Page:The Last Judgement and Second Coming of the Lord Illustrated.djvu/115

 says, he knew a man who was caught up into paradise, but leaves the place without a description; and in the other it is called the paradise of God. In this latter case, it is, no doubt, employed as a designation for heaven; and although an idea of heaven must have been included in the promise with which the penitent was encouraged, yet it could not be the full enjoyment of that kingdom, which he was about to realize on that day. The Lord, who had so frequently made use of a word signifying heaven, would surely not have employed another term on so peculiar an occasion, if He had not intended by it to express some distinct idea: hence we believe that the paradise promised for that day, is that position in the world of spirits, where the faithful are gathered with a view of raising them to heaven. Surely the malefactor did not pass on to the final residence of the blessed without the experience of a judgment. Besides, the Lord on the third day after the crucifixion, told Mary that He Himself had not yet ascended; and, therefore, it appears plain that the paradise spoken of could not have been the full enjoyment of the angelic kingdom, but rather that position in the intermediate spiritual world where the good are gathered together for their judgment, and whence they are raised into heaven. There, indeed, the Lord was; there, also, was the penitent, and there he would have to remain until the period of his judgment; for without that he could not pass on to his final destination: how plain is it, then, that the world of spirits must be the scene of its execution. John, indeed, expressly tells us that it is so. He saw the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held; and they were living in the hope of judgment, for they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not