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There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. Luke 16:19-21
Some people have said that this passage of scripture is a parable. The Bible doesn’t say that it is a parable. Jesus said; there was a rich man. This was an actual happening. There was an actual man named Lazarus. The commentaries believe that the rich man he was a religious Jew, he was probably a Pharisee because he was very rich and wealthy. How did the Pharisees act? They thought that they were better than other people. Lazarus was sent right to his doorstep. All that he was getting was the crumbs from the rich man’s table, like a dog. The rich man was religious, but he had no salvation. He fared sumptuously every day. He went on about his way thinking; I’m ok, you’re ok, we’re all going to be ok, and didn’t concern himself about eternity. He woke up and lifted up his eyes and where was he?
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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:22-23
After he died, in hell he lifted up his eyes, he could see into Heaven. In Hell people will have their eyes. They may be blind on the earth, but they are going to see there. One of the things that they are going to be able to see is right into Heaven as they are in torment. Wasn’t he in torment? He was tormented. There will be wailing, gnashing of teeth, eternal fire, being burned, and torment all going on. Have you ever been where there have been several children crying and crying, all at the same time? It gets on your nerves doesn’t it? In Hell it is not going to be a quiet thing. People are going to be yelling and screaming in torment and they are going to be able to hear it.
And 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 thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Luke 16:24-26
The rich man was able to speak. He said; have mercy on me. Was there any mercy that was given? There is no mercy in Hell. There is no one that is going to answer anybody’s prayer in Hell. People are going to be praying, but there is no hope in Hell. Think about that. We have mercy here don’t we? We have hope here. We have to choose to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Otherwise we choose to go to Hell because we have refused what God wanted us to do in having our sins forgiven.
In Hell, there are feelings. The reason that we know that there are feelings is because the rich man said that he was tormented. If you get a migraine headache, are you tormented a little bit? What about if all your joints and your muscles ache? When you are really sick, you are tormented. This was worse torment than all of that. We can’t even imagine the torment. Every inch of their body is going to be tormented in the flame of fire but they will never be burned up.
In Hell, they will be able to hear. It has already been mentioned that they will hear the screams, screeching, and yelling and all of the tormenting noise. They will hear the wailing and the gnashing of teeth. The noise will be really loud and it is going to be disturbing. There will never be any comfort. No one is going to come and comfort anybody else. They will all be tormented in their own shrieks and commotion. There is no hope in Hell.
And 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. Luke 16:24
The rich man was able to taste. He had a tongue. What was he asking for? He was asking for one drop of water. Have you ever been thirsty and a cool drink of water tasted really good? If you go a day without water you get really thirsty. Some of you have had to have nothing to eat or drink before surgery or something. You get really thirsty. Think about it after a day or after a week. Are you going to be really thirsty? Here the rich man was tormented and he was dry, but he was still thirsting.
Think about the people that have habits on Earth such as drinking, smoking, or drugs. Do you think that their cravings will go away in Hell? They will still have the same cravings. There will not be any satisfaction for their cravings. There is not going to be any smoking in Hell. There is not going to be any liquor in Hell. There is not going to be any dope in Hell. People are going to be tormented in whatever things they gave themselves to. Those that gave in to lust and just wanted the lust of the flesh, they are going to be tormented and still wanting those things but it is never going to be satisfied.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Luke 16:25-26
The reason why the commentaries feel like the rich man was a religious Jew was because he called Abraham; Father Abraham. It was a common term for the Jews at that time. Abraham said; son you remember in your lifetime. Isn’t that what he said? In Hell a person is going to remember. They are going to remember every time that God spoke to their heart and they said; no. They are going to remember every time they sat in a church service and God dealt with them and pleaded with them and said; come and get saved; and they said; no. They are going to remember all of these things and it is going to be tormenting. They will say to themselves; why didn’t I, why didn’t I, but it will be too late because there is no hope there.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:27-31
In Hell there is a memory, but there is no hope. There was no way for the rich man to get out of Hell. He couldn’t be prayed out of Hell. There are some organizations that say that if you give money to the priest he can pray someone out of Hell. There is no way for someone to get out of Hell and go to Heaven. There is no way for someone to get out of Heaven and go to Hell. At the Judgment our doom is set and we are the ones that make the choice. Choose to serve God today and love him with all of your heart.
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