What is the meaning of "paradise" in Luke 23:43?

Question

"And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”"Luke 23:43, ESV.

The Greek word used for paradise (Παραδείσῳ) has three meanings, according to Strong's Concordance:

1. A garden, taken from the ancient Persion word for garden. This makes sense in the context of Adam and Eve, when we speak of them as having lived in paradise.
2. The bosom of Abraham, that part of Sheol(or Hades, the grave) where the righteous rest, awaiting resurrection.
3. An upper region in the heavens (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:4)

Which one of these does the text in question mean? It looks like Strong's directly point out to number 2, but also admitting not everyone agrees with that. But why? What are the arguments for any of the views?

Does Jesus refer to the heaven as upper region, or the common grave of the righteous?

Answer 1

Paradise was that part of Sheol, the grave, the realm of the dead where the righteous were held separate and apart from the place of torment where the unrighteous were held waiting for the resurrection which Jesus prophesied would happen after He destroyed the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 24-25).

Paradise was not heaven, but was part of the "prison" of Hades which Jesus held the keys to (Rev. 1:18). As He told the thief that he would be with Christ in Paradise that same day, and as Christ was in the grave for three days and three nights, then Paradise was that part of the grave where Christ was. The rabbis called it Abraham's Bosom. Luke 16:23-31 provides the picture of that realm of the dead.

As Jesus was resurrected on the 3rd day (Matt. 17:23), and as the grave could not hold Him (Acts 2:24), then He did not remain in Paradise. When He ascended to the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:9), He was in heaven with the Father. Paradise was not in heaven.

As Christ told His disciples that He would separate out all of those from the grave, the sheep (righteous) to His right and the goats (unrighteous) to His left when He returned to destroy that temple, which He did in AD 70, then that grave, or realm of the dead has been taken away. Revelation 20 said it was thrown into the lake of fire.

Christ said that the prison of Hades would not prevail against His church. It no longer exists, and no longer holds any of those who belong to Christ. The process of judgment at our bodily death has always been the same.

"and as it is laid up to men once to die, and after this -- judgment," (Heb. 9:27, YLT)

We are judged when we die. That is why Lazarus was placed in Abraham's Bosom, and the rich man was placed in torment in Tartarus. But, the place of the dead has changed. Rev. 14:13 provides that clue.

"And I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, Write: Happy are the dead who in the Lord are dying **from this time**!' Yes, (saith the Spirit,) That they may rest from their labours -- and their works do follow them!'" (YLT)

After the destruction of Jerusalem, after Christ took all those out of the grave and took the righteous home to heaven, all those who have died in the Lord since that judgment day have been resurrected, changed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:52) and gathered home to heaven to be with all of those who have gone before. That is now the process.

See "Hades Is No More" here: ShreddingTheVeil. See also "The Signs of Revelation - Part VI: Judgment Day here: here, and "Testing The Spirits - Part III: Daniel's Lot" here: here.

Answer 2

In the time of Jesus, the Jewish concept of the afterlife had evolved from OT descriptions of Sheol, a place devoid of joy even for the most righteous ones, to include the idea of Paradise or "Abraham's Bosom," signifying "the abode of bliss in the other world." The concept is not only found in the NT, but also in Jewish writings. It is to this realm that Jesus must have referred when he spoke of being with his companion in Paradise.

2 Esdras refers several times to Paradise, often contrasting it to its opposite, namely Gehenna, the Jewish version of Hell.

The pit of torment shall appear, and opposite it shall be the place of rest, and the furnace of Gehenna shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight. (2 Esdras 7:36)

In IV Macc. 13, the righteous who die for their faith are received by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the patriarchs [presumably also the matriarchs] in the afterlife:

Let us with all our hearts consecrate ourselves to God, who gave us our lives, and let us use our bodies as a bulwark for the law. Let us not fear him who thinks he is killing us, for great is the soul’s contest and the danger of eternal torment lying before those who transgress the commandment of God. Therefore let us put on the full armor of mastery of the passions that divine reason provides. For if we so die, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will welcome us, and all the fathers will praise us.

The OP offers us three choices for the meaning of Paradise in the context of Luke 23:

• 1 A garden, taken from the ancient Persian word for garden

• 2 The bosom of Abraham, that part of Sheol (or Hades, the grave) where the righteous rest, awaiting resurrection.

• 3 An upper region in the heavens (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:4)

The answer is a combination of 2 and 3, with the stipulation that the Bosom of Abraham should be understood as a blissful abode in which souls recognize each other and interact meaningfully, not simply a place to await resurrection.

Answer 3

Common grave, Hades, Aid was a place where all souls of the Isaak/Israelis were held by their Lord due to the contract with Abraham Ez 18:4[1].

Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine.

Until the sacrifice of Jesus the descendants of Isaak could only be released from that covenant by surrendering their soul and getting a new one - this is the essence of the baptism of John (drowning) and following metanoia (getting a new soul) on resuscitation.

Once the sacrifice of Jesus happened the covenant was annulled Zech 11:10 [2]:

I took my staff Favor and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.

So the soul of the evildoer who asked Jesus to be remembered would certainly not be held in Hades - this is to negate the option 2.

The option 1 - a garden and 3 - a place in heaven may be the same one. I do not know otherwise so I can not answer that part. But I would suggest both of them are correct (at the same time).

[1] https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/18-4.htm

[2]https://biblehub.com/zechariah/11-10.htm