Today, You Shall be with Me in Paradise

Take note, however, that there were two condemned felons who sandwiched Him on the place called Golgotha meaning “skull”. He gave His holy assurance of a place in Paradise not to both felons but to only one felon. Following then the dialogue of the dramatis personae on such awkward unimaginable positions on their respective crosses in that unrepeatable moment in salvation history, it is incontestable that not all persons are bound to have their places in heaven.

DOMINUS VOBISCUM!

In the context of the Book of Genesis in the Sacred Scriptures, hell was not part of Creation. It was not even hinted. The entire Old Testament never made a direct reference to it. No prophet mentioned it at all. The rebel angels who lost the battle in heaven were driven out of heaven but were not escorted and chained in hell. They were hurled down to the earth and limited to the earth as vanquished foes in heaven. (Revelation: 12: 7-9) Logically as conquered rivals, they cannot leave the earth where they were hurled down. They cannot go to hell on their own volition and will unless God orders His angels to take them out of the earth and dump and chain such defeated rebel angels to hell. On the basis of such Scriptural facts, God the Creator at the outset never had the intention of sending His most loved creatures to hell. Hence, it was never His intention to send people to hell.

However, it must be realized that Adam and Eve upon their delectable ingestion of the forbidden fruit opted to consider evil as an option in their way of life on this earth. God gave them what they wanted with a heavy heart. He allowed them to sleep with His enemy but only on a temporary basis. It will be Adam and Eve who will choose between good and evil only for a certain period of time. God will just follow their cue. Keep in mind that the choice of good and evil was not the idea of God. It was the serpent’s idea that Adam and Eve adopted, glorified and handed down to us, their descendants. It will be us who will determine by choice the place we deserve after this terrestrial life is over. He will send us where we want to go. He will not force us to be with Him as He did with Adam and Eve because as Creator He loses nothing. No person is such a fool to pursue unconditionally a person who hates him or who does not want to be his friend or who does not even recognize him as a person as some racist do. God is not such kind of a foolish Person. He showcased it on the cross with the following holy utterance:

“Today you shall be with me in Paradise.”

Such holy utterance was forwarded by the crucified Son of Man who is God to a condemned criminal by His side who was sentenced to die for the felony of thievery. Take note, however, that there were two condemned felons who sandwiched Him on the place called Golgotha meaning “skull”. He gave His holy assurance of a place in Paradise not to both felons but to only one felon. Following then the dialogue of the dramatis personae on such awkward unimaginable positions on their respective crosses in that unrepeatable moment in salvation history, it is incontestable that not all persons are bound to have their places in heaven. It is also indisputable that it is not the sins that are as numerous as the sands of the sea that He puts on His balance scale. It is the sinner’s love for God and not the love of God for sinners. The two human persons who were situated one on His side were not only sinners. They were criminals. He did not treat them as such. He chose the person who expressed his love and unworthiness before Him who is God. He did not offer Paradise to the criminal who did not show any love, respect or even pity for Him who had no crime. One need not be God to act the same way. God did not request or beseech for the love of the human person. He commanded it! The command was unconditional. It is definitely far greater than the command of a military officer to its subordinate. Besides, no foolish commander will humble itself before the subordinate commanded upon the reason why He did not follow the arrogant proposal of the other criminal for them to come down from the cross. He offered Paradise or His kingdom to the other criminal who accepted and acknowledged his bitter predicament because on the basis of His divine and not human standards the convicted felon heeded His commandment of love of God. He did not ask for His kingdom. He just wanted to be remembered. The other convicted felon obviously did not act the same way. Such miserable felon stuck with his miserable self unto the bitter end on his way to perpetual misery.

Yes, the miserable felon was not condemned to hell at the dramatic scene on Calvary. The crucified Son of Man did not waste His precious saliva upon him who did not recognize Him as God. What for? The miserable felon were just ticks away from his impending demise. He will know in just a few moments who it was that he mocked and arrogantly treated. Once he goes beyond the veil as a soul and no longer as a human person, he will surely gnash his teeth because the Person whom he just scorned was God. It was too late for him to realize. The other felon, on the other hand, was welcomed in heaven just as the crucified Son of Man promised.

The place where there will be “gnashing of the teeth” as the Son of Man described in one of His teachings is “Gehenna” otherwise known as hell. The word Gehenna came out of the lips of the Rabbi in one of a series of confrontations He had with the all-knowing Scribes and Pharisees whom He frontally addressed not as holy doctors or holy fathers but as “brood of serpents” who were ascribing His works of exorcism with the works of Beelzebul. It is found in the gospels of Matthew the tax collector. On a strictly Scriptural stance and following biblical chronology, hell was created upon His visitation and not at the Creation.

Be that as it may, the loving God will not send people to hell if they do not want to go there. He will not also offer them a place in Paradise if they do not want to go there either. He will just have to wait for our cue in much the same way that He waited for the cue of Adam and Eve that sent them from heaven to earth. He will just have to wait for our cue in much the same way that He waited for the cue of the two felons who by their actuations and utterances before God and men opted to part ways extremely opposite to each other. One felon opted to join His Creator. The other felon preferred the infinite incinerator.

Peace to everyone!