I think the first sentence “I say to you, today THAT you will be with me in Paradise.” is awkward and not correct.
You’re right, it is a most awkward and preposterous translation given what was going on…
…Jesus had been beaten and literally tortured to within an inch of His life then put on the cross.
…And the JW’s and SDA’s try to twist Christ’s words to make it sound like Jesus qualified on what day He told the theif what He did!
Jesus is exhausted and in great pain, He goes through even more pain to lift Himself up on the cross so He can even get a breath…
…Then tells the theif that He is talking to him on THAT DAY.
…If makes what Christ said into meaningless mockery.
In any event every Jew, except one that was a Sadducee would have believed they would be purified for a time OR go directly to paradise upon death…
…There was no Jewish concept of hell being eternal until Jesus said that’s the way it was.
Remember when Peter was broke out of Jail by the angel?
…And rushed to the house of some early Christian believers.
…Peter beat on the door - the girl on the other side recognized Peter’s voice.
…And they thought ‘IT’ was Peter’s angel ( or spirit ).
These early Christian believers thought Peter had just been killed by the sword!
…Kind of an odd thing for them to be thinking what was on the other side of the door was Peter’s ‘GHOST’!.
…If that’s NOT what they believed LOL!
Acts 12,11
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they,
It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
Now, knowing that the Sadducees rejected not only the resurrection but also that there was a spiritual side of man that continued after death…
…It becomes easy to know exactly what Jesus told the thief that today that thief would be WITH CHRIST in paradise.
…Because they would both be dead that very same day.
Acts 23,7
And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no
resurrection, neither
angel, NOR spirit:
but the Pharisees confess both.
The answer is given in the very next verse.
Verse 9
And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but **if a spirit **OR
an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
Sadducees absolutely believed in “angels” because they are mentioned in the law of Moses…
…What Sadducees rejected was that after death there was ANYTHING, specifically that man would become a spirit or angel.
The Jehovah’s Wittnesses and Seventh-day Adventists prefer to not address texts like this as it defeats their teaching so well…
…Any religion that advocates a creature christ, from I can tell ALSO pushes soul sleep.
…There is some Arian connection there that I have yet to find - but it’s certainly there.
