Lazarus and the Rich Man

Luke 16:19-31

19        “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

20        “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,

21        “desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22        “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

23        “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24        “Then 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 my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’

25        “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.

26        ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

27        “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,

28        ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

29        “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

30        “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31        “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’“

Lazarus and the rich man both died and went to their respective destinations. Lazarus went to where Abraham was where he received comfort for the many afflictions he had suffered while alive on earth. The rich man went to Hades, where, it will be noted, he did not become a messenger of Satan, he was unable to come to earth to haunt those of his household. He was imprisoned in Hades where he suffered great agonies. Hades therefore is not merely a place of emptiness, of nothingness, or of waiting until we get sent to heaven or hell. It is not an ‘in-between’ place of an ethereal railway station where we await the gospel train to heaven or the Hogwart express to hell. The rich man died and went to a place where he was punished. He suffered the agonies of being burnt alive without ever the release of actually dying. Continually burnt, everlasting suffering.

After begging for comfort while burning in Hades, the (formerly) rich man asked that Lazarus be sent to bring a message of repentance to his own brothers.

Luke 16:27-28

27        “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,

28        ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

The rich man knew that he deserved his fate. He did not attempt to justify himself or ask for release. He knew he could not leave. However he did ask for Lazarus to be sent as a messenger from beyond the grave to his yet-living relatives.

Abraham refused, stating in no uncertain terms that the living must read what God has written in the Bible, and that sending a departed saint would make no difference at all to their lives.

Luke 16:29-31

29        “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

30        “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31        “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

God speaks through His living Word in the Bible. If we don’t read, believe and accept it, no amount of ‘spirit helpers’ will help us get a millimetre closer to God. God is not interested in sending spirit helpers to inspire faith. Faith comes from reading and believing what God has said in the Bible. Our entire spiritual life come from the Bible, because the just shall live by faith − faith in the Bible.

This story Jesus told is crystal clear in its implications for those who would have departed saints speak to them: God speaks through the Bible. If that is not enough for us, it’s probably because we have not accepted it, or there are parts of it we don’t like or don’t understand. If we want to know the truth, we should read the Bible and ask God to reveal the truth by His Holy Spirit. Note, that is Holy Spirit, not departed spirit!

Supernatural powers after death?

The rich man went to Hades, Lazarus to Heaven. Neither had supernatural powers: the rich man was imprisoned, burning in fiery torment while Lazarus, who did not even speak for himself, was ‘comforted’.

Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus at the transfiguration; they did not display any supernatural power apart from ‘appearing in glory’. Samuel did not have special powers when the witch summoned him: he complained about being disturbed. The martyred saints under the altar in Rev.6:9-11 impatiently asked for vengeance. The 24 elders in Revelations chapter four just sat on thrones and praised the Lord.

The Bible does not record any person gaining supernatural or angelic powers after death. Therefore we should be very hesitant before claiming that spirit helpers, that is, the spirits of  Christians who have died, suddenly gain super-powers to appear and disappear, or bring messages.

What does Jesus want? He wants us to read the Bible, not hope for messages from people who have died.

© 2006 Make Straight Paths

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