When the fact that the Scriptures teach the unconsciousness of man in death is shown to those who believe in the immortality of the soul, they generally ask, “What about the thief on the cross?” On account of their preconceived idea of heaven going at death they conclude, without investigation, that the words, “Verily I say unto thee to-day, thou shalt thou be with me in paradise,’’ (Luke 23:43) mean that that very day the thief would be with Christ in heaven.
It is very necessary for us to guard against the power of prejudice; it is very apt to influence us to infer that certain texts mean so and so, when upon close investigation they are found to have no such meaning. Remove from the mind the prejudice in favor of the popular theory of man’s disembodied conscious existence in death, and then, before a conclusion would be reached as to the meaning of the words of our Lord to the thief, a thoughtful mind would ask, What was the request of the thief? Did the thief die inside that very day? Did our Saviour go to heaven that very day, or did he really die? If his soul is considered apart from himself, did his soul go to heaven, and if so, how shall I understand the scripture that says “He poured out his soul unto death,” (Isaiah 53:12)? How could his soul be in heaven, or, supposing paradise to be some other place than heaven, how could. His soul be in paradise, when it is declared that his soul was not left in hell (“hades” or the grave) (Acts 2:31)? All these questions would arise before a thoughtful mind would be satisfied on the meaning of the text.
The Scriptures teach that Christ died, that he was buried, and that he rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4); that his soul was “poured out unto death”; that his soul was in hell (“hades;” the same word is rendered grave in 1 Corinthians 15:55). In view of this, how could he be in heaven on the day he spake the words in question to the thief? Consider, dear reader, “Did Christ die?” To this question the popular teachers of the people, who “cause them to err,” answer, “His soul did not die,” thus denying declares that “He poured out his soul unto death.” Press the question, Did Christ die? and the answer you will receive will be, “His body died”; an answer that means, No, Christ did not die, only his body —the house he dwelt in died, but he did not. This is a denial of the death of Christ; for to say that the body he inhabited died is to say that something else other than himself died.
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Author: Thomas Williams
Keywords: semeron, Paradise, paradise today, In Hades, thief on the cross, comma, punctuate, today I say unto you, today you will be with me in Paradise, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise, Be with me in paradise, This day you shall be with me in paradise, Thief paradise, immortality of the soul, immortal soul, soul is immortal, afterlife, intermediate state
Bible reference(s): Luke 23:43
Source: The Great Salvation (Englewood: Advocate and Gleaner Pub. House, 1893?).
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.