Jesus said to the thief on the cross “Today you will be with ME in paradise”.
Was he telling the thief that his destiny was paradise?
Or was He telling him that he was going to be with Him?
We know that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven.... so did Jesus leave the thief in paradise? or did He take him with Him along with all of the other believers who were being held in Abraham’s bosom?
You see... I believe that the place referred to as Abraham’s bosom (a paradise in Hades) is empty... It has been empty since Jesus went there to declare his victory and set the captives free.
We also know to that to be abscent from the body (death) is to be present with the Lord.
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
So I ask you this....
Is “paradise” a place? or is it to be present with the Lord?
There is no “purgatory”.
To say that there is would be a contradiction to the words of Jesus when He said “It is finished”.
The process of becoming “perfect” I would also submit is a process which God Himself completes... NOT US.
We simply cannot become perfect from our own works. It cannot happen. We are MADE perfect ONLY by His sacrifice.
Paadise was a waiting place for all the good people of the Old Testament.
The Apostles Creed says “was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead”
Christ remained on earth for the 50 days of Easter. Think of all the Easter Sunday encounters, Emmaus, the fishing scene, walking through doors — twice!
So the good thief and the other good people could not go to heaven until Christ entered first — The Apostles Creed says: “he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.”
After Christ’s Ascension into heaven, then those people waiting in Paradise entered heaven. It really is simple when you look at the Ascension.
**We simply cannot become perfect from our own works**
That’s why there is a Purgatory — so we may be made perfect through the will of God.