The Father’s House Encyclopedia

The Father's House is the eternal dwelling place of the redeemed (John 14:2). Is it where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will be for all eternity, in the circle of divine light and love. When Jesus went back to heaven, He prepared the place for us. He said, "in my Father's house are many mansions (abodes)". There is room for every heavenly saint! We don't know much about the Father's house, but it will be the eternal enjoyment of our eternal life, and the glory of God (Rom. 5:2, Gal. 5:5). The leading feature will be fellowship with the Lord Jesus in the circle of the Father's love; "that where I am, there ye may be also". It is the place where the Father's heart can be fully expressed and fully enjoyed.1
 
How blest a home, the Father's house!
There love divine doth rest;
What else could satisfy the hearts
Of those in Jesus blest?
His home made ours: His Father's love
Our hearts full portion given,
The portion of the First-born Son,
The full delight of heaven.2
 
When do saints enter the Father's house? John 14 makes it clear that it will be at the rapture, when Jesus will "come again and receive" His own. Where then are the souls of the saints who have died? They are really in Hades, the state of the soul and spirit without the body. But Hades is not a place. Where exactly are they? They are in heaven, where Christ is. The Bible says they are "with Christ" (Phil. 1:23), and "present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8). The Father's house is a place prepared by the Lord when He entered heaven as a glorified man. The sleeping saints are not yet glorified, and so they are not yet in the Father's house. When the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible, and the living saints are changed into immortality, and all are taken by the Lord into heaven, then the Father's house will be filled!
 
  1. The house in Luke 15 is a type of the Father's house.
  2. Trench, J. A. How blest a home, the Father's house. Little Flock Hymnbook #127.