I am by no means a biblical scholar but what did Jesus mean when he told the thief on the cross, “this day thy shall be with me in paridise”? How could the thief be with Jesus if he was supposed to be suffering for his sins in purgatory?
That the thief would enter Heaven that day.
How could the thief be with Jesus if he was supposed to be suffering for his sins in purgatory?
The Church has never taught that all go to Purgatory, nor has it taught the duration that one must be in Purgatory.
Perhaps you should look at this passage:
31 Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)
What is "the world to come" where forgiveness possible? It IS NOT Heaven, because all has already been forgiven there. Nor is it Hell, because there IS NO forgiveness available there. That means that THERE MUST be a "world to come" where those who have not been forgiven might still receive forgiveness.
Who says he was supposed to go to purgatory? He did his share of suffering in life.
The Apostle’s Creed says He [Jesus] descended into hell. meaning of course, not Gehenna but the place where the souls of the just were waiting for deliverance by Christ. In my imagination I see Christ greeting Adam and Moses et al. with a most unlikely person at his right hand.
Exactly.