had an authority my mere thoughts had never had. And then John Burke writes about Jesus, the son of God, whom he had learned about in Sunday school gentle, meek, kind of a weakling, but this person was power itself, fused together with an unconditional love that overwhelmed him. And then, george, this is his experience An astonishing love, a love beyond my wildest imagining. This love knew every unlovable thing about me the quarrels with my stepmother, my explosive temper, the sex thoughts I could never control every mean selfish thought and action since the day I was born and accepted and loved me. Just the same, when I say he knew everything about me, this was simply an observable fact, for into that room, along with his radiant presence.
Speaker 1:Simultaneously, though, in telling about it. I have to describe them one by one had also entered every single episode of my entire life. Everything that had ever happened to me was simply there, in full view, contemporary and current, all seemingly taking place at that moment. How this was possible, I did not know. Transfixed, I stared at myself standing at the blackboard in a third grade spelling class, receiving my eagle badge in front of my scout troop, wheeling Papa Dabney onto the veranda at Moss Side. There were other scenes, hundreds, thousands, all illuminated by this searing light, in an existence where time seemed to have ceased. It would have taken weeks of ordinary time Every detail of 20 years of living was there to be looked at.
Speaker 1:What have you done with your life to show me? The question, like everything else proceeding from him, had to do with love. How much have you loved with your life? Have you loved others as I am loving you totally unconditionally? Why I had not known love like this was possible. Someone should have told me, I thought indignantly. A fine time to discover what life was all about. I did tell you, but how, still wanting to justify myself. How could he have told me? And I have not heard. I told you by the life I lived. I told you by the death I died, and if you keep your eyes on me, you will see more.
Speaker 1:Now, my friends, this is a fascinating read, so I encourage you guys to check out, imagine Heaven. But I want to set those things up because when we look at the biblical text, you wonder oftentimes do other people have similar experiences? And the answer is yes. Now I can't explain why. That is other than the fact of what I just briefly read to you about this individual by the name of George, who is a believer in Christ and he died physically. His spirit went to be with the Lord, he had this interaction and he came back and it obviously changed his life even more than how he was living for Christ. And I think that's what we see as we come to this text with Paul. So let me just dive right in Now, as always, if you've missed any previous episodes, I encourage you guys to check those things out. Please leave us a review, share these things with your friends so we can continue to grow a community of Christians to stand strong in God's word.
Speaker 1:You and I know the challenge before us. Many Christians are biblically literate. They may read a portion of scripture here and there or just at church, if they attend church, and the average is less than once a month. So we know that the vast majority of Christians who have put their faith and trust in Christ are not being discipled and grounded in the word of God. So, help me, you guys, let's do this together as Christians who are standing strong in God's word to share this with others.
Speaker 1:So, as we see now in this shift, paul was dealing with all of the false teachers back in chapter 11, and where we left off in verses 28 through 33, there's this burden. And so now, with this brokenness that Paul has, he's now going to transition and talk about his near-death experience. But notice, he does is. He doesn't name himself specific, he doesn't just say let me tell you about my experience. He goes like does, is he he? He doesn't name himself specific, he doesn't just say let me tell you about my experience. He goes like this verse one.
Speaker 1:I must go on boasting, though there is nothing to be gained by it. I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who, 14 years ago, was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body? I do not know. God knows, and I know that this man was caught up into paradise, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows, and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast except of my weaknesses, though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So if you go back to chapter 11 and you look at verse 30, he says If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father, lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. And then he briefly gives us account of him being lowered in a basket because his life was being threatened and many of the church members helped him escape so he can continue to preach the gospel. And then we get here in verse 1 of chapter 12, where he says I must go on boasting that, though there's nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. So, on face value, if you just look at the English, it sounds like Paul continues to contradict himself, but that is not the case. Sounds like Paul continues to contradict himself, but that is not the case. Again, in the first century. In looking at the Greek, we can have a better understanding. Again, as we do this on the podcast, we go back to Scripture. Let Scripture interpret Scripture, looking at it in context, verse by verse. So that's why you always go back. Where do we leave off? In chapter 11, transitioning to here? Because he didn't have chapters and verses right, so just kept flowing. So let's look at the argumentation, whatever case he's making. But what we see here now in chapter 12 is he's concluding with this foolish boasting by recounting his spiritual experiences to counter his opponents, because, remember, they were boasting about their spiritual encounters. And this is the fourth and final section in which Paul expresses his compulsion to boast. We know, not sinfully Again, you could go back to the last several podcasts, and we've been even going back to chapter nine, but what Paul does in this boasting is he goes into the third person.
Speaker 1:Now, this was something that was very common in literary tradition. So don't immediately think oh, I hate when people do that, they're so cocky. It's like, well, jason has this podcast. You know what I mean it's like. I know it sounds ridiculous, and there's obviously a lot of sitcoms that have poked fun with this very thing. And if you have somebody in your life who's like that, who talks in the third person, pray for them. But he does this. But this was something that was a tradition. So this was not a cocky approach that Paul was taking. In fact, he's actually not only keeping within the literary tradition, but he's so humble and broken by this that he does it in the third person. So it doesn't come off as though he's bragging.
Speaker 1:Now, the conditional clause of chapter 12, verse one here is identical to what I just read to you guys in chapter 11, verse 30, where it says if I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. So keep that in context. As he's talking about these things, he's doing it in his weakness, meaning he's not trying to take credit, he's not trying to earn a buck off of this. That's what we have to understand. Now. What he does is he says I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. Now Luke records six of Paul's visions. If you go back in the book of Acts, chapter nine, verse 12,. Chapter 16, verses nine and 10,. Chapter 18, verse nine. Chapter 22, verse 12. Chapter 16, verses 9 and 10. Chapter 18, verse 9. Chapter 22, verse 17 and 18. Chapter 23, verse 11. Chapter 27, verses 23 and 24.
Speaker 1:Now Paul also mentions receiving them in his letters. For example, if you go to Galatians, 1, verse 12, remember his first letter, he says this, for I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Now you could go back to Acts, chapter nine, where he had that encounter, that revelation, where Jesus appeared to him and he gave his life to Christ. And Ephesians, chapter three, verse three, says how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. So the thing about Paul and this is where a lot of the prosperity people, a lot of the deliverance ministries not all of them, but primarily it's housed within these charismatic preachers they will take these visions and revelations.
Speaker 1:As I was talking about Jesse Duplantis earlier, they'll see this in scripture and say, well, paul had this. I think I'm an apostle, I have visions and revelations as well. Jesus appeared to me, jesus caught me up to heaven, just like he did Paul, and they're boasting in the flesh, and it's not to profit Christianity, not that Christianity is a profit from us in any way, shape or form. But that's not what Paul does here. These revelations, these visions that he sees, are heavenly ones. Now, remember God is in heaven. And then you have the spirits, whether they're evil or good, angels or demons, and remember there's different ranks and files of angels. There's cherubs, there's seraphims, et cetera. There's archangel Michael, but they're in the realm of the spiritual, the heavenly, and then there's the earthly, the physical realm.
Speaker 1:In fact, I'm writing a Q and A book now on spiritual warfare and I'm dealing with the question on. You know how do they interact? And this is what we're seeing actually, here is this interaction, this mingling, if you will, between the spiritual realm, the heavenly places in the physical. And so when God, who is the creator of the heaven, is the earth and he performs miracles, supernatural acts that only he can do in his creation, he's not contradicting science, he is affirming in declaring who he is. And so, when these visions happen, when these revelations of things to come. Those are confirmations, those are validations. That's one of the things that we used in the canonistic scripture is these people who spoke quote the words of God? Did they come to pass and did they also have supernatural abilities to do things, to heal people, to raise the dead, et cetera? Those are confirmations. So we know clearly that Paul had that.
Speaker 1:Then he says in verse two I know a man in Christ. So notice, that's important You've been caught up in heaven. He's a man of the Lord, he's a follower of Jesus Christ, but there's a hesitancy because Paul doesn't want the attention to be on him. Now, like anything, when you have these people, when they're trying to get attention, you're always trying to one-up. You're always just trying to go bigger than last time. Okay, if we got this amount of people, if we got this amount of clicks, what if we were to do this? And so you always try to be explosive and Paul was not trying to do that to up to one-up the super apostles that he calls them right, and it's kind of some irony there that we've talked about. So he chooses to speak in the third person and he does this to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. So yes, in literary tradition this was common, and when it was used it was not to focus in on the individual but what they had to say.
Speaker 1:Now, the cool thing about what Paul does here is he actually, in the time of his writing, he puts a date. He says 14 years ago Now, according to Paul's time this would have been around 8041 or 8042, which would been placing him sometime in Lystra where he was guess what Dragged out of the city and stoned. You can see this account in Acts, chapter 14. So let's read this together, if you have your Bible handy. So remember, paul and Barnabas are at Lystra.
Speaker 1:But if you pick things up here, in verse 19, it says but Jews came from Antioch and Incanium and, having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra. Isn't that amazing? He goes back to a place where they stoned him and to Anconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. Isn't that powerful? So these appointed elders in the church, they're praying and you see, this revival in this persistency, right, this perseverance with Paul, what makes sense? Because of what he just experienced? They killed him and he had a near death experience and he comes back and notice what he does with it. He goes back to those same areas and he's encouraging and telling people to continue in the faith.
Speaker 1:Now there are other commentaries who place Paul in Tarsus in Acts 11, 25, or in Antioch in Acts 11, 26. I believe, more than likely, if you piece things together as best we can, if you go back to my study that we did on the book of Acts or on the podcast, that this near-death experience that he has, he's reporting about in 2 Corinthians and putting the 14-year mark on, that is more or less at the timeframe, because you don't stone people and they're half dead or they just get beat up a little bit. When you stone somebody, you stone them to death. And notice the Jews that came from Antioch and Iconium. They persuaded the crowds. So, guys, this is a massive mob of people and if you put this also into context of what just happened, you see that there's Jews and Greeks that were believing. So this was a mixed crowd of individuals. And in verse five it says when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe. So they were plotting how to do this. So if they're plotting how to stone somebody to end their life, they're not gonna mess up.
Speaker 1:Now I wanna draw your attention to another phrase, this phrase caught up. The Greek word here is harpazo. It means to snatch up. And phrase this phrase caught up. The Greek word here is harpazo, it means to snatch up and the verb means to grasp forcibly. So the same word that Paul uses, this word, this harpazo, is in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17,.
Speaker 1:To describe the rapture, it says this then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up, will be harpazo, forcibly taken up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and notice where does he go? The third heaven. So let's understand why, again he's being specific. He gets 14 years. He talks about being forcibly taken up. Remember, in later passage he says in the body. I don't know. I mean, he's new to this he can't explain it.
Speaker 1:You go back to first Corinthians, chapter 15, 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. He explains what will occur when we do go be with the Lord and when the rapture occurs. But in this experience, at this time, he was so real to him that his senses, if you will, were all there and so it was as and this is one thing. Going back to imagine having a lot of people say what they experienced, what they saw, felt, tasted, everything, you know, we always think about our five senses goes far beyond that and we always talk about the sixth sense. You know, like there's something, there's an intuition that somebody has. Well, all of that is just completely perfected, you know, and it's like, perfected in your senses, right and how God intended us to be prior to being marred, you know, and corrupted by sin. So he describes all those things.
Speaker 1:And then he says the third heaven. So let's understand what he means by this. So we know the first heaven is the earth's atmosphere. The second is outer space, which we refer to as constellations, and then that's when he says the third heaven. So we're going beyond the physical, this layer the atmosphere further beyond. You know the constellations and the galaxies. You know far, far, far away. And then the third heaven is the abode of God.
Speaker 1:Now, jesus referred to it as paradise in Luke, chapter 23, verse 43, as will Paul in verse 3. So let's understand this term for paradise that we have in English. The Greek word is paradisios, which comes from a Persian loan word referring to an enclosed circular garden or park. Okay, so envision that. So these are plan on words, but he also applies it even more specifically. So, just like a near-death experience, it's like even words cannot fully describe.
Speaker 1:But by sharing his near-death experience, paul was sharing with them beyond just visions and revelations. Sharing with them beyond just visions and revelations. And this is important because Paul was opposing the strict teachings of the Mishnah, which warned against such matters. So he even knew that by expressing his spiritual experience right, being caught up to the third heaven, this would actually, and more than likely, increase more controversy surrounding Paul among the Jews who would view him now oh, you are definitely a false teacher, because you're saying that you've been in the presence of God himself ridiculous. So we have to keep that in mind when Paul was talking about being caught up to paradise, to heaven, to the abode of God.
Speaker 1:Now verse three says and I know that this man was caught up to paradise, to heaven, to the abode of God. Now verse three says and I know that this man was caught up into paradise, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, god knows, and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. So even though Paul is talking in the third person, he limits what he experienced. He's not just reluctant, he intentionally does not reveal too much because he's humbled, he's broken by this. In fact, the verb existen, meaning man may not or is not permitted, denotes what is lawful or allowable. So Paul expresses that he has no right to share being caught up in heaven. He'll mention it in the third person, but he won't extrapolate much detail.
Speaker 1:Now are we to take that and apply it then to these other modern near-death experiences where, just as I read to you an account from George where he gave more detail than actually Paul did, that's not the point here. We're speaking about Paul in the context of the Corinthians against these super apostles and now they're being lured away. But I like what G Campbell Morgan provides because he gives some insight into authenticating if a person indeed had a near-death experience. He writes this quote there are some who seem eager to talk of visions and revelations which they have had. The question is as to whether such eagerness is not proof that the vision and revelations are not of the Lord. When they are granted and they certainly are granted to the servants of God under certain circumstances they produce a reverent reticence. They are too solemn, too overwhelming to be lightly described or discussed, but the effect of them will be apparent in all life and service. End quote. So I hope that helps us understand as we're looking at this and other accounts of near-death experience.
Speaker 1:And then, as I'm closing now in the podcast, let's look at verses five and six, where Paul says on behalf of this man, I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except on my weaknesses, though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So this is powerful, based on everything we just read and learned about Paul in verses one through four. So to remain humble and not draw much attention to himself. Just, you know, paul just says this man, he wasn't saying it because he was afraid of how the Jews would respond to him.
Speaker 1:Because, again, it was against the Mishnah to have this type of quote revelation and, just like today, where people wanna inspect it, they wanna see how much we can verify or validate in fact what this person said was true. And, to be honest, anytime you're dealing with the spiritual realm, it's hard again to physically have facts, concrete evidence in this realm. Okay, so Paul doesn't play that game. He's keenly aware that extraordinary visions and revelations are highly sought after and he does not want his spiritual experience to be the focus of his ministry. And that is one thing you will see over and over again with people that truly had a near-death experience. It's not about them, it's about the gospel, it's about Jesus, it's about the person of Jesus Christ. That is what they want to share with people and it's powerful, my friends and I love this. In closing, because Paul uses this phrase, no one may think more of me.
Speaker 1:The Greek word here it's translated as warranted we get. The Greek term here is logisiteia, meaning to draw a reasonable conclusion based on the facts. So what is Paul saying here? After what he just talked about visions, revelations and being caught up in third heaven, he didn't want the Corinthians to judge him and think, oh my gosh, that's amazing. Let's hear more of these incredible stories. You're so awesome, paul.
Speaker 1:It's not basing his ministry on extraordinary events. In fact, when they have occurred and we think about 2 Corinthians 11, about his suffering it puts things in context that Paul wants his ministry to be based on the gospel that has changed his life, that he is the chief of sinners, that he's undeserving of any of this. But just look at his transformation and all glory and honor goes to the Lord. So, my friends, in your life, as God is molding and shaping you, as he's preparing you for whatever the next steps look like in preaching the gospel and doing ministry, wherever you're at, we don't take credit. Be sensitive, as God allows certain things to happen in your life that you're always pointing back to the glory of God.
Speaker 1:Now, when somebody says and let's just be clear when somebody says, hey, you did a great job presenting, or thank you for serving, when we say glory, be to God, don't we have to be careful where it's not always just being this, this piety that we have. You say, hey, I really appreciate you encouraging me that way. It's been such a blessing to serve alongside of you guys and it just it just helped me draw closer to the Lord and all glory goes to him, amen. And that person's like, yeah, and that's because, yeah, it goes way deeper than just like man, you're so super gifted in this. We're so thankful that we have you serving. Aren't we so thankful?
Speaker 1:Everybody, like, those are moments that we need to embrace. A lot of times people get embarrassed, but we have to share in those blessings. So I encourage you to do that. But we have to share in those blessings. So I encourage you to do that. But also, when something extraordinary does happen, god is showing you something. He's present, he's always present, but sometimes these moments happen. You're like whoa God, and it humbles us.
Speaker 1:That's the point, and I encourage you guys to always be sensitive to how God is moving in your life. So I love you guys. Thank you for to how God is moving in your life. So I love you guys. Thank you for spending this time with me as we're studying the book of 2 Corinthians. I can't wait for us to finish this out, because after this, if you look at the chronological order, we will be jumping into the book of Romans. So, as always, if you have any prayer requests or if you have a theological apologetic question, you can always contact us at standsrongministriesorg. Go to the contact section and submit your question. We love to take those on. In fact, I'm actually gonna be responding to a few this week that I'm gonna get to and send out to our faithful listeners. So I appreciate that so much. Until next time, my friends, keep standing strong in the word of God.