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STUDY#14
THE HUMAN SOUL—PART 3 (The Rich Man and Lazarus)

Previously we learned from the Scriptures thatthe soul is destructible and that it dies. We also learned that humansdon’t possess a soulbutthat they are souls. So when we die,our souls[meaning we ourselves] die: “All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul” (Psalm 22:29,KJV).

We studied seemingly contradictory biblical verses except for one parable, The Rich Man and Lazarus. Here is what Jesus said:

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered, Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.Abraham replied, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. No, father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:19-31[*])

Some Christians believe these words teach two doctrines: 1)the doctrine of theundying, immortalnature of the soul after death; and 2)the doctrine of the existence of hell as aplaceof eternal torment.Many thinkthe rich man went to hell and the beggar went to heaven.But verse 22says the beggar died and was carried by the angels to“Abraham’s side.”Are weto believe “Abraham’s side” is heaven where God resides? Surely not!

Some think these words describealiteral experience that happened to two people.If that were true, thewayto heaven is to bea beggarwith sores onone’s body. But a study will show how unreasonableit is to consider this asliteral language.

At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores: This beggar was lying at the gate ofa rich man’s house and from the narrative, it was a permanent arrangement. The rich man would sometimes send food from his table to the beggar.But think about it.What rich man today would allow this sort of arrangement at his front gate? Would you allow it? And yet this rich manis considered bad, someone who should be tormented when he died.

Even the dogs came and licked his sores:We see beggars all around us,some without legs and arms, others with wounds. But surely none of themwould allow dogs to lick their sores!It would be a great indignity!Thus what is said about the beggarlikely never happened.

Have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire:Imagine someone in flames and heat.Could a mere drop of water on the tongue bring any relief?If anyone was really in flames, you can be sure his one request would not be for a wet finger on his tongue.

The Lord usually spokein parables: “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable”(Matthew 13:34).Compare thebeginningof this passage with a few of Jesus’other parables: “There was a man who had …” (Luke 15:11). “There was a rich man whose manager …” (Luke 16:1). “A man of noble birth went to a distant country …” (Luke 19:12). “A man planted a vineyard …” (Luke20:9). So when Jesus begins with the words, “There was a rich man,” his audience knew this was a parable.We will now look atthe meaning of its symbols.

The Rich Man Represents a Class

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day” (Luke 16:19). In Luke 15:11, the third in this series of five parables, a man had two sons, one of which was “prodigal” and the otherapparently “loyal.” The two sons represent two classes of people. In this fifth parable in the series, the“rich man”represented thenation ofIsrael.

Dressed in purple: Purplewas acolorassociated withroyalty. Jesus was given a purple robe and then mockingly called the “King of the Jews” (John 19:2,3). The nation of Israel had“kingly promises”to“clothe”themselves: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession … you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5,6). Being“clothed in purple”representsthe kingdom promises of Godwith which he covered Israel.

Fine linen: Linen representsrighteousness: “Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints”(Revelation 19:8). Israel’s righteousness wasnot literal but was accomplished through the annualatonement day sacrifices for their sins: “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you—because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.”(Leviticus 16:29-31). These sacrificestypically justifiedIsrael enabling them to approach God and pray to him. They were“clothedin fine linen”in God’s sight because their sins were covered.

Lived in luxury every day: TheWord of Godis symbolizedas food which is to be eaten: “When your words came, I ate them”(Jeremiah 15:16).It was Israel, alone among the nations, thatwas favored and blessed with so much of God’s word: “Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? … Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?” (Deuteronomy 4:6-8,33).

Thus the“rich man”symbolized the nation ofIsraelwhich received so much of God’s word. The entire Old Testament containing the words of the prophets, from Samuel to Malachi, was given only to them. Theyfeasted(“lived in luxury”)every day.Thus in this “word picture” Jesus described the nation of Israel.

Lazarus Represents a Different Class

“At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.” (Luke 16:20,21)This“beggar”represents the non-Jews, the Gentiles.

A beggar: The Gentileswere poorin God’s blessings, in fact they had no blessings at all! In that sense they lived in total poverty!

Covered withsores: The condition of sin among the Gentilesprovided no way to cleanseand obtain atonement for their sins.These “sores” representthe unforgiven condition of sin in which they found themselves.

At his gate: The“house”represented thefavoredcondition of the nation of Israel.The“wall”of that house wasthe Law Covenant: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility”(Ephesians 2:14). The“gate” was circumcision (Genesis 17:12-14),the outward sign by which one showed faith in God’s covenant with them.The Gentiles wereoutside both the “wall” andthe “gate.”

Crumbs from the table: These werethe meager blessings which the Gentiles sought as demonstratedwhen Jesus interacted witha Canaanite woman(Matthew 15:25-28).

Dogs licked the sores: “Sores”represent the unforgiven sin condition; “licking” the sores wouldrepresent a kindof relief or comfort. Itdescribes the means by which the Gentiles would seekcomfort from their sins.A dog isan unclean animal (Leviticus 11:27).Thus the phrase “dogs licked his sores” symbolizes the unclean wayby which the Gentiles sought sin atonement such asworshiping idols, blind superstition, child sacrifices, temple prostitution, and the like. This was thecondition of the Gentiles.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.” (Luke 16:22) The verb “died” signifies anend.Both “died” in the sense that theperiod of favorto the Jewsshown during the Jewish age came to anend.Similarly theperiod of disfavorto Gentilesended when the Gospel age began.

Lazarus: Representsthe Gentiles who accepted the gospel,who became Christians, and entered into favor with God.

The angels carried him to Abraham's side:The angels represent messengers of the gospel within the early church who were sent to the Gentiles. These include theapostle Peter who “opened the door to the Gentiles” in Cornelius’ house,the apostle Paul who was the specially chosen apostle to the Gentiles(Galatians 2:8),and others engaged in this work such as Barnabas, Titus, Silas,andLuke. “Abraham’s side”is equivalent to stating that one became part of the“children of Abraham”: “Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). Thus these become inheritors of the Abrahamic promise (see Galatians 3:16,29).

The rich man also died and was buried:Israel’speriod of favor(the Jewish age)ended and the nation was“buried”as it wentout of sight,out of existence. Israel ceased to be a nation after 70 A.D.

“In hell, where he was in torment, he [the rich man] looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”(Luke 16:23,24) Thisdescribes the nation of Israel after 70 A.D.when they were scattered into all nations: “When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen, says the LORD Almighty. I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers.”(Zechariah 7:13,14) This is a vivid picture of their sufferings.

Agony in this fire: Fire is a symbol of thejudgment that came upon Israelbeginning when Jesus said, “Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:38). This was in33 A.D. just before he was crucified. Those crying out for his crucifixion asked fortheir punishment: “All the people answered, Let his blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). The anger of the Lord is often pictured by fire: “I have decided to assemble the nations,to gather the kingdomsand to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger.The whole world will be consumedby the fire of my jealous anger.” (Zephaniah 3:8)

SawAbrahamfar away: Israelrealized they wereout of favorwith Godand in this parableAbraham picturedGod as he did when he willingly offered up his son Isaac, a picture of God offering his only begotten son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Lazarus by his side: This describes the blessed condition of the favor God bestowed uponthe Christian Gentile nationsduring the Gospel age.

Send Lazarus to dipthe tipofhis finger in water and cool my tongue: Thisis comparable to the prayers of the Jews for Christian nations to showsmallfavorslike exclusive housing colonies, schools, and places for synagogues. But this was the response:“Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”

Although Abraham is speaking, it pictured God speaking!God speaks through his Word which makes clear theJewish agewas a time of blessing(favor)for the Jews and disfavorfor Gentiles. In the Gospel age it is the reverse: blessings are for believing Gentiles and suffering is the lot of the blinded Jews. The “great chasm”is theseparation between Judaism and Christianity.

A great chasm has been fixed: Thisbarrier or obstacle was theunbelief of the Jews toward accepting Jesus.Thus they couldnotcross to the side of blessings by accepting Jesus.

Those who want to go from here [Abraham’s side] to you cannot: It was impossibleto release the nation of Israel from the bondage of law by Christian preaching: “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.”(Galatians 3:1)

Nor can anyone cross over from there[the rich man’s side]to us: The Jews were fromanother dispensation. Theyfollowed Moses and the law and rejected Jesus; they did noteven recognize him: “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from at all”(John 9:29). This was a wide gulf indeed!

The rich man then asks for something else: “I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.Abraham replied, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. No, father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”This shows thehelpless condition of the nation ofIsraelduring the Gospel age.

Five brothers: Collectively these are the“ten tribe”nation ofIsraelwhile the rich man represents the“two tribe “nation ofJudah.“When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men—to make war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam. But this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God: Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.” (2 Chronicles 11:1-4)

After the death of King Solomonthe twelve tribe nation of Israel divided into two parts:the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin becamethe nation of Judah and the remaining ten tribes became the nation of Israel.So if the “rich man” in the parable represents the two-tribe nation of Judah, the“five brothers”must represent the ten-tribe nation of Israel.

Moses and the Prophets: These are the writings ofthe Old Testament with itsdescription of how Messiah must first suffer and die before gaining the glory and the kingdom (seeIsaiah 53, Psalm 22,etc.). The Jews could not recognizethis aspect of their Messiahand thusthey could not recognize Jesus.

One who rose fromthe dead: This reference isnotto Jesus!It is not literal language. The one referred to as dead and then arisen from the dead is described by the apostle Paul: “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, KJV). These areChristians, and specificallyGentile Christians who have “arisen”from the“dead”condition they were in, and in which the world remains(Luke 9:60).No Christian effort to preach the gospelcan ever save or convert the nation of Israel.But that does not mean the nation of Israel is lost. Not at all!

“I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob” (Romans 11:25,26). AllIsrael “will be saved”!Their salvationwill follow the Church’s salvation. God’splan hastwo salvations:one is a heavenly salvation for the church, and another is an earthly salvation for Israel and the entire world of mankind.