How is the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus interpreted?

score:5

Accepted answer

First off I'd like to state that this is, in my opinion, clearly not a parable because the Bible does not state it as one like it does in these many citations:

Matthew 13:18
Luke 6:39
Luke 12:16
Luke 15:3
Luke 18:1
Luke 18:9
Luke 19:11

If Jesus was speaking of reality then 'The End' had technically already come. Is this correct?

So, to answer this question, Jesus was in fact not only speaking of reality but also of a real happening. Lazarus and the rich man was not a parable, it was real. However, The End has not yet come. In fact, Hell is going to be destroyed as well and is simply a holding place for the souls that are lost. Revelation speaks of it in Revelation 20:14:

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Note that both death (the fact that man must die for his sins) and hell are cast into the lake of fire. Furthermore, that is where the devil will end up according to Revelation 20:10:

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

So, the end has not yet come, but it's on its way.

From Hell it would appear we can see Heaven and speak to people in Heaven as they can see us.

This now makes more sense now that we have revealed that hell is a holding place for souls, but let's concrete this a bit more and see clearly that heaven is a holding place for souls as well. So, let's look at Revelation 21:1:

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Here we see that heaven, which is the holding place that Lazarus ascended to, is also destroyed and a new heaven and a new earth is built. So yes, those souls in hell can see those souls in heaven until both are destroyed.

It also states that there are gates to Heaven which again have people outside them. Can I assume then that Hell is basically everything outside of Heavens gates.

I would say you don't assume that everything outside the gates of heaven is hell, the earth is outside the gates of heaven but is clearly defined as the earth in Genesis 1:1:

In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.

So hell is a different creation all by itself.

Upvote:-1

Keep in mind that most English translations use the word "Hell" to describe two completely different things: "Hades" (the realm of the dead) and "Gehenna" (the lake of fire). Before Christ, there was no salvation. Jews that kept God's covenant went to a place called Paradise or Abraham's Bosom, while the rest went to Hades. As already mentioned, we are not told that this story is a parable like we are in the other parables (though that doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't). We cannot be certain if its a parable or not, and since we can't be certain about that, we also can't be certain if there was/is a way for people in Hades and Paradise to see and speak to each other.

Since "Hell" in this story is referring to Hades, we cannot infer 'the end' has come, since people were going to Hades since long before Christ. I believe your references to Revelation are speaking about the millennial reign of Christ on Earth. During this time Christ comes to rule the nations/world from Jerusalem. Hell is not outside Jerusalem, and Heaven is not inside. It is still just Earth.

Upvote:3

In this passage Jesus is telling a Parable. Parables are stories intended to make specific points. They are not descriptions of reality. They are not "true stories". If you try push them too hard you will lose the point that is being made. We have no reason to think that there actually was a person called Lazarus to whom this happened. There is no reason to assume from this passage:

  • That Heaven actually has gates
  • That "The End" has come. Jesus could be speaking about something that was going to happen in the future, or just describing a hypothetical interaction
  • That people in Heaven and Hell can really interact

Nor can you say that "Hell is everything outside Heaven". Clearly we live in a place now which is neither. On the basis of other Christian doctrines it is true that eventually every person will be divided into those who are with God, and those who are not.

More post

Search Posts

Related post