As Jesus Christ hung there on the cross (the Greek word really means
stake or tree not cross) there were at least two thieves being
crucified beside him—one on his left and one on his right. One thief
was railing on him saying, “If you be Christ, save thyself and
us.” But the other thief answered him, saying, “Dost not
thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we
indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but
this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus,
Lord; remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” And
Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, To day
shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
On face value it appears that Jesus and the thief are going to go
directly to Paradise THAT DAY. But wait a minute, how could that be?
Christ hadn’t even been taken down from the cross at that time. Joseph
of Arimathaea had to hurry and get permission to take Christ down from
the cross before the Sabbath (not the weekly Sabbath but a special Holy
Day Sabbath). He put Christ into the sepulcher just at sunset on
Wednesday afternoon. Did Christ immediately depart and go to heaven
and take the thief with him? IMPOSSIBLE! Jesus Christ said that he had
to be in the heart of the earth (in the grave) for three days and three
nights (Matthew 12:39-40). “Is That Really in There?” It
surely is. Look it up in your Bible. If that is true, Christ must have
lied to the thief. But, we know Christ was perfect and never sinned.
He could not have lied. Surely there is a reasonable explanation for
this perplexing question.
If you would like to know the answer to this question click
here
to read (or print) the article entitled “Three Days and Three
Nights”.
You can also click
here
to order our FREE CD entitled “The Three Resurrections”.
Oh yes, what about the thief? Click below to order our FREE CD
entitled “After Death, Then What?” for the answer.
You can write us at:
Church of God, New World Ministries
P.O. Box 5536
Sevierville, TN 37864
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or call us at:
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(865) 774-8485
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or click the button below to order online:
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It is FREE, as with all our materials
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