A Biblical Examination of Luke 16 and the Location of Paradise
Many sincere Christians have been taught that Hades, or Sheol, was once divided into two regions. One was a place of torment for the wicked, while the other was a place of comfort for the righteous called “Paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom.”
According to this teaching, the righteous who died before Christ did not enter heaven. They remained in this peaceful region of Hades until Christ died, descended to the dead, released them, and brought them into heaven.
This teaching has been held in different forms by respected Christians, so it should be considered carefully and represented fairly. The purpose of this article is not to settle the broader question of whether there is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection. That subject deserves its own examination.
The question here is narrower:
Does Scripture actually teach that Abraham’s bosom was a Paradise compartment within Hades, and does Scripture say that Christ later emptied or relocated it?
Our concern should always be to let Scripture determine our doctrine. Where Scripture speaks plainly, we should speak plainly. Where Scripture does not speak, we should be careful not to turn an interpretation into something the Bible itself explicitly teaches.
What the Doctrine Teaches
C. I. Scofield taught that Hades originally consisted of two divisions, identifying the place of the righteous with both Paradise and Abraham’s bosom:
“The passages in which the word occurs make it clear that hades was formerly in two divisions, the abodes respectively of the saved and of the lost.”
—C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible, note on Luke 16:23, “Hades Before the Ascension of Christ.”
Scofield further taught that Paradise later changed locations and associated this change with Ephesians 4:8–10.
Clarence Larkin taught essentially the same view:
“Before the resurrection of Christ the soul and spirit of the righteous dead went to the ‘Paradise’ compartment of the Underworld.”
—Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth; or, God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages, “The Spirit World,” PDF scan, p. 227.
Larkin went further and taught that Christ later removed the occupants of this Paradise compartment and took them into the third heaven.
Roman Catholic teaching also speaks of Abraham’s bosom as the place in which the righteous awaited Christ before heaven was opened to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.”
—Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 633.
This should not be confused with the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory. Purgatory concerns the alleged purification after death of those who die in God’s grace, while Abraham’s bosom concerns the righteous who died before Christ. They are separate doctrines.
Although Scofield, Larkin, and Roman Catholic theology differ in important ways, they share the idea that the righteous dead before Christ were kept in a distinct condition or location until Christ’s redemptive work opened the way into heaven.
The question is whether Luke 16 actually teaches this.
What Does Luke 16 Say?
Jesus tells of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. After they die, He describes what happens to each man in noticeably different terms:
“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.”
—Luke 16:22–23
The contrast is important.
Lazarus dies and is carried away by the angels to Abraham. The rich man dies and is buried, and immediately afterward Jesus says that in Hades he lifted up his eyes.
Jesus does not describe Lazarus as dying, being buried, and then appearing in another section of Hades. Lazarus is instead carried away from the place of his death by angels and brought to Abraham. The rich man, by contrast, is buried, and his next described condition is that he is in Hades.
This does not require Hades to be imagined as a physical cavern beneath the grave. The point is simply that the narrative closely associates the rich man’s burial with his presence in Hades, while Lazarus is described in the opposite way: he is carried away by angels to Abraham.
The passage therefore gives us two very different descriptions. The rich man is buried and found in Hades, while Lazarus is carried away and received by Abraham.
Abraham later tells the rich man:
“Between us and you there is a great chasm fixed.”
—Luke 16:26
The passage emphasizes a real and impassable separation between them. Yet nothing in the text says that this separation consists of two compartments within Hades. That geography has to be supplied by the interpreter.
Luke 16 explicitly identifies the rich man as being in Hades. It does not identify Abraham or Lazarus as being there.
What Does “Abraham’s Bosom” Mean?
The phrase “Abraham’s bosom” is often treated as though it were the proper name of a place. Yet in the passage itself, it can be understood much more simply.
To be in another person’s bosom means to be held against that person’s chest in an embrace. We still understand this naturally in ordinary human relationships. When a loved family member arrives, we may welcome him by putting our arms around him and holding him close. The embrace communicates that the person has been received and welcomed.
That is the picture Jesus gives of Lazarus.
Lazarus, who had spent his earthly life lying neglected outside the rich man’s gate, dies and is carried away by angels. When we next see him, he is in Abraham’s bosom—held in Abraham’s embrace.
The phrase therefore tells us what Abraham is doing with Lazarus. It does not tell us the geographical name of the place where Abraham is located.
John uses the same bodily image at the Last Supper:
“There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
—John 13:23
The disciple was physically close to Jesus, resting against His chest. The phrase describes his position in relation to Jesus; it is not the name of a place.
John also writes of Christ:
“The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
—John 1:18
Again, “the bosom of the Father” is not the proper name of a geographical region.
In Luke 16, Jesus gives us a simple and powerful picture. Lazarus is carried away by the angels and is received into Abraham’s embrace. The man who had received little mercy from the rich man is now warmly received by Abraham.
Jesus uses similar imagery elsewhere when He describes the righteous being received with Abraham:
“Many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
—Matthew 8:11
Luke likewise records Jesus speaking of people seeing:
“Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God.”
—Luke 13:28
Nothing in the expression “Abraham’s bosom” requires us to turn Abraham’s embrace into the proper name of an underground compartment.
Is Abraham’s Bosom Called Paradise?
Another assumption must be made before the two-compartment theory works: Abraham’s bosom must be identified with Paradise.
Luke 16, however, never calls Abraham’s bosom Paradise.
The word translated “Paradise” appears three times in the New Testament: Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:4, and Revelation 2:7. These passages provide the clearest biblical evidence concerning Paradise.
Jesus told the thief on the cross:
“Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
—Luke 23:43
This establishes that the thief would be with Christ in Paradise. It does not say that Paradise was in Hades or that Paradise was another name for Abraham’s bosom.
Paul gives the clearest identification:
“Such a man was caught up to the third heaven.”
—2 Corinthians 12:2
A few verses later he describes the same experience:
“He was caught up into Paradise.”
—2 Corinthians 12:4
The parallel is difficult to miss. Paul describes being caught up to the third heaven and then describes that experience as being caught up into Paradise. Paradise is therefore directly associated with the third heaven.
Revelation also connects Paradise with the presence of God:
“To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”
—Revelation 2:7
The tree of life appears again beside the river flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb in Revelation 22.
When Scripture explicitly speaks of Paradise, it associates it with heaven, the presence of God, and the tree of life. Scripture never explicitly locates Paradise inside Hades.
Did Paradise Move From Hades to Heaven?
Scofield and Larkin recognized that Paul locates Paradise in the third heaven. To reconcile this with their understanding of Luke 16, they proposed that Paradise changed locations after Christ’s death and resurrection.
The reasoning depends upon several steps. Abraham’s embrace must first be turned into a place called “Abraham’s Bosom.” That place must then be identified with Paradise and placed inside Hades. Since Paul later associates Paradise with the third heaven, Paradise must then have moved. Ephesians 4:8–10 is finally interpreted as describing this transfer.
The difficulty is that these first steps are never stated in Luke 16. Jesus says that Lazarus was carried away to Abraham and was in his bosom. He does not identify Abraham’s embrace as a place called Paradise, nor does He say that Abraham was in Hades.
Once those assumptions are removed, there is no contradiction requiring Paradise to have moved.
Scripture also never records Christ emptying Abraham’s bosom, relocating Paradise, or transporting Abraham and the Old Testament saints from an underground chamber into heaven.
This does not mean Christians may never draw deductions from Scripture. Much sound doctrine is established by comparing passages. But a deduction should follow from what Scripture actually says. It should not require one unstated assumption to support another.
What About “He Led Captivity Captive”?
Ephesians 4 is commonly used to support the relocation theory:
“When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.”
—Ephesians 4:8
Some interpret the captives as Old Testament saints whom Christ released from Abraham’s bosom and carried into heaven.
Paul, however, does not identify them this way. The passage never mentions Abraham, Paradise, Abraham’s bosom, or the transportation of righteous souls out of Hades.
Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18, which portrays the triumph of a victorious king. His emphasis in Ephesians then turns to the gifts Christ gives His Church:
“He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.”
—Ephesians 4:11
Whatever conclusion one reaches concerning the identity of the captives, Ephesians 4 does not explicitly describe Christ emptying Abraham’s bosom or relocating Paradise. It therefore cannot, by itself, establish such a detailed doctrine.
Christ’s Descent Does Not Establish a Paradise in Hades
Scripture teaches that Christ truly died and was not abandoned to Hades:
“You will not abandon My soul to Hades.”
—Acts 2:27
Peter later says:
“He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.”
—Acts 2:31
First Peter also speaks of Christ making proclamation “to the spirits now in prison” (1 Peter 3:19).
None of these passages identifies a righteous Paradise compartment within Hades. Neither do they say that the spirits in prison were Abraham and the Old Testament saints or that Christ released them and carried them into heaven.
Christ’s descent should therefore be understood from what Scripture actually says about His death, victory, and resurrection rather than from a geography that the passages themselves never provide.
How Could Christ Be in Paradise and Hades?
Jesus told the thief:
“Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
—Luke 23:43
Because Acts associates Christ’s death with Hades, some conclude that Paradise must therefore have been inside Hades.
That conclusion does not adequately account for the person of Christ. Jesus is truly God and truly man. His human death was real, yet the eternal Son never ceased to be God or lost His divine attributes.
David writes:
“If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.”
—Psalm 139:8
God is not confined to one part of creation. Christ’s presence in Paradise therefore does not require Paradise to occupy the same realm associated with His descent in death. His divine and human natures should not be reduced to a geographical diagram.
What About John 3:13?
Jesus says:
“No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.”
—John 3:13
Some interpret this as proof that no righteous person could have entered heaven before Christ.
Yet Scripture says Enoch was taken by God (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5), while Elijah “went up by a whirlwind to heaven” (2 Kings 2:11). John 3:13 therefore cannot simply mean that no created person had ever entered any heavenly realm.
Christ is unique because He descended from heaven and ascends as the incarnate Son and mediator. Hebrews describes Him as our great High Priest who has:
“taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”
—Hebrews 8:1
He entered:
“heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
—Hebrews 9:24
John 3:13 emphasizes Christ’s unique heavenly origin and mediatorial work. It does not require Abraham and all the righteous dead to have been confined beneath the earth.
What About David?
Peter says that David died, was buried, and that his tomb remained with them (Acts 2:29). He then adds:
“For it was not David who ascended into heaven.”
—Acts 2:34
Peter is contrasting David with Christ. David’s body remained in the grave, while Christ rose bodily, ascended, and fulfilled Psalm 110 by taking His place at God’s right hand.
Peter’s argument concerns Christ’s unique resurrection, ascension, and messianic enthronement. Nothing in the passage says that David’s soul was confined within an underground Paradise called Abraham’s bosom.
The Argument in Simple Form
The biblical evidence can now be summarized without constructing a detailed map of the unseen world.
Luke 16 deliberately contrasts what happens to the two men. Lazarus dies and is carried away by angels to Abraham, where he is received in Abraham’s embrace. The rich man dies, is buried, and immediately afterward is explicitly described as being in Hades. The text never says that the angels carried Lazarus into another compartment of Hades.
Likewise, “Abraham’s bosom” does not need to be made into the proper name of a location. In the scene, Lazarus is simply being held against Abraham’s chest in an embrace. The phrase tells us how Abraham receives Lazarus, not the geographical name of their location.
Luke 16 also never identifies Abraham’s bosom with Paradise. When the New Testament explicitly speaks of Paradise, Paul associates it with the third heaven and Revelation associates it with the tree of life and the presence of God. No passage says that Paradise was formerly beneath the earth or that Christ later relocated it.
The conclusion therefore follows: Abraham’s bosom should not be taught as an established Paradise compartment within Hades unless Scripture can be shown to identify it as such. The passages commonly used to support the doctrine do not do so.
Conclusion
The doctrine of Abraham’s bosom as a Paradise compartment within Hades has been taught by respected Christians for many years. It should therefore be discussed respectfully. Yet respect for tradition must always be accompanied by careful attention to Scripture.
Luke 16 gives the two men distinctly different descriptions after death. Lazarus dies and is carried away by angels to Abraham, where he is received into Abraham’s embrace. The rich man dies, is buried, and immediately afterward is described as lifting up his eyes in Hades. Jesus never says that Lazarus was carried into another region of Hades or that Abraham was located there.
The phrase “in Abraham’s bosom” also does not require a geographical meaning. Lazarus is being held by Abraham. It is a picture of Abraham receiving him in an embrace, just as one might embrace a beloved family member who has arrived. Turning that embrace into the proper name of a place called “Abraham’s Bosom” is an interpretive step that the text itself does not make.
Elsewhere, Paul directly associates Paradise with the third heaven, while Revelation connects the Paradise of God with the tree of life and the throne of God and of the Lamb. The theory that Paradise was once inside Hades and later transferred into heaven therefore requires several additional assumptions: Abraham’s embrace must first be turned into a location, that location must be identified with Paradise, both must then be placed inside Hades, and Ephesians 4 must finally be interpreted as describing their relocation. Scripture never explicitly makes those connections.
For this reason, Luke 16 should not be presented as proof that Hades contained a righteous Paradise compartment called Abraham’s bosom. The text gives us a much simpler picture: the rich man is buried and found in Hades, while Lazarus is carried away by angels and welcomed into Abraham’s embrace.
Whatever position a Christian may hold concerning the broader state of the dead, our doctrine should remain within the boundaries of what Scripture actually teaches. The clear passages should guide our understanding of the less explicit passages, and we should be careful not to require Scripture to say more than it says.