SUBJECT: Lazarus and the Rich Man
QUESTION: Does the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man
prove that man goes to heaven when he dies?
ANSWER:
No, it does not.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
Do people burn forever in a Hell-fire? DO
SAVED mothers up in heaven see the writhing and hear the
shrieks of their own lost children down in hell?
STOP AND THINK! Would you really want to spend eternity in a
heaven where you would be forced to gaze constantly upon
your own loved ones who were lost, hearing them frantically
screaming to you for help you would be unable to give,
gazing constantly upon their indescribable agony, as they,
on fire, are burning--burning to death-- yet never
really burning up? Would you be happy?
Yet that is exactly the kind of heaven that is being
pictured by most of the churches and the clergy! They rely
more on Jesus account of Lazarus and the Rich Man than any
other argument to support their teaching that the "saved" go
instantly, at death, to heaven while the lost leave their
bodies and are plunged into an ever-burning inferno of
eternal torture.
What the Bible SAYS
Those who deny going to heaven or to hell at the instant of
death have said the account of Lazarus and the rich man was
merely a parable. But the "immortal soul" advocates insist
this is not a parable! Jesus was stating facts that
had happened, they argue.
So lets pretend this was not a parable. Let s take it
literally. Jesus surely meant exactly what He said.
But He did not say what is popularly believed!
Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man." Then
there really was a certain rich man! Jesus said
definitely that this particular rich man "was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day."
He really lived in luxury and splendor! (Luke 16:19)
Also, Jesus said, "there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich
mans table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores."
(Verses 20-21.)
Yes, there were many such beggars in Palestine when Jesus
lived there.
What Happened?
Next Jesus described what happened to them.
"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man
also died and was buried." (Verse 22.) They both died.
That is exactly what Jesus said. Now read that again.
Did Jesus say the beggar went to heaven?
He certainly did not! He said the beggar "was carried by
the angels into Abraham's bosom."
Did the Beggar Go to Heaven?
Now what is a "bosom"? If you can find what a "bosom" is,
and in this case Abraham's bosom, you will know where
the beggar was taken.
Look in your dictionary. A "bosom" is the breast of a human
being, with the arms as an enclosure; a loving embrace by
the arms of one person about another; an intimate
relationship.
So Lazarus was carried into an intimate relationship with
Abraham.
Lazarus here is pictured as a Gentile, who received
salvation. Do Gentiles, upon being converted and becoming
Christ's, enter into any intimate relationship to Abraham?
They certainly do! To the Gentile-born Galatians, the
Scriptures written by Paul say definitely: "And if ye be
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed (children), and heirs
according to the promise." (Gal. 3:29.)
Thru Christ they become the children of Abraham. Thru faith
we all become "the children of Abraham." (Gal. 3:7.)
That is an intimate relationship with Abraham. That is being
taken into Abraham's bosom!
Now Abraham is an HEIR of God. God gave Abraham a PROMISE.
Notice (Gal. 3:29), those who thru Christ become Abraham's
children are heirs-- but heirs according to the
promise God made to Abraham!
The PROMISE Was Not Heaven!
Now what did God promise Abraham? To what promise was this
beggar now an heir? Did God promise Abraham and his children
HEAVEN?
Let's not put any interpretation upon the sacred Word
of God. No scripture is of any private interpretation
it is interpreted by other Scriptures. It ought not
to be interpreted by man.
To learn what God promised Abraham, we must turn back
to Genesis 12.
"And Abram took Sarai his wife,...and they went forth to
go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they
came. ...And the Eternal appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto
thy seed I give THIS LAND." (Gen. 12:5-7.)
The land of Canaan is called PALESTINE today. It is on this
earth, not up in heaven. This beggar thru Christ became
"Abraham's seed,"-- in the intimate relationship of one of
Abraham's children. Then God included this beggar when He
said, "Unto thy seed will I give THIS LAND ."
Again, later, God promised Abraham: "For all the LAND
which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed
FOREVER." (Gen. 13 :15.)
Again, still later: "In the same day the Eternal made a
covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I
given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the
great river, the river Euphrates." (Gen. 15:18.) Here
God wrote into the agreement, or the title to the property,
the very boundary line of the property. Of course the
expression "thy seed" refers in particular to Christ, but
since this beggar was Christ's, he, also, was "Abraham's
seed, and heir according to the promise."
The PROMISE was not heaven. The promise was the LAND of
Palestine, on this earth. It was for ever, so the
promise included eternal life, and eternal
inheritance. (Heb. 9:15.) The PROMISE then, was ETERNAL
LIFE ON THIS EARTH!
Only an Heir!
Now notice an important point. The beggar was carried by the
angels into Abraham's BOSOM-- that is, by Bible explanation,
he became one of Abraham's children, and therefore he became
an HEIR to inherit the LAND ON THIS EARTH and ETERNAL LIFE.
He was not yet a possessor--not yet an inheritor--merely an
HEIR!
The next question is, when was this beggar to
inherit to come into possession of ETERNAL LIFE in THE
PROMISED LAND? Jesus, in telling about Lazarus and the rich
man, did not cover that point. He only told what
happened, not when. We must find the answer, not in
human imagination or the false teaching of man, but IN THE
BIBLE!
The son, who is heir to his father s property cannot come
into possession of it before his father inherits it. This
beggar, carried into the intimate relationship of a son of
Abraham, could not inherit either eternal LIFE, or this
LAND, prior to the time his father Abraham receives these
promises.
When, then, did Abraham actually receive these promises? The
startling answer of Scripture is--HE DIDN'T! -- he has
not, even yet in our day, inherited these promises!
WHEN We Inherit the Promises
Scripture reveals the answer thru the inspired speech of the
very first Christian martyr, Stephen, who was stoned to
death for these very words.
It is in Acts 7: "And he said, Men, brethren, and
fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our Father
Abraham . . . and said unto him, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and come into THE LAND which
I will show thee. Then came he out of the land of the
Chaldeans . . . into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
(Palestine.) And He gave him none inheritance in it .
. . yet He promised that he would give it to him for
a possession, and to his seed after him." (Acts
7:1-5.)
Again this amazing fact is stated in the FAITH chapter
Hebrews 11: "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go
out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed; . . . By faith he sojourned in
the LAND of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
with him of the same promise: . . . These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth." (Heb. 11:8-13.)
Abraham died, but has not to this day inherited the
promises!
Abraham died, and was still DEAD, not living on earth
or in heaven or anywhere, but was still DEAD, at the time of
Christ's earthly ministry. We read in John 8:52, "Abraham
is dead". At that time-- centuries after he died,
Abraham WAS DEAD! He is still dead today. When, then, is he
to inherit the promises?
At the time of the RESURRECTION of the just, of course! The
Kingdom of God is the government to be set up IN PALESTINE
to rule all nations after the Second Coming of Christ.
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven . . . and
the dead in Christ shall rise first." (I Thes. 4:16.)
Human mortals, in Christ, living and dead, receive
eternal life-- immortality-- the PROMISES God made to
Abraham at Christ's Second Coming. That is when they
shall put on immortality! "Flesh and blood (human
mortals) cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither
doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a
mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
(including Abraham and the beggar) shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality." (I Cor. 15:50-53.)
Again, notice when Abraham and all his children
co-heirs are finally to inherit the promises-- the
Kingdom of God, on this earth, in Palestine:
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and
all the holy angels with Him,"--notice, this is the
Second Coming of Christ--and all the ANGELS come with Him "THEN
shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: . . . THEN"--and
not until then--"shall the King say unto them on His
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, INHERIT THE
KINGDOM prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
(Mat. 25:31-34.)
Jesus said Abraham would receive the promises, including
eternal life, thru the RESURRECTION: "But as touching
the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that
which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is
not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Mat.
22:31-32.) Jesus did not say Abraham was then living. Yet
the things God has promised are so certain they may be
counted as if already accomplished. Abraham, as shown above
by Scripture, was and still is DEAD, But Jesus spoke this
about Abraham "as touching the RESURRECTION of the
dead." Abraham will be RESURRECTED.
Jesus told the Pharisees they would see Abraham in
the Kingdom (Luke 13:28), because Abraham, now DEAD,
will then be RESURRECTED from the dead!
Carried by Angels
Now again let s get back to what Jesus said about Lazarus in
Luke. Jesus said this beggar died. So, like Abraham,
he is STILL DEAD !
But Jesus said that, after he died, "he was carried by
the angels into Abraham's bosom." We now know that
WHERE he was carried was not up to heaven, but into the
status of a son and heir of Abraham, to inherit THE LAND on
this earth, and ETERNAL LIFE upon it, at the time his father
Abraham comes into his inheritance--at the time of the
Resurrection.
But notice, Lazarus is to be carried there by the angels!
When do the angels come down from heaven? In Matthew 25:31,
quoted above, we saw that it was at the Second Coming of
Christ-- at the time of the RESURRECTION!
Again, Scripture reveals: Christ shall "send his
angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together His elect from the four winds"--
out of their graves in a RESURRECTION. (Mat. 24:31.) The
TIME when the angels carry Lazarus and the saints into
sharing the INHERITANCE with Abraham-- into Abraham's
bosom-- is the time of the RESURRECTION! Lazarus is to be
resurrected, and carried by the angels thru the air to meet
Christ, at His return, and to be with Abraham, in the
intimate relationship of father and son! Yes, HOW PLAIN!
Lazarus will then enjoy the fond embrace of his father thru
Christ, Abraham--both then resurrected and LIVING
forevermore, in the promised LAND, then inherited!
There is no doubt as to how the Bible uses the word "bosom."
Turn to Isaiah 40:11. Here God will care for His people as a
shepherd does for his sheep, which He will carry "in
His bosom." Jesus was "in the bosom" of the
Father (John 1:18), enjoying the Father's blessings and
close relationship. Moses carried the children of Israel in
his bosom. To be in one's bosom is to have that one's love
and protection, and share his blessings and inheritance. So
it will be AT THE RESURRECTION!
The Fate of the Rich Man
Now let's see what happened to the rich man-- and when!
Jesus said of him: " . . . rich man also died, and was
buried." (Luke 16:22.) Jesus did not say the rich man
was taken immediately at that time to an eternally
burning hell. He did not say the body was buried but
that the rich man himself was plunged immediately into a
burning hell. He said the rich man died--and the
rich man, himself, was buried.
Now one would hardly say of one being put into the burning
caldron luridly described as the imaginary hell that the act
of throwing one into that burning region was a BURYING of
the person, would he? One is not buried unless he is
covered up.
People are buried in a grave, and covered with earth.
But the imaginary hell that was invented by Dante Alighieri
accepted by the Roman Catholic church and later by most
Protestants is never pictured as a place of BURIAL! But this
rich man died and was buried! He, himself, was
buried - -not a "house" he had lived in. JESUS SAID so--read
it in your Bible! The rich MAN was buried!
What Kind of Hell?
In the next verse, Jesus said, "And in hell he lifted up
his eyes." (v. 23.)
So the rich man was in a place called hell, after all,
wasn't he? And in this hell he "lifted up his eyes."
His eyes had been closed, in death, and now there
came a time when they opened--he "lifted up his eyes!"
What kind of hell is this?
Startling though it may be, the rich man was buried
in the same kind of "hell" Jesus was buried in! Yes,
Jesus died and was buried-- and in " hell!"
In the first inspired sermon preached by Peter on the day
the New Testament Church started, Peter said: "He (David)
seeing this be fore spake of the RESURRECTION of Christ,
that His soul was not left IN HELL, neither his flesh
did see corruption." (Acts 2:31.)
Jesus, too, died and was buried. And in "hell" He, too,
lifted up His eyes-- WHEN HE WAS RESURRECTED!
Now let me explain that, and make it plain!
The New Testament was written in the Greek language. Your
Bible is a translation in the English language. In the
English language your Bible probably reads "And in hell
he lifted up his eyes." However, in the original Greek in
which the New Testament was written there are three
different Greek words, each having a totally different
meaning, but all three of which were translated into the
"King James" and Catholic translations by the English word
"hell."
One of the Greek words is "tartaros," which refers
only to the present condition of darkness, or perversion,
and of restraint, of the fallen angels, or demons. Another
is "gehenna," a place at the bottom of a high ledge
at the south end of Jerusalem, where garbage, refuse, and
bodies of dead animals and the worst criminals were dumped
over the ledge to be burned up. Down below, the fires were
kept continually burning. They burned up, or
consumed--totally destroyed the bodies and refuse dumped
there. This is the word Jesus used when He spoke of being
finally DESTROYED in "HELL FIRE."
But this rich man was not buried in that "hell." He was not
in "gehenna." The third, and most commonly used Greek
word was written here by Luke-- "hades." And "hades"
means THE GRAVE--a place of BURIAL in the ground!
When the King James translation of the Bible was made,
Englishmen spoke commonly of "putting their potatoes in
hell for the winter." They buried them in the ground!
This is the
"hell" Jesus was buried in--the "hell" His soul was not left
in-- the grave, or tomb, from which He was RESURRECTED! And
this, hades, was also the "hell" in which the rich
man was BURIED!
WHEN Did He Open His Eyes?
Now once again, Jesus did not say when this rich man,
"in hell," lifted up his eyes. Jesus pictured him as one of
the wicked, or lost. We must look to other Scriptures to
tell us when the unjust will lift up their eyes in
their graves.
Daniel speaks of the resurrection of the just, and of the
unjust: "And many of them that sleep (their eyes
closed) in the dust of the earth (their graves--
buried--in "hades" ), shall awake (lift up their eyes)
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt." (Dan. 12:2.)
Jesus said: " . . . the hour is coming, in which all that
are in the graves (the original Greek word Jesus used is "hades")
shall hear His voice, and shall come forth: they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have
done evil (including the rich man), unto the
RESURRECTION of judgment." (John 5:28-29.)
Here Jesus speaks of two different, separate resurrections.
Quoted above are Scriptures showing that the "dead in
Christ" are to be resurrected AT HIS SECOND COMING. In I
Cor. 15:22-24, we read that ALL are to be resurrected but in
an order of different resurrections--Christ Himself,
1900 years ago; afterward, in a different resurrection,
"they that are Christ's at His coming," and then
"cometh the end,"--indicating the resurrection of the unjust
later.
In Rev. 20:4 we read of the resurrection of those in Christ
at His coming. But Rev. 20:5 says: "But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished."
So the resurrection of the rich man and all the unjust or
unsaved will take place after the millennium! It is
pictured and described in Rev. 20:11-12.
So, while Jesus in speaking about the rich man and Lazarus
did not say when the rich man will open his eyes and
be resurrected out of his grave, other Scriptures do reveal
that it will be after the millennium!
Are the Dead Conscious?
Notice, now, Lazarus, with Abraham and all the saints who
are Abraham's children, are to be resurrected at the time of
Christ's coming. They shall live thru the millennium. But
the rest of the dead shall not live until the thousand years
are past. The rich man, then, will not come back to life
until a thousand years after Abraham, Lazarus, and all who
are Christ's, have been made alive.
Will this rich man be conscious of the great lapse of time?
Your Bible says, if you will believe what it says, "For
the living know that they shall die: but the dead know
not anything . . . for the memory of them is forgotten"
(Eccl. 9:5)-- that is, there is no longer any conscious
memory. They are totally unconscious! Job speaks of a
dead man and says: "His sons come to honor, and he
knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he
perceiveth it not of them." (Job 14:21). Isaiah says
our father Abraham knows nothing of us, today. (Isa. 63:16).
David was inspired to write: "His breath goeth forth, he
returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts
perish." (Ps. 146:4).
Many times people have died, and by the drug adrenaline or
other methods the heart has been started beating again.
Always they say they were totally unconscious--no dreams--no
knowledge-- just a total blank.
The rich man, then, at the time of his resurrection,
after the millennium, will come to consciousness, open,
or lift up, his eyes, knowing absolutely nothing of the
hours, days, and years since he died. To him it will be
the next fraction of a second from the time he died. It
will SEEM to him as if he had gone immediately to
this state or condition in which he finds himself rising up
out of the grave.
What Is This FLAME?
But when he is resurrected, he sees a flame which torments
him. What is this?
Now Jesus did, on other occasions, speak of perishing
and being destroyed in "gehenna FIRE." What is
this? It is described in Rev. 20:14-15, as a "lake of
fire."
Scripture everywhere describes the final fate of the wicked
as being burned up by fire. It is this "lake of fire," which
is "the second death," from which there shall be no
resurrection! The PUNISHMENT is death by fire! They remain
forever DEAD! This death is for ALL ETERNITY-- ETERNAL
PUNISHMENT--but is not eternal punishing!
Now, opening his eyes in his grave, this rich man SEES
Abraham, and Lazarus in his "bosom"-- his embrace! Yes,
Jesus told the Pharisees that they would SEE Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom and they themselves thrust
out! This rich man sees them! He also sees this awful flame
of fire -- this LAKE OF FIRE which is about to destroy him
forever! He is terrified!
What happens when one is suddenly so horrified with fear?
His mouth goes dry. His tongue sticks to his mouth and
throat!
The rich man cries out in this mental agony: "Father
Abraham have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water, and cool my TONGUE;
for I am tormented in this flame."
Now if the rich man were in the kind of "hell" most people
seem to believe, his whole body would be on fire--you
would think he would have called for at least a bucket of
water to put out the fire, wouldn't you?
Look at this!
How much water did he call for? He said to Abraham: " . .
. send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water." Just a couple of drops that's all the water
he requested! Doesn't that strike you as strange?
Why did he call for water? To put out the fires of all
"hell"?--the kind of hell people would have you believe he
was in? Ah, no! He only wanted a mere couple of drops of
water on Lazarus finger--WHY?--"to COOL MY TONGUE!" That's
what the rich man said! Open your own Bible again, and
read it!
The flame, he said, was "tormenting" him. This word
"tormented," used in verses 24 and 25 is translated from the
original Greek word "odunasai." This is defined in
Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon as "to
cause pain, to pain, distress: From 'ODUNH' pain of body,
but also, 2, of mind, grief, distress."
Why, of course! This rich man opens his eyes in his grave in
a resurrection. He is resurrected MORTAL, just as he was
before he died--not immortal like Lazarus! He sees this lake
of fire. Now he knows the frightful, the AWFUL doom
he is to be thrust into--to be burned up--destroyed!
He is suffering mental anguish such as he never experienced
in his life-time. HIS TONGUE IS DRY. He breaks out in cold
sweat. He cries for a little water on the tip of Lazarus
finger TO COOL HIS TONGUE! He is in a condition of WEEPING
and GNASHING OF TEETH!
The Final Hell Fire
Now once again READ IN YOUR BIBLE! Read exactly what Jesus
said, not what the "hell-fire" preachers have told you He
said! Did Jesus say this rich man was going to suffer
endlessly and forever--always burning-- being
on fire--yet never burning up! DID HE? Of course not!
There is not one word here about how long his anguish
is to last.
Jesus was saying these things to the Pharisees (verse 14).
What did He want to make them understand, when He gave this
account about Lazarus and the rich man? Jesus answers this
question for us in Luke 13:27,28 where He said to these same
Pharisees: "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. There
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall
see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."
Yes, they are going to be in exactly the same position as
this rich man! Jesus is using him as an illustration to show
the Pharisees what is to befall them! They are to be THRUST
OUT--into the LAKE OF FIRE which shall consume them, leaving
them neither root nor branch, as the Scriptures say!
The wicked are going to be cast into the lake of fire!
When they lift up their eyes in their resurrection, they
shall KNOW that they are doomed, now to be cast into the
lake of fire to be burned up!
This rich man cried out for help because of his mental and
physical anguish-- KNOWING what was now to befall him! He
knew he was GUILTY! When a man realizes he is guilty, and
faces his just and terrible retribution, the very first part
of the body to be affected is the tongue, which dries
out-- seems to be on fire!
What is the Great Gulf?
But Abraham and Lazarus were afar off, and no water
was brought. The rich man had to suffer mentally for his
sins. He had had his reward, in the material things he
sought and craved, during his mortal life-time.
There is a great gulf fixed between this doomed sinner and
all the glorified saints in God's Kingdom.
What is that great GULF?
The gulf mentioned by Abraham which prevents the
wicked from escaping death by hell-fire, and which also
keeps the righteous from being burned, is immortality.
Those who are immortal shall never die because they are born
of God. (Rev. 20:6). But human beings who have not
been begotten and born by the Spirit of God are still
flesh, subject to corruption and death. They can be
burned by fire.
Don't forget, this is a literal fire and the rich man
is a human being composed of flesh and blood. Only
the saved possess immortality as the gift of God (Rom. 2:7),
but the wicked reap anguish and wrath that shall devour the
adversary--fiery indignation (Heb. 10:27). What happens when
a human body is being burned by a flame?
There is a period of torture during which the fire
consumes the body before the person dies. Then
what about this rich man? Jesus didn't say he was
immortal, for if he were he would be spirit and flames do
not burn spirit. Fire is a physical process. It is
combustion of matter.
The rich man is a physical person as you and I.
Not Completed
And Jesus leaves us in this account, with the rich
man hearing the words of Abraham in his mind or conscience
and tormented by the flames that are billowing about his
body.
A human body doesn't burn forever. It finally
turns to ashes in a fire. Therefore we must go to other
verses of the Bible to find out exactly what did happen
after the short conversation recorded.
Matthew 13:30 speaks of the wicked being gathered into
bundles to be burned. What happens to tares (weeds) when in
fire? They burn up!
Again in Matthew 3:12, John warned the Pharisees that they
would be burned up as chaff if they didn't repent.
They are to be burned with unquenchable fire, too. A
fire so hot that no amount of water put on it could put it
out, because the flames would turn the water to steam.
When God punishes the wicked the fire will be unquenchable!
But that doesn't say it won't burn itself out when it
has nothing more to burn. An unquenchable fire can't
be put out, but it can burn itself out when it has
consumed everything.
Malachi 4:1,3 speaks of this fire that will burn the rich
man: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an
oven; and all t he proud, yea, and all that do wickedly,
shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them
up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them
neither root nor branch. And ye shall tread down the wicked;
for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the
day that I shall do this."
That is the end of the wicked! They shall perish and not
be any more. "Into smoke shall they consume away."
(Psalm 37:20).
The rich man then, being mortal flesh, is going to burn up
after being tormented in the flame. He is going to
die the second death . (Rev. 20:14). The wages of sin is
death, not endless torment. (Rom. 6:23).
The Rich Man's Brothers
The rich man at last realized he was DOOMED! He now
comprehended the gulf that existed between him and those who
had been made immortal. Abraham had made clear the utter
impossibility of the rich man crossing that gulf into
immortality. He had had his chance during his life-time. He
had passed it up for this world s material riches and
pleasures. There was no hope for him. He was now DOOMED to
perish in this lake of fire.
His last thought flashed finally to his five brothers. He
gave one last cry to Abraham, begging him to send Lazarus to
his father s house to plead with his brothers, lest they
come to his terrible fate. Abraham replied they had the
writings of Moses and the prophets. But the rich man
realized they would not hear these Scriptures.
"Nay, Father Abraham," he screamed, "but if one
went unto them from the dead they will repent!"
(verse 30).
The rich man knew Lazarus was RAISED FROM THE DEAD! This one
statement proves that the whole experience of Lazarus and
the rich man was given by Jesus to SHOW THE TRUTH OF THE
RESURRECTION--not to teach any immediate going to "heaven"
or "hell" at the instant of death.
Abraham replied, "If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one ROSE
from the dead." (verse 31).
THERE IT IS! In plain language! The experience of
Lazarus and the rich man shows the RESURRECTION from the
dead--not an instantaneous going to "heaven" or "hell." It
is a resurrection from THE DEAD--not from life. It
shows MORTALITY which dies, and is DEAD not immortality
which never loses consciousness and lives forever in an
eternal punishing of the imaginary "hell." Jesus was showing
a RESURRECTION--or bringing back to life of one who was
DEAD--of one who had no consciousness whatever of the lapse
of centuries and millenniums since his death.
Far from illustrating immortality of the soul and the lurid
eternally burning torture of Dante's fabled "hell," Jesus
illustrates DEATH--total UNCONSCIOUSNESS thru the
centuries,--RESURRECTION from death and restoration of
consciousness,--and, finally, the SECOND DEATH in the lake
of fire that shall totally destroy the wicked in
which they PERISH and become ashes under the soles of the
feet of the saved--the eternal punishment of DEATH--eternal
DEATH--the SECOND death!
The Warning for YOU!
Finally, what is the REAL LESSON?
Jesus was preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God--the
NEW Testament Gospel. He was showing salvation, the
resurrection to eternal LIFE as the gift of God--inheritance
of the Kingdom of God on this earth.
The Apostle Paul plainly tells us that the New Testament
Church of God is BUILT upon the FOUNDATION of the apostles
and the PROPHETS, Jesus Christ being the chief corner
stone. (Eph. 2:20). Jesus said, "I will build my
Church." Paul reveals it was built on the
foundation of the PROPHETS as well as the apostles!
Jesus here teaches YOU that if you refuse to hear Moses and
the PROPHETS--and Moses was one of the prophets--you have no
hope of salvation! The SCRIPTURES (Old Testament as well as
New), according to II Tim. 3:15, are able to make us wise
unto salvation! We are to take the WHOLE BIBLE,
not the New Testament only.
Those who teach that the Commandments of God are done away
teach a message of DOOM! Those who teach the pagan doctrine
of the immortality of the soul going off to "heaven" at
death, or eternal punishing--teach contrary to what Jesus
SAID!
May YOU take heed, and hear ALL the Word of God!
See the booklet: Lazarus and the Rich Man https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/lazarus-and-the-rich-man/
See the booklet: When I Die, What Happens Next?
https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/when-i-die-what-happens-next/
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