Show todar THOU BE WITH ME IN when the savior of the world hung upon the cross his flesh torn by the spikes which nailed him to the igno montous tree derided by coarse roman n soldiers insulted by hypocritical jews far imken by his own rejected by his pi eople bearing the awful load of this worlds sins then under these humiliating circumstances and exquisite sufferings which caused him even god the greatest of all to tremble because of pain and to suffer in body and in spirit a word of f comfort and cheer is ministered tv estered to him from one of the malefactors condemned to the same speaking to the other malefactor he rebuked him saying doest not thou fear god seeing thou are in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward for our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss and he said saad unto jesus lord remember rem embar me when thou into thy kingdom and jeow touched by the friendly defense gave him this memorable answer generally so little understood verily I 1 say unto thee today thou be with me in paradise what did he mean by paradise it was mot the heaven rev blomfield in a note to this passage in his bis edition of the new testament in greek has this tate much to say the word itself is derived from the persian or armenian and means a garden now as great pains were bestowed by the orientals Orient als on thus the word easily came to mjean a pleasure garden a place of lugary and enjoyment in this sense par adelso often occurs in Xen xenophon hence it to is no wonder that the term came to denote among the later jews that pleasant abode in hades appointed for the reception tion of the just until they should after the day of judgment be again united to their bodies in a future state stae see josephus war of the jews III A 4 11 II 8 11 the chrysostom has spawn was the idea entertained of paradise by all the orthodox believers of his time this same ame idea of paradise which obtained among the later jews of the ancient covenant we find also in the book ac mormon to in chapter 40 of the brok book of alma verse 12 page and then shall it come to pass that the spirits of those who are righteous ai are rebe received ived into a state of happiness which is called iDa paradise radise a state of rWAn real tate of 0 peace where they shall teat ret from all their troubles and from allicare all care scare and sorrow morrow etc AM then shall it bome come to pass that the spirits of the wicked wie iced yea who axe are wit evil these shall be cast out into outer darkness there shall be heaping we aping aaa wailing and gnashing of teeth I 1 hence when jesus entered paradise the abode of the spirits of the just he took tok with him the spirit of the only mancho had dared to say a good word in hui hia favor but between this place wid and heaven there is a wide difference as we ie dball see further on As there are many who are in the dark con cernas the maner in which jesus spent the time between ilis his death and his AUf resurrection we will quote quate his own words chieh he spoke when he was yet jo the martal sphere of life verily verily I 1 say unto you the how hour is coming and now te is when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god and they that hear shall live john S 28 thus showing that the time aks near at hand when the dead should I 1 hm near Hit alce the gospel now peter the chief of the apostles long atter thia the death and resurrection of his master testifies this to have been the oase case for christ also hath once suffered for sin the just for the unjust that he might bring us to god being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison which some time were once the long suffering 0 of f god waited in the days of noah while the ark was a preparing apet 1 pet 3 1820 18 20 paul also adds his testimony wherefore he when he ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men now that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth he that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens that he might fill all things ethes 4 8 10 this visit of the savior into the lower parts of the earth we find also described in the apostles creed he jesus christ was crucified dead and buried he descended into hell the third day he rose from the dead he ascended into heaven etc jesus having established his church on earth among the jews went into the spirit world A As a proof that his disciples disciple a and apostles working among the living were notified of the tact fact that the had been intro deuced among the dead paul says else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all why are they then baptized for the dead 1 cor 15 29 modern christendom does not pretend to understand these obscure words rev blomnell Blom neld notes more attention is due to the interpretation of some ancient expositors expository exposi tors by which an allusion is supposed to the practice in use as we learn from llan epi ph anius and ambrose in the first den century of vicarious baptism 1 e of baptizing a living person in the place ot of and for the benefit of one who had died baptized uni but no certain proof has been adduced that the practice was prevalent so early as the time when this passage was written or at corinth well it if anybody is supposed to know what this mysterious passage of paul means it is certainly those who lived ln in the first cen centuries turin as lian ambrose and and who received their tradition from those who knew the apostles their works and their doctrines I 1 now returning to our first subject viz the death and resurrection of the savior the historian john says but mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping and when she had thus said she turned herself back and saw jesus standing and knew no not t that it was jesus jesus unto her mary she turned herself and saith unto him jesus saith unto her touch me mot for I 1 am am not yet ascended to my father but go 90 to my brethren and say unto them I 1 ascend unto my father and your father and to my god and your god I 1 john 20 1117 11 17 thus the resurrected son of god proclaim himself in words not to be mistaken that he had not as yet seen his father and his god since his death but now with the resurrected saints he ascends into heaven leaving in paradise the penitent thief not worthy of such a 1 far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory A |