![]() ![]() He was eternally separated from God, and Abraham made it clear to him that there was no hope of ever mitigating his pain, suffering, or sorrow. That’s why his requests were merely to be comforted and to have a warning sent to his brothers. Notice the rich man didn’t ask for his brothers to pray for his release from some purgatorial middle ground, thereby expediting his journey to heaven. When unbelievers die, they are just as immediately in the conscious pain, suffering, and torment of hell. When believers die, they are immediately in the conscious fellowship and joys of heaven. The transition to our eternal state takes place the moment we die (2 Corinthians 5:8 Luke 23:43 Philippians 1:23). This story also illustrates that once we cross the eternal horizon, that’s it. Like the rich man in the story, multitudes today are complacent in their conviction that all is well with their soul, and many will hear our Savior tell them otherwise when they die (Matthew 7:23). The Bible is clear that every person who has ever lived will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Yet Christ spoke about hell a great deal, as did Paul, Peter, John, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews. Some even teach “universalism” – the belief that everyone goes to heaven. Sadly, many preachers shy away from uncomfortable topics such as hell. ![]() Parable or not, however, there is much we can learn from this passage:įirst of all, Jesus teaches here that heaven and hell are both real, literal places. There is some question as to whether this story is a true, real-life account or a parable, since two of its characters are named (making it unique among parables). ![]()
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