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Luke 23:43 |
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And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Note 4 at Lu 23:43: This paradise that Jesus spoke of must have been the same place that Jesus called "Abraham's bosom" (see note 3 at Lu 16:22) when He gave the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Eph 4:9 with Ac 2:25-31 make it very clear that Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth after His death, and Joh 20:17 shows that it was some time after His resurrection before Jesus ascended back to His Father. Therefore, this paradise was the "Abraham's bosom" located in "Sheol" (Amplified Bible) in the lower parts of the earth (see note 3 at Mt 12:40).
Paul later spoke of a man being caught up into paradise, and he used this word interchangeably with the term "the third heaven" (2Co 12:2 and 4). Paradise is also spoken of as being in heaven in Re 2:7. It must be that when Jesus went to paradise that was then in the heart of the earth and led the godly captives out (Eph 4:8-9), He moved paradise to heaven with Him.

