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| The Rich Man Being Led to Hell, David Teniers the Younger, 1647. National Gallery, London. |
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Lazarus and the Rich Man, Das Plenarium oder Ewangely buoch, 1516. Pitts Theological Library Digital Image Archive.
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Read Luke 16:19-31 Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Textual Notes
Here is a parable about a rich man and Lazarus, a poor man with elements of symbolism about their ends after death. Morals of story: (1) Those who value riches more than God will be rejected (12:31-21) and (2) God demands a heart of love and justice for poor and lowly (14:12-14). Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. (3) There will be ultimate justice in the afterlife (16:27-31). We want to focus on that third moral today.
Rich man fits description of Pharisee or Sadducee. Purple the color of royalty. Fine linen refers to undergarments – best underwear money could buy.
Lazarus – only person named in a parable (Grk for Eleazar, “God is his help”). Hungry, dogs were detestable animals scavenging off his sores.
Abraham’s side – image derived from reclining at meal on couches. Lazarus finally got to enjoy that meal that he had longed for (v. 21) so long. Cf. John 13:23. Lazarus is next to the host, the place of most honor.
Hell – Hades. Pre-resurrection abode for dead.
Great chasm – v. 26 indicates Sheol had two sides for righteous and wicked with a great gulf between.
INSIGHTS
1. Sinners will occupy hell. God created each person for a loving, intimate relationship with Him. We have all sinned (Rom 3:23), and therefore condemnation falls on all of us (John 3:18) – unless we have faith in Jesus (Romans 8:1). Such sinners under condemnation could be nice, religious people (Matt 23:33) to those failing to help the poor (Mt 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-31) to the vile and murderous (Rev 21:8).
2. There is a finality of death in regard to human destiny (Luke 16:25).
The state of a person after death is irrevocably settled during his/her lifetime (vv. 27-28). (Matt 25:31-46; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:12) Not a single suggestion in the Scripture that this can be reversed. No reincarnation – Hebrews 9:27
3. After death, the righteous will enjoy happiness; the lost will endure indescribable distress (Luke 16:22-23)
Each person will be in one of two places after death. Jesus’ teaching goes along with Daniel’s (Daniel 12:2).
Each person is conscious of either happiness or distress (vv. 24-25). (Rev 14:10)
Memory of this life and its lost opportunities exists beyond the grave (v. 27-28). (Mark 9:48)
4. Everyone has a sufficient guide to happiness in the Scriptures (Luke 16:29-31).
Foreshadowing of the rejection of Jesus’ resurrection.
Evangelism is “snatching others from fire” Jude 23
THE DOCTRINE OF HELL
Place of permanent punishment for ungodly
Final judgment In OT, hell is a place of final retribution for evil deeds (Psalm 21:10; 140:10; Mal 4:1-2). In NT, it described as a furnace (Matt 13:42, 50), a lake of fire (Rev 19:20; 20:14-15: 21:8), and a prison (Rev 20:7). The wicked are imprisoned here (Matt 5:25-26; 13:42, 50; 18:34; Jude 6; Rev 20:14-15)
Hell exists for retribution of evil deeds (Matt 16:27; Luke 12:47-48; 2 Peter 2:13; Jude 15; Rev 14:9-11; Romans 1:18-32) and the righteous rule of God (Matt 25:31-46; Rom 12:19; 1 Cor 15:24-25; 2 Cor 5:10).
Characteristics of Hell
Key Words
i. Sheol (OT word Gen. 37:35; Num. 16:30,33; Psalm 16:10, thought to be below ground Ezek. 31:15,17; Psalm 86:13).)
ii. Gehenna – 'ge-hinnom' meaning "Valley of Hinnom." It was a place to the southwest of Jerusalem. City garbage dump, constantly burning, rotting, piling up, stinking, bodies of poor buried, flies, maggots, history of child sacrifice, mass graves from battle, and idolatry. Job 10:21; 2 Chron 28:3; 33:6; Ps 88:12; Eccl 9:10; Isa 14:10; Jer 7:31-32; 19:2-6; Isaiah 66:24; Josiah defiled the valley to stop idolatry 2 Kings 23:10) In NT, used as condition, not a place.
iii. Hades (NT words used 10X in NT, 4X by Jesus: Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; other 6X Acts 2:27,31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14).
Fire
i. Fiery Hell -- Matt. 5:22, 29,30; 18:8-9
ii. Unquenchable -- Matt. 3:12
iii. Eternal Fire -- Matt. 25:41, 46; Jude 7,
iv. Lake of Fire -- Rev. 20:15,
Weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 13:42, 50; 22:13)
Darkness – (2 Peter 2:17; Jude 13; Mt 8:12)
Separation from God in chaos – shut out of God’s presence, favor, goodness, creation (light from darkness) (Gen 1:1-3; Psalm 9:17; 34:15-16; 2 Thess 1:9; 1 Jn 1:5). Supreme penalty of sin is unquestionably the loss of God’s life and love.
Continuous and eternal Torment (Mt 3:12; 25:41; 2 Thess 1:9; Jude 7)
Conscious agony of body and soul (Mt. 10:28; Rom 8:29; Jude 7)
There appear to be degrees of punishment (Mark 12:40; Luke 12:48)
Many details are left to the imagination b/c human language cannot do justice to the reality.
Jesus defined hell more than any other person in Scripture, and forcefully spoke of need to avoid hell (Mt 5:22, 29-30; 7:19; 8:12; 10:15, 28; 11:22, 24; 13:40-42, 50; 18:7-9; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30, 46; Mk 9:42-49; Lk 12:46-47; 13:28-30; 17:26-29; John 15:6)
After crucifixion and at resurrection Jesus emptied the good side of Sheol into paradise (presence with the Lord) when he rose from the dead (Ephesians 4:8-10; 2 Cor 5:6-9; 12:2; John 3:14-15; Phil 2:9; 1 Peter 3:19-20)
In Revelation 20:14-15, Hades/Sheol will be thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternity, and the smoke of punishment will rise forever.
Objections to the doctrine of hell.
Hell is a dreadful reality that we don’t enjoy thinking about. Christ wept over Jerusalem, and believers are troubled over the destiny of the lost.
Once the doctrine of hell slips out of belief, others follow.
Universal Salvation – eventually everyone will be in heaven. Isn’t God a loving God who would never allow anyone to suffer (1 John 4:8)? This is only a false “hope,” to which proponents must resort. No Scripture backs them up. God is also just (Neh. 9:32-33; 2 Thess. 1:6), and eternal (Psalm 90:2; 1 Tim. 1:17 ). God punishes the evil doer (Isaiah 11:13) Further, question that God would not reject forever his creature, assumes that the creature is the highest intrinsic good, but the highest good for God is not humanity. Humanity was created to for God, to glorify Him (Psalm 73:24-26; Rom 11:36; 1 Cor 10:31; Col 1:16). This is why Jesus insists it is idolatrous to make God humanity’s servant (Luke 17:7-10). Yes, God is love. Yes, He loves us. But God and His love existed in completion for an infinity before humanity was created.
Salvation – The whole idea of being saved – saved from what? If not from something undesirable, then what? (Luke 19:10)
Annihilation – (General Baptists (1660), Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, John Stott) idea that those who reject God cease to exist at death. Scripture teaches the soul’s survival after death (Luke 16; Num. 16:30; Rev. 14:9-11) Why are sinners eternally kept in existence to suffer? At issue is the punishment due sin. We see things from a human point of view and not God’s point of view and the nature and terror of sin. Look at the deep sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He made a way for us (Romans 3:26; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Cor 2:8). The penalty for sin was that the Infinite God die. How can we think that the penalty for sin would be anything less than infinite?
Purgatory – everyone gets a second chance after paying their dues on sin. Doctrine found nowhere in Scripture and developed to raise money for Catholic Church in Middle Ages. Luther, other reformers railed against this doctrine.
Jesus talked about hell more than any other person in Scripture, and his testimony should validate its reality more than anything else.
Henry Oxenham, 19th C English theologian[1]: “If Christ intended to teach the doctrine of eternal punishment, could he possibly have taught it in plainer terms?”
INVITATION
Hell is a real place. It is not mere unconsciousness. It is not temporal. It is eternal torment. Perhaps that is why Jesus spoke more of hell than heaven and spent so much time warning people not to go there. After all, if people just stopped existing, why warn them? If it was temporal, they'd get out in a while. But if it were eternal and conscious, then the warning is strong.
Not all questions answered, but we know enough to know that Jesus is the answer to Hell. He provides an escape. He provides eternal life in Paradise in His Presence. The doctrine of Hell caused me as a seven-year old to come to Christ. Won’t you come to Christ today for yourself?
[1] ISBE, Vol IV, 2502, 1956.
The rich man and Lazarus were both Jews. The Torah and the Nevi'im contain all that is necessary for how Jews treat Jews.
ReplyDeleteThe rich man was still bold in death to demand that Lazarus do his bidding-- fetch water and warn brothers.
Choices we make in life do matter-- the rich Jew ignored the plight of the poor Jew. Jesus told this story to drive home the point that great chasms-- on earth, between God's people-- are not God's will.
Jesus is not being didactic with regard to 'hell.'
RM
1. We cannot send a defendant to prison before the Jury and Judge pronounce them guilty--likewise, we cannot "play God" and "send" people to Heaven or Hell until God pronounces them innocent or guilty at Judgement Day (end of the world)!
ReplyDelete”'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn”....[Jesus] answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them in the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father...” (Matthew 13:29, 30, 37-43, NIV)
Jesus clearly teaches in the verses above that the wicked will be thrown into the fire at the end of the world, NOT at the time of their death.
Since Judgment Day occurs after Christ's Second Coming we can see how impossible and unjust it would be for anyone to be punished before that time. Peter declared, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” 2 Peter 2:9.
The Bible tells where the dead are reserved, for Christ Himself said “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:28, 29). Other verses that declare that no one is receiving any recompense or punishment from the time of death until they come forth in the resurrection are:
Luke 14:14 “Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Job 21:30 “That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.”
Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
2.None of the unsaved will be cast into hell-fire until after the second coming of Jesus at the end of the world. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8. Here the lost are pictured in the fires of hell, suffering the punishment for their sins. According to John that punishment is the second death—this proves that the wicked will not be cast into the lake of fire until after the resurrection takes place—before they can die a second death, the wicked must be resurrected to a second life at the end of the world; this resurrection of the wicked occurs after the thousand years, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5.
3.Hell as a place of punishment will be this earth turned into a lake of fire at the Day of Judgment. “And they [the wicked] went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9 Peter states: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men....But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night [unexpected by the unsaved]; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:7. Isaiah declared, “For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.” Isaiah 34:8,9.
4.After the unsaved are punished according to their sins, they will be wiped out of existence, both body and soul. “And fear not them which kill the body...but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28. In light of this statement, how can anyone continue to claim immortality for the wicked? Jesus, the only One who can bestow the gift of life, rejects the possibility that those in hell can continue to live in any form whatsoever.
The wicked cannot continue to live in this planet because it has been specifically promised, in its entirety, to Abraham's spiritual seed (Romans 4:13). In the second place, the wicked cannot continue to live in this earth because they have never trusted Christ for eternal life. It is only the righteous who receive the gift of eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish....” John 3:16. But what about those who don't believe in him? They surely will perish. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. The wicked are never promised life. They are promised death—eternal death. Only the righteous are promised life—eternal life.
Where is a text in the Bible which describes the conferring of immortality upon the wicked? You can read often about the righteous receiving it, but never the unbeliever. “Behold I shew 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 shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” I Corinthians 15:51-53.
“Ezekiel declared, 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' Ezekiel 18:4....Those who do not believe in the only begotten Son will perish. The wicked will not live eternally in the fire. They will die. They will die the second death—an eternal death from which they will never be raised. That death will never end. It is an endless, eternal punishment, because it is an endless, eternal death....God will punish the wicked according to their works, but He will not immortalize evil in the process.” Hell-fire, A Twisted Truth Untangled, pp17,18.
“Perhaps the most easily misconstrued text about hell is John's allusion to the smoke ascending 'for ever and ever.' Revelation 14:11. For those who are unfamiliar with other uses of this phrase in the Bible, it can be very confusing indeed. But a comparison of verses in both old and New Testaments reveal that the words 'for ever' are used 57 times in the Bible in reference to something that has already come to an end. In other words, 'for ever' does not always mean 'without end.'” (See Exodus 21:6; 1 Samuel 1:22,28; Jonah 2:6.) Hellfire, A Twisted Truth Untangled, pp24,25.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4 In order for no more pain to exist, there can be no existence of an eternal hell either.
5.Death is a sleep. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” Daniel 12:2 The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-44 is a classic example of the true Bible teaching about death. Christ called death a sleep. Later, He stood by the rock-hewn sepulchre of His friend and cried out, 'Lazarus, come forth!” He did not say, 'Lazarus, come down.' In response to the call of Jesus he awoke from his sleep of death and walked out into the sunlight....What did this righteous man have to say about his four days of death? Did he report celestial visions of heavenly reward? Not a word...Further, what kind of unspeakable punishment would it have been to bring Lazarus back into this dark world after being in the presence of God?” Spirits of the Dead, Do They Speak and Hear?, p18.
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun...Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10).
Some exceptions: The Bible states that God took Enoch and Elijah to heaven, and Moses after he died.
For further study on related subjects, go to:
Jesus' Promise of Paradise to the Thief on the Cross: http://www.tstl4sda.net/saranaclake/paradise.htm
Saul Attends a Séance with the Witch of Endor: http://www.tstl4sda.net/saranaclake/witch.htm
Fear Him Which is Able to Destroy Both Soul and Body: http://www.tstl4sda.net/saranaclake/DestroyInHell.htm
Everlasting Punishment: http://www.tstl4sda.net/saranaclake/everlastingpunishment.htm
Unquenchable Fire: http://www.tstl4sda.net/saranaclake/UnquenchableFire.htm
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus: http://www.tstl4sda.net/saranaclake/RichManAndLazurus.htm
J. Dwyer
Matthew 10:28
ReplyDelete[2.] A good remedy against it, and that is, to fear God. Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Note, First, Hell is the destruction both of soul and body; not of the being of either, but the well—being of both; it is the ruin of the whole man; if the soul be lost, the body is lost too. They sinned together; the body was the soul's tempter to sin, and its tool in sin, and they must eternally suffer together. Secondly, This destruction comes from the power of God: he is able to destroy; it is a destruction from his glorious power (2 Thess 1:9); he will in it make his power known; not only his authority to sentence, but his ability to execute the sentence, Rom 9:22. Thirdly, God is therefore to be feared, even by the best saints in this world. Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men to stand in awe of him. If according to his fear so is his wrath, then according to his wrath so should his fear be, especially because none knows the power of his anger, Ps 90:11
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible)
Matthew 10:28
Destroy both soul and body in hell.
Note "soul" here of the eternal spirit, not just life in the body. "Destroy" here is not annihilation, but eternal punishment in Gehenna (the real hell) for which see on Matt 5:22.
Mark 9:41-50
With what an emphasis of terror are those words repeated three times here, Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched! The words are quoted from Isa 66:24. (1.) The reflections and reproaches of the sinner's own conscience are the worm that dieth not; which will cleave to the damned soul as the worms do to the dead body, and prey upon it, and never leave it till it is quite devoured. Son, remember, will set this worm gnawing; and how terrible will it bite that word (Prov 5:12,23), How have I hated instruction! The soul that is food to this worm, dies not; and the worm is bred in it, and one with it, and therefore neither doth that die. Damned sinners will be to eternity accusing, condemning, and upbraiding, themselves with their own follies, which, how much soever they are now in love with them, will at the last bite like a serpent, and sting like an adder. (2.) The wrath of God fastening upon a guilty and polluted conscience, is the fire that is not quenched; for it is the wrath of the living God, the eternal God, into whose hands it is a fearful thing to fall. There are no operations of the Spirit of grace upon the souls of the damned sinners, and therefore there is nothing to alter the nature of the fuel, which must remain for ever combustible; nor is there any application of the merit of Christ to them, and therefore there is nothing to appease or quench the violence of the fire. Dr. Whitby shows that the eternity of the torments of hell was not only the constant faith of the Christian church, but had been so of the Jewish church. Josephus saith, The Pharisees held that the souls of the wicked were to be punished with perpetual punishment; and that there was appointed for them a perpetual prison. And Philo saith, The punishment of the wicked is to live for ever dying, and to be for ever in pains and griefs that never cease.
Mark 9:30-50
This is our Lord's longest and most awesome warning about future punishment. If we are not serving others (v. 35), we may cause others to stumble ("offend," v. 42); and this might lead to their eternal condemnation. We must deal drastically with sin in our lives, both for our sake and the sake of others, for the fires of hell are real and everlasting. Jesus compared hell to a furnace (Matt 13:42) and an unquenchable fire. The image here is of the garbage dump in the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:10; Isa 66:24), where the waste was burned by fire and eaten by worms. The Gk. word for hell ("Gehenna") comes from the Heb. "ge Hinnom" - the valley of Hinnom. Hell is a real place, and lost souls will suffer there forever. Do we have a love for the lost, or are we only concerned with being "the greatest"? God's people would indeed be "salted with fire" (suffer persecution - v. 49), and it is important that we "have salt in ourselves" (maintain true Christian character and integrity - Matt 5:13). The believers who read Mark's Gospel during the "fiery trial" under Nero must have been encouraged by what Jesus said here (1 Peter 4:12ff).
You SDA and other false religious cults need to rightly divide the Word of God instead of implimenting Ellen Whites (false prophet) interpritation into it. Just the same, maybe you should spend more time trying to win people to Christ- rather than your denomination.
ReplyDeleteRev. 14:11, 2 Thess. 1:9, Col. 2:16-23, Rom. 14, Mk. 7:18-23, Matt. 25:46