In fact, there was probably almost as much diversity as in modern Judaism. We are rather inclined to think of New Testament Jews as primarily Pharisees with their rivals the Sadduccees in the background. This passage of scripture possibly provides a bit of an insight into Jewish thinking at the time of Christ. What message from Jesus’ powerful words should we take for ourselves regarding the authority of the Bible and how we respond to it? “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 16:31, NKJV). The account teaches that 1. status and social recognition in the present are not the criteria for the future reward, and 2. the eternal destiny of each person is decided in this life and cannot be reversed in the afterlife ( Luke 16:25-26). The parable of the rich man and Lazarus presents a sharp contrast between a well-dressed “rich man” and “a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores” ( Luke 16:19-20, , NKJV). Douglas (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), p. L, “Eschatology,” in The New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. Ladd, though a non-Adventist, certainly sounds like one here when he says that this story was probably “a parable which made use of current Jewish thinking and is not intended to teach anything about the state of the dead.” - G. How could a mother be happy in heaven while beholding the incessant agonies of her beloved child in hell? In such a context, it would be virtually impossible for God’s promise of no more sorrow, crying, and pain to be fulfilled ( Revelation 21:4).ĭue to such incoherencies, many modern biblical scholars regard the story of the rich man and Lazarus as a parable from which not every detail can be interpreted literally. If this passage were a description of the human state in death, then heaven would certainly not be a place of joy and happiness because the saved could closely follow the endless sufferings of their lost loved ones, and even dialogue with them ( Luke 16:23-31). We would also have to suppose that, in the afterlife, while the body lies in the grave, there remains a conscious form of the spiritual soul with “eyes,” a “finger,” a “tongue,” and which even feels thirst ( Luke 16:23-24). Image © Providence Collection at įirst, we would have to admit that heaven and hell are close enough to allow a conversation between the dwellers of both places ( Luke 16:23-31).
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