Many people think that Lazarus is in heaven right now with Jesus Christ and that the rich man is burning in eternal hell fire.  But is this correct?

Why did Jesus tell the story of Lazarus and the rich man?  Was it to teach about heaven and hell – or something else?  What is the passage of Lazarus and the rich man about?

The account of Lazarus and the rich man is found in Luke 16:19-31.

Luke 16:19  “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
Luke 16:20  “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
Luke 16:21  “desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:22  “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. …

Many people understand “Abraham’s bosom” to mean heaven, and so think that Lazarus went to heaven to be with Abraham.  But the verse doesn’t say that Lazarus went to heaven. 

What does it mean that Lazarus went to Abraham’s “bosom”?  If a parent gives their child a hug, they hold them to their bosom.  It is a picture of an intimate relationship.  Lazarus is pictured as having an intimate relationship with Abraham. Christians have an intimate relationship with Abraham.  In Gal 3:29 it says

Gal 3:29  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

So when it says that after Lazarus died he “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom,” it means that he was carried to receive and share in the promises that were made to Abraham – which of course include eternal life.

But what have the angels got to do with it?  Why is Lazarus carried there by the angels?  The Bible reveals this too.

Mat 24:31  “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The time when the angels carry Lazarus is the time of the first resurrection.  Lazarus being carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom pictures him being resurrected in the future and carried by the angels through the air to meet Christ at His return and to be with Abraham.

Continuing in verse 22.

Luke 16:22  “…The rich man also died and was buried.
Luke 16:23  “And being in torments in Hades [that is the grave], he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

“And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes”, sounds like the rich man is being tormented in hell.  What’s going on here?  Let’s look at a different translation.

NIV – In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

This sounds like the rich man is being tormented in hell too!  It turns out that many Bible translations – including the NJKV and the NIV – make a very bad translation error.  They change the order of the words compared to how they appear in the original Greek.

The word order in the Greek is: “In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torments,” which is what the KJV has.

But what does this mean?  The word Hades comes straight from the Greek.  It just means the grave.  So, the rich man was in Hades – that is the grave; and then he lifted up his eyes. When does that happen?  When will the rich man lift up his eyes?  When he is resurrected.  So, when the rich man is resurrected, he finds himself in torments.  He comes up in a different resurrection to the one Lazarus comes up in.

Revelation chapter 20 describes this.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. [That is, the resurrection of the saints who reign with Christ is the first resurrection.]

Lazarus is pictured as one of the saints.  So, he is resurrected and reigns with Christ for 1000 years.  After the 1000 years are finished, the rich man is resurrected.

To recap, what verse 23 says is: In Hades (that is the grave), the rich man lifted up his eyes (which happens at his resurrection), and found himself in torments (not knowing that 1000s of years had passed since his death), and saw Abraham and Lazarus who had been resurrected and have been enjoying eternal life for a 1000 years. 

Continuing in verse 24.

Luke 16:24  “Then 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.’

When the rich man is resurrected, he sees a flame which torments him. What is this fire?  Scripture describes the final fate of the wicked as being burned up. 

Rev 20:15  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

This lake of fire is where the rich man finds himself.  He is about to be burned up.  His fate is death for all eternity.  He is terrified.  He is in mental agony.  His mouth is dry.  His tongue has stuck to his mouth and throat.  He calls out for water – not to put out the fire – but just a few drops to cool his tongue. 

Continuing in verse 25.

Luke 16:25  But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

What is the great gulf?  It represents the gulf between the wicked who will be burned up and not receive eternal life and the righteous who will receive eternal.

Luke 16:27  “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
Luke 16:28  ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

The rich man realized he was doomed to perish in this lake of fire.  His last thought flashed finally to his five brothers. He gave one last cry to Abraham, begging him to send Lazarus to his father’s house to plead with his brothers, lest they suffer his terrible fate.  He didn’t realise that they died 1000s of years ago.

Luke 16:29  “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
Luke 16:30  “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
Luke 16:31  “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'”

The way to eternal life is found in Moses and the prophets (that is the Bible).  If we are not convicted by the word of God, then nothing will convict us.

At the end of the story we see two outcomes: eternal life for Lazarus and total annihilation for the rich man.

So, what is the passage of Lazarus and the rich man all about?  Jesus told this story not to teach about heaven and hell.  Jesus told this story to the Pharisees who would not repent.  Its purpose was to help them understand there are ultimately only two possible outcomes for each and every one of us: either eternal life if we repent and obey God or total annihilation if we refuse to repent.

Let’s make sure we continue in a repentant attitude so we can join Abraham in the future in eternal life.