Limbo of the Fathers
Preserved but no longer current.
The half-way house between earth and heaven, where the patriarchs and prophets who died before the death of the Redeemer await the Last Day, when they will be received into heaven. Some hold that this is the "heir into which Chnst descended after He gave up the ghost on the cross.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Limbo of the Fathers” mean?
The half-way house between earth and heaven, where the patriarchs and prophets who died before the death of the Redeemer await the Last Day, when they will be received into heaven. Some hold that this is the "heir into which Chnst descended after He gave up the ghost on the cross.
Is “Limbo of the Fathers” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.