Old Testament Saints Didn’t Go To Heaven! Instead, Abraham’s Bosom?

Where did Old Testament saints go when they died? Was it heaven? Was it somewhere else? Let’s search the Bible and see what Scripture reveals. Let’s start by understanding how sin was dealt with before Jesus came. In the Old Testament, people were saved by God’s grace through faith, just as we are.

They trusted in God, as He had revealed Himself to them. However, since Jesus had not yet come to pay the full penalty for sin, their sins weren’t washed away by his blood. Therefore, God gave them a system of animal sacrifices.

As Leviticus 17:11 says, For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. The blood of animals would atone for their sins, but animal sacrifices could never fully pay for human sin. What was needed was a perfect, sinless human sacrifice.

A Child was Born, A Son was Given

That’s why, in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, Jesus. He lived a perfect life, and because he had no sin in himself, he could be the ultimate sacrifice, taking upon himself the sins of the world. When Jesus died on the cross, he shed his pure blood as the complete atonement for the sins of man.

Only Jesus could do this, and he willingly laid down his life for us, fulfilling God’s plan and making a way for true forgiveness. So, what happened to those who trusted God before Jesus’ sacrifice? Jesus clearly declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus’ words declare that the way to heaven was closed before his death, and Old Testament saints could not have gone directly to heaven when they died. But God, in his love and mercy, provided a temporary resting place, which is revealed in Luke 16, where Jesus speaks of two destinations for the soul after death, a place of comfort called Abraham’s bosom for those who died in faith, a place of torment, what we call hell, for those who died without faith. Abraham’s bosom wasn’t heaven.

God’s Heaven

Heaven is the dwelling place of God, far above the skies and stars, the third heaven, as Paul calls it in 2 Corinthians 12. Abraham’s bosom was below the heavens, in the depths of the earth. Jesus referred to it as the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40) and also called it paradise when he spoke to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43). Abraham’s bosom was a place of comfort and waiting.

The sins of the Old Testament saints were only covered, not washed away. Those who died in faith waited in Abraham’s bosom for the Promised One, the seed foretold of to Adam and Eve, the seed promised to come through Abraham, and the seed prophesied of to David. When Jesus died and rose again, his sacrifice made complete atonement for those who waited in Abraham’s bosom and for all who would come to faith in him.

40 days after his resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven and led the Old Testament saints from Abraham’s bosom to their new home with him in the heaven of heavens. Since Jesus’ ascension, Abraham’s bosom is empty. Now, when Christians die, their souls go directly to heaven.

The Only Way

Jesus is the way to the Father and the door through which believers enter heaven. The only abode of the dead remaining in earth now is the place of torment, what we call hell. This is the English word for the Greek word Hades and the Hebrew word Sheol, meaning the grave or the pit.

And it is the destiny of all non-believers from all ages. Similar to how Abraham’s bosom was a waiting place until the Old Testament saints would receive their final reward of heaven, the place of torment is also a waiting place. Those in hell await a final judgment.

At the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20, they will stand before Jesus, and because of their unbelief, be found wanting, and be sent to their eternal destination, the lake of fire. In Abraham’s bosom, Old Testament saints were comforted by Father Abraham. Now they’re in the presence of God the Father and their Savior Jesus Christ.

Heaven is the eternal resting place for all who die in faith, cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Summary

At death, Old Testament saints waited in Abraham’s bosom for Jesus’ atonement.

After Jesus died, rose, and ascended, he took them to heaven. Now, when believers die, they go immediately to be with Jesus in heaven. The only abode of the dead in the earth now is the place of torment, which we call hell.

The place of torment remains a temporary holding place for the unrighteous, awaiting their final judgment. It’s incredible to think that as believers, our souls will one day be transported beyond the sky we see, past the planets and the stars, to the heaven of heavens, where we will enter into the very presence of God. We’ll join the multitude of saints who have gone before us, forever rejoicing in the comfort and joy of heaven.

© Reasons for Hope* Jesus, For permission to use, email hope@reasonsforhopeJesus.com

<*}}}><