The Rich Man and Lazarus
Greetings I bring from God to everyone reading this journal, may the spirit of He that resurrect Jesus multiply His grace over you exceedingly. This is another edition of our mission outreach constant calling on
All, unto genuine repentance through the special grace of God who has given us this Ministry. The day is break, and the time is near that the day of the Lord shall be revealed. As part of the consciousness of Christ appearance, I bring unto you another privilege for the hope of salvation, trusting Him to accept as many who open the door of their heart unto Him. May He that is so compassionate interpret His words to you as you read through this edition, “The Rich Man and Lazarus.”
How does this topic appear to you? Does it appear as a mere parable, or unrealistic? Jesus Christ during His Earthly Ministry uses the parable of “The rich man and Lazarus” to teach us that our attitude towards material possession and to our neighbors can have eternal consequences. Jesus began this parable by telling us the status of the rich man, “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously everyday: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.” And it came to pass, 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 lifts up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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 besides, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed: So that they wish would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come thence (Luke 16: 19-26).
The parable above is often misunderstood by many to be a justification that the rich would end up there lives in hell, while the poor would end up in eternity. Let it be known that, man’s destination after this planet earth is not determined by how rich, wealthy, or poor one is, but it depends on how well you relate with God and people around you, that is being accountable for your actions. No man will ever loss eternity simply because he is rich, neither will any man make heaven because he is poor. It pleases God to make both the rich man and Lazarus what he so desires them to be as mortals, and both parties could use their entire life to God’s glory and honor. The status they attained in life is not responsible for their position in eternity, rather it is how each of them uses that status that determines where they belong; eternity or hell. In addition, this parable was used by Jesus to educate the Jews at that time, which is applicable to every mortal today that we shall be accountable for all our actions.
The rich man
Jesus told the parable of a rich man who lived on a waisted year while on earth. He was completely indifferent to the plight of his neighbor-Lazarus, he had all it takes to offer Lazarus a comfortable life, but he never did, instead he thought all he had was his makings, believing that Lazarus was cursed by God, and as such should never be favored. gives to the poor within his reach, he misuses the opportunity of blessing as many that are yearning for his help. Eventually, the rich man and Lazarus died, while Lazarus was carried by the angels into Abraham bosom, the rich man was buried, and his soul departed to hell.
While in hell, the rich man cried and ask for mercy, but it was rather too late for in death, there is no repentance of sins. He asks for the favor of he (Lazarus), who he has failed to help while he was able to do so. In the next verse, Abraham responded to cursed by God through his actions. He had no sympathy, empathy, love or compassion for Lazarus. The rich man embodied an attitude of hoarding; he decided to accumulate his wealth rather than his request: “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” (Luke 16:25-26). The rich man also asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth to warn his brothers to repent so that they would never join him in hell. Both requests were denied. Abraham told the rich man that if his brothers did not believe in Scripture, neither would they believe a messenger, even if he came straight from heaven. The rich man objected, however. He insisted that while men may not heed the Old Testament Scriptures, they could not disregard the message of a man who had returned from death. This is an indication that his brothers believe more in “signs and wonders” than the Word of God.
The biblical implication of the parable
Jesus uses this parable to teaches us that heaven and hell are real. Every person who live shall spend their eternity either in hell or in heaven. After death people will consciously know they are in hell or that they are in heaven. There are several wrong doctrines and teachings that claim that hell doesn’t exist or that a loving God cannot allow His creation to suffer torment in hell. The Bible also does not mention any type of purgatory. However, on many occasions Jesus spoke about hell and the Bible clearly indicates that a heaven and heaven exist. The story in Luke 16:23-31 indicate that the Rich Man was in hell in which he suffered awful torment.
In your personal life – do you take the existence of hell seriously? Do you take seriously that you may have friends, colleagues, family members who might go to hell if they do not have a fellowship with God? Are you aware that hell is real?
The parable teaches us about judgement, where there will be no chance for repentance. As written in Hebrew 9: 27 “And it is appointed unto man to die once, after this the judgement. The only thing that matters at the point of death is our relationship with God. The Rich Man was super rich & wealthy but spiritually he was poor. Dressed in fine linen clothes and lived in extreme luxury, his outward appearance did not match his inward condition. One indication of his spiritual state was the Rich Man’s indifference to Lazarus’ plight even though this beggar stayed at his gate. The Rich Man had no compassion, love or sympathy for the poor.
In your personal life, what are you pursuing? Are you pursuing after riches & wealth at the expense of having a sound fellowship with God? Are you measuring your spiritual condition based on the amount of money & possessions you have? Do you believe in the false “prosperity gospel” doctrine that material prosperity is indicative or evidence of spiritual prosperity? Are you one of those who believe to be poor is a curse from God or that it is a sin? Brethren, don’t be deceived, your financial status on this planet does not indicate your relationship with God, rather it is your attitudes towards brethren, neighbors, and spiritual issues that counts. Think about this, if being poor is a sin, how come Lazarus made heaven? Why did Jesus say in Mark 10: 23b that, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.” The scripture does not condemn riches, for it was recorded that Abraham was very rich in cattle, silver, and in gold (Genesis 13:2), Job was also a wealthy man in his time, what matter however is what you do with your wealth. How do you use your God-given wealth? Is it to destroy or to impact the work of God? Are you one of those intoxicated by wealth, who will always want people’s praise or so authoritative that will always want brethren to do your biddings even when it does not conform to the word of God before you give unto God what belong to Him. Your attitude and actions shall you account for just like the rich man and Lazarus. It is important for you to understand the fact that how you live your life determines where you spend eternity, heaven or hell.
Learn to honor God with your substance by looking upon the afflictions of those within your reach where money is the key to the solutions of their problem. Desist from every act of the rich man as written in Luke 16: 19, for the end of every act of selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and many other vices is hell.
The reality of hell
The scripture describe hell as a place of total darkness, eternal fire, unquenchable fire, a place of weeping, torment, and the second death. Hell is a place of future punishment and destination for those who do not make heaven. It is a place where one is cooked in ovens and trapped in white hot metal houses where demons pierce one with hot metal stakes, a place of horror where victims are cut apart with burning saws and crushed by huge hot metal. Revelation 14:11 described the horror in hell, “And the smoke of their torment ascended up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Jesus equally said in the gospel of Matthew 8:12, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The descriptions of hell are dark and terribly scary. The parable of the rich man in hell as narrated by Jesus shed more light/clarification on hell, where sinners who refused Jesus as the savior will spend their eternity. Hell has no respect for anybody, it does not regard the kings, queens, presidents, wealthy, rich, poor, literate, illiterate, blacks or whites. The reality of hell is sure, and the road to it is through attitudes and death. Some years back, I had a vision about hell. In the vision, I saw an enormous fire that has no end, it was like a desert, and the heat covers some great miles away from where I was standing with the angel of God. From all evidences, hell is real and is prepared for the ungodly.
The reality of heaven
Pastor Ricks Warren of Daily Hope Ministry gives three realities of heaven as follows;
1.Heaven is where God lives and rule. The bible calls heaven “The dwelling place of God,” the house of God, and the city of God. It is not only where God lives but He also rules. Jesus calls heaven, “The kingdom of God” or “The kingdom of Heaven” 31 times in the new testament.
2.Heaven is a real place. It is not a state of mind, a state of being, or disembodied condition where you will float around without a body. The bible says in heaven, there will be streets, trees, water, and homes. Many scriptures allude to the fact that animals are there. You will have a body in heaven as well. Matthew 6:20 says, “We are storing up treasures for ourselves in heaven. You can’t store up treasures in a place that is not real.
3.Heaven is designed for you and me. God did not design heaven for Himself. He designed it for us. When God started thinking about earth, he started thinking about a place for mankind in heaven. The bible says God made the entire universe because He wanted a family with whom to spend eternity. Heaven is a place He has for His family. We were not meant to live on earth, you and I were made for Heaven.
Some bible quotations about heaven
Revelation 22: 5-7 sys, “And there shall be no more night there, and they need no candle, neither light or the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light: And they shall reign forever. And He said unto me, these saying are faithful and true and the Lord God of the Holy prophets sent His angel to show unto His servant the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly; blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book.”
Isaiah 25: 8-10 says, “He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces: and the rebuke of His people shall He take from off all the earth: For the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in the day, lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: This is the Lord we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, what are these, which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto Him, sir, thou knowest. And He said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made the white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living foundations of water: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Revelation 7: 13-17).”
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14: 2).”
From the above inspiration, I am sure if you have never heard it before, you now have the knowledge of what heaven and hell is. Therefore, brethren, where do you want to spend eternity? Heaven or hell? If you have not already do so, acknowledge God by giving Him your entire life. Let Jesus into your heart, surrender all unto Him alone, confess your sins and repent from them all, and you will be glad you. For every saved soul, take heed, be watchful, prayerful and never you forsake the gathering of the true brethren. Don’t be swept off your faith with false teachings, hold fast unto that truth you have gotten without going astray, and let the joy of the Lord continually be your strength.
Christ the light journal
Is a publication of
The African church (USA)
Chapel of Christ the light missionary outreach.
