![]() ![]() The Hebrew name for this place is Sheol, while the Greeks called it Hades from which the English word Hell is derived. Jesus promised one of the men being crucified with Him that they would meet there before the end of the day ( Luke 23:43). The part reserved for believers was also called Paradise. Angels carried Lazarus to “Abraham’s side (bosom)” a popular Jewish term in that day for the abode of the dead. A rich man lived in the lap of luxury, while a beggar (Lazarus) languished outside his gate hoping for scraps from his table. Christians think of this as “hell” but as we’ll learn from the Rich Man and Lazarus it’s really much worse. ![]() This is where we learn about the 2nd death, actually, a conscious state of eternal and solitary separation from God accompanied by never-ending torment, as the outcome of this judgment. ![]() This is clarified in Revelation 20:11-15 where we’re told that the unsaved dead will return from the grave for the purpose of being judged for their behavior while living. (Bodies are killed or wear out and expire but spirits, the repositories of life, are eternal.)Īn angel explained to Daniel that while all who have died rise from the grave, for some the resurrection brings everlasting reward, and for others it brings everlasting shame and contempt. Daniel was the first to clarify that the unrighteous will also rise from the grave, and it’s from his explanation ( Dan 12:2) that we’ve come to understand that everyone who is ever born lives forever. Later David, Isaiah, Daniel and others also wrote about the life that comes after death as a reward for righteousness. ![]() How my heart yearns within me! ( Job 19:25-27), And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God I myself will see him with my own eyes-I, and not another. I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. The Book of Job, arguably the first book of the Bible to be written, was the earliest to mention life after death. It’s also an argument against the eastern notion of reincarnation. As such it is essential reading for anyone attempting to counter the plethora of books by believers and non-believers alike who claim to have visited heaven or hell and been sent back. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is found only in the gospel according to Luke ( Luke 16:19-31) and is the clearest picture anywhere in Scripture of the afterlife. They now had the opportunity to enjoy God’s favor eternally.- John 17:3.Home » Topical Studies » The Rich Man And Lazarus Many accepted the Scriptural message that Jesus taught and benefited from it. The common people-who had long been neglected by their religious leaders-were now experiencing favor. And they were tormented by the message that Jesus and his followers preached.- Matthew 23:29, 30 Acts 5:29-33. But they experienced death, as it were, when God rejected them and their form of worship because they did not accept Jesus’ message. The Jewish religious leaders thought that they enjoyed God’s favor. The change in circumstances was drastic for both groups. Lazarus symbolized the common people who accepted Jesus’ message and who were despised by the Jewish religious leaders. These religious leaders looked down on the common people.- John 7:49. The rich man evidently symbolized the Jewish religious leaders, “who were money lovers.” ( Luke 16:14) They listened as Jesus spoke, but they opposed his message. The story shows that two groups of people were about to experience a great change in circumstances. How could Abraham be alive in heaven, since Jesus clearly stated that up to the time Jesus related the parable, no one had gone to heaven?- John 3:13. If the rich man were in a literal place of burning torment, would not the fire evaporate the water on Lazarus’ fingertip?Įven if it were not evaporated, would a single drop of water bring the rich man lasting relief from his suffering in a literal fire? Was Jesus teaching lessons about life after death? Did he mean that some people suffer in a hellfire when they die and that Abraham and Lazarus were in heaven? Several facts show that this could not be the case. And the Catholic Jerusalem Bible, in a footnote, states that this is a “parable in story form without reference to any historical personage.” For example, a subheading in the 1912 edition of Luther’s Bible states that this is a parable. The fact that this is a parable is acknowledged by scholars. This is a parable that Jesus related in order to teach a lesson. ![]()
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