“Truthfully I say to you, Today you will be with me in Paradise; your faith has saved you.”
There was no punctuation in the original writings; the emphasis could have, and most likely was, a common AFTER the word ‘today’. To then read “Truthfully I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise...”
We know that no ‘dead’ are with Christ yet as the Bible says upon His return ‘the dead in Christ will rise first’.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
2 Corinthians 5:6–8 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
On the Last Day, when Jesus Christ returns visibly and in glory, our bodies will be raised from the dead, restored, and reunited with our souls:
John 5:28–29 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
1 Corinthians 15:51–54 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
In the eternal presence of the Lord, that is, in heaven, we will enjoy pleasures forevermore, in body and soul together:
Psalm 16:9–11 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy Oned see decay. 11 You have madee known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
God Bless