The Malefactor and Paradise
Dearly beloved, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”
How could the Lord say that the malefactor would be with him in paradise that very day? Jesus died that day and he was dead for three days and three nights before his resurrection from the dead. The day of his death he was in the grave, not paradise.
After his resurrection from the dead, he was on earth for another forty days before he ascended into heaven. He was not in paradise those forty days.
When he ascended, did he ascend into paradise or the heavenlies? Acts 1:9-11 reveals that he ascended into heaven. The understanding of Luke 23: 43 must fit with every other scripture on the subject.
What is paradise? Does one go to paradise upon death? The word “paradise” is the Greek word paradeisos. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is translated as “garden”.
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:8, 9
God put Adam in the Garden of Eden or paradise, and it contained the tree of life.
“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Genesis 3:23-24
No man had access to the tree of life after this time. When will it be available again?
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Revelation 22: 1-4
The tree of life is not found again until the time of the new earth spoken of in Revelation 21:1-5.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first [former] heaven and the first [former] earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Revelation 21 to 22:5 speaks of the new heaven and earth. Revelation 2:7 foretells of this time.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
The Word of God says that the tree of life will be “in the midst of the paradise of God”. This speaks of the future time when God will make all things new again in the new heaven and earth.
The word “paradise” only occurs two other times in the New Testament; in Luke 23:43 and II Corinthians 12:1-4. The latter reference reads:
“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
The word for “caught up” is harpazo in the Greek and it means “to catch away or snatch away or carry off.” It is used 13 times in the Word of God. Paul was caught away by revelation, to the future time of the third heaven and paradise. These records make it clear that paradise concerns a yet future time on earth. With this understanding, let’s read the record in Luke 23:43.
“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Does this fit with the other records that mention paradise in the New Testament? The answer is obvious. No, it does not. How then are we to make sense of it?
There was no punctuation in the original texts. Aldus Manutius introduced punctuation in the 15th century. The editors of the Bible added punctuation; it was not in the original texts. Punctuation does not carry any divine authority concerning interpretation. Let’s read the verse without it.
“And Jesus said unto him verily I say unto thee today thou shalt be with me in paradise.”
The expression, “I say unto thee today” is a common Hebrew idiom that emphatically stresses the words that follow: "thou shalt be with me in paradise.”
“I say unto thee today” is in the present tense in the Greek. “Thou shalt be with me in paradise” is in the future tense. Jesus told the malefactor the day they were being crucified, that in the future, when paradise was once again available on earth, he would surely be there with him.
The malefactor died that day and he will be dead until he is raised in the resurrection of the just. At a future time, he will be with the Lord Jesus Christ in paradise on the new earth when he is raised.
Do you see what one little comma can do? Punctuation may be useful for reference, but it cannot be used for the purpose of interpretation. It is a man-made editorial edition to the text; not a divine one.
Every reference to paradise concerns a place on earth. Heaven is always a place above the earth. Paradise is paradise and heaven is heaven; they are two distinct, separate places. The two cannot be used interchangeably. We cannot take a scripture that may be difficult to understand and use it in a contradictory way with other scriptures that are clear and understandable, dearly beloved. Come quickly Lord Jesus!