John 14:1-3 “1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In 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.3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Does John 14:1-3 prove one goes to heaven because Jesus is going there to prepare a place for all Christians? Answer: no.
- Jesus said “No man has ascended up to heaven”. On the very first new covenant Pentecost Peter said David is dead and buried and his grave is with us today (Acts 2:29,34). The writer of the book of Hebrews after naming the righteous of God said, “And these all, having obtained a good report received not the promise” (Heb. 11:39). Since no one has ascended to heaven after they died their physical death, John 14: 1-3 can NOT be saying Jesus is preparing a place IN HEAVEN for His saints to go to. See the one-page article “Heaven” at www.cscog7.org.
- John 14:2…”in my house are many mansions”. Which “house is Jesus referring to? Jesus called the temple, “My Father’s house” in John 2:16. He never called heaven his “house” nor is the word “heaven even mentioned in these verses of John 14:1-3. The cultural historical context of the day is the Temple was surrounded by homes which were attached to and built around the exterior of the temple to house priests, Levites and worshippers. Any resident of Jerusalem of the time would have known exactly what Jesus was referring to, the temple. Note also the Greek word translated as “mansion” is “mone”. This Greek word can also be translated as “room, dwelling place, abode or mansions” (Strong’s #3438). Because it was translated from the Greek into English as “mansions” we tend to think of this verse as showing we will all have great homes and peace in heaven. Yet, the context of the verse in the Greek and the cultural historical context says nothing of the sort.
- Where will Jesus be when we receive our reward which He has prepared for us and will we be with Him? John 14:3 Jesus says “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”. Quite clearly Jesus goes away and prepares a place of abode for His saints and then He returns and the saints “mone” (room, dwelling place) with Him. His triumphant return is pictured in I Cor. 15:23-24; 51-54; I Thes. 4:15-17; Rev. 19:11-16).
- Where will this “dwelling place be”? While the apostles were standing on the Mount of Olives, they witnessedJesus ascending up to heaven. Two angels suddenly appeared and told the Apostles that as Jesus went away, He shall in like manner come back again (Acts 1:9-11). This event will occur on the Day of the Lord and His return is shown in Zechariah 14:4. “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…”
We have clearly seen the future abode of the saints is NOT in heaven as some want to say but here on earth with Jesus. Jesus goes away to prepare for His return and with Him will be the reward of the saved, to live with Him forever more.
