Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmyrrs
Sam, I must ask; do you really think anyone is in heaven today, December 22, 2008?
Do you thank that paradise is heaven?
Will check back later, going to work.
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Is paradise heaven?
2 Corinthians 12:2 and 4 indicates to me that Paul used the terms "paradise" and "third heaven" interchangeably. I honestly don't know where that is located physically. We have an atmospheric heaven and a stellar heaven and a third heaven(paradise). I'm not sure where the "third heaven" is in relationship to the other 2 heavens.
Anyone in heaven today?
I know there are differences of opinion on this. It seems to me that both Paul and Peter expected death to be an exodus from their physical body and an entrance into a place or realm where God is. This is how I understand
2 Peter 1:13-15 where Peter refers to his death as a departure/exodus and putting off a tabernacle/tent. Paul uses the same imagery of putting off a tent/tabernacle in
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 and in
Philippians 1:21-24 speaks of being with the Lord when he leaves his body.
So, in my opinion:
paradise and the third heaven are synonomous
and
folks are somewhere in the presence of the Lord after leaving their bodies. That somewhere is called "heaven/paradise" in Christian tradition.