Death: What is Paradise?

As the title of this post would imply, we’re going to answer the question: What is paradise?

The reason this is even a question is that some hold a view that paradise is a holding area that’s not in heaven or God’s presence for the righteous dead. Mainly, this is based on the account in which Jesus tells the thief on the cross that today he would be with Jesus in paradise. 

Luke 23:42 NKJV - Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

Luke 23:43 NKJV - And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

However, even those who advocate for heaven as a literal destination immediately upon death recognize the problems in reading this as a literal, immediate entrance into paradise present. Number one: Jesus did not enter heaven for at least three days, and He did not see His Father’s face during that time either (John 20:17). 

Thus, to take this statement from Jesus literally instead of as a future promise, there enters the theory that paradise cannot be in heaven or in God’s presence, so Jesus and the thief could all be there that very same day. Paradise thus becomes an intermediary holding area for the dead that’s neither the kingdom nor the place of torment. 

Now we see that we must answer the question of what and where paradise is, and in doing so, we gain a firmer grasp on death and what takes place afterward. 

The first thing to notice about this passage in Luke is that the thief tells Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom, an event that takes place at the second coming of Jesus. Jesus did not and has not yet fully entered into His kingdom, so in the thief’s mind, he was referring to a distant future event.

What then was Jesus referring to when He told the thief he would be with Him in paradise?

The word “paradise” is a transliteration of the Greek word παράδεισος, which in turn comes from a word of oriental origin. 

παράδεισος/ paradeisos

A garden, pleasure-ground; grove, park

It’s used relatively few times in the New Testament, but it appears frequently in the LXX to translate the word “garden.” I’ll share these passages below. 

Genesis 2:8 NKJV - The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:9 NKJV - And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life [was] also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:10 NKJV - Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

Genesis 3:3 NKJV - "but of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "

Genesis 13:10 NKJV - And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

Numbers 24:6 NKJV - Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.

Nehemiah 2:8 NKJV - "and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which [pertains] to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy." And the king granted [them] to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Ecclesiastes 2:5 NKJV - I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all [kinds] of fruit trees in them.

Song of Songs 4:13 NKJV - Your plants [are] an orchard of pomegranates With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard,

Isaiah 1:30 NKJV - For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.

Isaiah 51:3 NKJV - For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Jeremiah 29:5 NKJV - Build houses and dwell [in them]; plant gardens and eat their fruit.

Ezekiel 28:13 NKJV - You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone [was] your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Ezekiel 31:8 NKJV - The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; The fir trees were not like its boughs, And the chestnut trees were not like its branches; No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.

Ezekiel 31:9 NKJV - I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches, So that all the trees of Eden envied it, That [were] in the garden of God.'

Joel 2:3 NKJV - A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land [is] like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.

That’s the extent of the usage of this word in the LXX (I omitted a few in the first chapter of Genesis that continually referred to Eden), and the majority of usage refers to the Garden of Eden, which is alternately called the Garden of God or the Lord. Out of its 27 appearances, 19 refer to the Garden of God, also known as Eden.

Now that we have the foundation of its usage in the LXX Greek, let’s take a look at every use in the New Testament. 

Luke 23:43 NKJV - And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

2 Corinthians 12:4 NKJV - how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Revelation 2:7 NKJV - "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." '

In Revelation, it makes it pretty clear it’s referring to the Garden of God, and this is the same phrase we’d find in the LXX when it is talking about this Garden of God. Notice that this Garden or paradise is where the Tree of Life stands, which again tells us this is the heavenly version of what we saw on Earth in Genesis. 

Now that we know paradise could easily and accurately be translated as garden, let’s look at a few specific details to see if we can determine where this garden is. 

The main thing to note is that in the Old Testament, this word usage never has anything to do with being dead or the realm of the dead; it has to do with the garden of God. 

In Revelation, it specifically places the Tree of Life in the Garden of God, the same place we saw it in Genesis, which nails something down for us. 

Revelation 22:1 NKJV - And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:2 NKJV - In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, [was] the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each [tree] yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:3 NKJV - And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

Revelation 22:14 NKJV - Blessed [are] those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

We see the Tree of Life located in the midst of the heavenly Jerusalem, where God’s throne is also located. We would seem to be able to infer from this that Paradise is indeed in God’s presence at this moment in time, and this is further backed up by Paul’s reference to Paradise. 

2 Corinthians 12:2 NKJV - I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

2 Corinthians 12:3 NKJV - And I know such a man--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows--

2 Corinthians 12:4 NKJV - how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

The third heaven is the place where God dwells according to external Jewish texts of the day, but this is the only place in the Bible where this exact phrase is used. What Paul does make clear is that the third heaven and Paradise are synonymous, which, as we see from Revelation, is where God’s throne stands. 

There’s also something interesting here that the translators either missed or intentionally excluded when they handled these passages referring to Paradise. Out of the three passages paradise appears in, only Revelation is fully translated to say, “the paradise of God.” 

They all contain the Greek definite article, so all three passages should say, “the Paradise.”

(τῷ παραδείσῳ)

The full phrase in Luke is, ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, which translated would either be, “in the paradise” or “in the Garden.” 

Now, we aren’t told anywhere what this Paradise is, but we are told an awful lot about what this Garden is, so it is my opinion that all uses of paradeiso should be translated as Garden. 

The passages in the New Testament then look like this: And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in the Garden.”

“how he was caught up into the Garden and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”

“He who is having an ear -- let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies: To him who is overcoming -- I will give to him to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the Garden of God.”

These three passages now fully harmonize with the Old Testament, which tells us exactly what and where Paradise is. 

Paradise is the Garden of God, now the Heavenly Garden of God in the Heavenly Jerusalem, where the throne of God sits, which will be restored to Earth at the second coming of our King. 

It’s the promised restoration of the Earth made new as we see throughout the whole of prophecy. 

With this correct translation, what Jesus told the thief becomes impossible if what Jesus meant is that they would both go to the Garden of God immediately upon death as a place of intermediary holding, but if what Jesus meant was to promise the thief that one day he would be with Him in the restored Garden of Eden on Earth, then it presents no issue at all. 

Granted, the observations made in this post do nothing to answer the other questions of consciousness after death, what death is, where we are held after death, etc., but what is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt is what Paradise actually is: the Garden of God.