The Unjust Manager and the Reality of Hell
Book of Luke Chapter 16 Verses 19 through 31
What is the truth of the Scriptures? People will spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell after our death, based on our belief about what the Word of God tells us about being saved.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
When we come into the House of God, we come in as the sons and daughters of the Almighty Living God.
When we leave to go outside the House of God, we are to leave as stewards. We are to be stewards outside the House of God as long as we are upon this earth!
In the first part of Chapter 16, we have a parable that describes us as we leave the Church to go outside the Church.
The rich man in this parable is a picture of God. We already know that we are to be the stewards.
Not many of us can say we have been perfect stewards in our lives after our salvation.
When we go outside the Church, we are to be the light of the earth, but to be quite honest, most of us have been kind of dull most of the time. I know I have failed the Lord many times. Far too many times.
God has given us the Gospel through His Son, Jesus, and we are to share the Gospel with those outside the Church.
God will call us to account one day, just as this Master called his steward.
What will we say because it will not be time for excuses?
This steward was removed from his position, so what did that make him?
In this parable, it made him be at the mercy of those people around him.
He needed some way to make them his friends.
He made a personal contract with each of the Master’s debtors, which meant robbing the Master of his just repayment.
He reduced one debt by fifty percent.
He gives another twenty percent discount.
He does similar things to all the Master’s debtors.
He did this, looking to his future on this earth to secure shelter and food, material things of this earth.
He did this without any knowledge of his Master.
He was an unjust man, but he was wise, looking ahead when he had no means to care for himself.
What the Lord Jesus is teaching the Church is that we are not that wise.
We have a certain future written with the blood of Jesus Christ, but we live as if we have forgotten the debt we owe to the Lord.
It is the love of money, the craving for riches, that is the root of all the evil we see in our world.
1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
So, the big question for each believer is what we will give to the Lord and what we will try to keep for ourselves.
The Lord Jesus gave His life for us, and He asks whether we are willing to do the same for Him.
Luk_9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
God has given us Spiritual blessings that we never have to repay, but each of us is still God’s property with all that we possess.
Our life and our property are on loan from God.
The importance of earthly wealth is lost forever!
It is how we deal with these things that shows our relationship with God.
As Jesus said to His disciples, we cannot have or serve two masters!
God knows what is in our hearts.
The Lord moves on to the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
We should know that when the Holy Spirit uses real names, then a story is no longer a parable, but it teaches us like a parable.
*Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
We should see this story in the Bible as the actual truth and not as a parable.
The Lord gives the name of Lazarus, and the Lord also gives us Abraham as if he is still living, which we know to be true of all those in Heaven who have gone on before us.
This man had everything his money could buy.
The Lord Jesus does not recognize those whose name is not written in Heaven, so we do not have his name.
Mat_7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
All those in Heaven are more alive than they could have ever been when they were in this life.
Luk 20:37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Luk 20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
This rich man had done very well while he was living, and he was enjoying himself very much.
Today, nothing this rich man did would be called a sin, but the poor beggar would be just some homeless beggar who could get no help.
Lazarus was a poor, disabled man who had to be laid at the gate of this rich man because he could not walk by himself.
Lazarus was covered with sores and had no way to get help.
Lazarus lay at the gate of this rich man in the hope of just getting a few crumbs from the rich man’s table.
This rich man had everything, but God said Lazarus had nothing but God.
When a dog licks a wound, they are able to detect any changes in the scent or taste of the wound. This can be helpful in detecting infections or other issues that may need attention. Dogs are also known to have antibacterial properties in their saliva, which can help to clean and disinfect wounds.
Dogs may lick wounds as a form of comfort or reassurance, much like how a mother dog would groom her puppies. It is a way for them to show love and support.
*Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Life on earth can be good at times, but at some point, we die to this world.
The one thing that happens is that there is a big difference in life with Jesus and life with the Devil.
For Lazarus, he was no longer in misery, and angels delivered him to a wonderful place where he would never suffer again.
Abraham’s Bosom:
We know that Abraham is the patriarch of the Hebrew children. The word “Bosom” suggests kindness, secrecy, intimacy, and security.
Christ was in the Bosom of His Father: Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Jesus Christ our Savior carries His children in His Bosom: Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
The theory of Abraham’s Bosom was taught as a place of happiness where the souls of believers could expect to be upon their death before the time of Christ.
They were sitting down and feasting with Abraham the Hebrew Father in Paradise until the Messiah came to live and die and rise to new life, for all God’s children.
Abraham’s Bosom was a place of honor and the safekeeping of souls until the work of the Messiah.
As for the rich man, he had an elaborate funeral, and then he was just buried, but that was not all; he woke up in Hell.
Lazarus lived as he had never lived here on earth.
He did not die. Oh, he might have left that old body wherever it was thrown.
On the day of Lazarus, many of the poor were just tossed into the trash dump and not buried at all.
Before that old cold body hit the ground, Lazarus was in the arms of God’s angels getting a free ride to true Paradise.
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Before the Lord emptied Paradise and took them on to Heaven, all the Old Testament Saints would have been in this place called Paradise, at least this is what the Pharisees taught.
They would have welcomed Lazarus right on in.
It was not the same for the rich man.
*Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And 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.
It was the death angel that snatched that rich man from his comfort and pleasures from the material things of this earth.
The English word “Hell” comes from the Greek word “Hades”. The Hebrew word for Hell is Sheol, for the world of the dead.
This is the place the rich man was sent to. He was unfit for Paradise.
He had lived in the only paradise this world has to offer, and the world only offers this paradise to those who are rich.
He had lived off the material world and refused to share any part of it with the poor.
Pro 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
This rich man only got to peek at the glory that Lazarus was now enjoying.
*Luk 16:24 And 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.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
This rich man was in a place where he was alone.
A big mistake the rich man made was praying to Abraham. Abraham had no power to help him, even if he chose to do so.
He could see no one else in Hell, but he could see what was happening in paradise.
This should dampen the spirits of all those who say there will be a big party in Hell when they get there.
What Jesus is saying is that a person will be tormented in Hell, and part of that torment is an eternity in loneliness.
Jesus said they would face an eternal burning sensation of agony. If one drop of water could provide some relief, then this man was indeed suffering.
Lazarus had plenty of water, but it was not to share with those in Hell.
The rich man would never find any relief in Hell.
The Lord Jesus says nothing about Lazarus being aware of the Hell this man was suffering.
The Lord Jesus explains just how much misery there is with eternal life in Hell.
We already know that there must be some places in Hell with different degrees of suffering, and it seems that this man is in a place of the least amount of suffering, but it is still eternal misery.
The rich man begged Abraham for another chance, which could not be granted.
He then begged Abraham to make sure someone would go to his brothers to witness to them about salvation so they would not go to Hell.
He was saying that He did not want to ever see his brothers again and prayed they would be wiser than he had been.
Everyone in Hell today is a prayer warrior, but it is much too late for them to pray in Hell when they should have prayed while they were alive.
No matter what any denomination says, there are no second chances in Hell once you get there.
No one upon this earth can pray you out of Hell!
If they cannot trust the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation while they live, there is nothing that can change their eternal destiny.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who tells us of a great gulf that is fixed between this Paradise and Hell.
*Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Matthew Henry writes: “In this world, blessed be God, there is no gulf between a state of nature and grace; we may pass from sin to God, but if we die in our sins, there is no coming out”.
This verse is hard to explain because if we look at the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, then we see that Moses and Elijah were already in their glorified bodies, so we cannot say they came from a place called Paradise, but they had to come from the presence of God the Father, who spoke to the Apostles Peter, James, and John.
This was certainly the belief of the Jews, and the Lord Jesus was teaching in front of the Pharisees.
The theory that Hell has two compartments, one for the righteous and the other a place of torment for the wicked, may be just a theory taught by the Jews.
It is believed that the Lord Jesus is using the beliefs of these Pharisees to prove them wrong in their interpretations of the Scriptures.
The Lord Jesus is teaching us about the contrast of life between the wicked and the righteous.
Then the Lord Jesus teaches us the contrast between the death of the righteous and the wicked who end up in Hell.
The Lord Jesus tells us that He drew back the veil to give us a glimpse of our life in the true Paradise.
Where was Lazarus actually located? Rev_22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
It was too late for the prayers of the rich man.
*Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
If we think about it, it is this rich man who dug this great chasm that separated him and his abundance from Lazarus. He had never thought about God being on the side of Lazarus.
When he shut out Lazarus, he had shut out God.
We have to be careful of these types of things as we live our lives.
It was also too late to think about his other family members.
Lazarus could no more bring him a drop of water than he could reappear to go warn this man’s brothers.
We can assume that this man’s brothers lived by the same set of values as he had lived by.
Abraham replied that this man’s brothers had the same Word of God that he had, the Books of Moses and of the prophets.
The rich man said a great truth: the Books of Moses cannot save anyone. The Law can only take you so far. Only Jesus can take us to the true Paradise, Heaven.
The truth is that people who are deaf to Moses and the Prophets would pay no attention to someone who was raised from the dead.
*Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
They had a lot of evidence from the time of Christ, but they had ignored the evidence that they had.
The same thing is happening today!
We must be believers in the Word of God to accept the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Notice that the rich man in Hell still thinks he is smarter than Abraham, who was already in Paradise.
The message of Hell must be presented along with the Gospel, but it must be taught in love, like all the Gospel.
The fire we know of here upon earth is material and temporary.
Earthly fire does not last forever!
Nothing on this earth will last forever!
The fires of Hell are spiritual and are eternal, never-ending.
We cannot shrink away from the truth of Hell.
The worst part of Hell will always be eternal separation from God!
This one thing is much worse than any physical experience that we can imagine here in this life.
This is the most important point that the Lord Jesus is making here.
We must do everything we can to stay out of Hell!
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Amen