XPost: alt.christnet.christnews, alt.religion.christian   
   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   ========================================   
   Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:11:52 -0500   
   <3f6uhk55ta73bonnm4lh7muvuvronsuru1@4ax.com>   
   "Sincerely", "soley from the Bible" and   
   "Honestly is my middle name"   
   James  wrote:   
   ========================================   
   >>   • Jesus told the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise”   
   (Luke   
   >>       23:43, ESV).   
   > JESUS DIDN'T GO TO PARIDISE THE SAME DAY THAT HE DIED. He had to be in   
   > the heart of the earth (grave) for 3 days and nights. Just like Jonah   
   > was in the big fish for 3 days. Also Jonah was not in any Paradise.   
   > And neither was the Son of God.   
   >   
   > -- New King James   
   > Matthew 12:40  "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the   
   > belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and   
   > three nights in the heart of the earth.   
   >   
   > Your translators inserted the comma in the wrong place.   
      
   Your claim collapses under Jesus’ own words, the grammar, and the context.   
   The comma-shift theory does not work in Greek, does not work in the   
   narrative, and contradicts Jesus’ promise.   
      
   1. **Jesus absolutely went to Paradise that day**   
       Paradise is not the tomb.   
       Paradise is the place of conscious blessing in the presence of God   
   (2 Corinthians 12:2–4; Revelation 2:7).   
       Before the resurrection, believers entered the blessed side of   
   *Hades*—called “Abraham’s bosom” in Luke 16:22.   
      
   Jesus’ spirit went to the Father the moment He died:   
      
   “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46, ESV).   
      
   The Father is not in the tomb.   
   The Father is not in the “heart of the earth.”   
   The Father is not unconscious.   
   Jesus’ spirit was with the Father that very day.   
      
   That is Paradise.   
      
   2. **“Heart of the earth” refers to His body in the grave, not His spirit**   
       Matthew 12:40 concerns His physical burial.   
       His **body** lay in the grave for three days.   
       His **spirit** was not in the grave.   
      
   This is exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28 (KJV; *hell*   
   [Gehenna])—men can kill the body but not the soul.   
   His body was killed; His spirit went to the Father.   
      
   3. **The comma-shift theory makes Jesus say something nonsensical**   
       Your reading:   
       “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”   
      
   If “today” modifies “I say,” Jesus is saying:   
   “I am telling you right now.”   
      
   But that is obvious.   
   Jesus never says, “I tell you tomorrow.”   
   Shifting the comma produces a trivial, empty statement.   
      
   It also violates your own claimed hermeneutic:   
   You argue that Scripture never states something “self-evident.”   
   Saying “I tell you today” is self-evident and meaningless.   
      
   4. **In Greek, “today” belongs to the promise, not the verb “say”**   
       Greek word order does not dictate punctuation, but every New   
   Testament instance where “truly I say to you” occurs has the adverb   
   modifying the *promise*, not the speaking.   
       Not once does Jesus say, “Truly I say to you today…”   
       But dozens of times He says, “Truly I say to you…” followed by the   
   promise.   
      
   Luke 23:43 matches all the others:   
   “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”   
      
   5. **The thief expected immediate blessing**   
       He said, “Remember me WHEN you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).   
       Jesus’ reply corrects his timing—**today**, not someday.   
      
   6. **Jesus’ spirit truly departed, not slept**   
       He said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).   
       His spirit went consciously to the Father that day.   
       That is Paradise.   
      
   7. **The three-days-and-nights prophecy does not require   
   soul-annihilation or soul-sleep**   
       Jonah was conscious inside the fish (Jonah 2:1–7).   
       Jesus was conscious in the Father’s presence while His body was in   
   the grave.   
      
   This matches every clear text:   
      
   Paul: “To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord” (2   
   Corinthians 5:8).   
   Jesus: God can kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matthew 10:28,   
   KJV; *hell* [Gehenna]).   
   Revelation: souls of the slain cry out to God (Revelation 6:9–10).   
      
   The comma-shift theory fails every linguistic, contextual, and   
   theological test.   
   Jesus’ promise was simple, direct, and true:   
      
   “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)