The Understanding of Paradise

Excerpted from Dr. David E. Seip’s upcoming book: Heaven.

Luke gives us an account of the interaction on the cross between Jesus and the repentant thief who hung next to Jesus on the cross. In 23:42-46, Luke writes: And he [the thief] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he [Jesus] said to him, “‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.” It is often assumed that when Jesus uttered these words concerning paradise he meant heaven. And that’s because for most believers, the afterlife consists of heaven and hell. When you die, they will say, you (i.e., your spirit) travel on to either heaven or hell. And if they stop long enough to consider something about the biblical promise of acquiring a redeemed body, they might suggest you’re soul is asleep in some fashion until Christ’s return. The general concept of death and life thereafter is a sort of simple contrast — a “this and then that,” a “here and then after.” The reality, according to the Bible, is that the journey of our soul experiences a journey that is far more entailed — more like a symphonic crescendo, going from one movement to the next in ever increasing vibrance. Dwight L. Moody’s final words on his death-bed were, “God is calling me, earth is receding, heaven is opening.” He was prepared and excited to go. And, as he entered into Christ’s presence, he in fact entered into heaven, into paradise, but it was not the highest heaven…at least not presently.

The simple logic concerning heaven of many believers is bolstered by a few well-known Bible verses, including the one we just read. And armed with these verses, and the aid of well-meaning sermons and books that condense the afterlife journey into a shortened process, the notion of Paul’s words, “absent from the body, present with the Lord” becomes an immediate ushering in to the highest heaven (or what Paul describes as the third heaven). After all, that seems to square with what Jesus said to the thief — “today you will be with me in Paradise.” Nevertheless, there is a phrase associated with this short episode on the cross that sheds light on what was really about to take place in reference to paradise. It is, “calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” At his death, Jesus cast off his body as every mortal who has died has done. He became spirit and soul and he. He had accomplished everything on earth that he had come to accomplish — to provide salvation which was adequate for all who would receive it. Now he would return to the Father. His spirit was committed to do so. He was now himself undertaking a journey on his way to return to his Father. It was a journey that would take him first to paradise and the path to it was by descending. We quote his actions in the Apostles’ Creed, “he descended into hell.” And as we discovered last time, this phrase originally meant “he descended into the lower places” — not “hell” as we know it today.

Where is paradise to be found? There has been much interest over the theme of paradise over the years, the blind poet John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost being one of them. It’s probably one of the best-known literary accounts of paradise. Having been lost though sin, paradise is restored through the death of Christ. The whole of human history is unfolded in the subtle interplay of sorrow over a lost paradise and the hope of its final restoration.

What is this paradise? And more important, how does it relate to what we perceive to be heaven? Of course, our attention must turn first to the first paradisaical garden — the garden of Eden. From a biblical perspective, the theme of parasite can be often found in the writings of the early church fathers. No matter how one perceives the account of the garden in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 — whether literal or figurative — all of the true church can agree on one aspect of the paradise story, paradise having been lost when Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden, has now been restored in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Christ is referred to as the new Adam (Romans 5:14–16, “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” And also, 1 Corinthians 15:45–38, “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.“)

There are two locations in the New Testament where the idea are prominent. We find the first in Luke 23:43, “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” We also discover it in Paul’s writings in 2 Corinthians 12:2,3, where he recounts, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.” These verses help us to understand that paradise has once again become accessible. Is accessibility is found in the works of the early church fathers, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius and numerous others. Irenaeus has written that “men if they do truly progress by faith towards better things, and receive the Spirit of God, and bring frth the frit thereof, shall be spiritual, as being planted in the paradise of God.”

Theophilus (c.180) wrote, “…this place Paradise, was made intermediate between earth and heaven.” Irenaeus, around the same date, said, “‘And God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He placed the man whom he had formed.’ And then afterwards, when man proved disobedient, he was cast out from there into the world. For this reason, the elders who were disciples of the apostles tell us that those who were translated (i.e., Enoch and Elijah) were transferred to that place. For Paradise has been prepared for righteous men, those who have the Spirit. Likewise, Paul the apostle, when he was translated, heard words in this place that are unspeakable…So it is there that those who have been translated will remain until the consummation (of all things), as a prelude to immortality.” Tertullian (c.195) wrote, “Paradise is the place of heavenly bliss that has been appointed to receive the spirits of the saints, who are severed from the knowledge of this world by that fiery zone as by a sort of enclosure.”

Refuting those who chose to believe that Paradise is in heaven, Hippolytus (c.205) wrote these words, “Some choose to maintain that Paradise is in heaven, and that it forms no part of the system of creation. However, we see with our eyes the rivers that go forth from it. For they are open to inspection by anyone who chooses to see them even in our day. Accordingly, let everyone conclude from this that Paradise did not belong to heaven…In truth, it is a locality in the east, and a select place.” Photius, quoting Methodius (c.290) says that Paul had two revelations. He says that the apostle does not suppose Paradise to be in the third heaven. This is the opinion of those who knew how to observe the particulars of language. For Paul says, “I know such a man caught up to the third heaven; and I know such a man…who was caught up into Paradise.” Here he indicates that he has seen two revelations, having been evidently taken up twice: once to the third heaven and once into Paradise.

There is another thread of information which can be leaned upon for assistance in our understanding of what the early church thought of the reality of Paradise and how it was understood. We find it in the Apocryphal literature read by the early church. The word “apocrypha” means the hidden things in the Greek. They consist of a set of text included in the Septuagint (which was a Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the Latin Vulgate Bible (which was the Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments). There are at least twenty-five such writings of which seven were considered “canonical” (inspired) by the Catholic church, and fourteen of which were considered by the Protestant church as useful for instruction but non-canonical. The Protestant Bible removed the insertion of these books from the Bible in the seventeenth century. Among these books were those described as Pseudepigrapha (texts loosely presumed to have been written a biblical figure). Among these books was one important work useful for our consideration here. It is known as the Apocalypse of Peter (or Revelation of Peter). Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing meaning “revelation” — an unveiling of things not previously known.

The Apocalypse of Peter is dated from the early second century. Some scholars want to date it as early as the late first century. It is extent, meaning we are in possession of the original writings. In the book, Peter is inquiring for signs of the Second Coming of Christ and describes both heavenly bliss for the saved and fiery punishments for the unsaved. It is presumed to have been written by Peter. What makes this work of interest to us in our pursuit of tracing the history of Paradise in the early church is that it is referred to by a number of early writers. It is among the most ancient relics of Christian literature. It first appears in what is known as the Muratorian fragment of the Bible canon which dates around A.D. 170–200, were it is placed along-side the Apocalypse of John (Revelation). The next writer who mentions it is Clement, who according to Eusebius, commented on it in one of his works, and in an existing fragment speaks of the Apocalypse of Peter as Scripture. There are others who wrote referring to it well into the ninth century thus giving it an honorable position among the extra-canonical writings.

So what does it say that is of particular interest in understanding Paradise? “And the Lord said furthermore, let us go unto the mountain and pray. And as we the twelve disciples went with him, we besought him that he would show us one of our righteous brethren that had departed from the world that we might see of what form they were, and so take courage, and encourage them also that should hear us. And as we were praying, there suddenly appeared two men standing before the Lord towards the East, whom we could not look upon: for there was light, such as never eye of man beheld nor mouth can describe, nor heart conceive the glory wherewith they were clad and the beauty of their countenance…When therefore we saw their beauty, we were all amazed at them, for they appeared suddenly: and I came near to the Lord and said, ‘Who are these?’ He saith to me, ‘These are your brethren the righteous, whose forms ye wished to behold.’ And I said to Him, ‘And where are all the righteous, or what sort is the world wherein they are and possess their glory?’ And the Lord showed me a very great place outside this world, (he’s describing Sheol), shining excessively with light, and the air that was there illuminated with the rays of the sun, and the earth itself blooming with unfading flowers, and full of spices and fair-flowering plants, incorruptible, and bearing a blessed fruit: and so strong was the perfume that it was borne even to us from thence. And the dwellers of that place were clad in the raiment of angels of light, and their raiment was like their land: and angels encircled them there. And the glory of the dwellers there was equal, and with one voice they praised the Lord God rejoicing in that place.”

The writer then goes on to describe another place next to this scene. It is a place of torment. “And I saw another place over against that other, very squalid, and it was a place of chastisement; and those that were there being chastised and the angels that were chastising had their raiment dark, according to thee atmosphere of the place…and there was beneath them fire flaming and tormenting them…and all were saying, ‘We believed not that we should come to this place.’”

This picture painted, presumably by Peter, is a picture of Sheol with its two sides starkly dividing its inhabitants. Paradise is presented here in graphic detail and intended to encourage the early church with details otherwise not presented in the canonical writings. If we are to believe this depiction, then we have more potential evidence that Paradise, as mentioned on the cross by Jesus, is not heaven but something closely resembling it. It is an otherworldly place in which there is brilliant light and much joy. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:3,4 “And I know that this man was caught up into paradise- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows, and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.”