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 Home |