Comments on: Do you go straight to Heaven when you die?

By: Sharon Pumphrey

Sharon Pumphrey — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:24:46 +0000

I believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God–in its entirety. If it wasn’t, how could we choose to put our faith in only portions of it. Entirety, to me, includes punctuation. I don’t believe that God only intended for just the punctuation-less Hebrew writings be the only inerrant Word. I cannot believe that God would allow a punctuation error continue to be repeated over and over again in all translations. If that were so, what other scripture has been punctuated incorrectly and thus misinterpreted. No, there is not a comma following TODAY.

By: lisa

lisa — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:03:35 +0000

What about the verse that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord

By: Betty

Betty — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:30:37 +0000

Your article is very interesting and points out some connections in scripture that I had not thought about. My husband and I were having a discussion about this subject today, and we had not reached a conclusion. We both thought that maybe when our bodies die, we are actually asleep until the final judgment. Thank you for posting this.

By: Jorge

Jorge — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:03:02 +0000

Thanks Randy for your quick response, one more question I have is, our Spirit goes back to God when we die, but where does our Soul go when we die? Does it rest with the body as well till the return of Christ? or does it go back to God along with the spirit and then reunite with our spiritual bodies when Christ returns?

By: Randy

Randy — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:48:53 +0000

I am reading the same Bible you are… the difference is understanding that in the original Greek there is no punctuation. The punctuation was added by translators and while very good it is not perfect.

God inspired the writers, that is those who wrote the bible, John, Mark, Matthew, Moses, David etc etc with what to write… they then wrote it in their own words… however written in their own words it was and still is the inspired word of God. THe punctuation however is not inspired… it was added and greatly enhances our reading of the Bible today but to believe a concept that is unbiblical due to one text that is taken out of context because of a miss-placed comma by a translator is not the way the Bible is to be taken. The Bible teaches “line upon line” not the idea that we base theology on one verse…

But even considering that the punctuation was added by translators and was not in the original greek (you can read about the original ancient greek here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek) that does not prove that the original was not written with the contention that Jesus would see the thief in paradise that day.
So you do pose a good question that deserves more of an answer then the above. And here it is.

Jesus did not ascend to heaven that day… the Bible says in John 20:17 that He had not ascended to heaven on Sunday… which was after His resurrection

“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

If Jesus did not ascend to paradise then He did not meet the thief there… Jesus never promised the thief He would meet Him THAT day in paradise… instead He was emphasizing that even though hanging on that cross He did not look like a King that day He was promising that the thief would one day be with Him in paradise.

The truth of the matter is that everything proves this… the fact that Jesus on Sunday after His resurrection had not yet ascended to heaven. The fact that the Bible teaches that death is a sleep and that the dead do not burn in hell or goto heaven at death. The Bible says that Jesus is coming soon and that His reward is with Him… the idea that people are sitting on the edge of a cloud or being cooked by Satan in hell today is a pagan idea and has no basis on Scripture…

That is a topic for another discussion but I think I have given enough evidence that Jesus did not go with the thief to paradise upon death… thereby corresponding with the rest of scripture.

If you have any other questions or comments email me or reply.

God Bless, Randy

em: randy{@}ebibleanswerson{dot}com

By: Jorge

Jorge — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:34:28 +0000

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise” my Bible’s NIV and the KJV both have the coma after thee. So what bible are you reading?

By: John

John — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:06:54 +0000

What about 2 Cor. 5:8 Paul says to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord? SO would it be fair to say that our souls do go right away to where we are destined but at the ressurection the lord is talking about the ressurection of our flesh?

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:31:24 +0000

Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, TODAY you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43

By: The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Rich Man and Lazarus — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:36:16 +0000

[...] Do you go straight to Heaven when you die? [...]

By: Randy

Randy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:54:35 +0000

For those interested this question has been answered in a recent article here: http://www.ebibleanswers.com/blog/the-rich-man-and-lazarus/

Questions or comments are welcome. Send them to randy[at]1st-rankings[dot]com

God Bless, Randy