Hi Pastor John,
We’re at the pickleball court having a discussion about where is the location of the righteous Old Testament patriarchs right now? Some of us thought that they’re in a holding place, but where is that place right now? Is that holding place in hell, or in heaven? My question is, are they free and happy with Jesus in heaven now? Some of us wonder if they’re under the altar.
Jenny
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Hi Jenny:
Thank you for the questions. They are good ones.
First, those under the altar in heaven (Rev. 6:9) had been martyred, so that leaves out such great Old Testament figures as Abraham, David, etc.
All the righteous Old Testament figures were taken into Paradise when they died, and they are still in Paradise, awaiting the first resurrection, the resurrection of life. Until Jesus came, Paradise was in the heart of the earth, divided from Torment by “a great gulf” (Lk. 16:26). After Jesus ascended, he transferred Paradise out of the heart of the earth to where he is, in heaven, so that now, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2Cor. 5:8).
Thanks be to God for the hope we have in Christ, to be with the saints who have for so long been waiting in Paradise for all God’s children to come in!
Pastor John