[Faithwalker012]

I said I was going to close in Luke, and I'm going to Luke Chapter 16- the rich man and Lazarus. Here Jesus gives us a great description of just where people go when they die and the division or difference between those who overcome, and those who do not.

Luke 16:19 "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:"

Purple being the color of royalty or of someone of very high importance. He had a nice little feast every day. There are some who would say a man like this wanted for nothing. But if you don't have Christ, if you don't believe in and Have Him, then you have nothing.

Luke 16:20 "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,"

Luke 16:21 "And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: more over the dogs came and licked his sores."

This word desiring means eagerly desiring, but guess what? The rich man did not have compassion on this beggar Lazarus. The dogs were treated better than Lazarus, and sadly the dogs treated Lazarus better than the rich man did. They at least tried to clean him off by licking his sores.

Luke 16:22 "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;"

Now does it say Lazarus the beggar died and stayed in a hole in the ground? No it does not. It says the rich man was buried, but keep reading. He's not in a hole in the ground either. His flesh body is, but he is not.

Luke 16:23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."

This word hell is not hell as we look at it, but simply Hades or the grave. The torment is the sorrow and remorse at knowing he didn't make it. But what's this? He can look and see Abraham and Lazarus the beggar. How is that? Read on and find out.

Luke 16:24 "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.' "

A lot of people will read this and say, "the rich man is in hell fire and Abraham and the angels and Lazarus are watching him burn." But let's think about this for a minute. If his whole body was literally burning in hell fire, Lazarus dipping the tip of his finger in water to cool the rich man's tongue won't really do a lot of good. Our Father is a consuming fire, and there is a lake of fire. But it will not come into play until after Judgment Day. The word tormented can better be translated distressed, or even sorrowing. He's burning up in a figurative sense because he can look over and see heaven and Abraham, but he knows he can't cross over and he knows he didn't make it. Make no mistake, hell and the lake of fire is literal. But this isn't it. This isn't that time.

Luke 16:25 "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."

Again, the rich man seemingly had it all and Lazarus had nothing. But Lazarus had one very important thing that the rich man didn't. He had faith in and love for Almighty God. You can't take your riches to heaven, and it doesn't matter what you accumulated in your lifetime. What matters is did you love God?

Luke 16:26 "And beside all this, between us and you 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.' "

So there it is. There's a gulf or chasm set in place between those who made it and those who did not. But yet good and bad, saved and unsaved, they're all basically in the same location, and it's not a hole in the ground. God loves His children and He created them for His pleasure(Revelation 4:11) and for His company. When one dies, hey those behind miss them, but if they are a Christian it truly is a time to rejoice in a sense for them. They leave this world behind with its problems, they leave their flesh behind with its weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and step into something much much greater. God wants His children back with Him... especially those who love Him, because He sure loves them. So, hopefully you can take this and take comfort in this, so that you know and can be secure in knowing that your loved ones aren't in some hole in the ground. They're with the Father... and what a place to be.

Jason