Part 3 of 5 of the theme 'Where are the dead' by Gijs van den Brink

'Eternal tents'

When Jesus has told the parable of the unrighteous steward, He then says, "And I say unto you, Make your friends with the help of the unrighteous Mammon, that, when it shall fall away from you, you may enter into everlasting tents (skēnas) be included. (Luke 16:9)

The words "when it departs you" speak of the moment of dying. Some manuscripts even have "when you die" (ek-leipō means "to go to the end, to die"). Then it will come to pass for them to be taken up into the eternal tents. What does Jesus mean by "eternal tents" here?

In John 14:2 He says, 'In My Father's house are many dwellings; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to go and prepare a place for you.'

By the designation "My Father's house," He was referring to heaven in this context (cf. 2 Cor. 5:1). But when will the disciples be allowed to occupy those "many dwellings"? Again, writings from Jewish apocalypticism help us further. In the Testament of Abraham, a Jewish writing from the first century, God says the following at the death of Abraham:

'Carry then my friend Abraham to Paradise, where the tents (skēnai) of my justices are and the properties (monai) of my saints ... in his womb; where there is no trouble, no sorrow, no sighing, but peace and rejoicing and life without end. (20:10-14).

The "dwellings" that the saints occupy immediately after death are located, like the "tents" of the righteous, in the "womb of Abraham" (see below). And Jesus makes it clear that the "dwellings" are located in the Father's "house," heaven.

'Lap of Abraham'

We encounter the image of the "bosom" or "womb" (part of the human body) in the NT in the saying "to lie at someone's bosom" or "in someone's womb," i.e., to lie down next to someone at the meal. Thus the disciple whom Jesus loved at the Lord's Supper lay at His bosom (John 13:23), and we read in Luke 16:22 how the poor man was carried by the angels into Abraham's lap or at Abraham's bosom, i.e., he may lie down with Abraham at the banquet of the righteous. It became a fixed term in the first century for the place of peace and happiness where the righteous go after death.

Author: Gijs van den Brink
From: Study Bible Magazine

This is part 3 of 5 concise articles on the theme "Where are the Dead?" from Study Bible Magazine, Some of which we will be posting online in the near future. We hope this will help you understand the Bible better!