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PARADISE

A synonym for heaven. Jesus spoke of it in his promise to the good thief on the Cross (Luke 223:43). In only two other places in Scripture is it used in place of heaven. There is a reference to "the tree of life set in God's paradise" (Revelation 2:7). Paul wrote about a man in Christ "caught up into paradise" (II Corinthians 12:4). (Etym. Greek paradeisos, park, the Garden of Eden, paradise; from Persian pairida_za, an enclosure.)

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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