Abrahams bosom
The first thing that should grab our attention is the way verse 19 starts out There was a certain rich man Now take a look at verse 1 of chapter 16. There was a certain rich man
. Starting midway through chapter 14 and ending in chapter 16 verse 31 Jesus is teaching by way of parables. A parable is a comparison by sustained resemblance; it is an extended simile. The likeness or resemblance must be sought from the entire context.
As an aside- Two ancient Greek manuscripts The Bezae Caulabrigiensis, and the Koridethian-Caesarean text include the words: eipen de kai heteran parabolen at the beginning of verse 19, which translate as And He said also another parable
This parable is addressed to the Pharisees {verse 14} The Pharisees, who believed in rewards and punishment immediately after death. Jesus told this parable to the Pharisees in light of their Talmudic traditions and beliefs. It was they, not Jesus who coined the phrase Abrahams Bosom as one of several afterlife locations. Jesus uses the parable to condemn the Pharisees and catch them in their own erroneous belief.
His intention was not to contradict the entire Old Testament by teaching survival after death His primary intention was to show that the Pharisees were so evil that even if someone rose from the dead they still wouldnt listen to him
.. Just the opposite appears in Jesus teachings when we look at verses like in John 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead .and Luke 14:14. And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
And Jesus could not have denied the abundance of scripture from the Old Testament like that of Ecclesiastes 9:5,6, &10 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6: Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. 10: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest
How prophetic it was, as evidenced by his own resurrection from the dead, many of them did not believe
paradise and heaven
Luke 23: 42 & 43And he {the malefactor} said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise
Verse 42 states into thy kingdom Christs kingdom was here upon earth and is being held in abeyance until it picks up again in Revelation. Just before Christ ascended his disciples asked Him Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7: And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
The words paradise and heaven are two distinctly different words,two different places, according to biblical definitions. Paradise always refers to someplace here on earth, not above the earth, or below. Paradise from the Septuagint is the word paradeisos and is translated Eden 16 times and garden 19 times. It is always used in the Bible as a place of beauty, and delight here upon earth. Paradise was lost in verse 3 of Genesis with the pronouncement of the curse, and its restoration will take place in after the last enemy {death} is destroyed, in Revelation, when there is a new heaven and a new earth.{Revelation 22: 1-5, 14, 17.}
Heaven is anyplace above the earth.
Now verse 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise
One little comma changes everything. Translators starting in the 11th century started adding punctuation; there was no punctuation in the originals. Here in this verse 43 they placed the comma after today, so the Bible would read that when you die {that day} you will be with me in paradise. The problem with this is; Jesus didnt go to paradise that day. The Bible states He was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. According to Jewish law it took 72 hours before you were officially declared dead; and Jesus fulfilled the law.
The second thing: by placing the comma after the word today, you then have an accurate rendering of the truth. Verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in paradise. Jesus was saying unto him that day, sometime in the future, he {the malefactor} would be with Him {Christ} in paradise. Now to us that might be a funny way of stating something but it was an idiom commonly used in the eastern culture for emphasis. References of this are scattered throughout the Bible some of these are used in Deuteronomy 6:6 7:11 8:1 9:3 10:13 11:2
Some other related records
Enoch
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
The word translated in verse 5 is rendered as carried over in Acts 7:16 ---removed in Galations 1:6 --- and changed in Hebrews 7:12.
God moved Enoch from one place to another so that he would not see death. No place in the scripture does it say that God gave Enoch everlasting life.
Two different concepts to see death from Heb 11:5. The first is the word see translated eidon in the Greek which is to look at with actual perception with ones eyes. In the OT one discovers that Enoch has never seen anyone pass away. So this could be what its speaking of because Enoch pleased God, God moved him from one place to another so that he would not see his loved ones die.
Or
The other may be that God was protecting him from his evil contemporaries, because he walked and prophesied for God. So God translated him that he would not see death at that time.
Psalms 89:48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
Luke 2:26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
But Enoch did eventually die as is recorded in Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
These all {without exception} included Enoch.
Elijah
II Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven
The assumption that Elijah went to a place of everlasting life is not stated anyplace in the scripture. The word heaven has several usages in the scripture. The dew of heaven, the birds of heaven, the stars of heaven. The word heaven biblically speaking is anyplace {the sky} above the earth. God supernaturally moved Elijah from one place to another. The other prophets according to this account understood this and wanted to go look for him. Elisha however knowing that God would have hidden Elijah did not want them to go.
God moved him from one place to another similar to what he did with Philip in Acts 8:39 & 40a And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus:
The transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-9
1: And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2: And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3: And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
4: Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5: While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6: And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
7: And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
8: And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
9: And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
The key to understanding this is in the third verse with the word appeared. That word is translated optomai in the Greek, which means seeing objectively, or envisioning. The word blepö in the Greek is the word used when one uses the eyes to look at. Jesus clearly states in verse 9 tat this was a vision it was not seen blepö, but this phenomenon was seen in the minds eye The word states that Elijah is dead in Hebrews 11:13 and Joshua 1:2 declares that Moses my servant is dead
A vision {trance} is a spiritual phenomenon in which God causes something to appear to a person either in the minds eye or to the physical eye. Some examples are II Kings 6:17; Acts 10:9-20 II Corinthians 12: 1-4
Keep in mind that the word cannot contradict itself.
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
