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NASB | Luke 23:43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 23:43 Jesus said to him, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." [2 Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7] |
Bible Question: please explain this verse for me |
Bible Answer: When the Lord Jesus died upon the cross, his body was buried in Joseph of Armithia's new tomb. His soul went to paradise a section in hell or hades. Hades in the bible at the time of Christ was the place of departed spirits. According to Luke 16: 19-31 hades had a section in which souls were comforted and a section where souls were in torment. Between the two their was a great gulf fixed which prevented any from moving from one section to the other. The psalmist penned these prophetic words regarding the Lord Jesus "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." ( Pslam 16:10) Jesus did not suffer in hell, because his suffering was on the cross. However, he did descend into paridise after his death. Thus he promised the dying thief that "today wilt thou be with me in paradise meaning the comfort side of hades or hell. However, we find that when the Lord Jesus arose from the dead the comfort section of hades was emptied and move to the very presence of God. We read in Ephesians "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men" (Eph. 4:8) We find that Paul in 2 Cor. 12: 1-4 speaks of being caught up into the third heaven V2, being caught up to paradise v.4 When Jesus ascended to his father in heaven he lead a multitude of souls from paradise with him. Thus, paradise refers to the third heaven the abode of God. I hope this helps Robert |