What is paradise?
Question 10117
When Jesus hung on the cross beside a repentant criminal, He made an extraordinary promise: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). But what exactly is paradise? Is it the same as heaven? Where is it? And what does Scripture teach about this place of blessing? Understanding the biblical concept of paradise helps us grasp what awaits believers immediately after death and ultimately in eternity.
The Word “Paradise”
The English word “paradise” comes from the Greek παράδεισος (paradeisos), which itself was borrowed from the Old Persian word pairi-daeza, meaning “walled garden” or “enclosed park.” Persian kings maintained beautiful royal gardens, and the Greek word came to describe such a place of delight and beauty.
When Jewish scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek (the Septuagint), they used paradeisos to describe the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8). This established a powerful connection: paradise evokes Eden, the place of perfect fellowship with God before sin entered the world.
In the New Testament, the word appears only three times, but each occurrence is significant. Jesus used it in His promise to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43). Paul mentioned it when describing his vision of “the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:4). And Jesus promised the church at Ephesus access to “the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
Paradise in Jewish Thought
By Jesus’ day, Jewish teachers had developed beliefs about the afterlife that help us understand how the word “paradise” would have been understood. The righteous dead were believed to go to a place of blessing and comfort, often called “Abraham’s bosom” (compare Luke 16:22) or paradise. The wicked went to a place of torment in Sheol/Hades.
This intermediate state was distinguished from the final resurrection and judgement still to come. Paradise was where the righteous waited in blessing until the resurrection. Some Jewish sources described it as a garden where the righteous enjoyed fellowship with the patriarchs and anticipated the world to come.
Paradise and the Thief on the Cross
Jesus’ promise to the dying thief is rich with significance. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Several elements deserve attention.
First, the word “today” (σήμερον, sēmeron) indicates immediacy. The thief would not wait in unconscious sleep or some holding place. That very day, he would be with Jesus in paradise. This is a powerful text against the doctrine of soul sleep—the idea that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection.
Second, the thief would be “with me”—with Jesus. Paradise is not fundamentally about a place but about a Person. To be in paradise is to be in the presence of Jesus. This is why Paul could describe departing to be “with Christ” as “far better” than remaining in the body (Philippians 1:23).
Third, this promise came to a man who had nothing to offer. He couldn’t be baptised, couldn’t take communion, couldn’t do good works, couldn’t make restitution. He simply believed and called on Jesus as Lord. This remains the only requirement for paradise: faith in Jesus Christ.
Paradise and the Third Heaven
Paul’s mysterious experience, recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, links paradise with “the third heaven.” Jewish cosmology often distinguished between the atmospheric heaven (where birds fly), the celestial heaven (where stars are), and the highest heaven (where God dwells). Paul describes being “caught up to the third heaven” and then being “caught up into paradise.” These appear to be parallel descriptions of the same place—the very dwelling place of God.
What Paul heard there, he was not permitted to share. This stands in stark contrast to modern accounts of heaven visits, where people write detailed books about their experiences. Paul’s restraint reminds us that God has revealed in Scripture everything we need to know. Paradise holds wonders beyond our comprehension, but we must wait to experience them.
Paradise and the Tree of Life
In Revelation 2:7, Jesus promises, “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” This connects paradise with both the beginning and the end of Scripture.
The tree of life first appeared in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve could eat freely from it before the Fall. After sin, they were barred from the garden and the tree (Genesis 3:22-24), lest they eat and live forever in their fallen state. The cherubim and flaming sword guarded the way.
In Revelation 22:2, the tree of life reappears in the New Jerusalem: “On either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” What was lost in Eden is restored—indeed, surpassed—in the eternal state.
Paradise, then, is the completion of what Eden began. It is the garden restored and glorified, the place where redeemed humanity dwells with God forever, with full access to the tree of life. The curse is reversed (Revelation 22:3), and the cherubim no longer bar the way.
The Present and Future Paradise
Is paradise the intermediate state (where believers go at death) or the eternal state (the new heavens and new earth)? The answer is both, understood in different senses.
Presently, when believers die, they enter the presence of Jesus in heaven—this is the intermediate state, sometimes called paradise. They are “with Christ” (Philippians 1:23) and “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). They experience conscious blessing while awaiting the resurrection.
Ultimately, at the resurrection, believers will receive glorified bodies and dwell on the new earth, in the New Jerusalem, with full access to the tree of life in the paradise of God. This is the final and eternal state, where heaven and earth are joined and God dwells with His people forever (Revelation 21:1-4).
The present paradise is wonderful; the future paradise will be even greater, for we will have resurrection bodies and the consummation of all God’s promises.
Conclusion
Paradise is where Jesus is. For the dying thief, that meant immediate presence with Jesus the same day he died. For Paul, it was an overwhelming experience he wasn’t permitted to describe. For believers throughout the ages, it is the blessed hope awaiting us at death. And for all God’s people in the eternal state, it will be the restored and glorified Eden, where we eat from the tree of life and enjoy unbroken fellowship with the triune God forever. The way to paradise is not through good works or religious ritual—it is through faith in Jesus Christ, the One who opened paradise to a dying criminal with nothing to offer but trust in His Lord.
“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.'” Luke 23:43
Bibliography
- MacArthur, John. The Glory of Heaven. Crossway, 1996.
- Walvoord, John F. The Prophecy Knowledge Handbook. Victor Books, 1990.
- Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah. Ariel Ministries, 2003.
- Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future. Eerdmans, 1979.
- Alcorn, Randy. Heaven. Tyndale House, 2004.
