I hope this is not a stupid question

[Kay]

I remember Jesus telling one of the men who was next to him being crucified that he would be in heaven with him that very day so I believe as soon as you depart from this world your with the father.

God Bless You

Jacqueline

No sorry sis; HE said I will see you in paradise; The saints were not yet in heaven

[dwinkjr]

I remember Jesus telling one of the men who was next to him being crucified that he would be in heaven with him that very day so I believe as soon as you depart from this world your with the father. 

God Bless You

Jacqueline

No sorry sis; HE said I will see you in paradise; The saints were not yet in heaven

Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

[ServingHim]

No sorry sis; HE said I will see you in paradise; The saints were not yet in heaven

so does paradise still exist if it is not heaven nor is it hell? What do you think Jesus meant by 'paradise'? And what was Paul speaking of when he spoke of 'the third heaven' in 1 Cor 12:2? Also, in Gen 1:14, it speaks of 'heavenS' (plural)...is there MORE than just ONE Heaven? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, Deut 10:14 (RSV) ... what is heaven OF heavens (singular of plural)?

[whatsitmean]

I think it is quite possible that no matter when you die, we will all get to heaven at exactly the same time.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. If someone died 1000 years ago, they would not get to heaven at the same time as someone who died today. When we are caught up to be with the Lord and receive a glorified body, in that sense, we might arrive in heaven at the same time (but that is stretching it since we are already there at different times).

Are you referring to a science fiction space-time continuum or something (=groundless speculation)?

Not exactly, once you leave this body, it is quite possible that time no longer effects your perception the way it does here. Consider the book of Revelation and other prophetic writtings. It appears the concept of time becomes rather blurred wouldn't you say.

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

The 3rd heaven is the abode of GOD.The 2nd heaven is the planetaries(moon,stars,gaxacies,ect.).1st heaven is the atmospheres.

[Rick]

Something that I have never really fully understood is the connection between paradise and the heart of the earth. To the thief was the promise that " This day..Thou shalt be with me in paradise.

Mt:12:40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Anyone want to take a shot at reconciling the two?

Thanks,

Rick

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Rick,

Something that I have never really fully understood is the connection between paradise and the heart of the earth. To the thief was the promise that " This day..Thou shalt be with me in paradise.

Mt:12:40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus was not telling the thief that He would see him "in the heart of the earth". That is a place of the dead, IOW the grave. Where Jesus went and preached to those held captive in prison (the OT saints) is thought to be "Abraham's bosom", or as you have pointed out "paradise", a place for souls awaiting the "resurrection of the Lord". We see also that upon the Lord's resurrection, He took "captivity captive" when He ascended", meaning that ALL those who died of the OT economy that believed God and awaited the manifestion of His Son, went to be with the Lord in Heaven, INCLUDING the thief on the cross.

Does that help?

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[whatsitmean]

We experience time in a strict linear order. We go from a to b to c. It is not possible for us to get from a to c without going through b first. What if that is not necessary when you are out of the body? What if everyone went from the moment in time that they die, directly to Revelation chapter 5. We all appear at the same instant and then have eternity together to revisit the past or do whatever interests us from there on.

I don't think that is science fiction.

[godrulz]

Time is unidirectional succession, sequence, duration. There is time in heaven (Rev. 6:10; 8:1; 22:1,2). It is an aspect of any personal being, including God. The timeless 'eternal now' view is philosophical, not biblical. The past is fixed, the present is now/real, the future is not yet. Time travel is an absurdity and illogical. Anything else is speculative and indefensible. Peter and John have literally been with Christ since the first century. When we die, we will join them. It does not happen instantaneously/all at once through time warps or black holes. There is no reason to speculate when Scripture says (Greek tenses) that we will be with him at death in successive space and time order. Other verses explicitly talk about returning to their fathers or children who have died (e.g. Abraham and David with his son who predeceased him).

In the OT, Hades consisted of a righteous and unrighteous compartment. It is a temporary holding tank for saints and sinners. There was a divide between the two (Lk. 16). After the resurrection, the righteous compartment was emptied and no longer exists. The wicked still wait for their final judgment at the end of the millennium (Great White Throne). Now, to be absent from the body is to be immediately present with the Lord in heaven where He is. There is still a future bodily resurrection of the saints. They probably have temporary 'tents' in heaven in the mean time.

[whatsitmean]

Time has physical properties that function according to mass and velocity. That means it can be slowed down or made faster. A clock in Denver actually runs faster than an identical clock at sea level. The soul, outside of the body has no mass. Time will not have the same effect on it. I