The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is a parable, not a news account of events in Hell. Also Hell isn't even mentioned at all in this parable. It's Hades.
This is not NT teaching. The wages of sin is death. The passages that talk about fire talk about completely consuming whatever is put into the fire, not torturing it in the fire.
Regardless if you consider it a parable...it is a earthly story to tell us about a heavenly meaning. And even if it's Hades, we've learned something about the place of "Hades" a place where there is a flame that is tormenting those there. But not only that, we are then met with another place of torment with flames....even in the parable we can't get out of that fact that there is a place of torment.
But....let's say you're right, and say that this verse is speaking about Hades only which have no baring on what "a place called hell" would be like. Let's look at Matthew 25:41, how then do we justify the verse that the Son of Man said "....into the
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels..." You can't hide behind the idea that this is a parable because it's not. Jesus is telling His disciples what will happen during the end of times.. We also have MANY more scriptures of Christ speaking of "eternal punishment" and they are not in the context of a parable. But to harp on the idea that Matthew 25:21-46 is not a parable, we must go back to Daniel's prophecy of the end of times he said..
".....every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." --Daniel 12:1 (end), 2
"Sleep" is another way of saying "physical death" but Daniel speaks of those who are "sleep" that they will wake up and some will go into life and others into contempt, it's the same thing that the Son of Man said in Matthew 25.
The wages of sin is death...hence the reason why we will all die.
But Christ forgave us of our sins, but death is still a physical consequence not a spiritual one. However, Christ's sacrifice on the cross subsided the wrath of God that we should all be punished forever. But one must accept that grace because we are told that iniquity will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Christ is our Redeemer, but we also have a part in that which is acceptance...It has nothing to do with works, it has everything to do with faith and obedience.
If you use the idea that "wages of sin is death and therefore no one will see hell because Christ died for the sins of the world" then how do you understand Christ's sacrifice when people STILL die on the earth? You can't. You make the assumption that there is something after physical death. This is where judgment comes in. If everyone would have the same verdict why does the Son of Man said to His left, "Depart from Me" but says to His right "Come, you blessed of My Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"? How do you rectify the scriptures that said that "it was appointed for men to die once and AFTERWARDS judgment" or that "the natural comes first then the spiritual?" Why do you throw all the verses away that speaks of "eternal punishment" as if to say "hey it's only a parable, therefore it doesn't mean a place where there is everlasting punishment because death is that punishment"? Physical death is the consequence of sins, but I don't think the Spiritual realm works that way. Can one even die in the Spiritual realm? I don't know we're not given the answer to that.
And where in scripture is this notion found
The passages that talk about fire talk about completely consuming whatever is put into the fire, not torturing it in the fire.
Besides the verses in Luke 16, we are not truly given a glimpse of what hell will be like.....
And I truly don't understand your point because the Scripture also speaks of that place where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" which would indicate someone is being tortured. And before you think of a light-bulb moment and you find that "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is said in only parables (even if in parables it doesn't negate the idea that there is a place because that is what Christ is trying to explain to us).... take a look at Matthew 8:12 of which it's not, that's the verse I'm referring too.
EDIT: I have to go, if you by any chance reply to me, I can't reply back. I am without internet and have been for a while so it's taking me a long while to even look and reply to anything here.
