"And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.'" Luke 23:43

This verse is often quoted in support of the belief that souls go to their reward immediately after death. Upon closer examination, this verse can be brought into harmony with the scores of Bible texts that teach otherwise.

1) Paradise Synonymous With Heaven

The word "paradise," translated from the Greek "paradeisos," means an "enclosure," "park," or "preserve" containing trees, in which animals were often kept for the hunt. It was enclosed by walls and sometimes furnished with towers for the hunters. Translated from the Hebrew "pardes" it means "forest," or "orchard" (see on Nehemiah 2:8; Ecclesiastes 2:5). In the LXX the "garden" of Eden is spoken of as the "paradise" of Eden (see on Genesis 2:8). In fact, "paradeisos" is common in the LXX where the word "garden" (Hebrew "gan") appears in the English translation (see Genesis 3:1; Isaiah 51:3; Joel 2:3; etc.).

In the New Testament "paradeisos" occurs only in Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7. In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 the fact that Paul refers to no earthly "paradise" is doubly clear from the fact that he equates being "caught up" to "heaven" with being "caught up" to "paradise." According to Revelation 2:7 the "tree of life" is said to be "in the midst of the paradise of God," whereas in Revelation 21:1-3, 10; 22:1-5 the tree of life is associated with the new earth, the New Jerusalem, the river of life, and the throne of God. There can be no doubt that New Testament usage of "paradeisos" consistently makes it synonymous with "heaven."

2) "Be With Me in Paradise."

On the eve of the betrayal-less than 24 hours before making this promise to the thief-Jesus had told the Twelve Disciples, "In my Father's house are many mansions….I go to prepare a place for you….I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (see on John 14:1-3). Yet, three days later Jesus informed Mary, "I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17). Obviously, therefore, Jesus did not go to paradise ("heaven," see above), and was not in paradise, on the day of His crucifixion. Accordingly, the thief could not have been with Jesus in paradise.

Therefore, when Jesus assured the thief of a place with Him in "paradise," He referred to the "many mansions" of His "Father's house" and to the time when He would "receive" unto Himself His own (see on John 14:1-3). Throughout His ministry Jesus had specifically stated that He would "reward every man according to his works" when He returned in triumph "in the glory of his Father with his angels" (see on Matthew 16:27). Not until that time will he invite the saved of earth to "inherit the kingdom prepared for" them "from the foundation of the world" (see on Matthew 25:31,34; cf. Revelation 22:12). Paul taught that those who fall asleep in Jesus will come forth from their graves at Christ's second coming (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-23) to receive immortality (vs. 51-55). The resurrected righteous and the righteous living will "be caught up together…to meet the Lord in the air," and thus "ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). The thief will, accordingly, be "with" Jesus in "paradise" following the resurrection of the just, at His second coming.

3) Misplaced Punctuation Inserted During Translation

The comma between the words "thee" and "to day" was inserted by the translators. The original Greek text, which had neither punctuation nor word division reads: "amen soi lego semeron met emou ese en to paradeiso," literally, "truly to-you I-say today with-me you-will-be in the paradise." The adverb "semeron," "today," stands between the two verbs "lego," "I-say," and "ese," "you-will-be," and might properly apply to either. Its position immediately following the verb "lego," "I-say," may imply a closer grammatical relationship to it than to the verb "ese," "you will be."

Obviously, in placing the comma before the word "to day," the translators were guided by the unscriptural concept that the dead enter into their rewards at death. But, as set forth above, it is manifest that neither Jesus nor the writers of the New Testament believed or taught such a doctrine. To place the comma before the word "today" thus makes Christ contradict what He and the various New Testament writers have plainly stated elsewhere. Accordingly, the Scriptures themselves require that the comma be placed after the word "to day," not before it.

Joseph B. Rotherham in the emphasized New Testament, renders this passage in these words: "Verily I say unto thee this day: With Me shalt thou be in Paradise." Luke 23:43. And George M. Lamsa, in his translation of the New Testament from Aramaic sources, renders it as follows: "Truly I say to you today, You will be with Me in Paradise."

Thus, when Christ said to the thief on the cross: "Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with me in paradise," He was answering the great question the thief was pondering at the moment: not when he would reach paradise, but whether he would get there at all. Jesus' simple statement assures him that, however undeserving he may be, and however impossible it may appear for Jesus to make good such a promise while dying the death of a condemned criminal Himself, the thief will most assuredly be there. In fact, it was Jesus' presence on the cross that made such a hope possible.