Time discrepancy in Apostle's Creed

[Periwinkle27]

The Apostle’s Creed tells us that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, descended into hell and then, on the third day he arose again from the dead and he ascended into heaven.
I am confused regarding the time frame - even though I know God does not perceive or experience time as we do. While Jesus was suffering on the cross, he said to one of the thieves next to him that he would see him on this same day in paradise (Luke 23:42-43, RSV) …23:42 "And he said, ““Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.”” 23:43 And he said to him, ““Truly, I say unto you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”” (Also in Luke 24:43 New American Catholic Bible, and other catholic bibles).
I have a problem reconciling the three days Jesus is supposed to be in hell with being in Paradise the same day. Since the thief was a human man, not any heavenly being with a different concept of time, would Jesus not have said that he would see him in three days’ time in heaven? Or was it indeed just “unregistered” time for the thief but three days for Jesus…like the thief’s time went on a straight line where he would be in heaven this day, but Jesus’ time line had a loop in it that is like a continuation for humans? Am I making this too difficult?
Thank you all so much in advance for your wisdom and insights.
Many Blessings.
Periwinkle27

 

[Aulef]

Remember that Jesus Christ is God and man.

For being God, He is always in Heaven, and thus, His promisse to the thief is true.

For being man, His human soul descended into hell (more specifically, the Bosom of Abraham) to take to Heaven the souls of the just men who were there and could not access Beatific Vision before His sacrifice.

 

[greenrangerx]

Take this with a grain of salt, but when I was a protestant, I was taught that there is no punctuation in Greek, so the sentence could potentially be translated as, “I say unto you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

 

[Wesrock]

He could have been referring to “Abraham’s Bosom” sometimes called the Limbo of the Fathers, as the place of paradise, and which is what the Creed means by Hell in that instance.

 

[Wesrock]

Here is an excerpt from Bishop Haydock’s commentary on Luke 23:43.

Ver. 43. I say to thee: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise; i.e. in a place of rest with the souls of the just. The construction is not, I say to thee this day, &c., but, thou shalt be with me this day in the paradise. Wi. — In paradise. That is, in the happy state of rest, joy and peace everlasting. Christ was pleased by a special privilege, to reward the faith and confession of the penitent thief with a full discharge of all his sins, both as to the guilt and punishment, and to introduce him, immediately after death, into the happy society of the saints, whose limbo (that is, the place of their confinement) was now made a paradise by our Lord’s going thither. Ch. — The soul of the good thief was that same day with Jesus Christ, in the felicity of the saints, in Abraham’s bosom, or in heaven, where Jesus was always present by his divinity. S. Aug. — S. Cyril, of Jerusalem, says he entered heaven before all the patriarchs and prophets. S. Chrys. thinks that paradise was immediately open to him, and that he entered heaven the first mankind. — Tom. v. homil. 32.

 

[Gorgias]

Take this with a grain of salt, but when I was a protestant, I was taught that there is no punctuation in Greek, so the sentence could potentially be translated as, “I say unto you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

Which is cute, but makes little sense when you think about it. I mean, could he have said – using the present tense ‘I say’ – “I say unto you yesterday…”, or “I say unto in a month…”? The only way it makes sense is if it means “I say unto you, today you will be…”

The Apostle’s Creed tells us that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, descended into hell and then, on the third day he arose again from the dead and he ascended into heaven.

On the “third day”, Jesus’ body rose. Was his soul constrained by time? Are there clocks in Abraham’s Bosom or in heaven?

The problem, I think, is attempting to impose physical standards (such as time) on non-physical states (such as heaven).

 

[Evan]

Have you never used the expression “I’m telling you today, …”. I have.

Sometimes it preceded by, “that is what I said yesterday, but things have changed. I say to you this day, Eat your dinner!!!”

Or “You have heard it said ‘…’, But I say to you today, ‘…’”

 

[Gorgias]

Have you never used the expression “I’m telling you today, …”. I have.

Perhaps. Yet, you’re using a 20th century idiomatic English expression, and imposing it on 1st century Aramaic. Anachronize much?

Sometimes it preceded by, “that is what I said yesterday, but things have changed. I say to you this day, Eat your dinner!!!”

OK… so, with additional context, it would make sense – albeit as an idiomatic expression in contemporary America. On its own, though, devoid of additional context?

Or “You have heard it said ‘…’, But I say to you today, ‘…’”

I think you’re trying to quote Matthew 5 from memory. You might want to go back and look up what the text really says…

 

[therese1998]

This is just my opinion, but I think the meaning to be extrapolated from the Apostle’s Creed is not about timelines and when you attempt to impose human parameters around a supernatural event you a. are speculating because none of us can understand, much less know, how Jesus operates in time unless it is specifically referenced and b. run the serious risk of becoming distracted from the purpose of the Creed…as part of our worship.

If you really have to know, however, you have some good answers already.