Section 121--Part II, Mansion (John 14:2-3)
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” John 14:1-4 ESV
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2 KJV
Mansions (μοναὶ)
Only here and Joh_14:23. From μένω to stay or abide. -VWS
I go to prepare
Compare Num_10:33. Also Heb_6:20, “whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.” -VWS
Jesus is thus our Forerunner (prodromos) in heaven (Heb_6:20). rwp
I will come again (πάλιν ἔρχομαι)
The present tense; I come, so Rev. Not to be limited to the Lord's second and glorious coming at the last day, nor to any special coming, such as Pentecost, though these are all included in the expression; rather to be taken of His continual coming and presence by the Holy Spirit. “Christ is, in fact, from the moment of His resurrection, ever coming into the world and to the Church, and to men as the risen Lord” (Westcott).
Where I am
"In absolute, eternal being and fellowship with the Father. I am (ἐγω εἰμι) is the formula of the divine existence (Joh_8:58). The phrase carries a hint of the essential nature of Jesus, and thus prepares the way for ye cannot come (see on Joh_7:7). The difference in character will make it essentially impossible." -VWS
"And if I go and if I prepare a place for you—a simple condition, soon to be realized by the event—I come again; I am ever coming, as I am now about to explain to you,
(1) in my resurrection (Joh_16:16, Joh_16:17);
(2) in the bestowment of the Comforter (Joh_14:17, Joh_14:25, Joh_14:26; Joh_16:7, etc.);
(3) in the intimate relations which, through the power of the Spirit (Joh_14:18, Joh_14:23)," -Pulpit Commentary
"The full perspective of the Lord’s approach to faithful souls is given in the extraordinary pregnancy of the "I am coming." Not until he comes m all his glory will the words be perfectly fulfilled; but the early Church, on the basis of communion with Christ himself in the power of his Spirit, expected that Christ had come and taken to himself one by one those who died in the faith (1Th_4:14). Thus Stephen expected the Lord to receive his spirit (Act_7:59); and the dying thief was to be with him, in Paradise; and Paul knew that to be from home, so far as body is concerned, was to be "at home or present with the Lord" (2Co_5:8). "To be with Christ" was "far better" than to labor on in the flesh (Php_1:23). The highest thought of peace and love was to the apostles union and presence with Christ. Our Lord asserts here that by his very nearness to them he will make their heaven for them. How soon this wonderful idea spread among men! Within twenty years, Thessalonians were comforted about their pious dead, with the thought that they slept in Jesus, and would together with them be "forever with the Lord."-Pulpit Commentary
"This intimates, what many other scriptures declare, that the quintessence of heaven's happiness is being with Christ there, Joh_17:24; Php_1:23; 1Th_4:17." -Matthew Henry
Other promises of Heaven:
"For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2 Corinthians 5:1
"For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10
"For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:14-16
"For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." -Hebrews 13:4
Let others talk about cultural relevancy—I desire to be a voice for eternity. The Bible speaks of heaven 557 times; it's a fundamental, foundational truth. -Corson
Love this:
"Sorrow needs simple words for its consolation; and simple words are the best clothing for the largest truths." -Andrew MacLaren
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2 KJV
Mansions (μοναὶ)
Only here and Joh_14:23. From μένω to stay or abide. -VWS
I go to prepare
Compare Num_10:33. Also Heb_6:20, “whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.” -VWS
Jesus is thus our Forerunner (prodromos) in heaven (Heb_6:20). rwp
I will come again (πάλιν ἔρχομαι)
The present tense; I come, so Rev. Not to be limited to the Lord's second and glorious coming at the last day, nor to any special coming, such as Pentecost, though these are all included in the expression; rather to be taken of His continual coming and presence by the Holy Spirit. “Christ is, in fact, from the moment of His resurrection, ever coming into the world and to the Church, and to men as the risen Lord” (Westcott).
Where I am
"In absolute, eternal being and fellowship with the Father. I am (ἐγω εἰμι) is the formula of the divine existence (Joh_8:58). The phrase carries a hint of the essential nature of Jesus, and thus prepares the way for ye cannot come (see on Joh_7:7). The difference in character will make it essentially impossible." -VWS
"And if I go and if I prepare a place for you—a simple condition, soon to be realized by the event—I come again; I am ever coming, as I am now about to explain to you,
(1) in my resurrection (Joh_16:16, Joh_16:17);
(2) in the bestowment of the Comforter (Joh_14:17, Joh_14:25, Joh_14:26; Joh_16:7, etc.);
(3) in the intimate relations which, through the power of the Spirit (Joh_14:18, Joh_14:23)," -Pulpit Commentary
"The full perspective of the Lord’s approach to faithful souls is given in the extraordinary pregnancy of the "I am coming." Not until he comes m all his glory will the words be perfectly fulfilled; but the early Church, on the basis of communion with Christ himself in the power of his Spirit, expected that Christ had come and taken to himself one by one those who died in the faith (1Th_4:14). Thus Stephen expected the Lord to receive his spirit (Act_7:59); and the dying thief was to be with him, in Paradise; and Paul knew that to be from home, so far as body is concerned, was to be "at home or present with the Lord" (2Co_5:8). "To be with Christ" was "far better" than to labor on in the flesh (Php_1:23). The highest thought of peace and love was to the apostles union and presence with Christ. Our Lord asserts here that by his very nearness to them he will make their heaven for them. How soon this wonderful idea spread among men! Within twenty years, Thessalonians were comforted about their pious dead, with the thought that they slept in Jesus, and would together with them be "forever with the Lord."-Pulpit Commentary
"This intimates, what many other scriptures declare, that the quintessence of heaven's happiness is being with Christ there, Joh_17:24; Php_1:23; 1Th_4:17." -Matthew Henry
Other promises of Heaven:
"For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2 Corinthians 5:1
"For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10
"For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:14-16
"For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." -Hebrews 13:4
"The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name." -Revelation 3:12
"Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown." Revelation 3:11
My questions:
Why pick a house/mansion/rooms as a concrete illustration?
Matthew Henry clears it up:
"The circumstances of death, which is its portal, our utter unacquaintance with all that lies behind the veil, the terrible silence and distance which falls upon our dearest ones as they are sucked into the cloud, all tend to make us feel that there is much that is solemn and awful even in the thought of eternal future blessedness. But how it is all softened when we say, ‘My Father’s house.’ Most of us have long since left behind us the sweet security, the sense of the absence of all responsibility, the assurance of defence and provision, which used to be ours when we lived as children in a father’s house here. But we may all look forward to the renewal, in far nobler form, of these early days, when the father’s house meant the inexpugnable fortress where no evil could befall us, the abundant home where all wants were supplied, and where the shyest and timidest child could feel at ease and secure. It is all coming again, brother, and amidst the august and unimaginable glories of that future the old feeling of being little children, nestling safe in the Father’s house, will fill our quiet hearts once more." -Matthew Henry
He touches nicely upon our yearning for the physical here too without being presumptuous:
"And from the representation of my text, though we cannot fathom all its depths, we can at least grasp this, which gives solidity and reality to our contemplations of the future, that heaven is a place, full of all sweet security and homelike repose, where God is made known in every heart and to every consciousness as a loving Father, and of which all the inhabitants are knit together in the frankest fraternal intercourse, conscious of the Father’s love, and rejoicing in the abundant provisions of His royal House." -Henry
Why is Heaven a city? I inherently prefer a rural Heaven, although I suppose the river running through it helps.
It's hard for my find to grapple with man-made environments being the ultimate manifestation of God's vision and plan.
Love this:
"Sorrow needs simple words for its consolation; and simple words are the best clothing for the largest truths." -Andrew MacLaren
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