Bible "scholars" what does this mean from hebrews please ?

Question

Hebrews (I think) and it is MESSAGE VERSION
Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.
What is this referring to that : Abraham kept his eye on an unseen city ...... etc ?
NIV
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Answer 1

The city is described in detail in Hebrews 12
Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Understand that the point the writer is making is that Abraham did not look for an earthly promised land, but a spiritual one. This was the same place that Jesus said he had come to establish. As you see here, it is called by several names: Mt Zion (not literal, but metaphorically), City of the Living God, Heavenly Jerusalem (same as in Revelation 21), which is the church.

The writer is saying that Abraham lived like we should, as a man with a home not physical but spiritual. He kept his eye on that city would mean that He lived not for the here and now but for what he would receive after here

If the church and the city are the same thing (Consider that in Revelation 21 the city if called the bride of Christ, and in Ephesians 5:23 Paul says the church is the bride of Christ), then what Abraham really looked forward to was a new covenant (even though the one with Moses would be in between). This is the same statement made though the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31. The foundations of the church are those who labored to establish it (Ephesians 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone). Today, the labor of the apostles and the prophets is found as the Word of God

Answer 2

The whole chapter is talking about the faithful and how we should follow their example. Here, Abraham was faithful to follow the Lord even when he didn't know where he was going or what he would find when he got there. Even though Abraham and his descendants lived in tents and moved around he still looked forward knowing the promises of God and the heavenly home waiting for him with God.

Answer 3

Your query is from the book of Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8 - 10. The subject is faith.

Ever hear the saying 'Keep your eyes on the prize'? This is faith. Keep your mind set and actions in conjunction with your faith. Act on your faith and base your beliefs on faith. Daniel survived the lions den because he kept his eye on God, his faith never swayed. Keep your hopes on a promise to be kept, hold fast to your faith in something you can't see in the earthly world but by faith in a promise, we see with our spiritual eyes a better resting place.

Answer 4

Faith is taking God at His Word. Abraham had faith. Abraham believed God.

Answer 5

It's usually taken to refer to Heaven.

Answer 6

--THE CITY can be connected to the very Kingdom , that most people pray for in the Lords Prayer--"....thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven....."

--THUS ANOTHE name for that very kingdom is "New Jerusalem" and please note the benefits that Abraham would be eagarly looking forward to by that heavenly rule, right here on earth:

(Revelation 21:1-4) . . .And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. . ."

--ABRAHAM had never had an iota of concept of going to heaven , since all he and the rest of the Hebrews till AFTER Christ's death , were in this situation:

(John 3:12-14) . . .If I have told YOU earthly things and yet YOU do not believe, how will YOU believe if I tell YOU heavenly things? 13 Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man. 1. . .

--SO THEN if disciples to be of Christ , could not understand the heavenly hope that Jesus taught would take place after his death , how would Abraham and the rest of the Hebrews understand it when he was not on hand to teach it?

--COMMENTARY ON Abraham's hope:

*** w93 7/15 pp. 17-18 pars. 20-22 Respond to God’s Promises by Exercising Faith ***

20 "The faithful patriarchs died without seeing the complete fulfillment of God’s promises to them. Yet, “they saw [the promised things] afar off and welcomed them and publicly declared that they were strangers and temporary residents in the land.” Generations passed before the Promised Land became the possession of Abraham’s offspring. Throughout their lives, however, the God-fearing patriarchs exercised faith in Jehovah’s promises. Because they never lost faith, they will soon be resurrected to life in the earthly domain of the “city” God made ready for them, the Messianic Kingdom. (Hebrews 11:13-16) In a similar way, faith can keep us loyal to Jehovah even if we do not see the immediate fulfillment of all his wonderful promises. Our faith will also move us to obey God, even as Abraham did. And as he passed a spiritual heritage on to his offspring, so we can help our children to exercise faith in Jehovah’s precious promises.—Hebrews 11:17-21.

Faith Vital for Christians

21 There is, of course, more to faith than having confidence in the fulfillment of Jehovah’s promises. Throughout human history, it has been necessary to exercise faith in God in various ways if we are to enjoy his approval. Paul pointed out that “without faith it is impossible to please [Jehovah God] well, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.” (Hebrews 11:6) To be acceptable to Jehovah today, a person must exercise faith in Jesus Christ and in the ransom sacrifice God has provided by means of him. (Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:15, 16) It is as Jesus himself said: “God loved the world [of mankind] so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. He that exercises faith in the Son has everlasting life; he that disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.”—John 3:16, 36.

22 Jesus plays a vital role in the fulfillment of God’s promises about the Kingdom for which Christians pray. (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Daniel 7:13, 14; Matthew 6:9, 10) As Peter showed, the transfiguration verified the prophetic word about Jesus’ coming in Kingdom power and glory. The Messianic Kingdom will bring about the fulfillment of another promise of God, for Peter wrote: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) A similar prophecy was fulfilled when Jewish exiles in Babylon were restored to their homeland in 537 B.C.E. under a government with Zerubbabel as governor and Joshua as high priest. (Isaiah 65:17) But Peter pointed to a future time when “new heavens”—the heavenly Messianic Kingdom—would rule over “a new earth,” righteous human society living on this globe.—Compare Psalm 96:1.

Answer 7

I believe it refers to heaven

Answer 8

Are you trying to make sense of the bible?