Teaching on life after death

Luke 16:19-31 

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and ^[a]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 ^[b]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.’ ”

The certainty of death

The scriptures verses here make certain that death is no respecter of persons and that all mankind will ultimately die. This is in direct consequence to Adam’s disobedience known in Christendom as the “fall of man”.  In this story; a rich man is pictured as having had a very satisfying life. (Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day equated wealth with godliness and blessing) The story also pictures a beggar named Lazarus who had a miserable life. (Pharisees and Sadducees equated poverty with God’s curse or displeasure)

Genesis 3:19  ¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”

Hebrews 9:27 

²⁷ And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

The consciousness of death

Notice in verse 23 that both men are conscious and not in “soul sleep” or a state nothingness as some erroneously suppose. The Bible does not teach that death ends in nothingness. (Genesis 2:7, Mathew 27:50, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Mathew 10:28) The fact that the rich man expresses his torment (verse 24) clearly implies He is conscious of his suffering.

Word definition

Hades was the Greek term for the abode of the dead from the Hebrew word  “Sheol” which meant the general place of the dead; without distinguishing from the wicked or the righteous during Old Testament time, whereas Hades refers to the place of torment reserved for the wicked during New Testament times while awaiting the final judgement in hell.

Two possible paths after death

From this story we also conclude that there are two options awaiting us after death; (Mathew 25:46) comfort with God (Here it is called Abraham’s Bosom which signified a place of honour to this Jewish audience. Abraham was universally heralded as the model of faith towards God. (Hebrews 11:17-19)  The other place of torment; here referred to as Hades mentions flames which signify that this person was already experiencing the beginning effects of the final place of judgement known as hellfire. (Mathew 3:12)

2 Corinthians 5:8 

⁸ We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Psalm 73:17-20

When I thought how to understand this,
It was ^[e]too painful for me—
¹⁷ Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

¹⁸ Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
¹⁹ Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.

The permanence of heaven and the permanence of hell

In the story, we are told that there is a permanent separation between the righteous and the wicked. (Verse 26) which makes it impossible for the comforted to aid the tormented or for the tormented to escape their punishment. Heaven and hell are infinitely final.

John 10:28 

²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Revelation 14:11

¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

There is no repentance or purifying in hell

Verse 27 indicates that the rich man exhibited no repentance towards his condescending attitude towards Lazarus. He commands Abraham to send Lazarus to his brother’s house to warn them; as if Lazarus owed him anything for his ill treatment of him during his earthly lifetime. People in hell don’t rehabilitate over time… they continue in wretchedness.

Revelation 22:11 

¹¹ He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him ^[a]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Hell is the consequence of unbelief in scripture

In verse 28-31; we are given the sobering warning that unbelief of the Holy Scriptures will lead a person to hell. No amount of evidence will automatically disarm a person’s unbelief. (Verse 31) Divine Revelation (the Bible) is the only gift from almighty God that can cure unbelief. A person must believe God’s revelation as revealed in his word; the Bible. IN the New Testament period which we live in; we must believe the gospel of Jesus Christ to escape the torment of hell.

Romans 1:16 

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel ^[a]of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

How can I escape hell?

Jesus Christ made atonement (payment) for your sins by dying on a cross for your sins and rising from the dead. Will you accept him as your God and ask him to forgive your sins? Confess Him now as your Lord (Your sovereign master) and he will save you from the torment of hell and grant to you everlasting life.

Romans 10:8-11 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

John 3:15-17 

 ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should ^[a]not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

1 Corinthians 15 New King James Version (NKJV)

15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,