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 5:E-103
Now the majority of us have the mistaken idea that any and all who call themselves Christians would be the target of the devil and consequently the brunt of governmental tyranny. But not so. This first church had begun to thrive and multiply so in numbers that the emperors and various officials of the government actually favored that church for political reasons. Thus when the leaders of the First Church in Rome found themselves in favor, they took the opportunity to turn the government against the true believers a...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 8:E-55
One afternoon as I began to minister, one of thousands of the Mohammedans came up on the platform. As she stood before me, a missionary to the Mohammedans began to softly implore the Lord, "Oh, for that precious soul. Oh, for that precious soul." He had been over there for years and years, and according to his own testimony, he had seen only ONE Mohammedan come to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour. They were originally the Medo-Persians whose laws change not. They are so hard to win. It seems that "once a Mohammedan...
The Faith Of Abraham
59-0415E §85
And I pray that Your Spirit will move out there and will heal each one. Grant it, Lord. If they could not be present here, let them know that You are there. You come to the belly of a whale for a man, in the fiery furnace for one, went out into the regions of the dead and called one back to life after being dead four days. You're God, and "the hour is coming when all that's in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth." Lord, let them know now that You love them and You're going to heal...
Believest thou this?
50-0716 §70
Now, Jesus, in His ministry, going forth hearing His precious Word. It come to a place where He had to leave the home. And when He went out, sorrow and troubles came in. And when He goes out of your home, sorrow and troubles come in. When He goes out of your church, confusion and backslidings is coming in. When you... trouble's on its road, keep Him with you all the time. Now, in this case, of course, He wasn't drove away, but His work pulled Him away. And as soon as He went away, Lazarus, a bosom friend, took sick...
Faithful Abraham
61-0312 §48
"These signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues. If they should take up a serpent, or drink a deadly thing, it would not harm them. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." These signs shall follow believers. Hands laid on that believer, that believer says, "Amen. I'm Abraham's seed. I believe it." Then it works all right, comes to pass. Now, these signs... And Abraham said to God, "How will I know this?" He said, "Abraham, go ge...