Abraham’s Bosom
Prior to the death and resurrection of Yeshua (the Jewish Messiah) also known as Jesus, there was a place located in the center of the earth called Abraham’s bosom. This is where the righteous people went who died before the resurrection of Jesus. This was a holding place where godly people were kept in custody until the time that salvation was made available for them by the atoning work of Jesus. After the Resurrection of Jesus, he proclaimed the gospel to the spirits of the righteous men in Abraham’s bosom and led these people in procession into heaven as the first-fruits to be saved after the Resurrection. Today the place of Abraham’s bosom is empty because all of the righteous Old Testament people who once occupied that holding place have now been transferred to heaven. Jesus referred to the place called Abraham’s bosom when he spoke of an account of two men who died and found themselves in the center of the earth. The evil rich man landed on the torment side of the chasm and the poor righteous man landed on the comfort side of the chasm.
Luke 16:22 (NASB)
22 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
Abraham’s bosom is referred to in the scripture above and the name speaks of a place of comfort much like the comfort provided by a mother’s bosom for an infant child who is receives comfort and nourishment. A child will rest without a care in his mother’s loving arms. In the same way, Abraham’s bosom was a place of comfort for the righteous saints of the Old Testament era who lived before the time when Jesus made atonement for their sin. It was a holding place to keep the righteous Old Testament people in a place of comfort until such time that salvation was made available to them by the atoning work of Jesus.
Until the time of the resurrection, the righteous Old Testament saints could not yet go to heaven because the way for salvation for humanity was not yet provided before the sacrifice of Jesus was complete which made atonement for the sins of all humanity.
Luke 16:19-31 (NASB)
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
20 “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
22 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23 “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’
27 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—
28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham *said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
30 “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’
31 “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”
Jesus told of a true account of two men who both died on earth. One man was a wicked rich man who lived in luxury and was self-indulgent all of his life. The other man was a poor man who had nothing and was a beggar and longed to just eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Apparently, the poor man feared God and was righteous because when he died, he found himself in the place of comfort called Abraham’s bosom.
Abraham’s bosom is located in the center of the earth just across from the place of torment where the wicked deceased reside.
Luke 16:26 (NASB)
26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’
There is a great chasm fixed between the place of comfort called Abraham’s bosom and the place of torment which is often called hell or Hades. This chasm prevents those who are tormented from crossing over to the place of comfort and those in the place of comfort cannot cross over to the place of torment.
It is evident that God has created spiritual restrains such as spiritual chains and spiritual chasms and spiritual abysses which are capable of restraining spirit beings like fallen angels or demons and also restraining the deceased unregenerate men who live eternally in the place of torment.
See the lesson called “Spiritual Restraints” for more details.
Psalm 68:18 (NKJV)
18 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there.
This is an Old Testament prophetic scripture that speaks of how Jesus (after his resurrection) led the righteous Old Testament saints out of the holding place of comfort in the center of the earth. These righteous men became the first-fruits to enter heaven together with Jesus when he rose from the dead. These Old Testament saints were held captive in the place of comfort called Abraham’s bosom because the way of salvation had not yet been provided for them before the death and resurrection of Jesus. Abraham’s bosom was created as a holding place for righteous Old Testament men who died before salvation was provided by Jesus. These righteous men were then led from this captivity within Abraham’s bosom and led in procession behind Jesus as he led them into the place called heaven.
This scripture should be translated as:
Psalm 68:18 (NKJV)-M
18 You have ascended on high [into heaven], leading the righteous captives into eternal freedom. You have [dispersed] ministry gifts among men, even among the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there.
The giving of ministry gifts among men (even among the rebellious) speaks of the Fivefold Ministry Gifts of Apostle and Prophet and Teacher and Pastor and Evangelist which were given to men (including formerly rebellious men like Apostle Paul who had formerly been a religious zealot who persecuted and tortured and compelled to blaspheme – those who believed in Jesus).
The New Testament counterpart of the Old Testament Psalm 68:18 is found in Ephesians 4:8-13.
Ephesians 4:8-13 (NKJV)
8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”
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.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Jesus ascended from the center of the earth after his resurrection and he led the captive Old Testament righteous people (held in custody) out of the place of comfort in Abraham’s bosom. Jesus then lead them as a procession of first-fruits into heaven as the first humans to enter heaven after the resurrection.
First Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth where he suffered the punishment of sin on behalf of all humanity. Jesus suffered the worst that hell had to offer and purchased eternal life for all humanity. After three days and three nights Jesus was raised from the dead and the preached to the righteous human spirits in the place of Abraham’s bosom.
Matthew 12:40 (NIV2011)
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus was in the heart of the earth in the place of torment for three days and three nights. He paid for the punishment of all humanity during this time and then he was raised from the dead.
1 Peter 3:18-21 (NIV)
18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison
20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also–not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
After Jesus was raised from the dead, he went to the place of Abraham’s bosom and preached the gospel to the righteous people who were held there. These men like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and all other godly people heard the gospel and believed and were saved. These newly saved OT righteous people were then led out of the holding place called Abraham’s bosom and there were led in procession behind Jesus as he led them all into heaven.
This scripture would be better translated as:
1 Peter 3:18-22 (NIV2011)-M
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation [of the gospel to the righteous human spirits held in custody in the center of the earth within the holding place of Abraham’s bosom].
20 to these righteous men who were [obedient] long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
It was the righteous humans who were obedient to God [like Noah and his family] (and all other godly Old Testament people) who (upon death) were able to enter into the holding place in the center of the earth called Abraham’s bosom. It would not do any good for Jesus to proclaim the gospel to the disobedient people who landed on the side of the chasm where wicked men are eternally tormented. Once wicked humans die, they are sealed up eternally in hell and they can no longer be saved and no one can preach to them because it is useless to preach to an eternally damned person.
No, it was not to the disobedient that Jesus proclaimed the gospel to but rather the “obedient” who were the righteous people who died under the Old Testament era. These righteous Old Testament men had to wait in the holding place of Abraham’s bosom until the time that Jesus came and paid for their sins. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he entered the holding place of Abraham’s bosom and he proclaimed the gospel to these righteous men. These righteous Old Testament people then got saved and followed Jesus in procession into heaven being the first-fruits to be saved after the resurrection of Jesus.
1 Peter 3:20 (NIV2011)
20 to those who were [obedient] long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
Noah and his family (a total of eight persons) were the only people who were considered righteous during the time of the worldwide flood. Out of the entire world population in that day only those eight-people landed in the place of comfort that came to be known as Abraham’s bosom. All of the rest of the entire population of earth (who all perished in the flood) ended up in the torment side of the chasm in the place called hell! The reason why the entire world population was destroyed (except eight people) was because they were all wicked in God’s sight! It is only fitting that these wicked people end up in the torment side of the chasm in hell.