Paradise

Mankind has attached two basic meanings to the word “heaven”, and they are (i) the place or realm where God dwells; and (ii) a state of perfect bliss, peace and felicity. 

When Christians talk of heaven, they do not have in mind the metaphorical use of the word, that is, a state of perfect peace and bliss. What we often have in mind is the place or realm in which God dwells. God Himself said that heaven is His throne (Isa. 66:1) and Jesus Christ affirmed it (Matt. 5:34). Is this place or realm in which God has His throne the same place called paradise?

In the Bible the word paradise has been used for three different things. They are: (i) the Garden of Eden; (ii) the place or realm where the souls or spirits of righteous people are believed to go at death to await the first resurrection; (III) the New Jerusalem which God will bring down from heaven at the end of the age. Brief explanations are given of each of them.

1. Garden [paradise] of Eden

In chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis is recorded the account of how God planted a garden in Eden which is located in the east and placed Adam in it (Gen. 2:8-10).  In the original Hebrew scriptures, the word Gan (which means garden) is used thirteen times in the two chapters. In the Septuagint, abbreviated as LXX, which is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, the Greek word Paradeisos is used in places where Gan is found in the Hebrew texts. The LXX which was written between the third and first centuries BCE is generally believed to be the version of the Bible which Jesus Christ and the authors of the New Testament read. This explains how the Greek word Paradeisos (Paradise) of Eden became used for the Garden of Eden. 

The Eden seen in Genesis 2-3 was not a fictitious or mythical place; it was a real place here on earth. Passages such as Gen. 4:16; Ezek. 28:13; Ezek. 31:9, 16, 18 affirm the writing in Gen. 2-3 that Eden was a real place here on earth. It was not an imaginary place. Neither was it located in heaven where God dwells. But God made it a garden of comfort and delight for the man He created.

2. Mythical Paradise

One of the notable legends among Jewish people is that the place or realm where the souls of righteous people go at death to await the resurrection and the final judgement is Gan Eden (Paradise), a place of peaceful rest and bliss. It is said to be the good part or Sheol (grave), while the other part which the unrighteous go at death is Ge-Hinnom (Greek: Gehenna). This belief of the Jews derives from the literal Gan Eden and the literal Ge-Hinnom, a valley south of Jerusalem, which belonged to the sons of Hinnom and which was used for the burning of the bodies of criminals and later used as a rubbish dump. To keep the stench under control, the place was always kept burning. (The valley is now a wooded park near Jerusalem.)

The knowledge which the Jews had of the literal Gan Eden and Ge-Hinnom became the basis of their belief that Paradise (Gan Eden) is the underworld abode of the righteous dead and GeHinnom is the place for the souls of unrighteous dead. This is the same belief expressed in Luke 23 43 which reads: “And Jesus said to him [the penitent criminal on the cross], Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (NKJV).

If the statement recorded in Luke 23:39-43 is true, it would mean that Jesus Christ confirmed the belief of the Jews that the good people go to Paradise at death. Jesus, on the cross, knew that time was ticking out on the three of them hanging on the cross and that very soon they would breathe their last and find themselves in the world of the dead. So, if the Lord called the place where He and the penitent criminal were soon to get into, Paradise, no other interpretation can be given to Paradise in that context than being the unseen world of the righteous dead.

Is the Paradise in Luke 23:43 the same place as heaven where God dwells? The answer is empathic “No!” The answer is found in John 20:17 where Jesus Christ told Mary Magdalene not to cling to Him because He was yet to ascend to the Father. The Lord could not have been with the Father for three days and nights and immediately thereafter tell Mary that He was yet to ascend to the Father. John 20:17 has shown that the paradise where the souls of our Lord Jesus Christ and the righteous dead went is not the Heaven where God has His throne.

Some people suggest that the comma placed after “you” in the phrase “I say to you” should be placed after “today” to make it read something like this: “And Jesus said to him, Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.” They argue that Jesus Christ did not go to Paradise that day. According to them, the word “today “only serves to emphasize the day the criminal got the unmerited forgiveness from the Lord. However, the emphasis they place on “today” is totally at variance with Christ’s usual way of speaking. Moreover, what importance does “today” serve to a man who will soon pass into the world of the dead? “Today” was nothing to the man. He asked to be allowed to get into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The argument about where the punctuation mark (,) ought to be placed should therefore be regarded as infantile, irrelevant and untenable.

It needs be mentioned that the record found in Luke 23:39-43 has been called to question. Some Bible scholars have doubted if the content of the five verses were actually written by Luke or were interpolated in some later manuscripts. This skepticism is especially borne out of the fact that Matthew and Mark say that none of the two criminals who were hanged with our Lord Jesus Christ was penitent. Mark says, “Those who were crucified with him also reviled him” (Mark 15:32, ESV). On his part Matthew writes, “And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way [as the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles did]” (Matt. 27:44, ESV). (Words in square brackets are mine throughout.)

Some people have said that the record in Luke 23-39-43 took place after the two criminals had initially reviled the Lord Jesus Christ. They say that one of the criminals, after mocking Christ, later changed his mind and said all that was recorded in Luke 23:39-42. The problem here is that there is no biblical support for this supposition. While we do not have any doubts about the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible as God’s word for mankind, we are not among the many people who blindly and naively claim that the English Bible is free of some human errors or intentional insertions in some few places. Unfortunately, all the original manuscripts are lost. But thankfully, these few areas of contention have not eclipsed the thrust of the message of God in the Bible.

This place or realm where the souls of the righteous go at death has been called the “bosom of Abraham” (Luke 16:22). The Jews believe that the land of the dead is divided into two regions – the place of torment (Ge-Hinnom) for dead sinners and the place of perfect peace and rest for the righteous dead (Gan Eden) or Paradise. Abraham, whom the Jews regard as their father (Matt. 3:9; Luke 1:73; John 8:33, 39) is believed to be on the good side. It became their belief that anyone who dies as a righteous person goes to the side where Abraham is. He is believed to be the one who welcomes the godly ones to his own side or bosom. To make the phrase “Abraham’s bosom” easier to grasp, versions such as the NIV, ESV, BSB, CSB, HCSB, ISV, NET, et al, render it as “Abraham’s side”. Although there is said to be a great chasm (or gulf) separating Abraham’s side and the side where the rich man was, they were in talking distance of each other. This brings out an important fact. The story of the rich man and Lazarus depicts the two sides of Sheol where the souls of dead people dwell. None of the two sides can be called the heaven where God dwells.

3. Restored or New Garden of Eden

In the Edenic Paradise, there were two trees in the midst of the garden – the tree of life and tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve were forbidden from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They became sinful when the old serpent deceived them and they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were driven out of the garden so that, while they were in sin, they would not eat of the tree of life. (Gen. 2:9; 3:22-24).

The first Garden of Eden (Paradise) was closed by God. But God has promised to restore a new one in the new earth. The future Paradise is the same place known as The New Jerusalem. It will be on the new earth, not heaven where God dwells. This fact is clearly revealed in the Scriptures. Some of such Bible texts are the following:

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7, NIV).

“And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev. 21:2, NLT).

“So, he [one of the seven angels, Rev. 21:9] took me in the spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone – like jasper as clear as crystal… Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down to the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life having twelve crops of fruits, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations” (Rev. 21: 10-11; 22: 1-2, NLT).

In the paradise of Eden which Ezekiel called the garden of God (Ezek. 28:13; 31: 8-9) was where the tree of Life was originally planted by God. In the revelation given to John, he saw the tree of life on each side of the river which flows in the center of the main street of the New Jerusalem. The phrase “garden of God” was transliterated by John, in Greek, as the “paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7).

Not only did the Lord Jesus Christ say that this paradise of God will descend out of heaven from God (Rev. 3:12), He gave His servant John the divine vision to see it coming down to the new earth at the end of the age. That the New Jerusalem, the future paradise of God, will descend from heaven is mentioned three times in Revelation (Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10). This is a clear and convincing proof that the “paradise of God” is not another name for “Heaven” where God has His throne. All the glorious and resplendent imagery given by John in the last two chapters of Revelation are of the New Jerusalem – the holy city where the faithful overcomers will live eternally with Christ dwelling among them. (John 14: 1-3; 17:24). The glorious picture seen in the two chapters is not of the invisible realm where God dwells. 

The future paradise which is also called the New Jerusalem will be a restoration or replacement of the first one in Eden. To call it “heaven” can only be acceptable if Bible teachers use the word in the metaphorical sense of the paradise being a city of perfect delight, peace and bliss. The Edenic paradise was a place of delight and bliss but it was not the throne of God. God used to come down and have fellowship with Adam. The future paradise will in no way be different. It will come down from heaven. So, it is not itself the very Heaven where God has his throne. The only difference between the first and the future gardens of God is the fact that Christ Himself will dwell with the saved ones in that city as the Governor or King. 

Neither God nor Christ has given anyone a picture of how the excellent realm in which God, Christ and the holy angels dwell. We know that all the people who speak of what they saw when they “went to heaven” did not see the highest heaven where God’s throne is. Some of them have recanted their bogus claims which may rightly be termed “testiphoneys”.

Paul’s Third Heaven or Paradise

Apostle Paul wrote about an experience he had 14 years prior to the time he wrote his second epistle to the Corinthian believers. He wrote: 

“I knew a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart for the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell” (2 Cor. 12: 2-4, NIV).

As with many other Bible passages, many interpretations have been given to this passage. Some teach that Paul had two “raptures” one to the third heaven, followed by another one to paradise. They say that the “third heaven” and “paradise” are two different places or realms. But the context does not appear to agree with this teaching. It is clear from the immediate context that the third heaven is what Paul called paradise.

The vast majority of teachers say that the third heaven which Paul here called paradise is the highest heaven where God, Christ and the holy angels now dwell. While this conclusion is plausibe, there are reasons to doubt this popular interpretation. Please note the following:

• In the Hebrew Bible the word for heaven is first used in Genesis 1:1 where it is written as Shamayim, a plural word meaning “heavens”. It shows that Jews believe there is more than one heaven. One of the Jewish traditions says that there are seven heavens. Check it up on Google, if you wish. However the biblical usage of the word “heavens” have been found to mean every space above us starting from the sky in which the birds fly (as in “the birds of the heavens”, Jer. 4:25), or where the rain and clouds are formed (as in “rain from heaven”, Gen.8:2; the cloud in the heavens, Job 35:5), right up to outer space where the stars are located (as in “stars of heaven”, Gen. 26:4), and further up to the realm where God and His Christ and the angels dwell (Matt. 7:21; 10:32; 18:10; 22:30; John 3:13; Acts 1:10-11). The Bible which says Jesus Christ ascended to heaven (John 3:13; Acts 1:10-11) has also said that He “ascended up far above the heavens” (Eph. 4:10). The ‘heavens” above which Jesus Christ ascended to get to the heaven where the Father dwells, can as well include the third heaven which Paul called paradise. There is simply no strong biblical support for the popular teaching that Paul’s “third heaven” is that excellent and invisible realm where the invisible God dwells.

We see therefore that, although the Bible says there are heavens, the delineation of them into first, second, third, or any other strata, is not seen in the Bible. Nowhere will you see the words “first heaven” or “second heaven” in the Bible. They are products of human interpretations. 

It must therefore be pointed out that it is sheer eisegesis when people say that the “third heaven” which Paul called paradise is the highest heaven where God dwells. There is no way of telling whether Paul also had the belief that there are seven heavens, the third one being the realm where the souls of righteous people are kept by God until the day of the first resurrection at Christ’s second advent. Neither Paul nor any other person has said that the third heaven is the realm where God’s throne is. 

Jesus Christ told the Jews and His disciples that they cannot come to that realm where God dwells (John 7:33-36; 8:21-25; 13:33). Jesus Christ made it clear to His disciples that it is impossible for anyone to come to that realm He was going. This has nothing to do with being one of His own or not. It has all to do with the fact that it is not a realm meant for humankind. Christ has entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24, ESV). No human being can enter into or approach that realm where God dwells. The omniscient God knew with perfect wisdom what He was doing when He created the earth to be the eternal abode of humanity. See Isa. 45:18; 60:21; Ps. 115:16. 

• Although many verses in the New Testament talk of the “highest” or “highest heaven” (e.g. Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:10, Luke 2:14) as representing the realm where God, also known as the Highest, dwells, in none of them is the highest heaven called the third heaven. There is therefore no biblical support for this popular opinion that the “third heaven,” found only here in 2 Cor. 12:2, is the highest heaven where God lives with Christ and His holy angels.
• The “paradise of Eden” (Gen. 2:8 – 3:24, LXX) was on the earth. A new paradise which will be a restoration or replacement of the first one (Rev. 2:7; 3:12; 21:2; 22: 2,14) will also be on the new earth. Neither the first paradise nor the future paradise will be in heaven. We know that the first paradise was a part of the created earth. So too, the future paradise will be a part of the new earth. It was seen by John, with spiritual eyes, “coming down from God out of heaven” (Rev. 21:2). The tree of life is found on the two sides of the river which has the water of life in the middle of the main street of the city (Rev. 2:7; 22: 2, 14). This means double restoration for what was lost in the Edenic Paradise (Gen. 2:9). The Lord Jesus Christ will dwell with the chosen ones of God in that blessed city of supernal bliss and complete righteousness. It will be an extension of heaven. But it will not be where God has His throne – the highest heaven. There is no kingdom in which the citizens go to live in the palace of the king. The citizens are administered from the King’s palace either directly by the King or through the King’s appointed Governor, Administrator, Ambassador, Prince, name it. Christ will be the one who will dwell with the holy, victorious people in the holy city on behalf of the invisible God “whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). Now the question we must ask is this. If the Edenic paradise or the future paradise whose name is New Jerusalem are not the “highest heaven” where God’s throne is, how does the paradise mentioned in 2 Cor. 12:4 become the highest heaven? It simply cannot be.
• Jesus Christ, on the cross, told a criminal who was crucified with Him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23: 43). Three days later, after His resurrection, He told Mary Magdalene, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father [In Heaven]” (John 20: 17).  Christ’s words in these two scriptures have shown clearly that the place or realm where His soul went immediately after His death was a different place or realm from Heaven where God, the Father lives.
• God created the earth to be the eternal abode of mankind. Heaven is God’s throne while the earth is His footstool (Isa. 66:1; Acts 7: 49). The earth was therefore purposefully made to serve as God’s footstool. He placed man on the earth to rule over the earth and all that is in it (Gen. 1: 26-28). In appreciation to God for the privileged position He has given mankind, man is expected to worship God from His footstool (Ps. 99: 5).

Prophet Isaiah declared, “ For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited” (Isa. 45: 18, NIV). The Psalmist drove the point home when he said, “The highest heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to mankind” (Ps. 115: 16, NIV). The Psalmist also said, “For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord [see Heb. 9: 28], they will inherit the land” (Ps. 37:9). “But the humble will inherit the land” (Ps. 37:11). Our Lord Jesus Christ affirmed the prophets when He said “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5: 5). God Himself had given the promise that righteous people will inherit the earth forever. He spoke through Isaiah, “Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever” (Isa. 60: 21). We must know that it is only in the Kingdom of God that all people will be righteous because it is only the righteous ones that will inherit and possess the new earth forever.

The first disciples of Jesus Christ did not have the notion of the modern-day agenda of leaving this earth after death to go and dwell with God in heaven which is His palace. There is no promise from God that man will come and dwell with Him in Heaven. If this distorted teaching were true, why would God bother to create “new heavens and a new earth”? 

By the term “earth,” it is obvious that Jesus Christ and His apostles did not mean this present earth which will pass away (Matt. 24: 36; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33) either by renovation or replacement. It does not matter which way it will happen. What matters is for us to be accounted worthy to enter into the eternal Kingdom. The promise is not in respect of the heavens and the earth that were created at the beginning which will wear out like garment and will be changed (Ps. 102: 25, 26; Isa. 51:6). The promise is for the new earth wherein there is a lasting or enduring city that is yet to come (Heb. 13:14).

It must be said once more that if God’s plan has been for mankind to come and dwell in His throne at the end of their lives on this present earth the Omniscient God would have got no reason to create new heavens and a new earth. By calling mankind “Adam” which is derived from the Hebrew word “Adamah” (“ground”) is also meant to tell us that mankind belongs to the earth here. See again Psalm 115: 16, and compare it with 1 Kings 8: 27 (2 Chron. 6: 18) where Solomon asked, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house [temple] which I have built! To this we may also ask, but will man indeed dwell with God in heaven which is His throne? The obvious answer from all the available scriptures is “No!”.

• Paradise is also called the “bosom of Abraham” The Lord Jesus Christ told us that no man has ascended to heaven except Himself who came down from heaven and who is now in heaven (John 3:13). Since Abraham is not in heaven it stands to reason that paradise is not the same place or realm as heaven where the throne of the Most High is. 
• The idea of mankind going to heaven to live with God, either in time or eternity, is nowhere found in the entire Bible. I suppose the problem with many Christians is that the erroneous ideas that have been taught to them make them unable to see the difference between “heaven” and the “Kingdom of heaven” which is also called the “Kingdom of God”. Whereas the basic Christian idea of “Heaven” Is where God lives, the “kingdom of Heaven” means the Kingdom of God, a kingdom owned and ruled by God and His Son, and it is ruled from heaven. From the numerous biblical passages, the kingdom will cover both the new heavens and the new earth. All of mankind who are found worthy of entry into the kingdom will live eternally in the kingdom, not in heaven but on the new earth. 

The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used 33 times in the New Testament, only in the Book of Matthew. In the other gospels, epistles and Revelation, it is called the Kingdom of God. This is found in 69 places in the New Testament, including 5 times in Matthew. The phrases refer to the same Kingdom of God. It will be different from the kingdoms of men which is full of injustice and unrighteousness (Rev. 11:15). 

There are some scriptures which tend to give the impression that some of God’s saints will actually go to live with God in heaven. But with a closer look at the Bible it becomes clear that it does not say so. Some examples are given for clarification:

• In Matt. 5: 11-12, Jesus Christ told His disciples that they should be very glad when they are mocked and persecuted because of their faith in Him. He said their “reward in heaven” is great. See also Matt. 6: 1-18 and Matt. 16: 27 where the Lord said everyone will be rewarded according to his or her deeds. All deeds that will be rewarded are done here on earth. Where will the reward be given? In heaven? No! We will all be rewarded here on earth when Christ returns to establish God’s kingdom on earth. He said, “For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matt. 16; 27, NIV).

To a leader of the Pharisees who invited Him to a dinner, Jesus Christ said, “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14: 13-14, ESV). This is the first resurrection which will take place on the day of Christ’s return. On that day the saints, both resurrected dead and living, will be caught up into the air (sky) to accord the Great King a most glorious welcome to the earth to begin His millennial reign (1 Thes. 4: 13-18). 

Jesus Christ said, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done” (Rev. 22: 12, NIV). Paul said his reward for faithful service which he called a crown of righteousness will be awarded him by the Lord, the righteous Judge on that day, the day of His appearing or coming (2 Tim. 4: 8). Every person will be rewarded here on earth, not in heaven. 

• Our Lord said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” ( Matt. 6: 19-20, ESV).

Do people go to heaven to make the deposits? No one does that. The deposits are made into our accounts in heaven while we are on the earth. How are the deposits made? He told a very rich and religious young man to sell all that he possessed and distribute the proceeds to the poor so that he “will have treasures in heaven” (Matt. 19:21; Mark 10: 21; Luke 12: 33). It is by doing deeds of righteousness, love and kindness without the motive of receiving praise from men (Matt. 6: 1-18). Where do the deposits get repaid? In heaven? No! Here on earth. Once again, see Matt. 16: 27; Luke 14: 13-14; Rev. 22:12.

• Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s House are many rooms [Greek: mone, wrongly translated as “mansions” in the KJV]. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself that where I am you may be also” (John 14: 1-3, ESV).

Many teachers have misled many people to think that the Lord Jesus Christ gave a promise in this place that we will come and dwell with Him in heaven. That is very far from the truth. His taking us to be with Him has been premised on His coming again. It is at His second coming that He will gather the saints to Himself (Matt. 24:31; Mark 13:27; 2 Thes. 2:1-2). He will be with them on the earth, not in heaven (Rev. 21:2-3). What the Lord promised in John 14: 1-3 is the New Jerusalem which will be brought down from heaven into the new earth. That is where the Lord Himself will live with the faithful, holy and victorious people of God in the eternal Kingdom of God and His Christ. It is being built in heaven and at the appointed time, God will bring it down to earth to be inherited by those who will be found worthy of God’s kingdom (Luke 21: 36). See Rev. 3: 12 and Rev. 21: 1-22:21.

• Apostle Paul, seeing his imminent death wrote, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, and I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4: 6-8, ESV).

Here, Paul said he will receive a crown of righteousness as his reward from Jesus Christ. Did he say he will go to heaven to receive his reward? No. He said he will be rewarded on the day of His appearing, that is, the day of His return to start the eternal Kingdom here on earth.

(v) Apostle Peter said, “But according to His [God’s] promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). 

The NLT renders it, “But we are looking forward to the new heavens and a new earth He [God] has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness”.

They were not looking forward to going to be with God in the invisible realm He called His throne. They believed what God had promised in Isaiah 65-66 and other places that He was going to create a new earth as man’s eternal abode.

Abraham himself caught a vision of this paradise of God, the holy city, and longed to be in it (Heb. 11:10). The Bible says the same is true of all the heroes of faith (Heb. 11:13-16). None of them took their minds from what God had promised and began to nurse an inordinate desire for what God did not promise them – that of going to heaven to live with God. False teachers have brought so much distortion and confusion into Christian teachings.

Conclusion

The garden of Eden which is called the paradise of Eden in the LXX was on this earth. It was not the same place as the heaven where God dwells. The part of Sheol where the souls of the righteous people is believed to go when they die is also called paradise by the Jews. The words of Jesus Christ in Luke 23: 43 and John 20: 17 showed that this mythical paradise is not the same place or realm where the Most High dwells. He spent three days and nights in that paradise but in the very next morning of His resurrection, He told Mary Magdalene that He was yet to ascend to the Father in heaven. This means that the Paradise where he just resurrected from is not heaven. The mythical paradise is also called Abraham’s boson or Abraham’s side. Jesus Christ, the Amen (or the truth) told us that no man has ascended to heaven (John 3: 13). This is another proof that this paradise is not the same place as the heaven where God lives. 

The place which Jesus Christ promised to go and prepare for His followers is the holy city variously called the New Jerusalem, the blessed city, the paradise (Garden) of God, et alia. At God’s appointed time, it will be brought down to the New Earth to be its capital city. Our Lord Jesus Christ said it will come down out of heaven from God (Rev. 3: 12). He also made John the Evangelist to see it coming down out of heaven from God (Rev. 21: 2, 10). This holy city is going to be the restoration or replacement of Edenic paradise. Just as a tree that grows out of the ground cannot be called the ground, so too, this beloved city which is being built in heaven and to be brought down to the new earth cannot be called heaven. In whichever sense paradise is used in the Bible it is not the same place or realm as the throne or abode of God.

Paradise can only be called heaven in the metaphorical sense of the word – that is, its being, as pictured in Revelation 21 and 22, a place of perfect delight, splendour, peace, bliss, name it. The first paradise was not the very abode of God, even though it was part of God’s possession. The future paradise will in no way be different. It will be a part of the new heavens and the new earth. 

Finally, neither Christ nor the prophets nor any of the apostles say the third heaven is the highest heaven where the Almighty God Father lives. Paul indeed mentioned the third heaven which he also called paradise. But to call the third heaven the very abode of God is speculative. No one can tell whether Paul, like many Jews, believed that there are seven heavens, the highest of which is the abode of the Almighty God.