Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

 Good morning. There was a rich man, and he normally dressed in fine clothes, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores. Notice that the rich man is never named, but the poor man is. The phrase covered with sores is a common medical term, and of course this is written by Luke the physician. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. What a contrast in what happened to each after they died. This was before the cross, so shouldn’t it be at least this good, if not better now? In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus with him. Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame. This is before the final judgment, and there was torment even at this point. During your life you received your good things, and Lazarus bad things; but now he’s being comforted here, and you are in agony. It is might nigh impossible to make people understand what will happen if they do not accept Jesus. Besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. This is where campus Crusade gets their illustration for one of their four spiritual laws. Well, he’s toast. So now he thinks about his family. He wants Abraham to send Lazarus to speak to his brothers to warn them so that they won’t be sent here. They have Moses and the prophets. If someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent! If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. Father thank You that we will spend eternity in Your presence. Help us to always keep our eyes on You.

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