The Thief on the Cross

One of the more popular evangelists and leader of one of the end-time Churches of God wrote the following comment concerning the thief who was executed beside Jesus at the time of the crucifixion:

Quote: “The Bible [gives] us an example of a repentant person who was not baptized but was promised that he would be with Christ in the Kingdom of God. It took place during Jesus’ crucifixion. Two thieves were also being crucified at that time. One expressed his belief in Christ and asked if Jesus would remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus replied that the man would see Him in Paradise. Christ obviously promised salvation to the thief beside him at the crucifixion; because the thief was repentant; because he recognized Christ!”

Luke 23:39-43 “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed [Jesus], saying, ‘If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.’ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’”

It is the statement “Christ obviously promised salvation to the thief beside him...” that I take exception to. There is nothing obvious about it! It may be that Jesus did in fact promise salvation to the thief; but if we were to “search the Scriptures whether these things are so” we may find reason to doubt -- in fact, I think the belief that Jesus promised salvation to the thief is dead wrong!

Before we begin, let’s deal with the problem of sentence structure within this passage; it is a problem which most of you are already well aware of: “And Jesus said to [the thief], ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’”

As this sentence is punctuated, with the commas placed as they are, Jesus seems to be telling the thief that “today,” (i.e. on the day of their death), the thief would be with Jesus in Paradise. Those who understand and believe that Jesus had to remain buried in his tomb for three days and three nights know he could not have also been in Paradise. Instead, Jesus was telling the thief “on that day” (i.e. at that time -or- on the day of their crucifixion) that “one day” (i.e. on a future day -or- on the day of the thief’s resurrection) he would be with Jesus in Paradise.

The problem is brought about by a misplacement of one of the commas. Notice: “And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say unto you today, you will be with me in Paradise.’” By placing the comma after, instead of before the word “today,” we can know that Jesus was assuring the thief he would “one day” be with Jesus in Paradise. Whether Jesus was referring to the beginning of the Millennium as one of “the Saints,” or the end of the Millennium as one of “the rest of the dead,” is the question which needs to be answered.

Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection; over these, the second death has no power -- this is what is meant by salvation! But Jesus did not promise the thief salvation! Jesus promised the thief that he would one day be with Him in Paradise!

If there is one thing every member of the many Churches of God should agree upon it is that at the beginning of the Millennium, when the “church” of God (i.e. the “ekklesia” -or- the “called-out-ones”) will rise up to take their place in the Kingdom of God, the Earth will be anything but a Paradise! During the final three-and-a-half years of this present age more than two-thirds of the Earth’s population will die -- as many as nine-tenths of the English-speaking peoples of America and the British Commonwealth may die and those few left alive will be in a truly pathetic state of existence. Most if not all of the cities will be destroyed; the lands will be devastated; the waters fouled to the point of uselessness; and the air will be hardly fit to breath.

Mankind will have proven beyond any doubt that he is incapable of governing himself and the time for the Kingdom and the governance of God will have arrived. But anyone who believes the returned Messiah and His brethren will simply wave a magic wand and make all things new again, does not even begin to understand the awesome wonders of the plan the Almighty God is carrying out within His creation!

God has set aside 1,000 years in which to show mankind how the governance of the Earth could have been; and should have been. This is the Sabbath of rest which God foretold when he created the Sabbath Day almost 6,000 years ago on the seventh day of the re-creation. The soon-coming 1,000 year Sabbath of rest for the Earth will be in prophetic fulfillment of that seventh-day Sabbath; there will be 1,000 years of God’s rejuvenating governance following 6,000 years of Satan’s (and man’s) futility!

Jesus and His brethren will have this time in which to work, and to teach, and to assist mankind in the proper use of God’s laws; to turn this long abused Earth of ours into the Paradise it always should have been. I have no doubt that miracles will be done during these 1,000 years; but miracles will be the exception rather than the rule. The true purpose of the Millennium will be to show what could have been done if mankind had shown the respect, the reverence, and true obedience to the will and the laws of God.

Revelation 20:5 “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.”

Unless there is something about the resurrection of physical Israel which differs from our understanding of the resurrection of “the rest of the dead,’ it will not be until after the Millennium that the thief will rise from the dead. Three thousand years will have passed from the time he suffered and died beside our Saviour; but time will have passed for him like the twinkling of an eye. In one moment of consciousness he was hanging from the stake enduring incredible pain and torment; in his very next moment of consciousness he will behold a new reality. Will that new reality be the Paradise Jesus promised; or will he still have much to learn and to accomplish as his part in its re-creation?

Note: There is much more that needs to be wondered about in our understanding of the Millennium. What will the first day be like? How long will it take to set up the ruling government? Will a working government be immediately set up over every nation of the Earth; or will the nations of the modern-day descendants of Jacob/Israel be given preference in the restoration? These are subjects I hope to discuss more fully at some future time. In the meantime I would like you to consider the following question:

Who will enter the Kingdom of God?

For many years I encountered an element of scriptural confusion in my understanding of those who would, and those who would not enter the Kingdom of God. Notice:

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’”
Note: This verse seems to say that the scribes and the Pharisees will not be allowed to enter God’s Kingdom -- can this be true -- do we not believe that even the most grievous sinner will eventually rise up at the resurrection of “the rest of the dead”?

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Note: This verse seems to say that only those who do the will of God will enter. Does this mean that those who refuse to do the will of God will not be allowed to enter?

John 3:5 “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”
Note: This verse seems to say quite clearly that unless an individual is properly baptized and begotten by the Spirit of God, he or she cannot enter the Kingdom of God -- how then can “the rest of the dead” be resurrected into the Kingdom of God?

What do these three verses say to those of us who believe the majority of mankind will continue to live and die never having been allowed to understand the will and the wonders of Almighty God? Will there or won’t there be a resurrection of “the rest of the dead”? Will they or won’t they be resurrected into the Kingdom of God? Will they or won’t they “see the Kingdom of God” when they are resurrected?

The problem is solved by simply realizing that in almost every instance where the Bible refers to the “Kingdom of God” it is the governing body that is being discussed! Only those whom God has specifically chosen will take part in the government during the first 1,000 years of His Kingdom. The scribes and Pharisees will one day see the Kingdom of God but they will have no position of responsibility in it. The same can be said for those who do not do the will of God in this lifetime; or who have not experienced a heartfelt repentance and conversion followed by water baptism and the baptism of the Spirit.

“All men must die; and after this the judgment...” All who have ever lived and died will be raised from the dead to live again during the time of God’s Kingdom -- no one will be left out! But only a very few will be allowed to enter as part of the Kingdom of God (i.e. as part of the Government of God); whether during the 1,000 year Millennium or on into the limitless depths of eternity.

In an earlier posting to this blogsite I discussed at greater length the difference between God’s gift of salvation, and the rewards we may earn over and above that great gift. It is my belief that all who have experienced a true repentance, a true conversion, a true baptism by water and by the Spirit, and have been truly begotten of the Spirit of God, will be resurrected at the return of the Messiah. However; this does not mean they will all be given a position of honour and responsibility in God’s Kingdom. Notice carefully the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church of God in Corinth:

1st Corinthians 3:14-15 “If any man’s work abides which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved…!”

Each of you should read all verses from 1st Corinthians 3:1-15 in order to more perfectly understand -- I would also recommend that you go to the “Archives” of this blogsite and find “The Unpardonable Sin -- Part 2” for a more in-depth discussion of this subject.

Post Script: Some important questions remain in my thoughts over where and when “the rest of the dead” will be resurrected. I need to spend far more time with these questions; but when I’ve done so I’ll try to address the entire issue in a future blog. In the meantime, I want to share some of these concerns with you in advance:

Q...Will physical Israel be resurrected as part of “the rest of the dead” following the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren; or does the Bible suggest that during the Millennium Israel will be dealt with separately and uniquely among the nations?

Q...Does the account of “the valley of dry bones” support the possibility of a separate resurrection of physical Israel?

Q...At the end of the Millennium, can we assume the Earth will have been renewed as a “Paradise” for the resurrection of “the rest of the dead”; or is it destined to be radically cleansed “as if by fire” in preparation for the receiving of New Jerusalem and the throne of God the Father?

Q...If “the rest of the dead” must wait until after the first 1,000 years of God’s Kingdom, and if the Earth is to be cleansed in preparation for the throne of God, will the “rest of the dead” be resurrected to a place other than this place we call the Earth?

Q...When the final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement takes place, Satan is to be removed to a place which is not inhabited -- does this refer to a place which is not inhabited at that time but which one day may become inhabited?

I realize that many (if not all) of these questions border on the fanciful; but I can assure you that a renewed zeal for the truths and understanding of God often comes from such questions. Far too many of our brethren have lost what I have always considered to be “that first love” i.e. the burning desire to understand the truths and the mysteries of God, and the limitless joy in the increased faith that comes with a more perfect understanding.

I must repeat what I’ve said before: “Will you make mistakes? Of course you will! So what? Are we not God’s workmen; rightly dividing the word of truth? There is no shame in being wrong; there is only shame in clinging to the wrong when a more perfect truth has been opened before us. If you even suspect that your spirit of understanding has become little more than lukewarm then I caution you to give heed to the words of God as revealed by to us our Saviour:

Revelation 3:18 “I counsel you to buy from [God] gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”

Note: Next week I hope to answer some of the many questions concerning the opening of the Sixth Seal of Revelation -- at least one of our ministers believes the Sixth Seal has already been opened? Is this what you also believe; or are you still waiting, as I am still waiting, for the events foretold by that fateful seal to be revealed?