at death. It does not sink into a state of unconsciousness. It does not go into purgatory ; but, being made perfect in ho- liness, it does immediately pass into glory. As soon as it is absent from the body, it is present with the Lord. This is all that is revealed, and this is enough. What Paul learnt more than this when he T\'as caught up into the third heaven, he was not permitted to make known.
As Paul is speaking of himself in this whole connection, when he says ice knoio^ he does not refer to a knowledge com- mon to all men, nor to other Christians, but he expresses his personal conviction — I Joioio. That if^ idv, if as it may ; (not althougli). The aj^ostle is speaking of his afflictions, which were wearing away his strength ; and says, ' Even if my suiferings should prove fatal, and my earthly house be dissolved, I have another habitation.' Our earthly house of this tabernacle^ i. e. our earthly house which is a tabernacle, 6 (TK^vos, a frail, temporary abode, as opposed to a stable, per- manent building. See 2 Peter 1, 13. 14. Is dissolved^ i. e. its component j^arts separated either by violence or decay, so that it tails in pieces. We have^ i. e. I have, as he is speaking of himself. The present tense, cx^/aci^, is used because the one event immediately follows the other ; there is no perceptible interval between the dissolution of the earthly tabernacle and entering on the heavenly house. As soon as the soul leaves the body it is in heaven. A building of God^ olKoSofX7]v Ik ^cov, a building from God, one provided by him, and of which he is the builder and maker, Heb. 11, 10, and therefore is said to be not made with hands, i. e. not like the buildings erected by man. Comp. Heb. 9, 11 and Col. 2, 11. The lat- ter i)assage refers to the circumcision of the heart as the im- mediate work of God ; it is therefore said to be dxetpoTrotT^ros. The soul therefore at death enters a house whose builder is God. This is said to exalt to the utmost our conceptions of its glory and excellence. Being made by God it is eternal. It is to last forever ; and we are never to leave it. We dwell in our present bodies only for a little while, as in a tent ; but heaven is an abode which, once entered, is retained forever. The words m the heavens may be connected with house, in the sense of heavenly, i. e. a celestial house. This construc- tion is assumed in our version where the words " eternal in the heavens " are made to qualify or describe the house spoken of. The natural connection of the words, however, is with