A Rich Man, a Poor Man, and a Trip to Hell

8/8/2019 A Rich Man, a Poor Man, and a Trip to Hell

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A Ric h Man,a Poor Man,

and a Tr ip

t o He l l

by Kevin Morgan

author ofSabbath Rest

Published by

Honor Him Ministries

July 17, 2005

E-mail: [email protected]


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Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which wasclothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuouslyevery day: 20 And there was a certain beggar namedLazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 Anddesiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the

rich mans table: moreover the dogs came and licked hissores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, andwas carried by the angels into Abrahams bosom: therich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he liftup his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afaroff, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said,Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool mytongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abrahamsaid, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedstthy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: butnow he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

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he storyteller starts His story in the customary,

expected way. His audience listens with ap-

proval and delight as He rehearses the cross-

cultural familiar tale.There once were two men, he begins. One was a rich man, who

lived a life of luxury and ease. The other was a beggar by the name of

Lazarus who suffered with terrible sores from his head to his feet. His

only comfort were the dogs who came to lick his sores. Every day the

beggar waited unnoticed outside the rich mans house, hoping for a few

crumbs that might fall from the rich mans fine table! In the course of

time, the poor man dies and so does the rich man. ...

The storyteller pauses, but His listeners know what is coming next.

The beggar is carried by angels to Abrahams bosom, while the rich

man finds that he has been taken on a trip to hell!

His listeners smile approvingly. The rich mans just deserts were just

the ironic twist they had been expecting. This story always has an ironic

twist! However, this time the story will have a surprise that the storytell-ers listeners have not been expecting. The storyteller goes on.

Though in a very different place, with a very different reward, the

rich man sees the beggar off in the distance, no longer suffering, while he

himself enures the sweltering torment of hell.

Father Abraham, he cries, have mercy on me and send Lazarus

with some cool water on his finger to give me some relief!

How convenient that he recognize the beggar now!

Abraham responds, Considering what you each have had throughout

life, it is only fair that you now endure torment, while he finally receives

the comfort he never had. Besides, there is a great expanse between the

two of you that cannot be breached.


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Slumping in recognition that he cannot escape his terrible fate, the

rich man says, Father Abraham, couldnt you at least send Lazarus to my

five brothers to keep them from having to come to this horrible place?

Abraham responds, They have the Scriptures; let them listen to them,

if they will.

But, Father Abraham, says the rich man, they will listen if Lazarus

comes back from the dead to warn them.

No, says Abraham, if they havent paid attention to the Scriptures,

even a person coming back from the grave wont turn them around.

Thats a strange way to finish the story! whispers one in the crowd to

his neighbor.

Ah, but Jesusthe masterstorytellerknows just what He was doing.He has finished the familiar tale just as He intended, leaving His audience to

ponder Abrahams curious parting words of admonition.

His listeners on that day arent the only ones who have been left to

ponder the story. We too may have a question or two about what Jesus

said on that day. What did the story mean? Did He intend that the story

be taken as an eye-witness account of heaven and hell? as a validation of

an immediate reward at death or of an intermediate state of consciousnessbetween the grave and judgment? Examining the parable we shall soon see.

2 A Rich Man, A Poor Man, and a Trip to Hell


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In the parable of the unjust steward Christ emphasized thenecessity of building friendships for the future, drawing a lessoneven from this mans questionable shrewdness concerning his

earthly future. How much more important to prepare for the life tocome. But these important lessons were all spurned by thePharisees, and they derided Christ (Luke 16:14). Their perverseattitude and actions drew a stern rebuke. They were seeking tojustify themselves before men, but their attitudes were an abomi-nation in the sight of God (Luke 16:15). LeRoy Froom, Condition-alist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1, pp. 245, 246.

Like the stories of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11) and the UnjustSteward (16:1), the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19)

begins without identifying itself as a parable, though all are parables.

A parable is meant to illustrate one major point.

The fact that Jesus drew a lesson in the story of the Unjust Steward

from the stewards questionable shrewdness without recommending such

behavior goes to show that His parables were not meant to walk on allfours. He told the story to illustrate one major pointnow is the time to

prepare for the life to come!

In a similar way, when Jesus told the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus,

He had one major point to make. He did not intend for us to take every point of

the story and turn it into a doctrine. Jesus did not use the story because it was

an eye-witness account of heaven and hell, but because it was a well-known

story that would catch the attention of His hearers. Once He had them

listening, He hit them with a surprise endinga sucker punch, if you

willand declared that they should not wait for miraculous signs to believe,

but should believe the testimony of the Word of God.

By the way, this was also a method that the prophet Nathan used with

King David. He told the king a story about a rich man who took a poor

mans only lamb to feed his guests. Caught up in the pathos of the story,David never anticipated Nathans sucker punchThou art the man!



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Figurative language shows that the parable is not a literal account.

The expression Abrahams bosom is clearly a figurative expression

since the redeemed could not literally fit into the bosom of Abraham

even if we limit the number to the faithful from the Old Testament era.

In Kid[dushin] 72b, Adda bar Ahaba, a rabbi of the third century,is said to be sitting in the bosom of Abraham, which means that hehas entered paradise. With this should be compared the statementof R[abbi] Levi (Gen. R. xlviii.): In the world to come Abraham sitsat the gate of Gehenna, permitting none to enter who bears theseal of the covenant . . .

It is plain that Abraham is here viewed as the warden of paradise,like Michael in Jewish and St. Peter in Christian folk-lore. ... TheJewish Encyclopedia (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, Co., 1905),Isidore Singer, editor, vol. 1, p. 93.

Likewise, that a person in hell could see and talk to another person in

the place of delights beyond the great gulf fixed must also be seen as

figurative, otherwise, the rich man in hell would either have supernaturalvision or paradise and torment would be visible one from the other.

(Would that really be paradise?) Above all, if the rich man were truly

burning in the torments ofhads, would he have only asked for a dip of

water and not a bucket-full or even a fire hydrantto quench his thirst?

It is very hard to imagine someone being literally roasted with fire but

still carrying on such a sensible and calm conversation as is portrayed in

the parable.

Jesus version of the parable draws on an Egyptian/Jewishfolktale, but with significant differences.

An ancient Egyptian folk-tale, modified and popularized in Jewish

circles, strikingly resembles the parable but lacks its emphasis on repen-

tance through obedience to Moses and the prophets. Craig L. Blomberg,

Interpreting the Parables (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990),pp. 203, 204.

A Parable is a Parable 5


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Years ago H. Gressmann (Vom reichen Mann) drew attention toan Egyptian folktale, copied in Demotic on the back of a Greekdocument dated in the seventh year of emperor Claudius (A.D. 47),

telling about the retribution in the afterlife for conditions in this: areincarnated Egyptian Si-Osiris, born miraculously to SatmeKhamuas, takes his father on a tour of Amente, the realm of thedead, to show him what happened to a rich man who had died, washonorably lamented, shrouded in fine linen, and sumptuouslyburied, and to a poor man who had also died, but who was carriedout unmourned on a straw mat to a common necropolis ofMemphis. The rich man was seen in torment with the axle of thehinge of the halls door fixed in his right eye socket; but in anotherhall Osiris, ruler of Amente, sat enthroned and near him was thepoor man, robed in the rich mans fine linen. Si-Osiris words to hisfather: May it be done to you in Amente as it is done in Amente tothis pauper and not as it is done to this rich man in Amente.

Gressmann thought that Alexandrian Jews had brought the Egyp-tian folktale to Palestine, where it developed as the story of a poor

Torah scholar and a rich toll-collector named Bar Mayan. Joseph A.Fitzmyer, The Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company,Inc., 1985), vol. 28A, pp. 1126-1127.

The more well-known Jewish form of this folk-tale narrates the storyof the rich tax collector Ben Majan [or Bar Mayan], who died and wasgiven a well-attended, ostentatious funeral. About the same time, apoor scholar found himself in Paradise, by flowing streams, while Bar

Majan found himself near the bank of a stream unable to reach thewater. Craig L. Blomberg, pp. 203, 204.

The differences between the traditional tale and Jesus version of it are

significant. Not only does Jesus emphasize different things, but He gives

the beggar the name of his friend Lazarus, whom He was about to raise

from the dead. Was this because He was relating the experience of his

friend? No, the Lazarus that was His friend wasnt a beggar, but lived with

his sisters. The Lazarus of the parable never comes back from the dead. It

would seem then that Jesus had a different purpose in telling the story.



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2.

What Jesus Taught about Death

and Hell

nterestingly enough, in speaking of the rich mans dialogue

with Abraham from hell, Jesus does not use the Greek word

for hell that He consistently used to describe the fires of the

judgment (see Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:33;

Mark 9:43, 45, 47; and Luke 12:5). Instead ofgehenna, aname that comes from the valley of Hinnom in Judea where garbage was

incinerated, Jesus uses another name for hellhads, a hint to His audience

that this parable is not a direct comment on final judgment.

It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comesjudgment. Hebrews 9:27.

Though judgment does indeed sequentially follow death, according to

Jesus, the fire of judgment does not come immediately at death, but at the

end of the world.

So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth,and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them intothe furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.Matthew 13:49, 50 [this is future tense].

Jesus connects the meting out of reward with His return to earth.

Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give everyman according as his work shall be. Revelation 22:12.

Since the judgment meted out at the death of the beggar and the rich man

does not coincide with Jesus other teaching on the reward of the righteous

and the wicked, the story must not be an actual description of the judgment

which follows death. But does it validate belief in a state of consciousnessfollowing death? What does Jesus teach about this subject elsewhere?


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How did Jesus describe death when Hespoke about it more directly?

On the way to resurrect His friend, Lazarus, Jesus told His disciples:

Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out ofsleep. . . Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. John11:11, 14.

Jesus describes death as a sleepa sleep out of which He will awaken on

the day of the resurrection those who die believing in Him. Then and only thendoes consciousness begin again. Why else would He call it sleep?

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that arein the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they thathave done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that havedone evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5:28, 29.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinkethmy blood, hath eternal life; andI will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he thatbelieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25.

When Jesus addressed the repentant thief

on the cross, wasnt He describing themans immediate promotion into glory?

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thoucomest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I sayunto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke

23:42, 43 KJV.



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Several points of Scripture establish that Jesus was not describing

immediate passage into glory.

Point 1. The thief did not die when Jesus died (and probably not even that

day). His legs were broken to hasten his death (John 19:32).

Point 2. The word today emphasizes the surety of the promise and

not the time of the fulfillment of the promise.

The actual Greek of Luke 23:43, with a literal translation, reads:

Amn (truly) soi (to you) leg (I say) smeron (today) met emou (with

me) es (you will be) en t paradeis (in the paradise).

Since there were no commas in the original text, the placement of the

comma is not a matter of inspiration, but a matter of what makes the most

grammatical sense. We note that the adverb today (smeron) can either

modify what comes before it orwhat comes after it.

This adverb, smeron (today, or better, on this day), occurs in

the Septuagint Old Testament and the Greek New Testament 259times. It is used as an adjective 24 times, and without a verb toqualify, 14 times. Of the remaining 221 times, it precedes the verbit qualifies 51 times but follows it 170 times. Froom, vol. 1, p. 281.

Using the emphasis of the Greek original order and placing the comma

after the word today, we see that Jesus was emphasizing the surety of

the promise and not the time of its fulfillment:

Truly to you I say today, with me you will be in paradise!

Parallel uses of smeron in the Old and New Testaments

This is not the only time that a Bible speaker has used today to

emphasize the truth of his statement. In two other passages we find a

similar use of the word smeron. One is in the Greek translation of the

Old Testament (the Septuagint) and the other is in Lukes companionvolume to his gospelthe book of Acts. (Most readers have probably not

What Jesus Taught About Death and Hell 9


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noticed their similarity because most translations have rendered smeron

as this day.) Notice the passages:

And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and

say unto him, I profess THIS DAY [smeron] unto the LORD thy God,that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto ourfathers for to give us. Deuteronomy 26:3.

Wherefore I take you to record THIS DAY [smeron], that I ampure from the blood of all men. Acts 20:26. (Here, the NIV has itright: Therefore, I declare to you TODAY that I am innocent of the

blood of all men.)

In both passages, the speakers are emphasizing the truthfulness of their

statementsjust as Jesus was emphasizing the certainty of His promise

by adding the expression today. (Similarly, in our time, we often make

a point more dramatic by adding the words, Im telling you right now

....). Paul obviously did not mean that he was only innocent of their

blood on that particular day (never mind what he did last week or what he

might do next week). As with Jesus on the cross, Luke has Paul using

smeron to emphasize the certainty of his statement and not to verify

when that statement was to be fulfilled.

Point 3. Jesus did not go to paradise that day, for He plainly told

Mary that He had not ascended to His Father (John 20:17).

It is hardly thinkable that anyone would describe any other place but

the house of the Father as paradise. But strangely enough, that is whatsome have done. They have concluded that Jesus went to a different

paradise at death than the Fathers house. (Did you notice that Luke

said the paradise? Thats pretty specific.) They do this by combining (a)

the description of the rich man in hads of Luke 16 with (b) Jesus

promise to the thief of paradise of Luke 23 with (c) the hell of Acts

2:27 where Jesus soul was not to be left (see p. 13) with (d) the supposed

preaching of Jesus to spirits in prison of 1 Peter 3:19 (see p. 12).



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However, this league of verses falls apart when we realize that the rich

man and Jesus were both in hads, the Greek Old Testaments equivalent

of sheol, (see Psalm 16:10), which is the land of gloom and deep

shadow (Job 10:21). But Paul speaks of paradise as being a gloriousplace (2 Corinthians 12:4) not a gloomy one. Besides this, Revelation 2:7

tells us that the tree of life is in paradise and Revelation 22:2, 3

describes the tree of life as being in the same place as the throne of the

Father and Son (which would be where the Father dwellsHis house).

Since the Bible tells us Jesus went to hads at death and people believe

His promise meant that Jesus went to paradise at death, then paradise

would be hads and hads would have the tree of life. Perhaps, by anextension of this line of logic, someone could conclude that this is how

people can suffer in hell without perishing, by just going to the tree of life

for a refill whenever they feel death coming on. Heaven help us!

Actually, Revelation describes paradise as continuing on while death

and hads are destroyed in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14; 21:1).

All this confusion is based on the faulty assumption that Jesus went to

paradise on the day of His promise. But, according to Jesus own

testimony, He did not go to paradise that day, even though He really

meant what He said to the thief on the cross!

Point 4. When it least looked like He would be able to keep it, Jesus

made a promise to the repentent sinner hanging beside Him.

Christ did not promise that the thief should be with Him inparadise that day. He Himself did not go that day to paradise. Heslept in the tomb, and on the morning of the resurrection He said, Iam not yet ascended to My Father. John 20:17. But on the day ofthe crucifixion, the day of apparent defeat and darkness, the prom-ise was given. To-day, while dying upon the cross as a malefactor,Christ assures the poor sinner, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise.Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 751.



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Did Jesus spirit preach to spirits inprison when He died?

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for theunjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in theflesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went andpreached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime weredisobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in thedays of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, thatis, eight souls were saved by water.1 Peter 3:18-20.

Peter says that Jesus was quickened by the Spirit: by which also he

went and preached. How did He preach? It was by theHoly Spirit (for

He had commended His own spirit to God). When did the Spirit preach?

... when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while

the ark was a preparing.

... Did He preach the gospel to them and thus give them a chanceto be saved even after they had already died? ... the verb translatedpreached ... is not the Greek euangelizomai (to preach or tell thegood news), which would certainly have meant that after Hiscrucifixion Christ really did preach a salvation message to lost soulsin Hades; but rather it is ekryxen, from krysso (proclaim amessage, from a king, or potentate). All that v. 19 actually says is

that Christ made a proclamation ... the only audience mentioned isthe generation of Noah ... This verse means, then, that Christthrough the Holy Spirit solemnly warned Noahs contemporaries bythe mouth of Noah himself (described in 2 Peter 2:5 as a preacher[or herald] of righteousness. Note that preacher in this verse iskryka, the same root as the kryxen referred to above in connec-tion with 1 Peter 3:19). Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of BibleDifficulties, pp. 423, emphasis supplied.



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Where did Jesus body, soul, and spirit gowhen He died?

... As to Christs condition in death, Christs body was put into the

grave, or sepulcher (hads, or gravedom Ps 16:10, Acts 2:31), while He

commended His spirit to God (Luke 23:46; cf. Psa 31:5). According to

the apostle Peter, who had talked with Jesus after the resurrection (John

21:7-22) and who was the preacher at Pentecost (Acts 2:14), Jesus soul

(Greek psuch equivalent here to Hebrew nephesh, [meaning] Jesus

Himself) was in the grave from death until the resurrection. Quoting

David (Psa 16:10), Peter said of Christ:

Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hads, the grave], neither wilt

thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. He would raise up Christ

to sit on his throne (Acts 2:27, 30). Froom, vol. 1, p. 374, 375.

What is the natural sense of Peters statement? It is simply that Jesus

was not left in hads or the grave, which was neither a place of sufferingor of bliss, where His body would have begun to break down if His Father

had not called Him forth to life and bodily resurrection.

Because the Greek word hads is borrowed from paganism, there is a

mistaken notion that hads, in the New Testament, and sheol, in the Old,

represent a dwelling place for dispossessed souls.

Hads among the Greeks originally signified the deity of theunderworld. Later on it became the name of the realm of the deaditself. In the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament, theword occurs sixty-one times as the translation of the Hebrew wordsheol (which generally means the realm of the dead). In the NewTestament hads occurs eleven times (Matt. xi. 23, xvi. 18; Luke x.15, xvi. 23; Acts ii. 27, 31; I Cor. xv. 55; Rev. i. 18, vi. 8, xx. 13, 14). ...Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (GrandRapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1952), p. 429.



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Though the term hads does carry certain connotations from its hellenis-

tic roots, when used in the Bible as an equivalent for sheol, it does not

signify a dwelling place for wandering souls. It simply means the place of

the grave. The human soul cannot wander at all, for it is not an entity thatexists apart from the union of the body and the breath of life (Heb.

spirit) as we see in the account of the creation of the first human being.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, andbreathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a livingsoul. Genesis 2:7.

Death then is the reversal of life, not life in a different form.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shallreturn unto God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7.

Many assume that this means that a conscious spirit goes back to God.

But this would contradict Jesus own statement, for, though He com-

mended His spirit to the Father when He died, He plainly told Mary after

His resurrection that He had not ascended to the Father(John 20:17).When mans body goes to the earth and His spirit returns to God, the

soul ceases to function. It does not exist somewhere else. It is not stored

up in some subterranean cavern. Soul is a description of a persons

identityhis conscious self. That is why Scripture employs it to depict a

person in dialogue with himself. (And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou

has much good ... Luke 12:19.) When a person dies, the person is held

captive by death and the grave. But Jesus overcame these captors, and,when He returns in glory, those who die trusting in Him will experience

the outworking of His victory by the resurrection of the whole person

from death and the gravespirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Paul punctuates his hope in the resurrection at Jesus return with words of

victory over death, drawn from Hosea 13:14:

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?1 Corinthians 15:55.



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Doesnt Pauls expression, Absent fromthe body and ... present with the Lord,

teach that the saints go straight intoJesus presence at death?

Thereforewe are always confident, knowing that, whilst weare at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For wewalk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing

rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with theLord.2 Corinthians 5:6-8.

Although Paul makes it clear in Second Corinthians that being present

with the Lord is the next event he expects to experience after this bodily

existence, the one thing that Paul does not make clear in this passage is

the time at which this event will take place. And why doesnt he? He

doesnt need to. He already laid out the time element clearlyjust monthsbeforein his first epistle to the Corinthians. (He also laid out the time

element in the first epistle that he ever wrote1 Thessalonians).

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall allbe changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the lasttrump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raisedincorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put

on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when thiscorruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall haveput on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that iswritten, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, withthe voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead inChrist shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be

caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17.



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Though Christians often speak of being immediately in Christs

presence at death, this is only true in a certain sense. They are not

immediately in Christs presence in point of time, but immediately

with regard to their consciousness. Because a person does not sense thepassage of time when he or she is asleep in Christ (1 Corinthians

15:18), the transition into Christs presence does seem to be immediate.

If Christians who have died could be transported directly into Christs

presence, Scripture reveals that they would be unaware of the fact.

For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave [Heb.

sheol] who shall give thee thanks? Psalm 6:5.

Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithful-ness in destruction? Psalm 88:11.

The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down intosilence. Psalm 115:17.

So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more,

they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thouwouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret,until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time,and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days ofmy appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call,and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thinehands. Job 14:12-15.

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26 And beside all this, between us and you there is agreat gulf fixed: so that they which would pass fromhence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, thatwould come from thence.

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The great gulf fixed is the result of the choices of ones life.

The rich man claimed to be a son of Abraham, but he wasseparated from Abraham by an impassable gulfa character

wrongly developed. Abraham served God, following His word infaith and obedience. But the rich man was unmindful of God and ofthe needs of suffering humanity. The great gulf fixed between himand Abraham was the gulf of disobedience. There are many todaywho are following the same course. Ellen G. White, Christs ObjectLessons, pp. 269, 270.

Besides His own teaching on death and hell, Jesus reminds His

audience by Abrahams final words that there is another court of appeals

in coming to a proper understanding of this subject.

They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

What do Moses and the prophets (i.e., the Old Testament Scriptures)

have to say about the subject of death and hell? Well consider that next.



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27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thouwouldest send him to my fathers house: 28 For I have fivebrethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also comeinto this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, Theyhave Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

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Why do they warn against communicating with the dead? It is because

the dead have nothing to say.

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of themis forgotten. ... there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, norwisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very dayhis thoughts perish. Psalm 146:4.

If somebody dials up the dead and gets an answer, it wont be

because the dead person is talking, but because somebody elsea

representative of the one who told Eve, Ye shall not surely diehas

gotten on the line.

Moreover, the Old Testament Scriptures do not speak of an immediate

reward at death. Rather, they uphold the same blessed hope for the

believer as does the New Testamentbodily resurrection on the last day.If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time

will I wait, till my change come. Job 14:14.

Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall theyarise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as thedew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.? Isaiah 26:19.

God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shallreceive me. Psalm 49:15 (cf. Daniel 12:2).

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30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one wentunto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he saidunto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neitherwill they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

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4.

Jesus Last Word on the Parable

brahams final response is the punch line of the entire

parable, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,

neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from

the dead. Oh, how true these words were! Even the

resurrection of Lazarus did not help convince the Jewish

religious leaders, who claimed to believe and live by Moses and the

prophets of who Jesus was. Had they not been blinded by national prideand offended by Jesus disregard for their cherished traditions, they would

have allowed the Scriptures to lead them to the One who is the Way, the

Truth, and the Life.

Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye haveeternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me. John5:39, ASV.

Having rejected the testimony of the Scriptures, it was not hard for the

Jewish leaders to go one step further and plot to silence the testimony of

the one who provided one of the greatest evidences of Jesus power to

save and to give life. They plotted to kill the very one Jesus had named in

the parableLazarus!

But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to

death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away,and believed on Jesus. John 12:10, 11.

Let us pray that we never reject truth because of tradition or the

pressures of our culture, or because of our own personal preference. Even

as you have read this booklet, wont you open your heart to God in prayer

and tell Him that you believe what Jesus has said to you through His Word

and that you want to hold onto the truths that He has revealed to you?


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Summary of conclusions:

Jesus did not tell the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus to teachabout judgment in the afterlife but to remind the Pharisees, who had

great confidence in their affluence as a sign of approval with God,

that it is the decisions one makes with regard to the revealed Word

of God during ones lifetime that determines ones fate.

After catching the attention of His audience with a well-known

folktale of the first century, Jesus directed His listeners not to waitfor the miraculous to make a change in their lives, but to shape their

lives (and their doctrines, we might add) according to the testimony

of the Scriptures.

Jesus, Paul, and the Old Testament Scriptures all testify that death isa sleep and that the reward for how one has lived is given not at

death but at the end of the world.


A Rich Man, a Poor Man, and a Trip to Hell

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