Luke 23:39-43
Good To Go (Series On End Times)
Paul knew it was extremely important for us to know what happens when we die.
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
Where do we go when we die?
Luke 23:39-43
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Paradise, is the next step on our eternal journey. Is paradise heaven or is it heaven’s front porch?
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, (Not purgatory) but the gift of God is eternal life, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Scripture not tradition is what defines our theology
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know— only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.
Paul is caught up in the 3rd heaven. This is what our loved ones, who have gone to be with the Lord, are experiencing.
Matthew 22:31-32
“But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
Paradise is the hors d’oeuvres of our heavenly feast. The eternal form of heaven, will begin after the Millennium. God is busy doing a Cosmic remodeling. A universe forever purged of sin, full of people who love Jesus.
2 Peter 3:13
But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
Until then we can know one thing for sure, those who died in Christ Jesus, are not dead. They have been made holy, enjoying God’s presence.