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Does the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man Prove Some Will Suffer in Hell?

"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

"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. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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.'

"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. 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.'

"Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'

"And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

"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' " (Luke 16:19-31).

Allegorical account

A consideration of the account of Lazarus and the rich man in view of other scriptures on the subject of death and the resurrection makes it clear that this is an allegory used to teach important spiritual lessons. It is not intended to be understood literally, nor is this a description of the actual events that take place after death or at the resurrection.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia discusses the contemporary background of the allegory. "This parable follows a story common in Egyptian and Jewish thought, in which the wicked rich and the pious poor have their positions reversed in the afterlife. It is told from the point of view of the rich man . . . who speaks with Abraham from his place of torment . . .

"Although this parable does not intend to give a topographical study of the abode of the dead, it is built upon and thus confirms common Jewish thought . . . In the Jewish conception of Hades . . . the good and the wicked could see each other but were separated by a great impassable chasm. Across this chasm the rich man called to Abraham, begging that Lazarus be sent to comfort him. When he was assured of the impossibility of this, he begged that Lazarus be sent back to warn his brothers of their possible fate. Abraham said that if they would not believe Moses, they would not believe one returned from the dead.

"The parable . . . warns the rich that their possessions do not guarantee their future state. The parable was apparently directed toward Sadducean satisfaction with this life, based upon the belief that there would be no life beyond. Thus, Abraham said that even one from the dead would not convince the living to repent" (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1986, Vol. III, p. 94).

Spiritual lesson

Jesus took a familiar story of the day and pointed out a spiritual lesson to those of His day who identified with the law but did not keep it. The primary lesson of this account is simple: Eternal consequences depend on the choices we make and the kind of people we are.

Lazarus is described as having an intimate relationship with Abraham (verse 22); that is, he is an heir to God's Kingdom through the promises made to Abraham. We know from other scriptures that Abraham has not yet received his promised inheritance (Acts 7:2-5; Hebrews 11:8-13). Therefore, neither could Lazarus have yet received any eternal inheritance.

The rich man is said to have died. When resurrected from his grave (hades), the rich man learns that his fate is his destruction by fire. The torment he experiences (verses 23-24) is his mental anguish. He has lost everything by rejecting Jesus Christ and refusing to obey God. The "great gulf" between them (verse 26) represents their different rewards. Lazarus will receive eternal life, and the rich man will be destroyed in the lake of fire.

Since there is no consciousness in death, the rich man would have had no awareness of the passing of time since his demise. The conversation with Abraham is not literal. It is a parable that allegorically teaches an important lesson. The rich man, facing eternal destruction because of the choices he made in life, urgently requests that at least his family members be warned so they can avoid his terrible fate (verses 27-31).

But the conclusion of the parable is that ample warning about the consequences of sin is already given in God's Word. Those who won't listen to that warning would not listen even to someone who rose from the dead. Only a short time after Jesus spoke this parable He was crucified and then rose from the dead. Those who refused to be warned by Moses and the prophets still refused to believe, even after Christ's resurrection.

This parable teaches us that choosing to reject God's instruction will bring disastrous consequences- everlasting destruction in a lake of fire.