In the second of seven special episodes of the “In Layman’s Terms” podcast focusing on the final sayings from Christ on the cross, Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. shares his reflections on Luke 23:43, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Through this statement to a criminal on the cross, Jesus shares His love for all of us who fall short of God’s expectations of us and gives us the hope of a life with Jesus in paradise.
toddseifert.com 
Today you will be with me in paradise. There is discussion about whether you go directly to heaven or if there is a waiting period until the Second Coming. I think that these words from the cross settles the argument. The word is “Today”!! However, I have thought of a way that both beliefs can be true. If you have ever had an operation in which you were “put to sleep”, you know that one second you are awake and the next you are in the recovery room. Several hours may have passed, but it doesn’t seem that way to you. Maybe it “seems” like “today — a few seconds” to the person who has died, but it really has been thousands of years
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