The Rich man in Hell

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• Mark 4:34 . . But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they
were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

I would've liked to been on hand when Jesus expounded his defense for
quoting Abraham saying things that he didn't really say; which in my
judicious estimation is especially despicable due to the fact that Abraham is
one of God's buddies. (Isa 41:8)

All I'm saying is: if we can't trust Jesus to tell the truth about his Father's
friends, then how are we supposed to trust him to tell the truth about one of
us?

This is a serious question because Jesus is the one and only mediator in
Heaven between God and Man. Well; I for one don't want someone
unfaithful to me speaking on my behalf before the throne of God.

One other point: nothing Jesus taught originated with him.

• John 8:26 . .He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things
which I have heard of Him.

• John 8:28 . . I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as
the Father taught me.

• John 12:49 . . I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,
He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

• John 14:24 . .The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who
sent me.

• John 3:34-35 . .He is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's spirit
is upon him without measure or limit.

• Heb 1:1-2 . . In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has
spoken to us by His son

I cannot imagine someone as famous for honesty and integrity as God
directing His own son to tell us things about people that aren't true;
especially about His friends.

• John 17:3 . . You . . the only truthful God

• Heb 6:18 . . it is impossible for God to lie

If God really is as reliable as the Bible presents Him; then I should think it
completely safe to assume that all of Jesus' parables, every one of them,
from the shortest to the longest, are 100% true stories.

As for Abraham; he was a prophet (Gen 20:7). As such, he would be privy to
information normally unavailable to John Que and Jane Doe pew warmer. He
is also one of God's close personal friends. (Gen 18:17-19, Isa 41:8)

So then, I think it's fairly safe to assume the information that Abraham
passed on to the rich man came to Abraham via inspiration; which, if so,
means that our reaction to his remarks should be very different than the rich
man's. He brushed aside what Abraham told him; but we, I should hope, are
wiser than that impious dunce because we know that a prophet's teachings
are the voice of God.
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The rich man's dialogue with Abraham would likely go something like this in
our day:

"I beg you, father Abraham; send Lazarus to my five brothers, let him warn
them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment."

"Your brothers have Christ and the Apostles; they can listen to them."

"No father, they won't listen to Christ and the Apostles; but if someone from
the dead goes to my brothers, they will reconsider."

"If your brothers won't listen to Christ and the Apostles, neither will they
listen to someone back from the dead."

» It's likely that there are folks here and there whose relations would listen
to someone back from the dead. But alas, all five of the rich man's brothers
were incorrigible.
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[Pierac]

Part 1

The story of Lazarus and the Rich Man is a parable (Matthew 13:34). Once this is recognized the interpretation behind the narrative can become quite meaningful. It is also very important to note the context in which the parable is found. There was a reason why Christ spoke this parable at that time. Christ had just given His teaching about the unjust steward who had mishandled his master’s money (Luke 16:1–13). This parable was told to further illustrate what proper stewardship is.

Let us first consider the identification of Lazarus. This is the only time in Christ’s parables that a person’s name is used. Some have imagined that this use of a personal name precludes the story being a parable. But this is hardly true. The name "Lazarus" is a transliteration of the Hebrew "Eleazar" ("God has helped"). The name was a common Hebrew word used for eleven different persons in the Old Testament.

When one analyzes the parable, this Eleazar can be identified. He was one who must have had some kind of affinity with Abraham (or the Abrahamic covenant), for the parable places him in Abraham’s bosom after death. But he was probably a Gentile. The phrase "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table" was typical of Gentile identification (see Matthew 15:22–28). Even the phrase "laid at his gate" is reminiscent of the normal one used by Jews to denote the Gentile proselyte "Proselyte of the Gate." This Eleazar must also have been associated with stewardship because Christ gave the parable precisely for the reason of explaining what represents the true steward.

There was only one Eleazar in the historical part of the Bible that fits the description. He was a person associated with Abraham, he was a Gentile (not an ethnic part of the Abrahamic family), and a steward. He was Eleazar of Damascus, the chief steward of Abraham.

"And Abram said, ‘Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eleazar [Lazarus] of Damascus and lo, one born in my house is mine heir.’"

Genesis 15:2–3
Long ago it was suggested that the Lazarus of the parable represented the Eleazar associated with Abraham (Geiger, JuJ Zejtschr., 1868, p. 196 sq.), but for some reason very few modern commentators have taken up the identification. But once this simple connection is made, a flood of light emerges on the scene which can interpret the parable with real meaning.

The Lazarus of the parable represented Abraham’s faithful steward Eleazar. And faithful he was! Though he had been the legal heir to receive all of Abraham’s possessions (Genesis 15:3), Abraham gave him an assignment which was to result in his own disinheritance. But the Bible shows he carried out the orders of Abraham in a precise (and faithful) way.

"And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house [Eleazar], that ruled over all that he had, ‘Put, I pray thee, your hand under my thigh: and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife unto my son [Isaac] of the daughters of the Canaanites.’"

Genesis 24:2–3
Eleazar agreed to do what Abraham desired, although the fulfillment of his task meant the complete abandonment of Eleazar’s claim to any of Abraham’s inheritance—both present and future! Each step that Eleazar took northward to procure a wife for Isaac was a step towards his own disqualification. Eleazar recognized this, for he admitted to Laban, Rebecca’s brother, that "unto him [Isaac] hath he [Abraham] given all that he hath" (Genesis 24:36). There was nothing left for him! Thus, Eleazar’s faithfulness to Abraham resulted in his own disinheritance from all the promises of blessing which God had given to Abraham. They were now given to Isaac and his future family.

Who Was the Rich Man?
The Rich Man was an actual son of Abraham. Christ had him calling Abraham his "father" (Luke 16:24) and Abraham acknowledged him as "son" (verse 25). Such sonship made the Rich Man a legal possessor of Abraham’s inheritance. Indeed, the Rich Man had all the physical blessings promised to Abraham’s seed. He wore purple, the symbol of kingship, a sign that the Davidic or Messianic Kingdom was his. He wore linen, the symbol of priesthood, showing that God’s ordained priests and the Temple were his.

The Israelite tribe that finally assumed possession of both the kingdom and priesthood, and the tribe which became the representative one of all the promises given to Abraham, was Judah. There cannot be the slightest doubt of this when the whole parable is analyzed. Remember that Judah had "five brothers." The Rich Man also had the same (verse 28).
"The sons of Leah; [1] Reuben; Jacob’s firstborn, and [2] Simeon, and [3] Levi, and Judah, and [4] Issachar, and [5] Zebulun."
Genesis 35:23

"And Leah said ... ‘now will my husband be pleased to dwell with me; for I have born him six sons.’" Genesis 30:20

Judah and the Rich Man each had "five brethren." Not only that, the five brothers of the parable had in their midst "Moses and the prophets" (verse 29). The people of Judah possessed the "oracles of God" (Romans 3:1–2). Though the Rich Man (Judah) had been given the actual inheritance of Abraham’s blessings (both spiritual and physical), Christ was showing that he had been unfaithful with his responsibilities. When the true inheritance was to be given, Judah was in "hades" and "in torment" while Lazarus (Eleazar, the faithful steward) was now in Abraham’s bosom. He was finally received into the "everlasting habitations" (verse 9).

 

[Pierac]

Part 2

"A Great Gulf Fixed"
The parable says that a "great gulf" [Greek: chasm] was fixed between the position of Abraham and Eleazar and that of the Rich Man [Judah]. What was this chasm? The Greek word means a deep ravine or valley — a great canyon with cliffs on each side. Its two sides were also "afar off" from each other (verse 23). It was "a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence" (verse 26). Note the italicized word "pass." In all other occasions of its grammatical use in the New Testament, the word was used to denote a passage over water. And in Greek imagery of the abodes of the dead, there was usually some kind of water barrier between the righteous dead and the wicked — either a river or ocean. This is also represented in Jewish conceptions of the compartments for the dead — "by a chasm, by water, and by light above it" (Enoch, ch. 22).

It was also common for many chasms (those described in Greek literature) to have water in their regions of deepest declivity. Let us now look at such a chasm from a Palestinian point of view. In that environment there is only one possible identification for the "great gulf" of the parable if it is to fit the meaning of the Greek chasm precisely. This would be the great rift valley between the highlands of Trans-Jordan and the hill country of Ephraim in which the River Jordan flows. This fault line is the greatest and longest visible chasm on earth. And what a spectacular sight it is! As one looks over the chasm he sees impressive cliffs on each side, a desert in its wastelands, and the River Jordan meandering in the center.

Identifying the chasm of the parable with the Jordan rift unfolds a beautiful symbolic story well recognized in contemporary Jewish allegorical narratives of the time. In the center of this "gulf" was the River Jordan. It divided the original land of promise given to Abraham from ordinary Gentile lands. The west side of Jordan represented the area that the Bible considered the original Holy Land. As the angel said to Joshua: "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon stand is holy. And Joshua did so" (Joshua 5:15). When the Israelites finally entered the chasm of the Jordan and crossed the river, they then considered themselves in the Holy Land the land promised to Abraham and his seed!

Entering the land of Canaan (west of Jordan) was also a symbol of final spiritual salvation. The author of Hebrews recognized that Israel’s crossing of the River Jordan under Joshua (and the taking of the land of Canaan) was typical of Christians obtaining their true "rest" in the future Kingdom of God (Hebrews 3:1–4:11). Even American Negro spirituals with which so many of us are familiar ("crossing into Canaan’s land") are reflective of this early symbolic theme.

Recall also that the Rich Man was depicted as being in flames of judgment (verse 24). In this same rift valley were formerly located the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which were "set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7).
"Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those who should after live ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6

When the allegorical applications are understood, the teaching of the parable becomes simple and instructive. The theme of Christ’s narrative was true stewardship. Though Eleazar [Lazarus], Abraham’s trusted steward, had disinherited himself from earthly rewards by his faithful obedience to Abraham’s wishes, he was later to find himself (after death, when true inheritance comes) in Abraham’s bosom. But the chief representative of Abraham’s actual sons (Judah, the spiritual leader of all the Israelite tribes) remained East of Canaan as far as true inheritance was concerned. He had inherited all the physical blessings while in the flesh, but at death he was not allowed to pass the spiritual Jordan into the final Abrahamic inheritance.

Like Moses, because of rebellion, he was not allowed to pass the "great gulf" to enjoy the land of milk and honey. True enough, Judah had been blessed with the kingship, priesthood, the divine scriptures, the prophets, and other untold blessings, but he was not allowed to enjoy the true spiritual blessings of the future because he was unfaithful with his sonship and was refusing the true message of salvation offered by God’s own Son. Christ said: "Neither will they he persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

 

[Pierac]

Part 3

The Final Appraisal
The only Gospel to carry the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man was Luke who was the companion of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. It showed a specific message that Gentiles could now inherit the promises to Abraham provided they were faithful as Eleazar had been. Yet Paul did not want the Gentiles to be conceited in their new relationship with God.
"What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeks for ... God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, ears that they should not hear; unto this day." Romans 11:8

But "Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid" (verse 11). "Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles [like Lazarus-Eleazar]; how much more their fullness" (verse 12). One of these days, according to Paul, "all Israel shall be saved" (verse 26). God will show mercy on the natural sons of Abraham as He has on faithful Gentile stewards. This shows that the hades, the purple, the linen, the torment, Abraham’s bosom, the great gulf, and even the persons of Lazarus and the Rich Man were all symbolic and not literal. After all, the narrative was a parable.

Summary of the Symbols

1. The Lazarus of the parable was Eleazar, Abraham’s steward (Genesis 15:2).
   
2. He was a Gentile "of Damascus" ("a proselyte of the gate") who "ate the crumbs."
   
3. He was disinherited (to become a beggar) but he remained faithful to Abraham and God.
   
4. When this earthly life was over, he received Abraham’s inheritance after all (he was in Abraham’s bosom) — in "everlasting habitations."
   
5. The Rich Man of the Parable was Judah. This son of Jacob had five literal brothers as did the Rich Man.
   
6. He was also a literal son of Abraham, while Eleazar (Lazarus) was not!
   
7. The Rich Man (Judah) also had the kingship (purple) and the priesthood (linen).
   
8. Yet Judah (representing God on this earth) was not the true steward of the Abrahamic blessings.
   
9. Though he and his literal brothers had been graced with the "oracles of God" (the Old Testament) they would not respond to the One resurrected from the dead (Christ).
   
10. The "great gulf" was the Jordan rift valley the dividing line between Gentile lands and the Holy Land of promise (Abraham’s inheritance). Crossing the Jordan was a typical figure recognized by the Jews as a symbol of salvation.

Once these factors are recognized, all the points in the parable (with its context) fit perfectly to give us some simple but profound teachings of Christ. It shows that the physical promises of God (though excellent) are very inferior to the spiritual redemption that anyone (Jew or Gentile) can have in Christ.
Concluding Remarks about Hell
What are the consequences of sin? We are told by many people who view the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man literally, plus some scriptures in the book of Revelation, that it means to be in hell fire for all eternity. Let us also understand the book of Revelation is very symbolic! Though it speaks of the rebellious being tormented with fire and brimstone for ever and ever (for the ages of the ages), it is also the same book that speaks of Jesus Christ, equally in symbolic form, of looking like a Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes in his face (Revelation 6:6 with 14:10–11). This section is, of course, symbolic as anyone can see.

This does not mean that figurative teaching has an unpractical meaning. Far from it! What must be discovered is the real teaching. Take, for example, the punishments God gives for sins. There are hundreds of scriptures that show God’s retribution upon individuals and the world for their rebellion to Him and their harm to mankind. But the punishments of judgment are not to burn literally in a hell fire forever! Indeed, judgment is now on the house of God.

"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17
No sinning saint is now in the fires of judgment. All people sin — alas, even Christians from time to time (1 John 1:8), but all are promised eternal life — yet they suffer the loss of certain wonderful rewards for the millennial period if they persist in sin.

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. … Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." 1 Corinthians 3:11–15

The Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God when people rebel against Him (Hebrews 10:31), even though Christian people are sanctified and their salvation is secure in Christ (Hebrews 10:14).

The whole thing was intended to be figurative in the first place. Gehenna (hell) was known as Tophet (Isaiah 30:33 with Jeremiah 7:31) and remarkably the entire area will one day become holy to the Lord (Jeremiah 31:38–40). There will certainly not be any eternal fires in Gehenna. (The "unquenchable fires" of Matthew 3:12 are fires that cannot be put out with water or soil until they have consumed all the combustible material.)

The truth is, it can be shown conclusively that the consequences of doing sin are NOT to be placed in a hell fire forever and ever. The Bible makes the issue plain for all to see if only people will believe it's simple teaching. Many do not want to do this, and they insist on making literal what the Scripture allows only to be symbolic.

Look at this closely. It is simple and plain. All Christians know that the Bible emphatically states that Jesus paid for all our sins (even the sins of the world) when He died on the cross. If anyone disputes this fact, then the very essence of the theological teaching of the New Testament is thwarted.

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2

This is abundantly true! But now note this! If the consequences of sin were to be placed in a hell fire to be burned forever, then for Christ to have paid the penalty of our sins (so we do not have to suffer it), then Christ would have to be in that hell fire forever — always suffering the consequences of our sins. After all, the Bible says that Christ took our punishment. But Christ was alive from the dead some three days later, and is presently in heaven with the Father. He is not in an eternal hell fire undergoing the consequences of our sins! All of the scriptures speaking about the punishment of fire are symbolic. If they are not, then they would violate this fundamental theological fact of the New Testament that Christ paid the punishment for our sins without being burnt in any flames.

Indeed, what did Christ do for us? The Bible says "He died" (Romans 3:34). And what are the wages of sin? — the consequences of sin?

"For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 6:23

The result of sin is death — not life in hell fire or anywhere else!

The fact is, the Bible makes perfectly good sense on the matter of the punishments for sin. It is when well-intentioned, but erroneous, interpreters begin to make symbolic scriptures to be literal, that all of the problems emerge. All becomes confusing and contradictory when this type of procedure is used. The story of Lazarus and the Rich Man is a pure parable from beginning to end. It makes perfectly good sense and tells a wonderful and significant story that any student of the Bible can relate to. Let us learn to leave the parables as parables! The Bible will become plain if we do.

"All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitudes in parables; and without a parable spoke he not unto them."

Matthew 13:34

Taken from studies of ELM
Paul

 

[Webers_Home]

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• Isa 66:22-24 . . From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all
mankind will come and bow down before me-- speaks The Lord. And they will go out
and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against Me: their worm will not
die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.

That rather ghastly scene depicts a sort of tourist attraction similar to the La Brea Tar
Pits museum in Los Angeles where the remains of prehistoric creatures, excavated from
ancient asphalt deposits, are on display.

A worm that thrives in fire is pretty amazing, but not unreasonable. The 4" Pompeii
worm lives in sea water temperatures of 176° Fahrenheit; hot enough to kill salmonella
and sanitize an egg. So I guess if God could create a worm like the Pompeii, it shouldn't
be too difficult for Him to create worms that like it even warmer.

Anyway; point being: the rich man's current circumstances, though disagreeable, are
quite a bit less severe than Isa 66:22-24 and he can take comfort in knowing he has
some time before that scenario kicks in.
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FAQ: The human body is organic. So then, how can it survive the heat as
perpetual nourishment for those worms depicted in Isa 66:22-24?

A: The laws of nature are not absolute. They were created in the first
chapter of Genesis to control the behavior of created matter, and as such
are easily manipulated by the one who designed them.

For example: fire totally incinerated the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah but
left unscathed a desert shrub that Moses encountered in the Sinai outback
while tending his father-in-law's sheep. (Ex 3:1-3)

Compare Dan 3:8-27 where a blistering hot fire didn't even so much as
singe the clothing of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego while slaying the
guards that threw them in the furnace.

FAQ: Won't the worms eventually exhaust their food supply?

A: There are incidents in the Bible where small amounts of food stuffs were
miraculously multiplied. One example is 1Kgs 17:8-16 where a tiny bit of
flour and oil nourished Elijah and a widow woman, and her son, for a good
many days during a time of prolonged drought.

Another incident is at 2Kgs 4:1-7 where a certain widow's husband died and
left her deeply in debt. God multiplied her last pot of oil sufficiently to sell
enough to pay off her debts, thereby saving her two sons from slavery.

No; I'm pretty sure those worms won't need to worry about running out of
human remains with which to sustain themselves.

FAQ: That rich man in Luke 16:19-31 . . are worms gnawing on him?

A: For now his body is buried. It won't be till it's resurrected for him to face
the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15 when he will be
subjected to the worms.

The hell where he's being held for now is a sort of minimum security prison.
The ultimate hell is a maximum security prison; and its accommodations are
very unsavory; to say the least.

FAQ: Do you honestly approve these two hells about which you speak?

A: I honestly do not approve. I would much prefer that folks be annihilated
than kept in a perpetual state of conscious suffering. For the life of me; I
just don't know how God justifies doing that to people. I expect that degree
of cruelty from social monsters like Kim Jong-Un and Xi Jinping, but not from
God.
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The rich man in Luke 16:19-31 is currently being held in a secure location
awaiting trial at the event depicted by Rev 20:11-15 where he'll be reunited
with his body along with everyone else on the wrong side of Hades-- he may
have a long wait for his trial.

According to the Census Bureau, something like 7,000 people of all ages,
races, and genders die every day in the USA.

At one time it was estimated that roughly 28% of those deaths are under
the age of 19 so that we can count 5,040 of those daily deaths as
responsible adults.

Jesus said that many are called and few chosen. If we reckon the many to
be somewhere around 51% then we can estimate that 2,570 of of those
5,040 join the rich man every day of the week-- 24/7/365 --adding up to
938,050 condemned souls in one year; and that's just from the USA; not
even reckoning with rest of the globe's population.

If we were to arbitrarily allot each trial ½ hour at Rev 20:11-15, it would
take approximately 469,025 hours to try all 938,050 of the USA souls; or
19,543 twenty-four hour days totaling 53½ years. I'm pretty sure the rich
man will be standing in line for quite a bit longer than that when we take
into consideration the entire population of Hades going all the way back to
the days of Cain and Abel

I once commented to a Christian friend that it seems almost impossible that
God will ever get around to judging every man and woman who has ever
lived. My friend replied: Well; he has plenty of time.
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