Was Abraham and Lazarus in Hell Before Jesus Came and Took Them Out?
1) Direct Answer
No. Abraham and Lazarus were not in the torment of hell. They were in Paradise—“Abraham’s bosom”—a place of comfort in the lower parts of the earth, separated from the place of torment by a great gulf. After His death, Jesus descended there and then led the saints out when He rose.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Luke 16 shows two places in the unseen world: the rich man “in torments,” and Lazarus comforted in Abraham’s bosom, with “a great gulf fixed” between them. That’s not the burning hell for the righteous; it’s Paradise.
- Jesus said to the thief, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). He went to Paradise after death.
- He said He would be “in the heart of the earth” three days and nights (Matthew 12:40). Paul says He “descended first into the lower parts of the earth,” then “ascended up on high, He led captivity captive” (Ephesians 4:8–10).
- Peter says He “preached unto the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19). He announced His finished work; the damned remained where they were, but the redeemed were delivered.
- When He rose, “many bodies of the saints…arose, and came out of the graves…and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52–53). That shows the Old Testament saints were brought up.
- Before Calvary the way into the holiest was “not yet made manifest” (Hebrews 9:8), and the blood of animals could not take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). After the perfect sacrifice, the way opened, so now “to be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- If Abraham had been in burning hell, he could not have been “comforted” nor speak peace to Lazarus (Luke 16). The Bible plainly shows two separate regions.
- Before the Cross, the righteous waited in comfort because the full price of sin hadn’t been paid. After the Cross, Jesus—God manifested in flesh—paid it in full, descended, and then took the redeemed up. Paradise is now above, in the presence of God.
4) Reinforcing Statement
So Abraham and Lazarus were safe in Paradise, not in torment, and when Jesus finished the work, He took those saints out and brought them into His presence.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 9:E-8
...let me predict (I did not say prophesy, but predict) that this age will end around 1977. If you will pardon a personal note here, I base this prediction on seven major continuous visions that came to me one Sunday morning in June, 1933. The Lord Jesus spoke to me and said that the coming of the Lord was drawing nigh, but that before He came, seven major events would transpire. I wrote them all down and that morning I gave forth the revelation of the Lord. The first vision was that Mussolini would invade Ethiopia a...
Believest thou this?
60-0402 §25
And then we were told that Lazarus was the one that brought Jesus to John in the story of Dr. Ingraham's book on "The Prince of the House of David." However, that might not have been true. I do not know. But just for the background of it ... but He was supposed to have been living with them. Now, we've been learning this coming ... this last week, rather, that Jesus said in St. John 5:19, "The Son can do nothing in himself, but what he sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise. The Father worketh, and the...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 8:E-93
God is talking about the bride here. Do you want to see another picture of her? It is over in Revelation 7:4-17, "And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve tho...
We would see Jesus
62-0627 §66
Now. There was... Abraham was a type of the church called out---wasn't in Sodom---sitting way back up here on the barren grounds of the mountains, above the riches and cares of the world. There's your three classes. Abraham called out, and the word "church" means "called out"---Abraham, the elected church. We know there's a church elected. We know that God predestinated the church. It's going to appear before Him without spot or wrinkle. He said so. I hope I'm a member of it. And I know how to get to be a member of...
The resurrection of Lazarus
51-0729A §81
Lazarus took sick. Theologians believe he died with hemorrhages of the lungs. That I don't know. The Bible doesn't say nothing. Some of the writers said it was. All right. He got sick. And sometimes God tries your faith. Do you believe that? Every son that cometh to God must be tried. Think it not strange that fiery trials come, because it's only done to perfect your faith, draw you closer. Their worth more than the gold to you. All right. Then when these things begin to take place, Mary and Martha sent and said, "...