Mansions
May 10, 2025
Way back in 1978, the musical group, The Second Chapter of Acts — two sisters and their brother — made a recording called “Mansion Builder.” Mansion Builder I’ve always thought it as an encouraging song, and I still very much do. Maybe you, too, have heard the promise of eternal life with Jesus going ahead to prepare a place for us.
Well that’s okay. However, today, as I was listening to the Bible, I realized the word “mansion” to be too restricted… too restricted, because those words are conveying ideas far too small in size and scope for the idea of Heaven.
My God has much more to offer than anyone can imagine! So, those words just don’t measure up to the grandeur Believers should be looking forward to.
Here’s the Bible verse I am referring to: My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? — John 14:2, NLT.
Yet, another translation, although using a larger idea, has another restricted space, In My Father’s house there are many mansions — ibid, BLB. Yes. Mansions can be huge, but yeah not big enough for my understanding of Eternity.
The place Jesus is referring to is translated from the Greek as a room or a mansion or in some other way.
For example, another translation begins to get more supersized by saying, In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
Rooms… Mansions…. Dwelling places…
All are viable versions, and I understand the difficulties in translating one language to another. Yet, I needed to pursue this further. It still seemed unsettled to me.
Then, the picture started coming together more completely, based on my feeling that “rooms” and “mansions” didn’t ascend to the proper grandeur of Heaven — at least the vastness of Heaven as I have come to picture it in my limited imagination.
After all, “dwelling places” seemed to fit better, suggesting to me a vast openness — like a grassy plain with gently rolling hills…
Still, I remained unsure.
There was something else I needed to complete the view I was searching for.
While looking up the Greek word, which I decided means “dwelling place,” I accidently discovered a similar word.
Lo and behold, it happened to be in the same verse!
My Father’s house…
So… house!
A little house? A large house?
It must be pretty big. Right?
Nyah.
In the direction I was going, any sized house seemed far too small to accomodate vast dwelling places!
The Greek word often translated “house” also can mean a home, a household, or a family… a family estate, perhaps? — https://biblehub.com/greek/3624.htm
Finally, I added to “dwelling place” the ideas of a lodge or a place to abide (https://biblehub.com/greek/3438.htm)...
Anyways, all in all, I now had a much more expansive, wide open, and personally satisfying panoramic picture of what Jesus was talking about.
For these reasons, I guess I would need to paraphrase the verse in my own understanding: “In my Father’s vast estate there are many wide open places you can set up camp in.”
Sound good to you? It certainly sounds good to me!
Nevertheless, I hope that I haven’t been presumptuous following this train of thought and arriving at my comfortable conclusion. Read the Bible and develop your own pictures, won’t you?
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” — 1 Corinthians 2:9, NLT.
