Jesus said to the repentant thief on the cross: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
What Does The Word Paradise Mean?
A grand enclosure or park, shady and well watered and it was enclosed by walls. [from pairi- around + daeza wall]
Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us free from the snares of the world, and restores us to paradise and the kingdom. Anyone who has been in foreign lands longs to return to his own native land… We regard paradise as our native land. – Cyprian
But What Will It Really be Like In The Paradise Of Present Heaven?
Revelation 6:9 – 11 (NASB) “9And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;”
We Are Able To Express Ourselves And Be Heard By Others – “and they cried out with a loud voice” Verse 10
We Are Aware Of Time – “Saying, ‘How long…?’” Verse 10
We Have An Audience With God – “…O Lord, holy and true…” Verse 10
We Have A Deep Concern For Justice – “…wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Verse 10
We Have Memories Healed Of Our Lives On Earth – “…and avenge our blood..” Verse 10
We Have Our Individuality – “And there was given to each of them a white robe;” Verse 11
We Have Some Sort Of Physical Form – “…a white robe;” Verse 11
We Rest In God’s Sovereign Plan – “and they were told that they should rest for a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.” Verse 11
What Does This Mean For Us Now?
“Soon you will read in the paper that I am dead. Don’t believe it for a moment. I will be more alive than ever before…. Earth recedes…. Heaven opens before me!” – D.L. Moody, On His Deathbed
“Oh, God, this is the end; but for me it is the beginning.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, just before his death at the hands of the Nazi’s
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” – Missionary, Jim Elliott, killed for the Gospel by south American Indians.
Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. 2 Corinthians 5:11 (NLT)
