It is certainly not impossible for the very rich to enter heaven (many heroes of the Bible were wealthy), but Scripture is clear that it is very hard (Matthew 19:23-24 Mark 10:23-25 Luke 18:24-25). Not only do riches not get one into heaven, but they have the power to separate a person from God in a way that few other things can. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter” (James 5:5). Yet, as the apostle James exhorted, “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. Likewise, he believed the poor and destitute, like Lazarus, were cursed by God. Like many these days who buy into the “prosperity gospel,” the rich man wrongly saw his material riches as evidence of God’s love and blessing. Those in hell will perfectly recollect missed opportunities and their rejection of the gospel. He was eternally separated from God, and Abraham made it clear to him that there was no hope of ever mitigating his pain, suffering, or sorrow. That’s why his requests were merely to be comforted and to have a warning sent to his brothers. Notice the rich man didn’t ask for his brothers to pray for his release from some purgatorial middle ground, thereby expediting his journey to heaven. When unbelievers die, they are just as immediately in the conscious pain, suffering, and torment of hell. When believers die, they are immediately in the conscious fellowship and joys of heaven. The transition to our eternal state takes place the moment we die (2 Corinthians 5:8 Luke 23:43 Philippians 1:23). This story also illustrates that once we cross the eternal horizon, that’s it. Like the rich man in the story, multitudes today are complacent in their conviction that all is well with their soul, and many will hear our Savior tell them otherwise when they die (Matthew 7:23). The Bible is clear that every person who has ever lived will spend eternity in either heaven or hell.

Yet Christ spoke about hell a great deal, as did Paul, Peter, John, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews. Some even teach “universalism” – the belief that everyone goes to heaven. Sadly, many preachers shy away from uncomfortable topics such as hell. Parable or not, however, there is much we can learn from this passage:įirst of all, Jesus teaches here that heaven and hell are both real, literal places. There is some question as to whether this story is a true, real-life account or a parable, since two of its characters are named (making it unique among parables).

Story of lazarus in bible