We should always keep in mind that with God future events are treated as AN ACCOMPLISHED FACT. That is seen in the prophecy of Christ regarding His resurrection, when He said destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Thus the presence of the saved thief was anticipated in Paradise within three days of Christ's crucifixion.
Jesus went to Hades -- the lower parts of the earth -- for three day and three nights, and that saved thief also went to Abraham's bosom. After the resurrection of Christ all the righteous dead went from Hades to the New Jerusalem, where Paradise is located. So it is simply a matter of properly interpreting what was said.