Ad penitent thief -- the reason he entered the kingdom of God was his honest admission of the reality of his situation. He accepted his trespasses, he surrendered to the fact that he was a thief and his punishment was to be expected, which in turn opened his eyes to the reality of Jesus’ innocence and the truth at large.
https://senderspike.medium.com/thieves-on-a-cross-962e1fed1f5
As for the parable of the vineyard -- it simply means that knowledge of God is identical for everyone and there is no higher or lower knowledge of God. It does not depend when one enters the kingdom of God, but those who come last have the advantage of the work of those who came before them -- we all stand on shoulders of our predecessors. That's the causality I was talking about in my response to your previous piece, too. Also, it does not matter how long one searches for God. Some may start early, some later and they may enter at the same time, still, the end result is the same.
And finally -- waiting only until death to enter the Paradise is, frankly, ridiculous. You are wasting your life away. Just look what you find Jesus saying (although in connection to a different topic), "...have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Well, you may dismiss it, but you will inevitably find out.
And, mind you, Jesus is not alone when it comes to such sentiment -- Buddha, Lao Tzu, and many others who knew God (or Absolute Reality) are in the same boat. Your assumption that Christianity is somehow special is utterly delusional. As I already said to you — treat Jesus as your equal and you will understand (and eventually also know).
