CJ Counts

What happens after death Pt 2 – Question from a reader

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The reader who asked the question in the article “What happens after death? – Question from a reader” followed up with the question below. 

Q) 

I’m so confused, I’m finding contradictions in the bible. One part says, no one has been to heaven except jesus, but your examples say different. Another part says, the dead no nothing, then the dead are aware of everything. Also I was told, back in that day if you wanted to emphasize something important, you would say, assuredly I say to you today, The coma was put in the wrong place when Jesus said Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise, this changes the entire meaning, this doesn’t guarantee the day he will be with Jesus. What is your opinion on all of this? 

 

A) 

When looking at references like you are making, it is important to consider the context. For example, we would do well to look at the original language the text was written in, and how their punctuation was used, or other ways these things could be translated in English. One does well, when studying the Bible in english, to referance multiple different translations. For me, I like to use both the NIV and the ESV because those two english translations were translated from a different perspective. The NIV is a conceptual translation, and the ESV is a word for word translation, so taking both into consideration is helpful. 
 
For instance, if I was translating something from spanish to english, a word for word translation might leave the listener confused, because in spanish they might say words or phrases in a different order as we do in english. So a word for word translation would have the words in the sentence in a confusing order because it is different then how we would order the same words. One might instead use a conceptual translation by communicating what the speaker intended to say. 
 
Like if I said “I am going to the bathroom”, but in spanish it would sound like “to the bathroom I am going”, that would be a word for word translation. Which is an accurate translation. But if in translation, I just heard “I am going to the bathroom”, so I communicated “He is going to the bathroom”, I would have conceptually communicated the sentence, and would be accurate. 
 
Therefor there are various ways of translating, while still being accurate. Though with the variety, there is often still a bit open to the translator to interpret. Which is why I like to look at multiple english translations when I study the Bible. 
 
Furthermore, the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic (original languages the Bible were written in) use a very different type of sentence structure, which can lead a translator to have to impose his own punctuation as he interpreted the authors original writings. For example, a Hebrew sentence could run on and on without a period, whereas we might break up the same thought in multiple sentences. 
 
But in referance to the particular sentence that you referance, Luke 23:43, where Jesus speaks to the thief on the cross. In the original language, it was written in Greek, and with punctuation exactly where Luke put it in the original manuscripts, it reads like this. 
 
And He said to him, Truely to you I say, today with Me you will be in paradise.
 
To address the context of Jesus statement in John 3:13, wondering if nobody has gone to heaven. This is not a contradiction if we take the whole conversation Jesus was having into context. Often, if we look at just one sentence, we loose the meaning of it, but if we look at the conversation as a whole it makes more sense. 
 
For example, if I took a picture of something very close up, you might mistake it for something else, and your imagination would run wild. But if I scale back to take a picture of the whole object, you get a very different view. It is the same way with scripture. We must look at not just the one verse, but the whole chapter, or even the whole book together. 
 
In this example, Jesus is having a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. 
 

In John 3:13 Jesus says to Nicodemus, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man.” This verse is somewhat difficult to interpret and is often misunderstood. It is also frequently used by those who want to find contradictions in the Bible.

We must keep the verse in context. In verses 10-12, especially, we see that Jesus is talking about His authority and the validity of His teaching. Jesus tells Nicodemus that He has been teaching what He knew firsthand: “We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen” (verse 11). Then, in verse 13 Jesus explains why He is uniquely qualified to teach of the kingdom of God—namely, because He alone came down from heaven and possesses the knowledge to teach people about heaven. Jesus alone has seen the Father, and He alone is qualified to declare God and make Him known (John 1:18).

The gist of John 3:13 is this: “None of your earthly teachers can really teach you about heaven, because none of them have actually been there. However, I have been there. In fact, it is My home. I have come to you from heaven, and I have brought with Me experiential knowledge of that place. My testimony carries weight; I can tell you the truth about salvation.” The NLT brings out the meaning well: “No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.”

In claiming a heavenly abode, Jesus was claiming deity. Nicodemus himself had already admitted that Jesus was extraordinary when he said, “We know you are a teacher who has come from God” (verse 2).

Jesus was not teaching that no one had ever gone to heaven before. Obviously, the Old Testament saints had gone to heaven (or paradise) when they died (Mark 12:26-27), and Enoch and Elijah had been taken there without dying (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5; 2 Kings 2:11). Rather, He was teaching that, of all rabbis, He had the best credentials. Jesus has direct contact with heaven; He is an expert on the subject.

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