Where Did the Saved Thief Go? by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 6, 1916

Where Did the Saved Thief Go?

By F. M. W.

THIS is the question which a Pennsylvania reader asks the editor of the Sunday School Times. This reader inquires how it was possible for the thief to be with Jesus in Paradise on the day of the crucifixion when three days later he had not yet ascended to the Father? Luke 23: 43; John 20: 17. The editor replies to this inquiry in the Times of April 29. He makes this lucid statement regarding the Lord’s conversation with Mary:—

“Our Lord, when he spoke to Mary, had not yet ascended to present himself in his resurrection body before the Father. It seems probable that he did ascend soon after speaking with Mary, for his prohibition to her, ‘Touch me not,’—take not hold of me—was not repeated to the women whom he met later and who took hold of his feet. Matt. 28: 9. Christ is the ‘first fruits’ of the resurrection; and as the priest waved the sheaf of the first fruits before the Lord ‘on the morrow after the sabbath,’ so our Lord, as the great fulfilment of the type, is believed to have presented himself in his resurrection body before the Father, on the morrow after the sabbath. Lev. 2: 11, 12.”

We are surprised, however, at the following wholly unwarranted and speculative statement regarding the early place of Paradise:—

“Many thoughtful Bible students believe that Jesus and his new friend, the redeemed thief, on the day of the crucifixion went to the same place to which the beggar Lazarus was carried by the angels. Luke 16: 22. The rich man had also been taken to the place of dead spirits, or Hades, and he could communicate with Abraham and Lazarus, though there was ‘a great gulf fixed’ between them. Many passages in the Old Testament, confirmed by those in the New, seem to suggest that Sheol, or Hades, the place of the dead, to which the spirits of both the righteous and the wicked of Old Testament times went, was literally in the heart of this earth. The place of the righteous dead was called ‘Abraham’s bosom,’ or ‘Paradise.’”

“But we know that Paradise today is not down, but up. For Paul was ‘caught up to the third heaven . . . caught up into Paradise.’ The third heaven—there are only three—is the abode of God, and it is where our spirits go to be with Jesus, while our bodies rest in the graves.

“Was Paradise, then, transferred from the lower parts of the earth to the third heaven? Many find this suggestion to be the most satisfying explanation. ‘When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.’”

We fear that Brother Trumbull, usually so clear in his Bible answers to inquiries, has missed his way this time. He cites no Scriptural proof for his statement regarding the transfer of Paradise—he could find none to cite. The theory is purely speculative and wholly without foundation or authority in divine revelation.

How much more reasonable as well as Scriptural is the view which has often-times been advocated in these columns. Christ did not declare that the thief should be with him in Paradise on the day of his death. The request of the thief was that the Lord should remember him when he came into his kingdom. In answer the Lord replied, Verily, I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be remembered; thou shalt be with me in Paradise in harmony with thy request. Matt. 16: 27. It was indeed a marvelous statement for Christ to make that day, under all the circumstances. He had been condemned as a common criminal. That very moment he hung upon the cross, condemned by the nation he came to save, deserted by all save a few of his most intimate disciples. Darkness enshrouded the place of the crucifixion. It even seemed to the Son of God in a moment of depression that the Father had forsaken him, but his faith rose triumphant above all the gloom of his surroundings. He was still the Son of God. He still had power to give life unto the dead; power to promise the penitent thief a home in his kingdom. Thus it was a great thing for him to declare, Verily, I say unto thee today, even under these distressing circumstances, I have power to fulfil your request.

With the placing of the comma in the narrative after the word “today,” in place of before it, the Saviour’s meaning

is made plain, and the statement harmonizes with every other scripture relating to this question. For the Bible is very clear that the dead do not go to their reward at death. Their reward comes at the end of the world, when the Lord himself comes to take his children home. See 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8; 1 Thess. 4: 16-18; 1 Cor. 15: 51-55, and many other scriptures.

When Christ ascended, he “led captivity captive.” This was fulfilled in the bestowal of immortal life upon those who arose from their graves at the time of his resurrection. They had been held captive by Satan. His power was broken, and the liberated ones accompanied the Lord to glory, his willing captives.

F. M. W.