“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak,” (2 Corinthians 12:2–4).

The vast majority of conditionalists I’ve encountered believe that when a person dies, his soul is separated from his body and either cease to exist or enters into a state of soul sleep. Please consider these quotes from conditionalists.

• “soul sleep,” the view that death is a state of total unconsciousness, rather than survival in heaven, hell, or purgatory.” ¹Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 503-504). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
• “When death occurs, then it is the soul that is deprived of life. Death cannot strike the body or any other part of the soul without striking the entirety of the soul.”²Fudge, Edward William. The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, Third Edition (p. 27). Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
• “The first man was created when the dust of the earth and the breath of God were brought together (Gen 2: 7), and just as surely as the man did not exist prior to creation, he does not exist when the spirit returns to God who gave it and the dust returns to the earth (Eccl 12:7).”³Peoples, Glen, A., Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 583-586). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.

It is obvious that this passage of Scripture stands in strong opposition to the conditionalist position.  What we see in the text is where Paul the apostle says that he knows a man who went to the third heaven. Now, in Jewish cosmology, there are three heavens. The first is comprised of the sky, wind, clouds, etc. The second heaven is where the sun moon and stars are. The third heaven is the dwelling place of God.  For more information on this please see the article What does it mean when the Bible refers to the “third heaven”?  So, this man who went to the third heaven was possibly outside of his own physical body and in heaven, he “heard inexpressible words.” You don’t hear inexpressible words if you stop existing or are in a state of unconscious soul sleep as the conditionalists teach. So, this passage of Scripture refutes the conditionalist position. It is simple.

What then do conditionalists say about 2 Cor. 12:2? To find out, I consulted five different conditionalist sources. To my shock, not one even mentioned 2 Cor. 12:2. Now, it is possible that in my searches, I missed something, but I don’t see how. I tried to be thorough, so I could find their position and deal with it. But I found nothing.

Fascinating.

Checking with the conditionalists

In an effort to find their response to this passage of Scripture, I consulted one conditionalist website, three pro-conditionalist books, and one book that gave four views of hell including the conditionalist view.  I searched for five different terms:  1) “2 Corinthians 12:2” 2) “2 Cor. 12:2”  3) “third heaven,” 4) “out of the body,” and 5) “apart from the body.”  I also checked their listing of Scripture references if they had one.  Each one excluded 2 Cor. 12:2.  In each source, I found absolutely nothing in reference to the passage of 2 Cor. 12:2.

I was shocked.  Why wouldn’t they examine such a clear and powerful passage that goes against their position?  I was really surprised. Anyway, these five sources are:

• rethinkinghell.com.
• Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism, Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition:
• A Consuming Passion: Essays on Hell and Immortality in Honor of Edward Fudge, Pickwick Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
• Fudge, Edward William. The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, Third Edition, Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
• Zondervan. Four Views on Hell (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Not a single reference to 2 Cor. 12:2.  Did I just miss it entirely? Perhaps, but I don’t see how to sense I did the searches several times to find references to 2 Cor. 12:2.  But, I found nothing (as of 7/4/2018).

To me, that is not a simple oversight. It is deliberate avoidance. Let’s take a look at the passage.

Conclusion

2 Cor. 12:2-4 stands in strong opposition to the conditionalist position of soul sleep and nonexistence of the soul after physical death.  What we see in the text is where Paul the apostle says that he knows a man who went to the third heaven, the dwelling place of God. Paul says that this man was either in his body or out of his body and that in heaven he “heard inexpressible words.” People don’t hear inexpressible words if they stop existing or are in a state of unconscious soul sleep as the conditionalists teach.  So, this passage of Scripture refutes the conditionalist position.  It is simple.  And, since I could find no source in my research that dealt with the passage from a conditionalist perspective, I must conclude that its strength against their position so profound, that instead of mistakingly overlooking it, they purposely avoided it.