When Jesus was "on the cross" and spoke with the two thieves crucified by His sides, He said to one,
"Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Now, we know that Jesus didn't ascend into heaven until after the resurrection so Paradise isn't in heaven. We don't have much in scripture that describes where the Lord went for those three days before His resurrection, but He must have been in paradise on the same day that He made that promise to the repentant thief.
So, what does scripture tell us?
9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:9
And,
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water 1 Peter 3:18-20
I'm not seeing paradise mentioned in these verses, but we do have this story told about the rich man in torments and poor Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:22
So this verse doesn't mention paradise either, but we might assume that Abraham's bosom is in paradise, but then we also have "father Abraham" saying:
And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. Luke 16:26
So it would appear that Abraham's bosom is located in the same place as hades, but separated by a "great gulf" which can't be crossed by men.
Is there anything else in scripture that supports this idea?
Actually, we have the passage about Saul visiting the witch of Endor seeking to speak with Samuel, who had already died.
13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”
And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”
14 So he said to her, “What is his form?”
And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.
15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” 1 Samuel 28:13-15
So, where was Samuel? Before answering, please consider that the word "spirit" in verse 13 is actually from the Hebrew "Elohim."
Is there anything else in scripture that supports this idea?
I know of multiple verses, and from the book of the Revelation:
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:18
So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:8
Revelation 20:13
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Revelation 20:13
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Revelation 20:14
None of these verses makes any mention of paradise, but all refer to death and hades as two distinct places, or personified as two separate persons.
Where do you find paradise in scripture? Where is it located as it clearly isn't in heaven (no one has ascended into heaven but the Lord.)
You repeatedly talk about paradise, yet there are very few mentions of this place in scripture. Bible Gateway, the somewhat unreliable search web site, finds only 4 mentions of paradise in scripture, none of them give a location for paradise and all are from the New Testament scriptures.
It was not just Jesus the man on the Cross. It was Jesus the Lord God on the Cross. God was with the thief that day in Paradise. Besides Moses and Elijah, the thief was the first one in this group:
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,"
This is Paradise. The Cross opened Paradise. Adam was banned from Paradise. Abraham's bosom was temporary in sheol, until the Cross. Of course Paradise was not mentioned in the account of Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. Abraham's bosom is not Paradise. Abraham's bosom was the valley of the shadow of death. A part of sheol, but with a great gulf between the two areas. The Cross was the removal of the church from Abraham's bosom to Paradise. That is the reason the thief could be with God in Paradise that day. The body of Jesus was in the tomb. God was in Paradise, not sent to the tomb.
Paul called Paradise the third heaven:
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) such an one caught up to the
third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) How that he was caught up into
paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
The third mention is in Revelation 2:7
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God."
The tree of life has always been in the Garden, Paradise named by God on the Cross. The tree of life was never in Abraham's bosom. Paradise was removed before or at the Flood. Abraham's bosom did not have to happen after Abraham. People on earth went somewhere when they physically died. It was not Paradise. Because all had to wait until the Cross, to enter Paradise.
Let us look at what the thief asked, the general thought of that generation:
"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."
Jesus completely changes the subject? What is the answer? Most were looking for "the kingdom" to come to earth. The 4 Gospels also had Jesus talking about a kingdom. The answer was not, "Today you will enter the kingdom." The thief was asking about the wrong kingdom. Why would the thief not ask to be in Abraham's bosom? The thief was not asking to live. He was asking to be remembered, and not left in sheol. God went way above the thief's expectations. The thief would be, himself, in Paradise that day. Not just remembered, but he would experience the resurrection and life that day.
That was the reason for the Cross. The point in time where the Resurrection and Life was made a physical act in the physical. It was already a done deal, before Creation.