Paradise

Though often used to decribe the Garden of Eden, the word 'paradise' is not found in Genesis. Nor is it found anywhere else in the OT. The association of the Garden with paradise in the Western mind began with the Septuagint's rendition of the word 'garden' in Gen 2 and 'eden' in Eze 51:3 by the word paradeisos, a word it had borrowed from Old Persian, pairidaeza, which refers to an 'enclosure' and, therefore, a 'park,' 'a place of pleasure'.

'Paradise,' however, appears three times in the NT, where it translates Greek paradeison. In all three instances it implies the new realm of divine repose, wholesome well-being and eternal security.

Lk 23:24 - Jesus promises the rependent criminal on the cross beside his that "today you will be with me in paradise."

1 Cor 12:4 - In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul told of the man (whom some commentators believe was Paul himself though he would only speak of him, perhaps out of humility, as "I know a man") who was "caught up to paradise" where he "heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell"

Rev 2:7 - In His risen exalted state, He commanded John on the island of Patmos to write to the Ephesian Christians promising them that those who overcome He would "give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

While, on their own, these verses do not tell us much about paradise, taken together we see paradise pictured as the renewed Garden of Eden rich with the joy and privilege of eating from the tree of life of which God once had to protect the fallen couple in Eden from eating. And in it there are far glorious and wholesome things to feast upon than the lust after seventy virgins of those who are foolish enough to believe in such flaky promises that can be seized by violence.