![]() The dead are not asleep or extinguished.It is also a place of outer darkness where men weep and gnash their teeth in anguish and remorse. Hell is a place of unquenchable (Matt.3:12) and eternal fire (Matt.18:8), "where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mk.9:48). Hell is given much more description than Heaven, as if the stick were a more important motive than the carrot. Heaven and Hell are real and Jesus says more about them than anyone else.The angels are active: they attend Christ (IIThes.1:7) they bring news of salvation (Lk.2:14) they rejoice over our salvation (Lk.15:10) they protect God's children. The angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's bosom.When have we done enough? In this story, the beggar's presence at the gate demanded a response from anyone walking by the gate, so there would seem to be no excuse. Sins of omission are much more difficult to evaluate in ourselves and others than sins of commission. He only neglected him, a sin of omission. There are a number of other lessons in this parable. Then why should we bother? Because of God's command to preach regardless of whether people are receptive or not. We often are disappointed with our own poor attempts to convince people of the Gospel, but even solid evidence for the Resurrection could not turn the hard-hearted to God. No wonder that Jesus appeared only to the believers. Acts 4:2Įven the miraculous release of Peter and John from prison did not stop the Jewish leaders from trying to smother the truth. Peter and John were arrested for speaking about it. The chief priests tried to kill Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, whom Jesus raised from the dead. Two examples corroborate Jesus' word on the resurrection and its failure to persuade unbelievers. Abraham observed that even a resurrection would not convert those who turned away from God's Old Testament message. But the rich man insisted that a resurrected person would be more powerful a persuader than Moses and the Prophets. Abraham replied that the Law and Prophets were enough to lead them to Paradise. Failing at that, the rich man asked for Lazarus to go and preach to his five brothers. Abraham replied that no one could get across the abyss that separated them. The rich man did not protest the injustice of his plight but asked Abraham to send him some water by Lazarus. The rich man also died and was buried (perhaps the beggar's body had been thrown in the dump) and ended in Hades. At the door of his villa lay a sick beggar named Lazarus, hungry for crumbs, with sores licked by the town dogs. ![]() A rich man lived in luxury with the finest of clothing and food. What God has joined together let man not put asunder." (Matt.19:5–6 referring to Gen.2:24)ġ6:19–31 Then Jesus went on to amplify His message with a second parable about money. "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. What the Law of Moses said about divorce pertained to a special case, the remarriage of a divorced woman: "When a man takes a wife.if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce.and becomes another man's wife.and the latter husband dislikes her and writes her a bill of divorce.then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife."(Deut.24:1–4)īut Jesus based His teaching of divorce on the pre-Law teachings of Genesis. Rabbi Akiba thought that finding a prettier woman would be grounds for divorce. "Thou shalt not commit adultery" “Thou shalt not covet….” (Could they have understood?)įor example, the Pharisees were taught by Rabbi Hillel that a man could divorce his wife if she upset him by burning his supper. But the substance of the Law did not change. The Gospel was exciting very strong reactions: angry rejection, or aggressive pursuit. The Law and the Prophets was an era of 2000 years that ended with John the Baptist and was succeeded by the era of the Gospel (probably news to them).They might be able to convince the public of their virtues, since wealth was seen as a sign of God's favor, but God was able to see their hearts and found their greed abominable.Jesus then gave them a series of four short responses. Hell.ġ6:14–18 When Jesus finished the parable of the bad steward and said we cannot serve God and money, the Pharisee who were listening in, laughed.
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