The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-12, titled "Questions and Answers--Part 40."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 2001 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

My question is from Luke 16 where you have Lazarus and the poor man and they’re shown in a place together, one in Abraham’s bosom and one in torment. My question is, was Lazarus or Old Testament believers in general in the fullest sense in heaven? Or did they have to wait until Christ died to gather them up? I say this because I heard something in your tape that you don’t believe in a sort of a holding tank, a “limbos."

Answer

Right, I don’t believe in a holding tank, limbos, purgatory, or anything like that. I believe that they were in the presence of God, but they were not in the full, final new heavens and the new earth, which have yet to be created, right? In the future. Jesus, when He came to the earth, said, “I go away and I go away to prepare a place for you,” so the finally prepared place was not yet prepared, but I believe to be in Abraham’s bosom was to be in a place of bliss, a place of blessing, a place of the presence of God.

I believe that torment was to be in a place of punishment, but not the final Hell because the final Hell, according to the book of Revelation, awaits the final judgment. So, after the final judgment is the final Hell and the final new heavens and new earth. Until that time, the unbelieving are in torment, the believing are in a blessed place where God’s presence is. But, there will be a final form of that. And that’s just splitting hairs in a sense, but that’s where I am. And sometimes I can’t be specific about that because I can’t remember all the detail of a message. So, if you want to know what I really believe, you can go back and find some of the tapes on that and I’ll give you a more detailed explanation. But I don’t believe, for example, Ephesians 4, there was a holding tank, Jesus went in the holding tank where all these people were in limbo and took them up to a good place. I believe they were in the presence of God in a good place. Until the final new heaven and new earth, they are in an eternally blessed place that will still yet have a final form.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
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