This story appears in Luke 16:19-31, and many people believe that this is
positive proof that people go to heaven or hell as soon as they die -- but
let's look closely.
Is this story LITERAL, or a PARABLE? For it to be literal, all parts of it
must be "real" --
Is "Abraham's bosom" a real place? No. Could a single drop of water really
relieve a man's suffering in hell? No. So we are faced with the fact that
this is a parable, a story told to teach a moral lesson.
o This story was the FIFTH of FIVE PARABLES that Jesus spoke to the Jewish
multitude. [ LUKE 15:4-7 "The lost sheep"; LUKE 15:8-10 "The lost coin";
LUKE 15:11-32 "The Prodigal son"; LUKE 16:1-13 "The unjust steward";
LUKE 16:19-31 "The rich man an lazarus" ]
o The writings of Josephus (Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades, in
Works) recorded the Pharisee's beliefs regarding the afterlife, which were
NOT Biblical. They erroneously believed in a conscious state between
death and the resurrection, ala the Greek Hades.
o This parable was use to show that a person's destiny is decided by the
decisions made in this present life. Jesus used this story because it
was a popular belief at the time, not because it was a literal account.
(see previous point)
o The beggar represents the Gentiles, and the rich man represents the Jews.
Their pride and exclusiveness led them to abhor the Gentiles, which is
wrong.
o Why did Jesus name the beggar "Lazarus"? Luke 16:31 tells us why: "If
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will the be persuaded,
though one rose the dead." ALter, Jesus raised Lazarus, and they
remembered the parable, and Jesus's warning -- yet they still did not
believe.
This story is not literal. In Luke 16 Jesus was NOT talking about the
state of the dead -- like all other parable THIS ONE MUST BE INTERPRETED
IN HARMONY WITH THE CONTEXT AND GENERAL TENOR OF SCRIPTURE.