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.
Jehovah-Jireh
57-0106 §45
So He took His son, made Him a form of sinful flesh and took Him up to Calvary. (Listen close now.) Took Him to Calvary and there God wrote His covenant with the human race. Oh, brother, see it. He took the Lord Jesus, the Emancipator of this proclamation, and He took Him to Calvary, and He ripped Him apart. He took the body up to heaven, set it on the throne and sent the other part down, which was the Holy Ghost. And that same Holy Ghost is here on the earth, making up the body of Christ. And at the resurrection,...
Jehovah-Jireh
61-0209 §70
(One more comment, if you will, just a moment. We got exactly ten minutes to get out in time.) Then what happened to Lot when he took his choice? What happened? Chaos set in right away. What was it? Some kings come down and took Lot and took him (Sodom), and took their wives, and took everything and left with it. Watch Abraham in the fourteenth chapter now. The blessed Spirit of Christ upon him, he went after his fallen brother. The Spirit of Christ on Abraham. He went after his fallen brother and brought him back....
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 1:E-34
Jesus said, "I came from God and I go (back) to God". John 16:27-28. That is exactly what happened. He disappeared from earth by way of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Then Paul met Him on the road to Damascus and He spoke to Paul and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" Paul said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" He said, "I am Jesus." He was a pillar of fire, a blinding light. He had turned back, exactly as He said He would. Back to the same form that He was before He took on a tabernacle of flesh. T...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 7:E-69
Now where is this book located? Luke 10:17-24, "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy Name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour J...
Faith
56-0427 §43
And Abraham, God took him and put him to sleep. Now, showing... "Abraham, I'm going to take you out of the picture. There's nothing you can do about it. I'm going to do it Myself. I'm going to show you how I'm going to do it, Abraham." So, He put Abraham asleep, and when Abraham fell asleep. He'd kept the birds off until the sun went down, off the carcasses of the dead animals. And then when Abraham went to sleep, the first thing appeared before him was a horrible blackness: Death that comes to every man: separatio...