How Many Heavens Are There?

This Sunday's reading from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 has been assumed to have Paul talking about himself in the third person in verses 2-5 as someone who was caught up to the third heaven.

"I know a person in Christ who fourteen 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 such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations."

Next, Paul writes about his weaknesses and what keeps him going.

"Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power* is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong."

That ever reliable resource, Wikipedia has this to say about the number of heavens in Paul's universe.

According to the Talmud, the universe is made of seven heavens (Shamayim) 

1. Vilon (וילון), Also see (Isa 40:22) 
2. Raki'a (רקיע), Also see (Gen 1:17) 
3. Shehaqim (שחקים), See (Ps 78:23, 
4. Midr. Teh. to Ps. xix. 7) 
5. Zebul (זבול), See (Isa 63:15, KJV) 
6. Ma'on (מעון), See (Deut 26:15, Ps 42:9) 
7. Machon (מכון), See (1 Kings 7:30, Deut 28:12) 
8. Araboth (ערבות), The seventh Heaven where ofanim, the seraphim, and the hayyoth and the throne of the Lord are located.

Whatever Paul meant by the third heaven, it must have been awesome, but boasting about it would not have proven to be very helpful in his work as an evangelist. It would be like me saying, "I am a great Christian because this happened to me. Follow me." That's not very effective at all.

As The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12 puts it,

"The true measure of a man of God does not lie in his claims of visions and experiences with God, or the force of his personality, the size of his ministry, his educational degrees, or any other human criteria. A true man of God is marked by how much he has suffered in the war against the kingdom of darkness, how concerned he is for people, how humble he is, and how accurately he handles the supernatural revelation found in God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15). Like Paul, such men patiently endure the suffering and humiliation of this life, knowing that such “momentary, light affliction is producing … an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17)."

As to the thorn in the flesh that caused Paul so much pain, I bet it was a kidney stone that he developed from all of his journeys around the Mediterranean in the sun and the heat. Nothing is worse than passing a ureteral stone. Just as there are no atheists in a foxhole, there are no atheists in the waiting room if they are suffering from that particular thorn in the flesh.