Have you ever heard of the Antichrist? From the old testament book of Daniel: “That leader will make firm an agreement with many people for seven years. He will stop the offerings and sacrifices after three and one-half years. A destroyer will do blasphemous things until the ordered end comes to the destroyed city” (Daniel 9:27 NCV).

This is one of the Bible’s earliest references to a time of severe tribulation—seven years in which the entire world will feel the oppression of an evil ruler. Antichrist is the name most used for this scoundrel. He will want people to worship him instead of Jesus, and he will appear on the world stage. This era of anarchy is called the tribulation. Are we in that stage of evil? Not yet, but it seems to be nearing.

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“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,…and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV).

The Greek word used to describe this event translates into the Latin word rapere, from which comes the English word rapture. It describes a moment in which living believers will be instantly changed into their resurrection bodies and lifted into heaven to meet Jesus. The bodies of dead believers will be resurrected and reunited with their spirits. Both groups will be “caught up” to meet Christ in the air and will be taken into Paradise.

A generation of Christians will skip the cemetery. Just one moment here, and the next moment there.

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Linvel Baker preached for forty years in the small towns of Texas. His final years brought some health challenges, and he chose to retire at the age of sixty-five.

He spent his final earthly day with his brother Lauris on his recently acquired 150 undeveloped ranchland acres. As the sun set, Lauris headed home, leaving Linvel alone. Linvel had a heart attack. He knew there wasn’t time for first responders to reach him. He sat down near a grove of oak trees and removed his boots. He lay back on the ground, with arms outstretched and face toward heaven, and died.

His son-in-law found him with “peace written all over his face.” Linvel understood he was about to step onto holy ground, so he removed his boots and entered Paradise.

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT).

At every moment you are watched by millions of loving eyes. Listen carefully, and you will hear a vast multitude of God’s family. Noah is among them. So is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Your elementary school teacher shouts your name. Do you hear the support of the first-century believers? Some of us have mom and dad, brother or sister—even a child—in the stands. They are part of the people of Paradise.

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

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The people of Paradise enjoy a much better, but still incomplete, state. They anticipate the new heaven and earth, the glorified body to be received at the rapture, and—this may surprise you—they look forward to the arrival of the rest of the saints.

In Hebrews chapter eleven the author highlights the lives of Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Rahab the harlot. He writes, “All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised” (Hebrews 11:39 NLT). The writer surprises us by describing how the saints are waiting for the rest of us.

As wonderful as Paradise is, it won’t be complete until all God’s children are home.

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In Paradise we will ponder the glory of God. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33 ESV).

Don’t assume we will ever exhaust our study of God. Endless attributes await us. His grace will increasingly stun, wisdom progressively astound, and perfection ever more sharpen into focus. Our minds will be healthy, imaginations pure. Since we are made in the image of our Creator, we will create.

Who would think God would have creative work for us in Paradise? Then again, who would have thought God would give work to Adam? But he did. And Adam put his brand-new brain to work. Can’t we expect to do the same?

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In Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus, the latter was a beggar. His body was covered in ulcerated, open wounds. Each day he was loaded in a cart, carried to the property of the mansion, placed on the ground, and left there. And when the servants threw scraps on the street, Lazarus hoped to snatch what he could. The sores on his flesh were horrendous, but the sores on his spirit? Daily reminded of how little he mattered in society.

But then, in a moment, destinies were reversed. Both men died, and Lazarus was “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22 NKJV). Lazarus was comforted and healed. All wounds will be healed in Paradise.

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When do we leave for Paradise? Immediately upon death. This was the promise Jesus gave the thief on the cross. The thief went from torture to triumph in the blink of an eye. The spirit of the believer journeys home while the body of the believer awaits the resurrection.

Paul said, “We…would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8 NIV). At the rapture our bodies will be resurrected, but Paul was not speaking of the rapture. He was describing a phase after our death and before the resurrection of our bodies. During this time we will be “at home with the Lord.” The moment believers take their final breath on earth, they have their first glimpse of Paradise.

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Where is Paradise? Well the Bible refers to three kinds of heaven. There is an atmospheric heaven—the sky, the breathable atmosphere that blankets the earth. There is a planetary heaven that encompasses our mighty and majestic universe.

And then there is the third heaven: Paradise. It exists outside our physical universe. Paul was privileged to have a peek into this realm. What he experienced was so otherworldly that he was prohibited to share the details. Paradise is not the domain of the dead but the land of superabundant life. It is almost heaven, but not quite. It is grand, but temporary lodging. A universe forever purged of sin and populated by lovers of God.

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Paradise: the next stop on our journey. That is the term Jesus used with the dying thief on the cross. Is Paradise the same as heaven? Sort of. John Wesley called Paradise “only the porch of Heaven.” It is simply the gathering place of the saved until Christ comes for his children.

The Greek word for paradise refers to a walled park or garden. Early readers of Jesus’ promise to the thief would have thought of Eden’s garden—a tangible, touchable location. Why would we think heaven’s Paradise is any different? God’s garden occupies the center of Paradise. What a joy it will be to see it!

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