The Greek adverb ekei simply means 'there' — indicating location away from the speaker or narrator. It is one of the most common Greek locative adverbs. Though grammatically simple, its theological weight emerges from the contexts in which it appears: the afterlife, judgment, the place of meeting with God.
In eschatological passages, ekei carries weighty significance. Matthew 8:12 describes the outer darkness 'where (ekei) there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matthew 18:20 promises: 'where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.' The word thus marks both the place of abandonment and the place of divine presence. The Christian's journey is from 'here' (this world) to 'there' (the presence of God). The resurrection hope is not evacuation from place but transformation of it — a new heaven and new earth 'there' that encompasses all good of 'here.'