"With Me in Paradise."

When the poor beggar, spoken of by the Lord in Luke 16, died, he "was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom," and there he was comforted. But the Lord promised a better portion than Abraham's bosom to the dying thief who confessed Him on the cross, saying, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." How wonderful the change for the repentant sinner to be taken into the paradise of God in the company of the Lord Jesus, freed not only from his sufferings on the cross, but from the guilt of his sins through the work of Jesus.

It was into this heavenly paradise the apostle Paul was caught up to hear "unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:4). The bliss of that heavenly scene, where those who are present with the Lord are at home, is not the subject of revelation. We can even now enjoy in spirit something of the divine joys that will be ours in heaven, but there are things enjoyed by the saints who rest with Christ that are not yet ours to know. As having been caught up to that blissful scene, Paul could say, "to depart, and to be with Christ is far better"