What Did Jesus Say About  Hell?

Teaching at DLTC

by Billie Johnson, May 9, 2009

We are going to look at a subject that is not taught much in churches. We need to know what the Bible says as there are many erroneous ways of thinking prevalent today.  Thank you, Shirley for giving me this book by Gordon Lindsay on The Life & Teachings of Christ; Volume 2 Christ Teaches His apostles.  It has helped me think more clearly about death.  Most people are interested in what happens after we die.  Some questions we ponder:  are the dead conscious?  If they are, under what conditions do they exist?  Many people believe in life beyond the grave (immortality) -- but there are different opinions about what happens.  The Bible is the only authority  which tells us the truth about life after death.                      

 Jesus talked about this in Matt10:28 when he said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  This tells us that man can be killed by others but is judged by God and can be destroyed in hell.  Man is more than a body as we’ve taught before.  We have a body and a soul plus a spirit that lives in that body.  Jesus says here that the soul doesn’t cease to exist when the body dies.            

As we look at the scriptures we find Paul telling us in II Cor 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”  Paul is saying he would rather be absent from his body and be with the Lord.  We know then that when a believer dies he goes to be with Jesus; that is a place called paradise or heaven.           

Science has proved that matter or energy cannot be annihilated; done away with completely.  Matter can only  change its form.  Life which is a higher form of matter cannot be removed from existence.  So questions are asked like “Where does the spirit of the unbeliever go after death? What does it experience; what is its existence?  Many are not certain -- does the unbeliever go to heaven or paradise?  Heaven is a holy place and a guilty sinner would hardly find himself in harmony with its holiness.  Where then will he go?  Logic must conclude that he will go where other unsaved persons go.  Like attracts like in the spiritual world as well in the physical.   We say birds of a feather flock together and so do people.  We like to be with those that we agree with.  The Bible says that at death the spirit of the unsaved gravitates to where the other unsaved people are.  That place is called Hades or Hell in the Bible.            

We’ll look at what Jesus said about this subject and even though he didn’t go into detail he discussed the subject.  He gave us all the essential facts about Hades.  His words are a warning to us.  Let’s look at some scriptures:Luke 12:16-20 “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, [and] be merry." But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” I’ve not heard many teach on these verses.  Jesus’ parables were to teach us something -- to illustrate a truth to us.   This parable was an answer to a question of a man who wanted to be sure that he got his share of the family inheritance in Luke 12:13.  The Jewish law gave the eldest brother a double portion of the estate.  Maybe the guy wanted Jesus to change the law so that he got more or that his brother had cheated him.  But Jesus said “Man who made me a judge or a divider over you?”  Jesus came to help men know of their heavenly inheritance and this man was only interested in earthly material things.  Jesus wanted him to know that the Kingdom of God is not of this world.             

Jesus took this opportunity to teach.  We read in Luke 12:15 “And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  In our words today we’d say that happiness doesn’t depend upon having a lot of material things.  The creature comforts don’t meet the needs of the soul; they don’t satisfy its true desires.  Many people live content with little material wealth and others live very miserably even though they have many material things. Some modern day examples that you may have heard about:  Michael Jackson – lots of money, strange life, unhappy man.  Howard Hughes had millions but we’ve heard that he was afraid of people and lived his last years in seclusion. Elvis Presley is another example – people who have everything money can buy but live lives of quiet desperation. We’ve heard it said that money can’t buy happiness and these people certainly show that.  Jesus told the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12 that we just read.  It illustrates a man who had much wealth in his farm.  He had so much he didn’t have room for all the produce in his barns.  But instead of thanking God for his wealth he was only concerned about keeping or increasing his prosperity.  Sometime the person who has much is worried about how he’ll keep it.  The rich man’s question to himself was “What shall l do?”  We don’t see any thought in his mind to help the poor, the fatherless or the widow or the stranger.  He wanted to hoard all his goods for years to come.  His decision was to pull down the barns and build bigger ones (Luke 12:18-19).            

 The scriptures here don’t condemn the man for his business plan.  He is not shown to be wicked or that there is anything wrong about working hard and getting a reward for his labor.  But it does show that he was only concerned about himself!  He thought his goods would go on forever.  He thought he had much goods laid up for many years.  He just intended to eat, drink and be merry.  He was the center of his universe and his thoughts were only on the physical pleasures for his body. That sounds like some people today doesn’t it? He didn’t think of his spiritual needs.  He didn’t live much higher than the pigs in his barnyard!             

But what happened?  God said that he was a fool and that night his soul would be required of him!  Of course, the man didn’t know that yet.  He just continued to give his orders to those under him (his servants). He called in the architects and discussed plans and preparations to get the work done of tearing down the old barns and building new ones.  He continued his planning with little thought that he wouldn’t ever see the sun rise again!           

Finally it was night and he went to bed.  His mind was full of thoughts and schemes of what he would do the next day. We have those times too don’t we?  He was so preoccupied with those things that he didn’t hear the rustling of the wings of Death as he entered his room.  Suddenly the man trembled, then with a great shudder he lay very still.  It happened just that quickly.  Was it a heart attack? We don’t know but his heart stopped beating and he was no longer a living being!            

As he was slipping into eternity did a thought flash through his mind of his spiritual life, did he realize he was unprepared to meet God?  Did he realize that with his death he couldn’t ‘take it with him?’  His treasures would belong to someone else.  His servants found him cold in death the next morning.  What good did all his possessions do him then?  He was no longer spoken to or acknowledged.  One who had given commands now was given a few square feet in the corner of a field – the place of the dead.  Time had ended for him; only eternity remained!  We know no more about this man except that he may have been the rich man in Luke 16 which talks about the rich man and Lazarus.  Jesus concludes the first parable with verse 21 where he says "So [is] he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."            

As we look at the personality of the rich man we see that he was selfish, self centered, and covetous. His favorite pronouns are my corn, my goods, my barns, my soul.  He talked of many years and considered himself to have great foresight.   He didn’t think of using some of his wealth to help others.  He must have believed that charity was to end where it began, strictly at home.  What a contrast there is between what he thought of himself and what God thought of him.  God said, this night (not many years as the man said).  God said he was bankrupt, he was a fool.  He spoke of his soul as his own and God said this night your soul shall be required of you.             The parable of the rich man and Lazarus gives us more knowledge of what happened after the rich man’s death.  It is an analogy between visible things and invisible things.   Jesus said in Luke 16:19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.” In this parable Jesus chose a rich man and a poor beggar to show us what happens after death. Tradition says the rich man’s name was Dives.  He wasn’t accused of being a sinner or that he was vicious.  To the world he may have looked successful and his wealth was not from criminal activity.  He had everything the world had to offer.  He enjoyed the good things of life:  clothed in purple and fine linen and able to indulge in every bodily comfort and luxury.              

A rich man of that day would have had comforts similar to what we have today except there were no cars or airplanes or computers.  He would have to ride a horse or camel or walk or go by sea in a sail boat.  But in that day he would have had a beautiful home because the description that Jesus gives shows that he didn’t worry about cost.  The rich of that day furnished their houses of custom-made furniture, richly upholstered couches, luxurious carpets, costly curtains made of imported silk and silverware of the finest kind.   It was rare but some had running water in their homes.  He probably had large murals painted on the walls of the rooms and lovely mosaic tiles on the floors.  A rich man had many servants to take care of his house and grounds and cook his gourmet food.  Jesus mentions that the man was clothed in purple and fine linen.  The word purple is derived from the dye and was highly prized in those days.  The name ‘Canaan’ means “the land of purple.” The Biblical place called ‘Phoenicia’ means “red purple.”  This color was obtained from a secretion of the mollusk – various kinds would produce different shades of the color.             

A mollusk is a bivalve like a snail or a slug.  Some live in the sea. Some have unique names like nudibranch, scallop and cowrie.  We have many shells of bivalves from our time on Guam.  We’d put on our tennis shoes, get a pair of tongs and a small bucket and then we went shelling when the tide was out and there picked up the live shells. The live shells are more beautiful than the ones you pick up on the beach.  They are from something alive not dead. They have a shell and a mantle that comes out and covers the shell sometimes. Some are very beautiful when they have their mantels out.  They have one large foot and are very primitive organisms.  This one I have as an example is a deer cowrie.  I guess it is named that because of the color and spots on its shell.  Some are poisonous.   There are also money cowries because on some islands they were used for money.  There are gold ringer cowries, named for the gold colored ring around the top of the shell.  I could go on but we need to get back to the story.             

 The city of Tyre was on the sea where the mollusks were obtained and they were one of the chief manufacturers of the dye.  Syria to the north is mentioned in Ezek 17:16 as occupied in making emeralds, purple and embroidered work and fine linen. We see from scripture that purple clothing was considered a sign of distinction, royalty and wealth.  Remember Jesus in John 19:2 and 5 where Herod dressed him in purple in an attempt to mock his claim to being King of the Jews.  So the phrase “clothed in fine linen and purple” was a way of saying that the man was very wealthy.            

Jesus adds that the man “fared sumptuously every day.”  In other words he had the finest food he could obtain!  Fared sumptuously sounds like abundance, much, plenty of food! The common people had a hard time getting enough food and when there was a drought or flood they suffered.  But this man was not common!  He didn’t share their struggles.  This man’s description is close to the one that we first talked about so they could have been the same man.            Let’s go on in that scripture Luke 16:20-21 “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” Jesus tells us that he lay at the rich man’s gate, diseased, hungry, in rags and he only got the crumbs from the rich man’s table.  He was exposed to the weather; his body was covered with sores and was wasting away.  He was maybe the first ‘homeless person.’   The dogs showed him sympathy by licking his sores but the rich man passed by and did nothing to help him.            

There’s one hopeful thing in this picture.  The man’s name was Lazarus which means ‘God my help.’ This poor beggar looked to a hope beyond this world.  His trust was in God.  He saw something beyond the grave.  Death came to the beggar as it will come to us all unless Jesus comes first!  Let’s read the full story.            

Luke 16: 22-31 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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.' 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. 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.'"Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 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 significance of this parable is that Jesus continues the story beyond the point where all human biographers must stop.  In so doing, he reveals what happens on the other side of time.  He lifts the veil of the mystery of death and shows that this event didn’t mark the end for either the rich man or Lazarus.  The spirits of both men immediately went somewhere – to a place, an abode.  However we are informed that their respective spheres where they each went were separated by a ‘great gulf.’  Jesus shows us that at the moment the spirit left the body of Lazarus, angels received it and tenderly carried it to paradise (Abraham’s bosom is the name used by Jesus to describe paradise).              

Angels are a fascinating subject which I don’t have time to go into today.  But from scripture we know that there are Satan and his angels and Jesus and his holy angels. Matt 5:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”             

The first time I saw angels in the spirit was at a church choir practice.  We were in a circle of prayer after practice had ended and suddenly I saw or sensed many wonderful colorful swirling forms above us in the high reaches of the room.  The colors were so vivid and the movement was lovely.  I didn’t see faces only forms and movement but I knew they were angels – God’s messengers that are sent to help those who believe.  I have seen very large angels and very small tiny ones.  I have sensed them dancing, bowing before the throne of God and doing other things.

 It’s not surprising that the angels convey the departed spirits of the righteous to paradise.  The Old Testament scriptures reveal that angels encamp around them that fear him and deliver them in Ps 34:7.  Remember that Jesus said that angels are given charge over those that put their trust in Him.  We find that in Matt 18:10. "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” We don’t know if angels are present all the time in a believer’s life but scripture tells us that they are near at the moment of death. The angel of death is also the spirit of death that comes when a person dies.  We know that this scripture talks about the poor man being escorted to heaven (paradise) by several angels.  Many persons who have near-death experiences have testimonies of seeing angels. For Lazarus he not only had one angel but this tells us that there were several angels – plural.            

The last weeks that my mother was here on earth I believe she saw across the gulf.  She was in a nursing home as I could no longer care for her.  I came in one day and she told me she had seen Pete.  Pete was her younger brother.  I asked her “Mom, how did you see him?”  She said he was just floating around the room.  I asked her if she saw angels with him.  She looked mystified and said no, why should I ask that?  I reminded her that Uncle Pete had been dead many years.  I believe she saw across the gulf that separates us from those who have gone before us in death.             

Let’s go back to the rich man’s death.  He must have thought of death in a sort of detached way as many of us do. We think that life goes on and death is for others; it’s a long way off and we don’t want to think about it.  In Biblical times a rich man would provide himself with a sepulcher – a tomb.  It would be hewed or carved out of the side of some rocky hill. It would be located some distance from the city because they believed that contact with the dead defiled a person.  This information can be found in Leviticus 21:1; and Numbers 6:6; 19:13. Rich people constructed expensive tombs or sepulchers.  It was a mark of distinction to own one that out ranked that of other people.  It cost a lot of money to cut a tomb out of the rock that would last for centuries. Again, while we visited in Jerusalem we saw some of these graves. The poor had graves dug in soft earth which might collapse as the result of erosion or earthquake.  These tombs of the wealthy sometimes had several chambers with opening from one room to another, sort of like a family vault.  The poor and even the well-to-do usually had the bodies of their loved ones wrapped in a winding sheet, as the case of Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha.  Those who had wealth often had a sarcophagus – a casket made of marble or carved out of the rock. Some even had the walls richly decorated with brightly colored paintings.  The more expensive ones might even have a small courtyard in front of the entrance – this is what Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb had where Christ’s body was laid.  We have visited the garden tomb in Jerusalem which is probably like the one Christ was laid in.  It has a lovely garden in front of it and a long channel or groove in the rock where the stone was rolled to close over the opening.  There are places carved out of the rock, like a bed, inside where several bodies could be laid.           

 We don’t know what kind of tomb the rich man had.  We don’t know if he died young or old.  We know that he outlived the poor beggar, Lazarus who was exposed to the weather and malnutrition or he could have died of the sores on his body.  But the hour came when both the rich and the poor man died.  There is nothing cheerful about death and those whose treasures are only what they have in this world find nothing to comfort or reassure them.  Of course when news came that he was dead his five brothers came.  Maybe the rich man asked, “What will death do to me?”  Many people fear death – it is one of the main fears that Satan uses on mankind.             Although the angels received the tired spirit of Lazarus and took it to paradise, nothing is said about them attending the passing of the rich man.  He once had scorned the poor beggar at his gate but now he was the beggar.  Those who reject or ignore God in life deny themselves the presence of angels to attend them in death and instead attract the company of like spirits – Satan’s angels.  Before Judas betrayed Christ, Satan enter into him (John 13:27).  So the devil was present at the time of Judas’ death.  Since Satan and his angels are interested in ruining the lives of as many as possible it is consistent with their purposes to be present at their passing and to lay claim to their spirits when they leave the body.           

Those who look only to material, physical things would say that death makes the end of consciousness.  But what if they are wrong?  What if consciousness does survive death?  Jesus declared that it does.  Remember Matt 10:28 where Jesus told us that man has power to kill the body but not the soul.  Some people believe that all consciousness lies in the physical brain and ceases at death.  When the brain dies or disintegrates, that is the end of the human personality.  But scientific discoveries tell us that large sections of the brain have been surgically removed but consciousness has been retained.  The brain is not the personality. Some thought that when a stick of wood was burned a part of it vanished and was gone.  But when science was able to measure things more accurately it was discovered that when wood was burned the weight of the ashes and the gases that passed off in the burning weighed exactly the same as the original piece!  Nothing was lost; only the chemical form of the matter was changed.            

 In the Smithsonian Institute there are a large number of contrivances consisting of complicated arrangements of levers, weights and springs which according to their inventors were supposed to run forever.  But none of them ever worked.  Man can’t cheat the law of conversion of energy.  Man cannot create or destroy energy.  The release of the energy in an atom bomb is a chain reaction that happens when the atoms are released – the matter is turned into energy.  But matter and energy are not the highest form of substance.  Life is as much above matter as heaven is above the earth.  Where life dwells in man he is the master of matter and energy and able to cause both to perform according to his will.  He can transform energy to matter and also the other way around.  But he cannot cause either to exist or to cease to exist.  If he can’t create or destroy these fundamental things then it stands to reason that life, the highest thing in the universe can’t be annihilated. So then at the time of physical death life passes into another form of existence.           

Jesus tells us that the rich man when he passed from the body found that he was still conscious.  He discovered that his spirit still existed after leaving the body.  Then his next thought was what would happen to him (his spirit) now. Dives (the rich man) had heard that angels were with Lazarus when he died but he realized that he had no holy angels to attend his death and there were none to meet him.  He was the one looking for help now instead of Lazarus who used to lay at his gate wanting help. He probably knew something about God.  The scriptures were read in the synagogue.  He’d been to funerals where they were read.              

Gravity holds everything in the physical world.  The human spirit seems to be subject to that law.  Without help it cannot ascend to heaven so it goes downward.  Jesus tells us the rich man felt his spirit descending to ‘hades’ which the Old Testament calls ‘sheol.’ The Bible makes it clear that the unconverted, those who have died outside of Christ, go to hades at death.   We usually call this place, hell. These few details in Luke 16 are the ones that tell us of this. Again, many people have had visions of hell and most of their testimonies agree.  I believe there is a book out recently that tells of one man’s experience in hell. In John 8:21- 24 we read, “Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins."            

The popular view that a person who dies is changed into a saint is not Biblical.  Some think death makes an angel out of a person who has lived a wicked life on earth.  But Jesus said all who live in their sins must die in their sins.  We hear of some saying that a baby who dies is now an angel in heaven but that is not true according to scripture.            

Remember we said birds of a feather flock together?  A redeemed spirit at death is attracted to the region of light.  But unholy spirits (unredeemed) that are out of harmony with heaven are attracted to regions of night.  Think of two men still alive, one is a devoted Christian, the other a wicked person.  They move to a new town.  Won’t the Christian be attracted to those who live for and worship God?  He is happiest when he is among those who are like-minded. The other man?  Like attracts like! If he is near a church where people are worshipping, will he go there?  No, that does not appeal to him.  Instead he seeks those who enjoy the things he enjoys – those things that are not holy.  Death doesn’t make a difference in men’s taste.  The unregenerate (unsaved) are attracted to the place of others like them.  Since death does not annihilate the human spirit, it must go some place.  The law of gravity has an object falling until it reaches the place where it stops.  So this happens in the spirit realm too, the law of evil attraction controls him and he becomes a victim of this law.           

Back to the rich man – he has found himself in hades, a region where the departed human spirits of the unsaved dwell.  Let’s review the reasons why the rich man came to this unhappy place:

1.  He lived only for this world and made no provision for the next.  He couldn’t say “God is my help” because God helps those that ask for His help.

2. The rich man rejected the call of his conscience.  He had no compassion for the beggar at his gate.  He had lived a “good” life and didn’t think about the poor man who was dying at his gate from hunger.

3.  Scripture infers that Dives had heard the scriptures but he didn’t believe them or he was just too busy to be bothered. Luke 16:31.

4. He had some access to the scriptures – he knew what repentance was Luke 16:30, but apparently he believed that God would perform special miracles in order to get people to repent, Luke 6:31. He hadn’t repented and he died in that condition and went to hell, not because he had been a rich man but because he had not repented.

5.  Since Dives made no preparation for the world beyond, why should he expect anyone else to be concerned about what didn’t interest him?  If anyone tried to talk to him about salvation he probably didn’t want to hear it.

6.  After death he gravitated to a place to which his nature responded.  He couldn’t and wouldn’t have been happy in a place where sanctified beings dwelt.  Dives went,  as did Judas “to his own place” Acts 1:25. When he got there he realized that no holy beings were there.           

All the people in the Old Testament whether good or bad, at death went down to sheol.  But it is important to understand, the wicked and righteous were not in the same compartment – there was a great gulf fixed between the two classes of people.  It was after Christ’s resurrection that he took captivity captive; he removed the righteous from the lower parts of the earth to heaven (Eph 4:8-10).  But the scene Christ was describing here occurred while paradise (Abraham’s bosom) was still in the heart of the earth.            

After the first moments of a great disaster the victims are in a state of shock, so the first hours in hades were for Dives a succession of horrors.  He who had known comfort in his lifetime now knew only discomfort, he saw suffering and he saw people remorseful.  There was nothing there that showed happiness or even a tolerable existence.  He also saw the great gulf fixed which made it impossible for him to escape to cross over into the abode of the righteous.  He must have been in despair!  Anyone in a disaster seeks assistance.  He talked with Abraham and also the other doomed spirits there.  But what he received was nothing to give him any encouragement.  Those who had been there a long time gave him no hope.  No one ever escaped there.           

When he found himself there he tried to get help from Father Abraham.  Conversation wasn’t permitted except under unusual circumstance but for some reason in this case it was. The veil was pushed aside and he was able to see Lazarus and Abraham. Dives had no pride anymore he wanted to make his request.  He didn’t ask to be in paradise because he realized this is impossible.  He knows he can’t be with holy people.  It would increase his suffering and sorrow to be with them.  He didn’t ask to escape from hades. The idea didn’t enter his mind.  Where else could he go; into space?  So he asks the only thing that might be possible.            

So he talks to “Father Abraham.”  The Jews thought their race was a great benefit, even to assure them salvation.  However, Dives realizes only too well that being a Jew didn’t prevent him going to hades.  So he reminds the patriarch that he is his direct descendant.  But look at his request; it is to ask for mercy.  It is only that Lazarus might touch the tip of his finger to the cooling fountains of paradise and apply it to his burning tongue.  This is all that he hoped for and it was denied! Abraham reminds him that there is a gulf fixed between them and Lazarus is unable to cross over even if he wanted to. Luke 16:26.           

 Think for a moment about this gulf – there must be laws that have been fixed by God so that at death the righteous and the unrighteous are separated.  The unrighteous couldn’t enjoy heaven even if they were permitted there.  Their nature is so out of tune and full of sin that they wouldn’t like it. These people didn’t realize that while on earth their very nature was perverted.  In this world the righteous and unrighteous live together.  But this is not to be after death.  There the different elements are separated and this division is permanent.  So Abraham was forced to deny the request of Dives.  There was no way for Lazarus to cross the gulf and he certainly couldn’t go across either.  In 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.”  In other words Dives lived a totally selfish life – it was more important to have the best food, the best of everything than to give one thought to the beggar at his gate!  He had no compassion or pity for the sufferings of others.  So why should he complain now?  So he accepted Abraham’s answer.           

But Dives had one more request!  His life of self-indulgence and spiritual neglect was one his brothers were following.  Even though he was miserable he could see that they too would end up where he was. He didn’t like to think of their meeting him with accusations and blaming him.  He knew that they would probably only curse and have bitter recriminations toward him.  He had taught them by his example. Since it was too late for him maybe he could help his brothers not go to hades. So he asked that Lazarus be sent to them to warm them.  Isn’t it strange that we Christians may not have a desire to tell others of salvation but in hades that desire was prominent?  The motive there is not because of love, because there is no love there.  But it is fear of the curses, the reproaches and the obscene words that will be poured out on them when the disembodied spirits learn of their fate. It is their own sinful condition that makes hades so terrible. ‘Misery loves company’ doesn’t apply in hell.              

“So Dives said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’”   What a delusion!  Many think that miracles or wonders will cause unbelievers to come to repentance.  Miracles may cause some to believe but those who are hardened in self will or committed to self indulgence will not change. Remember the Pharisees and other religious people who didn’t believe in Jesus even after seeing his miracles. Unbelief becomes a disease that destroys the natural faith potential of the soul making it impervious to any evidence of God’s miracle power.  It seemed sensible to Dives that his brothers would believe if Lazarus came back from the dead. What is Abraham’s response?  Abraham said that was a hope in vain, “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.' "Luke 16:31.  God’s word is what brings men to repent. If the ground is good, the seed will sprout; if there is rocky ground or there are thorns, the seed won’t grow.           

We remember the other Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, who was raised from the dead and many believed but the rulers and priests were angry and only wanted to kill Lazarus!  So Dives conversation with Abraham brought him nothing.  Each request was denied.  Prayer obviously is not answered in hell!           

We mentioned that some believe that the dead are not conscious. This story of Lazarus and Dives shows that men are conscious after death.  There are many other scriptures in the Bible that teach this truth (Matt 10:28; Luke 23:42; Luke 20:38; Phil 1:23-24; 2 Cor 5:6, 8; 2 Cor 12:1-4 I Pet 3:18-20; Rev 6:9-11)           

 We know that man has a body, soul and spirit.  Just as the body has five senses so the spirit has corresponding senses.  Dives in hades was quite conscious:

1. He was able to see Luke 16:23; he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham.

2. He could hear-- verses 25-31 – he heard what Abraham said to him.

3. He could talk.  He begged Abraham that Lazarus might come to him.

4. He could taste.  He wanted water applied to his tongue.

5. He could feel.  He was tormented.

6. He had memory.  Abraham, said, “Son, remember. . .

7.  He had remorse.  He wanted Lazarus to go and preach repentance to his five brothers.             

So we know he was conscious and his senses were keen.  How was it possible for the rich man to see when his physical eyes had glazed in death?  How could he taste, or feel, or hear when his body was in the tomb?  The answer is simple, just as the body has find senses so the spirit has spiritual senses.  When a person dreams in his sleep, his eyes may be completely closed. His ears are deaf, but yet he sees and hears.  A dream can be intensely real to the mind as anything experienced when the body is awake.  While a man sleeps what he sees is real to him.  What the spirit of man sees is just as real as what the physical body sees.              

There were no messengers at the gate of death to welcome Dives or conduct him to a place of rest and peace.  A discordant soul is attracted by the deadly magnetism of the place where other discordant spirits dwell.  No true comfort is found in the compartment of hades where the wicked abide.  There is no thirst-quenching water; there is nothing to rest or comfort the soul.  Worst of all, it is a place where there is no hope.  I mentioned in my testimony that the person we were praying for said that she had had no hope but once we came and prayed and talked with her she now has hope!  Alleluia!           

But back to Dives – there was no restoration, healing, or regenerative balm in hades. He didn’t express anticipation at any time of escaping the place.  He realized that he was not fitted to enter the purity and holiness of paradise, which would only accentuate his sufferings.             

Jesus tells us in no uncertain or ambiguous terms that what we do in this world determines for good or ill our welfare and destiny in the world to come.  We are to be ready for that hour when we cross over into eternity.  If it’s considered a worthy thing to warn of dangers that affect mankind, shouldn’t we also warn others about the dangers in eternity?  Christ has given us information about life beyond the veil. The one who lived and died and rose again is certainly qualified to give us the true facts concerning the status of the human spirit after it has departed from this world.  If we believe that Christ spoke only truth, we should soberly consider the implications of what he said and act upon it.             

 If we live only to indulge the physical appetites, and ignore our spiritual nature then at the hour of death we lose it all.  As disembodied spirits man still retains consciousness and memory but has no means to gratify his former appetites.  We’ve learned that man’s moral nature does not change after death.  If he is sinful, profane, and given to uncleanness, if he nourishes hatred, envy, jealousy in his heart; he will feel the same emotions and passions, after his spirit departs the body.           

What about those who have heard the gospel and have had opportunity to accept Christ but have never responded to that call?  They are face to face with the realities of eternity.  There is no way they can go back.  Death is irreversible.  The rich man in hades learned that.  He had access and knew what the scriptures taught; he understood repentance but in hades it was too late for him to act upon what he knew.  There is a saying that where there is life, there is hope.  After life there is no hope for those who didn’t repent before their death.  Jesus said in Luke 13:27-28 “But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.”  If there is any hope in hades the scriptures have very little to say about it.  The scriptures tell us “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?  And, “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. “           

 In Luke 11:24-26 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes he finds [it] swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with [him] seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last [state] of that man is worse than the first." Here we see that wicked, disembodied spirits in this world have a strong desire to inhabit human bodies.  It is inconceivable that God created them in that condition so we are forced to face up to the truth that they were once righteous beings, but were not completely evil.  So there is evidence that the circumstance of leaving their body does not change an evil nature but only fixes it permanently.            

The doctrine of universalism which teaches that all spirits, even including the devil, will be saved seems attractive to some people but all Biblical evidence indicates that this is only wishful thinking and is not reality.  Belief in universalism is a blind refusal to recognize God’s word that “the wages of sin is death.”  My younger sister has rejected biblical truth and is a part of the Scientology religion.  I have studied it so I can try to talk with her. I continue to witness to her when I can. They believe in transmigration – that is at death they are reborn in a different body.  They believe in reincarnation – that they were someone great in an earlier life.  They never say they were a person that was a street sweeper in a previous life! They mix many religious thoughts including Hinduism and Eastern religions. Their religion was started by a science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard so that tells us something about what they think.  It is a religion of works.              

It is clear that the unconverted at death are drawn to the abode of lost spirits.  There they mingle with others who have lived and died in their sins. We’ve learned that redemption can’t be accomplished in hades. The kind of conversation between wicked spirits in hades is similar to words that they said while on earth:  ridicule, sarcasm, unholy jesting, obscene allusions, hollow compliments, impure solicitations mingled with curses and blasphemies.  How can good water come from an evil fountain?  How can a lost sinner change from evil to good in such an environment?  The rich man had no such hope.           

Dives had a conversation with Abraham.  So we know the people in hades have the capacity to talk with one another, but not to their edification.  Perhaps at times they may express regrets for their predicament but their general communication must be of an unholy nature. Some question whether lost spirits are tormented by physical flames.  We know that Dives wanted water to quench his thirst.  But physical fire has no effect on spirit.  The flames of hades are the fires of lust, evil, desires, and perverted inclinations that can’t be quenched.  Each spirit is overcome by the ruling passions that prevail and those that come into those regions quickly abandon themselves to the prevailing influences around them.  Hades provides no physical comforts, no soul peace, no ease; it is a world of fantasy, illusion and disappointment.  The spirit craves for things for which there is no means of satisfaction.  As far as we can see, the doctrine of purgatory has no scriptural basis and it is not even logical.  One of the most torturing elements in hades is the recognition of former friends on earth.  The rich man recognized Abraham and Lazarus.  He didn’t want to meet his five brothers who were following a course that would lead to the same place where he was.           

Sometimes the question is asked if all lost spirits inhabit the same compartment of hades.  It appears that they don’t.  There are different spheres in hades in which the inhabitants congregate, according to their degree of evil.  Some demons are more wicked than others, Luke 11:26.  Deuteronomy 32:22 speaks of the lowest sheol (hades) which indicates that it has various division.  Some spirits are more wicked than others. So those with like nature would be more apt to associate with each other.           

God in His mercy desires to save men from the consequences of sin.  But while salvation is freely offered to the world millions still refuse, and millions more are content to just speculate upon the truths connected with redemption.  But for every willing heart, God in heaven has a mansion prepared.  God is a good Creator and he permits spirits of like natures and tendencies to congregate.  So the opposite elements of good and evil are kept separate; one does not enhance the misery of the other, or detract from the bliss of the redeemed.  For this reason no unclean thing shall enter the Holy City that John saw in Revelation 21:22.                      

Christ’s description of Dives’ experience in hades is a matter of importance. The spirit at physical death must go somewhere, and it is all important that hades not be that place!  But we know that no man can save himself.  He must go to Christ who has promised to accept all who come to Him.  In John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”  There has to be true repentance not just a desire to escape hades.  Too late Dives knew that it took more than a superficial reformation.  He recognized that it took genuine repentance.           

 Abraham’s words implied that those who would enter paradise must be willing to make God’s word the supreme rule in their life.  In the rich man’s time “the law and the prophets” were God’s word to the people then.  But we now have the New Testament, the New Covenant as our heritage.  It includes the words of Jesus who said in John 3:3 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

            We must be born again.  Our natures must be changed while we live on this earth.  Our unconverted nature has only one tendency and that is downward and toward sin.  Those who yield themselves to sin consistently are drawn deeper and deeper into evil until their inclinations become altogether unholy.  To die in that condition, means that the person will go to the region -- where his nature has an affinity.  He will be attracted to the prevailing element to which his fallen nature responds!                         

And that is what Jesus said about Hell and by comparison, Heaven!