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A Personal Guided TOUR OF THE NETHERWORLD
Part 4
Now stop for a minute the rich man is remembering his life on Earth
Luke 16:19-31
19There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores.
22And 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;
23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24And 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.
25But 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.
26And 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.
27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one
rose from the dead.
Earth did you catch that? In the grave our memory of life is not erased.
He’s still conscious. He’s remembering as he will remember for eternity. He remembers his loved ones.
He is conscious of their Destiny. He begs Abraham to do something but Abraham
simply tells him in verse 29.
Abraham said to him they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them verse 30. He said no Father Abraham
but if one goes to them from the dead they’ll repent. Do something Supernatural verse
31 but he said to him if they do not hear Moses and the
prophets. Which means if they aren’t responsive to God’s word. That’s what
Moses and the prophet means neither will they be persuaded though one Rises from the
dead.
Now don’t we know that’s true Jesus rose from the dead. People are still not persuaded.
Now I want you to note something Jesus points out for us. It is Recorded here in God’s word.
This is often overlooked but it’s extremely revealing. Look at the careful record of the names
in this passage notice Abraham is Abraham. Lazarus the beggar is Lazarus
but the rich man has no name. That is very significant.
Everybody else. Moses is Moses. The rich man has no name. He had his
memories. He had his awareness of his surroundings. He knows the hopelessness
of the situation. He has only one thing. He wants more than a drink of water and that’s to
save his five brothers. But he doesn’t have a name that’s intentional.
Why does the Lord point that out because in the grave no one needs a
name especially in the unhappy side of Hades. There’s no need to identify anyone
ever again.
There’s no reprieve. No visitors Allowed. No hope is given. No need for a name.
For all intents and purposes the rich man is dead. Although he’s eternally aware of it.
He is a nameless and faceless occupant on a doomed train that will never
stop.
If you think about it. Lost people are like the rich man. They face Eternal, Conscious, Perpetual
lonely torment. They being forever dead. Yet forever existing. They each can
inescapably remember the times they heard how they could have escaped the torment but they
don’t think about that.
That’s what awaits our friends. That’s what awaits for the people at
school, our co-workers, our distant relatives, our close relatives and
all the others we see.
As we go through life that’s what awaits them. They become a nameless and faceless very aware
occupant in the waiting room. This is not yet hell. This is the vestibule the waiting room.
Think of that every time you say to yourself. Well I’ll witness to them
next time.
Also remember that every time you share the gospel. And the person says no not today, maybe
tomorrow.
You see that’s why Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord. We persuade people. You know Paul wasn’t one of these careless, you know whatever the
Lord wants is going to happen people.
He knew the terror of hell and he persuaded people that they needed to come to Christ.
Now he knew that the Lord knows that the Lord is
known unto him from the beginning from before the foundation of the world. Who would come but it
still caused him to have a holy Terror, a dread of anyone going to this
place.
Well why was the man in torment. Jesus tells us that Lazarus was enjoying
life after death in the glory of Heaven’s waiting room. The rich man is suffering the torments
of Hell’s waiting room but again we ask ourselves what was the sin of the rich man?
Well the rich man couldn’t have been said to be guilty of Cruelty because
Jesus doesn’t tell us that he ordered Lazarus to be carted away from his gate.
I mean that would have been cruel. Here’s this sick sore covered Dog Licked beggar.
You could say off my sidewalk but he didn’t do that. The rich man could have been said
couldn’t be said to be guilty of hatred.
Jesus doesn’t tell us that he locked the garbage can Lids so that that the trash the bread hand wipes could
never get to him. The rich man couldn’t be said to be guilty of murder.
Jesus doesn’t tell us that He would run over Lazarus with his luxury Carriage as he went off on his Pursuits.
He wasn’t intentionally horrible. The rich man wasn’t guilty of violence.
Jesus doesn’t tell us that he harmed Lazarus at all.
I want you to think about the lesson of this story. The only sin we can see from God’s
word is that this rich man seems to never have even noticed
Lazarus.
I want you to think of that to the rich man the poor dying beggar was
just another Clump on the landscape.
This man was focused on his life his goals. He was successful. He was a fine upright great guy focused on his
life. To this rich man it was perfectly natural and inevitable that Lazarus should lie in pain and
hunger while he wallowed in luxury. As someone said it is not what Dives the rich man did that got
him into heaven.
It’s what he did not do that got him into hell.
Think about that most people in hell will not be notorious Sinners. They’ be kind of nice
people. What will get them there is what they did not do.
Now turn back for just a moment to Christ’s words in Matthew 7.
Because I want you to see again in this context what Jesus says to the people who claim
that they deserved Heaven.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:21
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
He who does think about that salvation is when God grants us repentance.
Repentance is a change in our minds that results in a change in our
Behavior.
The rich man never had a change in his mind and his behavior never
changed.
That these who are indicted by Christ in Matthew 7 said all the right things but there was
never a change in their behavior. They never became those who did the will of
God.
I want to emphasize Jesus paints an unforgettable picture. In this picture of
Luke 16.
We see a man who could look on the world’s suffering and the incredible
desperate needs all around him.
He simply never feel any conviction from God to respond to it.
He just lived his life. The rich man would look at fellow
humans. Who were starving and deathly ill. He didn’t do anything about
it. So Jesus Paints the picture of the punishment for those who never notice
others. When God’s word is not received.
Christ’s compassion is also noticeably absent.
Remember Jesus his love personified and everybody that was near him said he
was constantly moved by compassion. When Jesus moves into us. He changes our
personality. We slowly began to become like him but why was the part added that
Jesus told us about refusing to send a warning to the Rich Man’s family?
Could it be that Jesus was saying it to those who are exposed to God’s word?
Yet when they see pain, sorrow and dying in this world. It doesn’t move them.
They have no feeling and no action.
That nothing can change him. That’s something to think about. The terrible warning of the sin of the rich
man of Luke 16 is not that he did wrong things but that he did
nothing. Nothing noticeably did he do that was God’s will.
He just was a great guy good Steward of all the stuff he had what happened to him.
Well God’s word was never received his heart. He was never convicted of his sins.
Always remember Jesus said those who are saved who know him.
Matthew 7:21
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Will do the Will of God. If there’s never been a change from it being my life, my will, my plan,
my goal, my stuff, my Pursuits and my pleasure to being not my will but yours be
done.
Then maybe the heart hasn’t changed. In other words when God’s word is
believed. Our life begins to change. Our self centeredness slowly begins to be
mortified-subdue (the body or its needs and desires) by self-denial or discipline.
Our self-indulgence begins to be Sanctified away. Our self sacrificial life that we
see in Jesus becomes our Pursuit, our desire and the compassion of Christ’s love begins
to take root into our heart.
It starts growing.
We should listen to Christ’s tour of the grave.
We should let the truth of the rich man that Jesus doesn’t say anything about his sin
settled deeply on our heart. We need to realize it doesn’t take serial murder serial,
rapists. It doesn’t take Satanist orgies to go to hell.
It just takes neglecting living for me that’s what the majority of people are going to
be like in Hell.
As we Ponder the grave.
We think about the gift of Salvation and especially the 40 times that you described
Hell.
As we look at the plight of the Lost may we be deeply moved with compassion.
That sharing the gospel is not an option like on a luxury car.
That we can say I don’t want that one but it’s part of what you left us here.
For we’re Ministers of your reconciliation. We declare that we were
snake bitten. We were hopeless. We were Paralyzed by our sin.
We were dying and you saved us.
Oh how we love you and how we want to tell others about the wonderful change that
you brought about in our lives. When you Lord Jesus saved us.
I pray as we look through the doorway of the grave and see hell through your
eyes. That you will change us. That you will fill us with compassion. That people will not be
little clumps in the landscape but that your compassion will
move us to do the will of Our Father in Heaven in the precious name of Jesus we
pray.
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
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A Personal Guided TOUR OF THE NETHERWORLD Part 4
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