June 19, 2005

WITH CHRIST IN PARADISE

Luke 23:43

   

   The Lord's reply to the thief's request, "Remember me when You come into your kingdom," was, "I say to you today, You shall be with me in paradise." The placing of the comma here has far reaching effects. As placed above, His answer means simply that when Christ comes in His kingdom, this believing thief will be with Him then. This would easily identify "paradise" with the glory of that kingdom!

   But by placing the comma before "today," the conclusion is drawn that the thief would not have to wait until the kingdom comes, but that very day would be with Christ "in paradise." This interpretation assumes that, in spite of Christ's body being placed in Joseph's tomb, His spirit immediately journeyed to infernal regions, released saints imprisoned there, escorted these inhabitants of Abraham's Bosom, and relocated the Bosom itself to a heavenly "paradise"!

   It is further assumed that the purpose of Christ's trip to the infernal realm, timed between His death and resurrection, was to, "lead captivity captive." They imagine that, before He "ascended up on high, he led captivity captive" (Eph. 4:8-10), yet before His ascension... He "also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended (they assume to rescue saints in "the heart of the earth" Mt. 12:40), where Abraham's Bosom was located. They fail to notice that in the quote from Psalm 68:18 David described Moses' ascent and descent at Mt. Sinai . Paul parallels Moses with the Lord's descent to this earth (not the infernal realm), His death on our behalf, and His ascension to heaven whence He received the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, and gave them to men, members of the church, the captives released by His work of the cross. On high Moses received the law, Christ the gifts!

   The Septuagint Old Testament has the Greek "paradise" 28 times. All references are to a beautiful garden, such as Eden . Of only three times in the New Testament, "paradise" is used figuratively in both Paul's vision of 2 Corinthians 12 and the Lord's words from the cross. Revelation 2:7 links it with "the tree of life, located in Eden 's paradise, lost in Genesis but regained in Revelation's kingdom!

 

Ivan L. Burgener