So, I was doing Bible study with some of my mates, and we stumbled upon a story from Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. I remember it being a really sad story, so I started reading it out loud, and within a few verses, I was covered in goosebumps. The room fell completely silent, and by the end of the story, everyone was speechless.
Now, that is a rare sight in our Bible study. It's such a powerful and challenging story that I wanted to make a video on it, so that's what you're watching now. Okay, sorry about the goofy drawings; this is meant to be a serious video, so let's get into it.
I think the best way to do it is if I just read out the story, and I'll do some drawings behind it. I don't really need to say much, so if you just pay attention while I read it, it'll start to hit you. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.
” But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been set in place so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.
” He answered, “Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. ” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.
” “No, Father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. ” He said to them, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. ” I want you guys to really picture this story.
So, this rich guy—some say his name is Dives—he is excessively rich, like over-the-top rich. He wears purple fabric, which is so rare that it is reserved exclusively for kings. I imagine he would have many banquets where he'd have all his family and friends come around and share a huge meal with him.
He'd have many servants at his disposal, living in absolute luxury. And then there's Lazarus. He was a beggar, so he had nothing.
Luckily, someone was kind enough to take him to Dives's gate so that he could rummage through the rubbish and the leftovers to find some crumbs from these immaculate banquets they used to share. While searching for crumbs to fulfill his insatiable hunger, he would be licked by feral dogs, which had infected wounds covering his skin. And these weren't nice little domesticated puppies; these were rough, wild dogs of Jerusalem.
The story progressed, and both of these men die. And how does it describe Lazarus's death? Well, if Jesus were to talk about the physical realm, it would probably go a little something like this: Lazarus was carelessly tossed into a filthy cart, pushed through the town as more dead bodies were lumped on top of his, taken to Gehenna, the rubbish dump, and incinerated.
But that's not what Jesus says; he's carried by a band of angels to heaven to Abraham's side. Now, this is where the story gets really, really interesting because we take a step into the afterlife. We get insight into the dynamic between heaven and hell.
In the story, Dives, the rich man, is sent to hell. So, what do we learn about this place called hell? Firstly, it's real.
This seems to be a physical place where people are sent after they die. It's instant; there's no waiting room, there's no in-between period. Dives is sent straight from Earth to hell.
It's final. The whole time while Dives is pleading to Abraham, he never once makes an attempt to escape because he knows in the back of his mind this is it; there is nowhere else he can go. It's justified in his attempts to reason with Abraham.
Dives knows exactly why he was sent to hell, and he knows there's nothing he can do to change that. It's tormenting. It seems that Dives was sent to hell with all of his memories of his friends and family intact, as he pleads with Abraham, pleading to show mercy to his friends and family.
He is stuck, tormented by the memory, knowing that his friends and family—which he spent hours with, partying and celebrating and indulging in luxuries—are all walking down the same path he did and will end up at the same destination. And it's absolutely excruciating. The physical pain described by Jesus is agonizing; it's like an eternal fire burning up your body.
It is not a place that you would want to go under any circumstances. But, on the other side of the coin, we have heaven here as well. Well, what can we learn about heaven?
Well, I actually think the first three points about hell can also be said for heaven: it's real, it's instant, and it's final. You're in heaven; there's no going back to Earth, and there's no going to hell. This is your resting place for eternity.
It's comforting after years of Lazarus suffering with sword, war, suffering with injustice and loneliness. Finally, he is taken to Abraham's side, where he is comforted. It's also timeless.
It's very interesting to me that Lazarus was sent to Abraham's side. Now, Abraham was a man who died hundreds and even thousands of years before Lazarus was even born. So, that tells me that when we go to heaven, we're going to be reunited with many people that have died before us, and maybe many years before us.
It will be a culmination of all of the believers in history worshiping God together, and that, to me, is pretty exciting. Guys, we need to wake up. Hell is not an eternal piss-up with raving music and unlimited booze served by demons; it's a place of unbearable agony.
If you call yourself a Christian, you've got two jobs to do after this video finishes. The first is to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. You've got to make sure you're on the right side of God.
And I'm not saying work for your salvation; I'm talking about getting right with our heavenly Father. How does that work? It's repenting of any repeated sins that are shackling you to this planet, realizing the almighty power and wrath of God.
It's time you need to get off the fence and give your life to the Lord. The second thing you need to do is warn your loved ones. It is your duty as citizens of heaven to tell those you love the truth.
It's not your role to save them; the Lord does that. But, as it says in Romans 10:14, how can they put their trust in Him if they have not heard of Him? And how can they hear of Him unless someone tells them?
If you love someone, you must warn them of hell, or you may find yourself someday looking down from heaven and seeing a gathering of your closest beloved friends and family crying out to you, "Why? Why didn't you tell us? " Put your trust in the one with the keys to death and Hades.
Cling to the one who can say to you in your last moments on Earth, "Today you will be with me in Paradise. " There is hope for the unsaved. Trust in the merciful God, pray to Him, tell Him your heart, and shine the light of Jesus Christ in their lives.
There is hope for them, and that hope is Jesus Christ, our Lord.
