The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is NOT a teaching about death! It is teaching the Abrahamic promises (Abraham's bosom) being taken from the Jews (the rich man), and given to the Gentiles (Lazarus, the beggar)... and that Israel wouldn't believe even the resurrected Jesus.
Your attempt to pit this one parable, against the VAST quantities of Scripture that state "dead is NOT alive", is not the least bit persuasive!
ALL teaching of JESUS, ARE TRUTHS REVEALED.
JESUS' teaching in the style of "story telling", Scripturally called a PARABLE, is JESUS fulfilling a prophecy.
Pss.78
- [2] I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
Matt 13:
- [34] All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
- [35] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is NOT a teaching about death!
That is clearly false. Luke 16 CLEARLY speaks of a rich man AND a beggar who died.
Luke 16
[
19] There was
a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
[
20] And there was a certain
beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
[
21] And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
[
22] And it came to pass, that
the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom:
the rich man also died, and was buried;
Attempting to LIMIT JESUS' WHOLE truth, to "your limited understanding"; IS a corruption of Scripture.
The Disciples point blank asked WHY Jesus spoke in parables, and Scripture reveals they were Answered.
Matt 13
[
10] And the disciples came, and said unto him,
Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
[
11] He answered and said unto them,
Because i
t is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Do you get that?
Jesus' parables reveal TRUTHS and MYSTERIES not always known by men.
Do you get; ? those who trust and believe Jesus' parables are being given truths and mystery knowledge ?
Do you get; ? those who do NOT believe Jesus' parables ARE TRUTHS revealed; ARE MYSTERIES revealed; are the same WHO walked away in disbelief; are the same WHO teach AGAINST trusting and believing Jesus' parables ARE TRUTHS and MYSTERIES revealed?
You are teaching AGAINST Jesus' own word, when you say;
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is NOT a teaching about death!
BECAUSE ~ Jesus' teaching of the rich man and Lazarus CLEARLY teaches of their death! As well as many other things, that DO NOT require a man to cipher and guess; but rather to simply READ, TRUST and BELIEVE all Jesus says IS the TRUTH.
The Scriptures teach there is life AFTER death ..... NEVER is their life DURING death.
Rev 20:5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished.
If one ONLY "thinks and acknowledges" in the physical sense;
they ONLY "understand" in the physical sense.
Scripture teaches; of DEATH in the physical sense AND the spiritual sense.
Rev 20:5 is speaking of:
1) physical DEAD Body's, IN their grave, (NOT in Christ.)
2) spiritually DEAD Body's (separated from God, NOT in Christ.)
3) living souls, (waiting in hell in the torment of hell) for 1,000 years
4) those living souls, are spiritually DEAD, (separated from God, because they were not
SAVED souls)
They are waiting FOR Judgement and waiting to receive their SENTENCING.
Rev 20:5 reveals their WAIT shall be FOR at least 1,000 years.
IF you believed the Parable of Jesus' in Luke 16, you would KNOW, many men have physically, bodily DIED, are buried, since the beginning of mankind, and many living souls have been sent to hell, to experience LIFE WITHOUT God, and are waiting for their Judgement and Consequence.
If you believe Scripture, you would KNOW, there is more to a man, than just his outer flesh body that other men can see. There are Spiritual things within a man, that men can not SEE.
If you believed Scripture you would KNOW, physical things (a body) and spiritual things (a soul, a spirit), DO NOT have the SAME LIFE.
The LIFE of the PHYSICAL FLESH BODY IS
its natural
BLOOD.
Lev.17
[11] For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
The LIFE of the LIVING SOUL IS Gods LIFE, given the man.
Gen 2
[
7] And the LORD God ....
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
A physically DEAD BODY, does NOT affect the LIFE of a LIVING SOUL.
Matt.6
- [25] Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Jesus asks; And the answer is YES. Man's LIFE IS more than meat and a covering.
ALL Body's are sentenced to DEATH.
However NOT ALL Living souls, are sentenced;
TO...eternal separation from God
OR sentenced;
TO....destruction.
God Bless,
SBC