The Rich Man In Hell (Luke 16:19-31)

Luke 16:19-23, “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. 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.”

This is not a Parable, but a true, historical account of two actual men that Christ spoke about in a message to a Jewish audience in Israel. Christ used parables as a teaching method quite often, but they never contained a proper name. This lesson on the afterlife contains three proper names: Abraham, Lazarus, and Moses. Some deny the fact that if you die without trusting Christ as the One who paid for your sins on the Cross, your end will be everlasting punishment in the flames of Hell. They insist this is only a Parable. How wrong they are! Luke 16:19-31 is definitely NOT a Parable. Pastor Max Younce provides some excellent Bible exegesis on this passage, in his classic book titled: “A Biblical Examination Of Hell,” pages 17 to 20:

“…We learn from Luke 16, there are two compartments separated by a tremendous gulf. Prior to Christ's Ascension back to Heaven in Acts 1:11, both saved and lost went to one of the two compartments in Hades. The gulf separated the two places; which are called a place of torment (for the lost), and "Abraham's Bosom," or, Paradise for the saved.

Now in Luke 16 we find a Christian by the name of Lazarus who was very poor, financially; but when he died he went to the Paradise side of Hades. Here is the record in Verse 22,

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom..." 

This is also the compartment where Christ went for three days and nights before His Resurrection. Notice in Luke 23:43 when Christ was speaking to the thief on the cross, who had trusted Him as Savior. 

"And Jesus said unto him (the thief), Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 

Remember, no saved person in the Old Testament ever went to Heaven; but, rather, to the Paradise side of Sheol and Hades. 

Further, in Luke 16 we are told of a lost man who was very rich, but lost, and who went to the Torment side of Hades. Here is the record in verses 22b - 24. 

"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; (22) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (23) 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." (24) 

What a sad condition of the reality a lost person has to face when they die! Their joking about the Bible, their mocking of Christ, their evolutionary trash they have propagated, their taking of the Lord's name in vain, and their exalted opinion of themselves that they are their own god, will all come to an end. At death, they will be cast into this awful place of torment. Truly, they have played the fool as God has said in Psalm 14:1, 

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” 

Little realizing, until it is too late that, 

"The wicked shall be turned into Hell ("Sheol"), and all the nations that forget God." (Psalms 9:17) 

We are now told that, within Hades, between Paradise and Torment, that there is a tremendous gulf separating the two places; so, that no one can go from one place to the other. Here is the record in Verse 26:

"And beside all this, between us (Abraham and Lazarus) and you (lost men), 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." 

When the lost man realized there was no hope now for him, as his eternal destiny was sealed in this place of torment, he then interceded for his five brothers that were still alive. In Verses 27 and 28 we have the account, 

"Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house: (27) For I have five brethren: that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." (28) 

This man was now a believer; but, it was too late for himself, so he prays that someone would tell his brothers. The Hebrew word for "pray" in Verse 27 brings out the strength of this man's feelings. The usual Greek word for "pray" when used in worship to God is "proseuchomai." But here a different word is used for pray, which is "erotao." This word means "interrogate, desire and entreat." In police work, interrogate means you keep asking in various, different, ways until you get what you want; which is the truth. You are persistent with a strong desire.
The Greek word for “pray” lets us know that this man was more than just casually asking Abraham; but had a strong desire, persistently asking in various different ways to persuade Abraham to send someone to warn his five brothers. His persistence is recorded in Verse 30 after Abraham had just said to him, 

"...They (his brothers) have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them."
Here is his reply, 

"and he said, Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent (change their mind)."

No doubt he was still trying; but to no avail, for Abraham closed the conversation when he told him, 

"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." 

This is a true and literal account of the conversation between a lost man in the Torment of Hades, and Abraham in the Paradise side of Hades. A true account of where they were, and what they said. Now let us briefly analyze some important facts from Luke 16:19-31: 

1. Hades has two compartments: one is Paradise, and the other is Torment.
2. They are separated by a large gulf.
3. No one can pass from Torment to Paradise.
4. The lost and saved went immediately to their respective places.
5. They were taken there by the angels of God.
6. In Torment this man had a tongue, could feel the flames of Torment, could talk, could think and reason. He had all the attributes in Hades that he had on Earth.
7. He possessed a spiritual or soulish body which had sensitivity and reasoning; but could not be annihilated by the flames of Torment. We might point out that this is not his resurrected body unto damnation, which he will have when he is later cast into the Lake of Fire. This will be illustrated on Diagram Six.
8. No one will go back from Paradise to talk with those still alive on the Earth, as this lost man had requested.
9. Moses and the prophets did record the death, burial and Resurrection of Christ in the Bible. Since Christ did come back from the dead, there are those who will not believe it; neither would they if someone also came back today.
10. A doctrinal consideration—many claim this is a parable, but one will find that no parable ever uses a proper name. There are no exceptions. Hypothetically, if this were a parable then the reality of Hell would be much worse, for parables are given to illustrate a Biblical truth.

We can only thank God for telling us of this awful place that we have been delivered from by trusting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. He gave His life to save ours—what a Savior!