More Common Objections - Hell, Part IV

“If there is no hell, why preach the Gospel?”

Why? So that people will experience the next eon and not miss out on it, so that they would be included in the snatching away, so that they will not be exterminated by the wrath of God, so that they may know the peace that transcends all understanding in this life. Wouldn’t it make sense to trade this life for the next 1,000+ years. Suppose you were lucky enough to be a centenarian, someone who lives to be 100 years old. In the next age, that would be considered merely a child (Isa 65:20)! Jesus said in Luke 14:31, “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.” The first “king” is us, the second King is Christ. He’s saying that we need to surrender ourselves to Him. We owe a debt that we cannot pay, and, just like the unmerciful servant, if we do not stop our lives of sin and bow down before Christ, we will be punished, not infinitely, but we “will not get out until the last penny” (Mt 18:34) is paid.

Now, how do I know we won’t be punished infinitely? Because, God doesn’t punish people without a purpose. There is retributive justice, and there is restorative justice. There are two Greek words translated as “punishment” in the NT. The first one is “κόλασις or Kolasis,” (Strong’s #2851) which means corrective punishment, penal infliction or chastisement. It can also mean to “prune.” Another definition is, “properly, punishment that "fits" (matches) the one punished.¹”This term is used four times in the NT. Let’s take a look at each one:

1. Mt 25:46 - “These will go away into eternal (mistranslation, should be age-during) punishment (corrective punishment), but the righteous into eternal (mistranslation, also age-during) life” (NASB).

What’s the purpose of a corrective punishment of something that goes on and on forever??

2. 1Jn 4:18 - “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment (corrective punishment), and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (NASB).

It’s true! As the Apostle Paul recounted, the love of God also overwhelmed me, and I am propelled to do good works now knowing that I am loved by Him, more than I ever did when I was under the false belief that if I didn’t do enough, He was going to throw me in hell forever!

3. Acts 4:21 - “When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish (correctively) them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened” (NASB).

4. 2Pt 2:9 - “…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under (corrective) punishment for the day of judgment” (NASB).

The other Greek word is “τιμωρία or timória” (Strong’s #5098), which means punishment, penalty, vengeance, “meted out from the view of the offended party.²” It can also mean “to act as guardian with the authority to also mete out punishment (literally, assign due retribution) – as it seems best in the eyes of the punisher.³” It’s used in:

1. Acts 22:5 - “…as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished (retribution)” (NASB).

2. Acts 26:11 - “And as I punished them (vengefully) often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities” (NASB).

3. Heb 10:29 - “How much severer punishment (retributive) do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (NASB).

This last verse seems to be saying that God will punish severely those who treat Christ’s blood as “unclean.” However, the entire chapter must be read in context. Who was it being written to? The Hebrews. What was the chapter about? The Law being unable to make men perfect, the blood of animals being unable to take away sins, and Christ’s sacrifice being the complete and finished work needed to fully take away sin! Clearly it means “retributive” punishment, but this is for the believer, not unbelievers. Let’s read this passage in its entirety,

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:26-31, NASB).

Notice how it begins. How would Jewish believers “go on sinning willfully?” To them, sinning was to break God’s Law, the Law of Moses. They had to keep the Law if they wanted to see the Kingdom! It was absolutely mandatory – for them. Paul’s message was that humans become righteous apart from works. Gentiles are not even supposed to know the Mosaic Law, much less follow it! Let me give an analogy. Let’s say that you are neighbors with a nice Jewish couple. One day, you get their mail from their synagogue by mistake. Then, crazy as it sounds, you open it up and, not only read their mail, but you start applying it to your life and those of your household – even though, not one of you is Jewish! Would you do this with neighbors that were Islamic, Buddhist, or Hindu? Yet, that’s what most Christians do, and I’m just as guilty of having done this in the past. We see a verse in the Bible, and think it applies to us. This is why right division is important.

Take a look at the imagery – it’s all centered around a blood covenant. In order to make a blood covenant, blood must be spilled. It would be a waste to kill an animal and then go on sinning – how much more does a person that has already been saved deserve to be punished who treats the blood of God’s own Son as “unclean”?? And so yes, it was an expression – call it hyperbole, if you like – to help us understand the severity of a blood covenant being broken. The entire book of Hebrews is written in this style, with Hebraic imagery that only a Jew would be able to relate to. Again, this passage is specifically written to Messianic Jews who were not following God's commands; it's not about judgment for non-Christians. The author is trying to impress the seriousness of following God, hence the harsh language.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Look it up yourself online or a Strong’s concordance. I like to look at it kind of as the differences between the US prison system vs the prison system of Norway. The US has the largest prison population in the world, and has a history of and still does treat their prisoners terribly. The Norwegians treat their prisoners more humanely, and focus on reintegrating the prisoners back into society and to help them become civilized people once again⁴. One of the prisoners stated that he was once in a prison in Brazil. He said that the difference between there and the prison he was in in Norway, was, in his own words, “come from Hell to Heaven.” Is it any wonder that they have the lowest recidivism (relapse into criminal behavior) rate in the world? Why does it work? They treat them as responsible humans, not animals, and they prepare them for the world, and that gives them hope. As good as the Norway prison system is, it won’t come close to how God will restore all people. It will be way better than the US, which doesn’t even try and you can see that in the high recidivism rates.

Keep in mind, though, that just because a human won’t be punished infinitely, does not mean s/he won’t be punished indefinitely. Paul says in Gal 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal (aonian) life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” He was saying this to believers. We are called to a holy standard. Now, if the fear of going to hell eternally is the only thing that makes you a “Christian,” shame on you. The Lord gets no glory from that and you’ve basically been sold fire insurance, not the Lord’s sacrifice which justifies and raises men from their sins – and the grave. That is NOT “Good News!”

Actually, if the doctrine of Eternal Punishment was true, Jesus introduced it in the Gospels, as it is found no where in the OT. That would mean that Jesus coming down to earth is the single most horrific event that could have ever happened to mankind. Instead of laying in the dust of the earth and never raising back up, now man had to worry about going to a place of fiery, endless torment – without end! That is not Good News, and so it is not the Gospel. Another one is “If there’s no hell, Jesus died for nothing!” This is just wrong – to the point of being offensive. If Jesus never came to earth, we would still need to offer animal sacrifices like they did in OT times. More than that, we wouldn’t know what real Love is...or for that matter, true Grace! He showed us both on the cross, as He said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). In the book of beginnings, when does it say, "And on the Ninth Day, because Adam and Eve had disobeyed Elohim and sinned against the Almighty, He breathed a heavy sigh, and made an eternal torture chamber where He would one day consign all humanity who did not repent of their sins and believe in someone that would not exist on earth for thousands of years in the future..."? Do you find that in your Bible? No. That's because it's not in any Bible, so why do we believe that is what Jesus came to earth for?? Jesus didn't come to save us from "hell" but from the death penalty, which is what God warned Adam about - NOT hell! If Hell was real and it was eternal, then Jesus did NOT in fact pay the penalty for sin - He would still need to be in there! But, He didn't give up His eternity, He was dead for three days! Does that make sense?

“But, Jesus said, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it!”

This is found in Mt 7:13-14. To whom was Jesus speaking to? The Jews. He always, except for when He was speaking with people like the Gentiles or with The Father, spoke to them because He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Not only that, but the Gospel of Matthew was the Jewish Gospel! It told of the “Jewish Jesus,” and so everything was about what God was doing with the Jews. I don’t believe that He was referring to “eternal life,” but the life inside the 1,000-year millennial reign. More support of this argument is found a few verses later, starting in verse 21, He says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only He who does the will of my Father in Heaven.”

Jewish believers are not Gentile believers. They need to keep and follow the Mosaic Law, or else. And, the “Kingdom of Heaven” is NOT equivalent to Heaven, where God the Father is. The Kingdom of Heaven is going to be on earth, where Christ will come down and sit on His Throne! The “Heavenly Kingdom” is heavenly in character. Compared to the past few millennia, it will be Heaven come to earth!

“The rich man and Lazarus is a true story because it has actual names and Jesus never used actual names in His parables.”

Well, He did in this one. It’s an obvious parable at the end of a string of parables that He was teaching – all aimed at the Pharisees. There is a piece of scripture that refutes this notion that this story was not a parable, found in Mark 4:33-34, “With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand. He did not tell them anything without using a parable” (NASB, italics mine). He was still speaking to the Jews in public, so He was still using parables. Only when He was alone with His disciples, did He speak normally (and even then, sometimes). In the OT, there is at least one parable where a proper name is used.

Judges 9:7 - “Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and raised his voice and called out. And he said to them, Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8Once the trees went to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us! 9But the olive tree said to them, Shall I give up my fatness with which God and mankind are honored, and go to wave over the trees? 10Then the trees said to the fig tree, You, come, reign over us! 11But the fig tree said to them, Shall I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees? 12Then the trees said to the vine, You, come, reign over us! 13But the vine said to them, Shall I give up my new wine, which cheers God and mankind, and go to wave over the trees? 14Then all the trees said to the bramble, You, come, reign over us! 15And the bramble said to the trees, If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”

Are we to assume that this parable is true, as well, since it has the name of the country of Lebanon? Do trees vote and hold public office? There’s also another parable as well, found in the 23^rd chapter of Ezekiel,

“The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; 3 and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled. 4 Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah. 5 “Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors, 6 who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7 She bestowed her harlotries on them, all of whom were the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself. 8 She did not forsake her harlotries from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her” (Ezk 23:1-8, NASB, bold and underline mine).

I guess this parable is a literal story, as well, huh? You know, because it has actual names in it…but I digress. Why don’t we read the passage in question:

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (where else is this phrase used to mean Heaven?); and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades (the grave, mistranslated hell, not even Gehenna) he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead’” (Lk 16:19-31, NASB, underline and commentary mine).

Okay, so now that we have the passage up, we can see that this parable starts just like the other parables. Jump back one parable and the parable of the dishonest manager starts the exact same way, “There was a rich man...” Other translations say, “Now there was a certain rich man…” This is a sign that the story is fictitious, i.e., not real. It was kind of how a fictionalized European story would start out, “Once upon a time…” What is a parable? It is “an allegorical (metaphorical; used for comparison) relation or representation from which a moral is drawn for instruction” (Wordnik). It’s kind of like Aesop’s fables. Were those actual stories, too? No! They were fictionalized stories that taught the readers, who were children, about life lessons they would need later on: “Don’t cry wolf,” “Don’t sit on a wall, you might lose your balance and fall,” “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched,” etc. Likewise, the Master is bringing up stories that He could relate to the people around Him. Which of His other parables were real? None…? Why just this one, then?

Oh, that’s right, the “names” in this one makes this an “actual story,” right? Well, even the names of Abraham and Lazarus in Luke 16 are symbolic. Why wasn’t the rich man named? He didn’t need to be, as it was easy for the audience to figure out his identity by the clothes he was wearing and by the fact that he called Abraham his “Father.” Abraham, in turn, calls him “son” or “child,” as a way of acknowledging who this rich man was. He was wearing purple and fine linen. There are no wasted words in the Bible, words are there for a purpose. In this case, it’s symbolic. We read in the OT, “They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen” (Ex 39:2, NASB, italics mine). One of the first mentions of “purple” in the Bible is found in Judges, “The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian” (Judges 8:26, NASB, underline mine). Applying the law of first mention⁵, we could determine what significance purple had in ancient times. Did you know that there was such an occupation back then as “purple dealers?” I’m not kidding, read Acts 16:14 for yourself! Purple was very expensive to make, and that’s why only royalty or nobility wore them – they were the only ones who could afford to!

The fine linen is likewise also significant and is used as an identifier, since fine linen was used in the priestly tribe of Levi. And the kingdom of Judah in southern Israel was comprised of, in Jesus’ time, as the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. The fact that he said he had five brothers is also a clue. Didn’t Judah have five brothers? Judah was the one favored and blessed by Jacob (Israel), because, “The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs will come. To him will be the obedience of the peoples” (Genesis 49:10). So, Judah had the royal line and the priesthood. Abraham said to him that his brothers had “Moses and the Prophets.” Who had them? Not Gentiles! Jews alone had the Law and Prophets – but they clearly didn’t believe them, either! The audience that Jesus was speaking to knew exactly who this “rich man” was. These were clearly the Jews, in particular, the Pharisees, who were lavishly wasting their inheritance, while Lazarus possibly represented the Gentile nations or Jesus Himself⁶.

The name “Lazarus” was a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Eleazar (or Eliezer), which means, “God is my Help.” If you recall way back in the book of Genesis, that was the name of Abraham’s faithful and beloved Gentile servant. He handled all of his master’s affairs and executed them swiftly. In the story, he had the opportunity to inherit Abraham’s wealth. See, Abraham’s son, Isaac, was without a wife, and, if he died childless, Eleazar and/or his kin would be next in line to receive Abraham’s riches. I believe he realized that, but he decided to be a faithful servant to his master, found and brought the future bride with him, and in so doing, forfeited his inheritance.

The fact that “dogs” came and licked Lazarus’ sores is yet another clue. Didn’t the Jews call Gentiles “dogs?” Jesus called a Gentile woman a “dog” in Mt 15:26, which was a common practice among the Jews at the time. The Gentiles comforted one another outside the rich man’s (Israel’s) gate, hoping to get a crumb, but the Jews (in particular, the religious leaders) would not allow it. The Pharisees, Sadducees and teachers of the law saw Gentiles as inferior and “less than” them.

Were the Pharisees happy that Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead? Did they believe in Him, then? No, they did not! They still remained in their unbelief. Did they believe Jesus when He Himself rose from the dead? Were they happy to see their Messiah up from the grave? No, they most certainly were not! They still remained in their unbelief, which is that “great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.” The Jews, according to the Book of Acts, doubled down on their efforts to persecute and kill the followers of this Jesus, bringing in brutes to quell and silence those of the Way.

So, Jesus was telling the Pharisees that their time as God’s favored people was coming to an end, and the Gentiles would get in on the promises of Abraham, too, through faith. While the Gentile nations would be blessed, Israel would die, and would “be buried.” And, it happened, when Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, over a million Jews died in the siege and Jews numbering in the tens of thousands scattered to other nations, becoming a scorn to them. This is in line with other things that Jesus said about the “sons of the kingdom” would be thrown out and Gentiles would take their place (Mt 8:11-12). The Lord warned Israel that He would scatter her over and over again, in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, through the prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zechariah, etc, but did Israel listen? No. They remained stiff-necked, and they paid the price for it. Our Lord said to the Pharisees, “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation” (Mt 23:36, NASB, italics mine). Israel was scattered for almost 2,000 years, up until 1948, when Zionists re-established Israel.

Let’s just play devil’s advocate and say that this story is true and literal. Uh-oh! Now, we have another set of problems we need to work through. For one, you will be able to see and communicate with the condemned from your back porch in Heaven...er, I’m sorry, Abraham’s pectoral muscles! This doesn’t jive well with the people that advocate for “eternal separation.” How are you going to be in a dark cavern, supposedly 9 miles or so below the surface of the earth, or out in a wretched corner of the universe somewhere, surrounded by darkness (and...flames..?) so much so that, as some preachers love to say, “You won’t be able to see your hand in front of you,” but yet you will get to see Lazarus…? Does this make any sense? Why did the rich man ask only for “a drop” of water? What is a drop going to do if a person is on fire? That would barely be able to cool down anything, so why was he begging for it? Shouldn’t he have asked for a bucket of water to splash on him to extinguish the flames?? Also, he was having a full-on conversation, while on fire!! I don’t recommend anyone do this, but just imagine putting your hand on a hot stove and trying to carry on a normal conversation. Impossible! With your whole body in flames, you would be screaming – not carrying on in a heated (no pun intended) debate over who is going to “Hell” to “cool my tongue.”

And did you notice that nowhere in this parable was found the word “belief?” So, if this parable is literally true, the means to getting salvation and going to “Abraham’s bosom” (nowhere else is this phrase found in the Bible, by the way) is being poor and miserable. And to go to “Hell” you need to be rich and eat good food! That’s something! I wonder what Abraham, David, Solomon, and all the other rich men of the OT would have to say about that. Are they in hell right now because of their wealth? Speaking of “the bosom of Abraham,” this website has this to say about it,

“It should be noted, first and foremost, that Jesus was only telling a parable, and not narrating an account of events which occurred in reality. In context, this passage belongs in a series of parables, several of which are not explicitly stated to be parables. Moreover, Jesus introduces this parable in the same manner he introduces other parables: “There was a certain rich man” (v. 19). The Greek word for “certain”, tis, is used by Jesus to introduce other parables, like the Parable of the Great Banquet: “A certain (tis) man made a great supper and called many” (14:16).

In order to assert the validity of their doctrine of a dipartite Hades, many Christians claim that this passage was not a parable, but an account of actual events. As proof of this, they point to the fact that actual names are used (i.e., Lazarus and Abraham). However, this is clearly nothing but special pleading; there is no support for such a line of reasoning. Since when did the use of actual names necessarily indicate that a certain passage is not a parable but an account of actual events?

Probably the best evidence that this passage was not an account of reality is Jesus’ use of the term “bosom of Abraham.” You may search the entire Old Testament for yourself, and you would not find one occurrence of the “bosom of Abraham.” Why? Because it is not a biblical concept, but a Pharisaic one! The “bosom of Abraham” appears in the Talmud, which was written by the theological descendants of the Pharisees. When Rabbi Adda bar Ahabah died, he was said to be sitting “in the bosom of Abraham”:

היום יושב בחיקו של אברהם.
(BT Kiddushin 72B)

Today he sits in the bosom of Abraham.

(Source: https://zmin.org/paradise-abraham-bosom, underline mine)

So, not only is it proven that this story is a parable, but also Jesus was using something found in the Pharisees’ own writing, “Abraham’s bosom,” to use to “taunt” them. I don’t think they liked that. Also, nowhere in this parable do you hear of ANY of Lazarus’ defining characteristics! Was he a good man? We don’t know! It doesn’t tell us. All that it basically says about him was that he was poor. So, being poor gets you into Heaven, right? In that case, sell your house, your car, ALL of your possessions, and wander the earth as a beggar. That way, for sure you will go to Heaven when you die. Actually, I might add, the Jews in that time saw the poor as being outside of God’s favor. For David wrote in Ps 37:25, “Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread” (NASB), and so, at that time, the Jews, especially the religious leaders, saw the poor with contempt, not favor. A beggar in the time of ancient Israel was seeing as an “unrighteous” person. It must have really riled them up to have Jesus (a simple carpenter) tell them (the rich, religious leaders) that they wouldn’t inherit the Kingdom of God, but that this “unrighteous” beggar was going to be comforted, while they were going to be tormented! It may also be that Jesus was showing an illustration common with the Greeks, that of “Elysian” on one side, and "Hades" on the other, and a chasm was fixed between them in which no one may cross, with a river running in between them. A website says this about the topic,

“The ancient Greeks had their own version of the afterlife: an Underworld ruled by Hades. There, according to the works of Homer, Virgil, and Hesiod bad people are punished while the good and heroic are rewarded. Those who deserve happiness after death find themselves in Elysium or the Elysium Fields; descriptions of this idyllic place changed over time but were always pleasant and pastoral.”

(Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-were-the-elysian-fields-in-greek-mythology-116736, bold mine)

“…bad people are punished while the good are rewarded…” Sounds very familiar – I could have sworn I’ve heard that somewhere else…oh, yeah! That’s what most Christians believe! They believe in pagan myths! Remember that context is critically important when looking at Scripture, and in this case you need to look at the culture that these people were living in. He was speaking to Hellenistic Jews, and especially in the case of the rich Pharisees, in order to get to that position, more than a little bit of politics were needed to be played. This meant that a Pharisee would need to be familiar with Greek mythology. See the map below for a visualization of what the Greeks believed about the afterlife.

 

Jesus was basically throwing all of that in their faces! Even though they were experts in the Law (and memorized much of it), the fact is that they did not follow Torah! Jesus knew that, which is why He said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (Mt 23:2-3, NASB, underline mine). No wonder He called them ‘hypocrites.’ Is not the definition of a hypocrite one who says something but doesn’t do it himself??

Another question is “Is Abraham the mediator between God and man? Did he die for the sins of mankind, or did Jesus (as Paul noted in 1Tim 2:6)?” In the parable, there is no mention of God from the rich man. He asks Abraham three times, but makes no appeal to anyone else. All of this makes sense when we pair it with another passage where Jesus said that those in the Kingdom will be kicked out and will be replaced with those outside. “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but YOURSELVES (speaking to the Jews here, who thought they were ‘in’ because they considered themselves “descendants of Abraham”) being thrown out. 29 And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God” (Lk 13:28-29, NASB). Neither Abraham nor Lazarus were able to help him, however, at the end of time, after the Lake of Fire, Jesus will give water freely to whomever is thirsty. In Rev 22:17, it says, “And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (NASB). And this time, this “rich man” won’t just get a drop, but will drink until he is satisfied, praising the Savior of the World!

Something else to consider is that in this parable, Jesus used a certain Greek word twice for the word “torment,” and it is used only one other time in the NT. That word is βάσανος or basanous (Strong’s # 931), found in this story in verses 23, “he lifted up his eyes, being in torment,” and 28, “so that they will not also come to this place of torment.” The other place is in Mt 4:24, “they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs” (NASB). The KJV renders the verse this way, “all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments.” So, this “torment” was also happening here on earth. It was not and is not used for some afterlife torture.

That word actually means “a touchstone (a dark stone used in testing metals), examination by torture, torture.⁷” According to Strong’s, the definition of básanos was “originally, a black, silicon-based stone used as "a touchstone" to test the purity of precious metals (like silver and gold).” Basically, in ancient times, they used this “touchstone” as a way to check a metal’s authenticity. With it, people would be able to tell the difference between gold that was 99.99999% pure and “fool’s gold.” The other form of this word, βασανίζω or basanizó, which means “to torture.⁸” But, it doesn’t always mean that in everytime it is used. For example, in Mt 14:24, it refers to a boat being “tossed” or “battered.” In Mk 6:48, they (the disciples) were “toiling” or “straining” at the oars. In Rev 12:2, the woman “pained” to be delivered. The NASB reads it this way, “and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.” Thayer’s Lexicon gives these two definitions: 1. properly, to test (metals) by the touchstone. 2. to question by applying torture.

I found this explanation on Facebook,

“What is this torment?

Luke 16:23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

Same Greek word for torment is the same word in Greek that when Jesus's parents lost him when he was 12 years old in the temple they was in torment about it until they found him.

Anguish and sorrow represents gnashing of teeth.

Deuteronomy 32:21

‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God;

They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.

So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;

I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,

The foolish nation is the Gentiles who were a far from the nation of Israel.

Romans 10:19

But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,

“I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation,

By a nation without understanding will I anger you.”

Romans 11:11

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

Romans 11:14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

Paul was trying to save some of them (the remnant whom God shall choose) yet we go further in Paul's words and we see that God is doing the same thing that will result in ALL Israel to be saved as well as ALL gentiles.

Romans 11:32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

Jesus spoke of it in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that Lazarus represents the Gentiles and the rich man being Israel being left out temporarily being in torment seeing Lazarus or the Gentiles in the bosom of Abraham will provoke them to jealousy and so be saved.

The answer for what is this torment is the Jews shall see the gentiles receiving the blessings of Abraham that God promised to Abraham by your seed shall all the nations shall be blessed.

Abram was his name, It was the God who later changed his name to Abraham, which means, “father of many.”

Abraham is the father of many nations included of the Gentiles.

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV).

Who received this curse? The Jews for rejecting truth. But is that forever and for all the Jews? No yet the gospel of salvation went to the many the gentiles after they stoned Steven.

Jesus curses the fig tree. What did the fig tree represent?

Some people believe that the Jews are cursed because they killed the Son of God. The Jews’ rejection of their Messiah did have its consequences, but the Bible does not speak of a continuing curse upon God’s chosen people.

In Matthew 27:22, during Jesus’ so-called trial, Pilate asks the crowd, “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” The crowd answers, “Crucify him!” Pilate publicly proclaims Jesus’ innocence, but “they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” (verse 23). Pilate then famously washes his hands, declaring himself to be “innocent” (verse 24) and telling the crowd that Jesus’ death “is your responsibility!” It is a responsibility that the mob accepts, shouting the chilling words, “His blood is on us and on our children!” (verse 25).

It is important to remember who was speaking these words. Matthew 27:20 says, “The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd.” Yes, the mob at Jesus’ trial was comprised of Jews gathered in Jerusalem for Passover, but they were incited by religious leaders who had rejected Jesus years earlier (Matthew 12:14). The mob’s ringleaders bear the most responsibility, as does Pilate, who presided over such a travesty of justice. Also, the mob’s self-indictment was spoken by some Jews, not all of them. Jesus was a Jew, as were all His disciples, and they certainly did not call a curse upon themselves.

The religious leaders as Jesus said sat in the seat of Moses and they was called to give the word of God to the people.

(Luke 23:31). Within one generation of the crucifixion of Christ, Jerusalem was totally destroyed by the Romans. The Jews were scattered, and for almost 1,900 years (until 1948), they had no homeland. There were spiritual ramifications, as well, as the gospel was brought to the more receptive Gentiles (see Acts 18:6). The apostle Paul likens the Gentiles’ inclusion in salvation to wild branches being grafted into a cultivated olive tree. The Jews (the natural branches) are not completely forsaken: “If they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again” (Romans 11:23).

In rejecting Christ, the Jews “stumbled over the stumbling stone” (Romans 9:32; cf. Isaiah 8:14). But they are not cursed by God completely. Paul asks the question: “Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:1–2). In fact, there is coming a time when “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

The people of Israel are sometimes represented as figs on a fig tree (Hosea 9:10, Jeremiah 24), or a fig tree that bears no fruit (Jeremiah 8:13). In Micah 4:4, the age of the messiah is pictured as one in which each man would sit under his fig tree without fear.

Back to God's promise to Abraham.

“Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you” (Genesis 13:14-17).

“This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be”(Genesis 15:4-5).

God makes that clear, later when the promise is seen once again, in Genesis 17.

“...No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you… And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God”

So according to this picture the Jewish leaders and the people who are under these teachers fell under a curse that only belief in Christ could pull them out of it.

Lazarus represents the Gentiles in the bosom of Abraham which is a picture of being the sons of Abraham for a season until as Paul says all of the gentiles that God shall come in.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth "but Joy comes in the morning."

Psalm 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 37:12-13

The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Church leaders especially as well as all including me should take this as a fair warning from God since you are supposed pastures of the flock you shut up the kingdom by words and deeds to those who need in.”

(Credit: Santo Calarco)

On a final note, this parable was given before Jesus’ death on the tree, and before the Ekklesia was officially established on the day of Pentecost. A lot of Christians seem to think that nothing changed at the Cross and that we are still under the Mosaic covenant. We are not. The Gentile believers do not follow Jewish law (Rom 2:14).

“You’re just trying to justify sinning!”

Oh, yeah, because you’re so perfect, right? No one is trying to justify sin, and I don’t believe that anyone is “getting away with” anything, as God sees all. I am doing no more and no less “sinning” as I did when I was a mainstream “Christian.” If I wanted to “sin out,” I would do it regardless of what I believed. Seriously, life is so much better when you don’t have to continually track and apologize for sins all the time. Come up with something better, and stop slandering me with ad hominem attacks!

 

 

1https://biblehub.com/greek/2851.htm

2https://biblehub.com/greek/5098.htm

3https://biblehub.com/greek/5097.htm

4For a look at Norway vs US prisons, look here: https://youtu.be/zNpehw-Yjvs

5 A good study tool used by some to get the original meaning of a word in Scripture: https://www.compellingtruth.org/law-of-first-mention.html

6 For a great explanation of this parable, check out all four parts of a series debunking the common thought that this is a true account of the afterlife, first video here: https://youtu.be/hASdYYfW-8o. This guy also does a good job of explaining what this parable actually meant: https://youtu.be/xCc6e8yms_Q.

7https://biblehub.com/greek/931.htm

8https://biblehub.com/greek/928.htm