- Jul 22, 2014
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I believe the Story of Lazarus and the Richman is a true story because all of the parables are based on true things or true events that have no doubt probably already happened or would happen. They are stories that can happen. They are stories of truth. Parables are not fables or fiction. If Christ did not tell us true stories, then Jesus would be telling us lies and I do not believe Jesus would ever do that. If Jesus wanted to make clear that his parables were merely fictional to illustrate spiritual truth, He would have clearly said that; But He didn't.
I take the Story of Lazarus and the Richman (Being a real narrative) as having TWO possibilities.
But what about the Richman being down in hell for thousands of years? Was he being tormented for that long? Does that sound fair? Again, we have to go back to the truth of the verse that God is into fair judgment. It is written...
So if we grab hold of the truth of this verse and believe it... I mean .... we really believe this verse, then we have to conclude that God cannot punish them beyond the crimes they committed in their life. For this verse says that God punishes a person more if they know about what to do and they don't it vs. the guy who did not know.
So was the Richman being tormented consciously by the heat of the flames in hell (or some kind of non-painful flames in hell) for thousands of years? No. Not if we believe Luke 12:48. So how do we explain this? Well, I used to think that time operated differently in hell but this theory is never mentioned in the Bible so I dropped it. Others have said that the Richman's account is shortly before the Judgment whereby he will be cast into the Lake of Fire. While I would like for this theory to be true, it does not work because Abraham said to the Richman that his brothers have Moses and the prophets to hear still. This suggests that the Richman's brothers were still alive while he (the richman) was dead and in hell. So what is a possible solution to this? Well, I believe one possibility or theory that has some Biblical merit to it is that the wicked will go through periods of unconciousness for long periods of time and then be awakened for special reasons (like when Jesus came to preach to the wicked spirits who died in the global flood during the time when his body was in the grave for three days and three nights). For there are many verses that suggest that death is like sleep. In fact, Jesus calls death as sleep. So if the metaphor has value and or truth to it, then we can assume that such an analogy is true. Yet, we also see accounts in the Bible where we see souls awake and doing things after death, too (like the souls of the saints who were beheaded for Christ crying out under God's alter). So both men sleeping after death and men being awake after death are true. One has to look at the whole of God's Word and believe all of it to get a more accurate picture of what is going on. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. We look through a mirror darkly after all. But based on following what the BIble says about these things, it is the most logical theory of what happens after death that I could come up with after much prayer, and constant Scripture seeking. May the Lord guide you to find peace in regards to this topic (Like He has given me peace with it).
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I take the Story of Lazarus and the Richman (Being a real narrative) as having TWO possibilities.
#1. The Richman was not in the actual flames but he was tormented (made uncomfortable) by the HEAT of the flame either nearby him somewhere or within the great gulf fixed between him and Abraham.
#2. The Richman was in the flame but it was not the same kind of flame that is like our fire so as to cause his flesh to sizzle and for him to scream uncontrollably whereby a conversation would be impossible. It was a flame whereby the pain threshold was not that bad enough to make him scream like any real flame. Today we see books, movies, and videos of the wicked roasting in real flames and people screaming in horrible pain within hell. But we see nothing like this in the Bible. We should stick to the facts of what we know in the Bible and not go beyond what it says. Fine. Hollywood and churches could show the wicked in flames. But they should not show them like they are screaming or anything because the Richman never screamed from the pain of his own flame. In addition to that, the Bible never describes the Richman's flesh sizzling like a steak, either. Again, books, movies, and videos are very creative and or over active in their imaginations of what they think the Bible says (But it really does not say).
#2. The Richman was in the flame but it was not the same kind of flame that is like our fire so as to cause his flesh to sizzle and for him to scream uncontrollably whereby a conversation would be impossible. It was a flame whereby the pain threshold was not that bad enough to make him scream like any real flame. Today we see books, movies, and videos of the wicked roasting in real flames and people screaming in horrible pain within hell. But we see nothing like this in the Bible. We should stick to the facts of what we know in the Bible and not go beyond what it says. Fine. Hollywood and churches could show the wicked in flames. But they should not show them like they are screaming or anything because the Richman never screamed from the pain of his own flame. In addition to that, the Bible never describes the Richman's flesh sizzling like a steak, either. Again, books, movies, and videos are very creative and or over active in their imaginations of what they think the Bible says (But it really does not say).
But what about the Richman being down in hell for thousands of years? Was he being tormented for that long? Does that sound fair? Again, we have to go back to the truth of the verse that God is into fair judgment. It is written...
"But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48).
So if we grab hold of the truth of this verse and believe it... I mean .... we really believe this verse, then we have to conclude that God cannot punish them beyond the crimes they committed in their life. For this verse says that God punishes a person more if they know about what to do and they don't it vs. the guy who did not know.
So was the Richman being tormented consciously by the heat of the flames in hell (or some kind of non-painful flames in hell) for thousands of years? No. Not if we believe Luke 12:48. So how do we explain this? Well, I used to think that time operated differently in hell but this theory is never mentioned in the Bible so I dropped it. Others have said that the Richman's account is shortly before the Judgment whereby he will be cast into the Lake of Fire. While I would like for this theory to be true, it does not work because Abraham said to the Richman that his brothers have Moses and the prophets to hear still. This suggests that the Richman's brothers were still alive while he (the richman) was dead and in hell. So what is a possible solution to this? Well, I believe one possibility or theory that has some Biblical merit to it is that the wicked will go through periods of unconciousness for long periods of time and then be awakened for special reasons (like when Jesus came to preach to the wicked spirits who died in the global flood during the time when his body was in the grave for three days and three nights). For there are many verses that suggest that death is like sleep. In fact, Jesus calls death as sleep. So if the metaphor has value and or truth to it, then we can assume that such an analogy is true. Yet, we also see accounts in the Bible where we see souls awake and doing things after death, too (like the souls of the saints who were beheaded for Christ crying out under God's alter). So both men sleeping after death and men being awake after death are true. One has to look at the whole of God's Word and believe all of it to get a more accurate picture of what is going on. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. We look through a mirror darkly after all. But based on following what the BIble says about these things, it is the most logical theory of what happens after death that I could come up with after much prayer, and constant Scripture seeking. May the Lord guide you to find peace in regards to this topic (Like He has given me peace with it).
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