Hell Isn't Eternal Torment. Hell and Purgatory Invented to Pay the ChurchWhen God told Adam that if he ate of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" that he would "surely die" (Genesis 2:17) He did not mean live forever in torment. This idea is an invention of the devil to paint God as a devil. The word "hell" is found 54 times in the King James Bible. It translated from the Hebrew word "she'ol" meaning the grave 31 times, and from the Greek word "hades," also meaning the grave 10 times. The Greek word gehenna is the source for 12 uses of hell and the word means a place of burning (only 12 out of 54 places in the Bible). That is before churchmen got into the act by promising to pray people out of hell or purgatory (no such word in the Bible) for money. Poor translation of Revelation makes people think the fire is forever when it is the consequences (death) that lasts for ever.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus has been
used by many preachers to teach eternal torment. The following
explanation of the parable help us to see another side with portions of
chapters taken from
Christ’s Object Lessons
copied from
www.whiteestate.org/books "A Great Gulf Fixed"--Luke 16:19-31
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,
Christ shows that in this life men decide their eternal destiny. During
probationary time the grace of God is offered to every soul. But if men
waste their opportunities in self-pleasing, they cut themselves off from
everlasting life. No after probation will be granted them. By their own
choice they have fixed an impassable gulf between them and their God. This
parable draws a contrast between the rich who have not made God their
dependence, and the poor who have made God their dependence. Christ
shows that the time is coming when the position of the two classes will
be reversed. Those who are poor in this world's goods, yet who trust in
God and are patient in suffering, will one day be exalted above those
who now hold the highest positions the world can give but who have not
surrendered their life to God. "There was
a certain rich man," Christ said, "which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table." The rich
man did not belong to the class represented by the unjust judge, who
openly declared his disregard for God and man. He claimed to be a son of
Abraham. He did not treat the beggar with violence or require him to go
away because the sight of him was disagreeable. If the poor, loathsome
specimen of humanity could be comforted by beholding him as he entered
his gates, the rich man was willing that he should remain. But he was
selfishly indifferent to the needs of his suffering brother.
There were then no hospitals
in which the sick might be cared for. The suffering and needy were
brought to the notice of those to whom the Lord had entrusted wealth,
that they might receive help and sympathy. Thus it was with the beggar
and the rich man. Lazarus was in great need of help; for he was without
friends, home, money, or food. Yet he was allowed to remain in this
condition day after day, while the wealthy nobleman had every want
supplied. The one who was abundantly able to relieve the sufferings of
his fellow creature, lived to himself, as many live today. There are
today close beside us many who are hungry, naked, and homeless. A
neglect to impart of our means to these needy, suffering ones places
upon us a burden of guilt which we shall one day fear to meet. All
covetousness is condemned as idolatry. All selfish indulgence is an
offense in God's sight.
God had made the rich man a steward of His means,
and it was his duty to attend to just such cases as that of the beggar.
The command had been given, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:5);
and "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Lev. 19:18). The rich man
was a Jew, and he was acquainted with the command of God. But he forgot
that he was accountable for the use of his entrusted means and
capabilities. The Lord's blessings rested upon him abundantly, but he
employed them selfishly, to honor himself, not his Maker. In proportion
to his abundance was his obligation to use his gifts for the uplifting
of humanity. This was the Lord's command, but the rich man had no
thought of his obligation to God. He lent money, and took interest for
what he loaned; but he returned no interest for what God had lent him.
He had knowledge and talents, but did not improve them. Forgetful of his
accountability to God, he devoted all his powers to pleasure. Everything
with which he was surrounded, his round of amusements, the praise and
flattery of his friends, ministered to his selfish enjoyment. So
engrossed was he in the society of his friends that he lost all sense of
his responsibility to co-operate with God in His ministry of mercy. He
had opportunity to understand the word of God, and to practice its
teachings; but the pleasure-loving society he chose so occupied his time
that he forgot the God of eternity. The time
came when a change took place in the condition of the two men. The poor
man had suffered day by day, but he had patiently and quietly endured.
In the course of time he died and was buried. There was no one to mourn
for him; but by his patience in suffering he had witnessed for Christ,
he had endured the test of his faith, and at his death he is represented
as being carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Lazarus
represents the suffering poor who believe in Christ. When the trumpet
sounds and all that are in the graves hear Christ's voice and come
forth, they will receive their reward; for their faith in God was not a
mere theory, but a reality.
"The rich man also died, and was buried; and in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom. 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."
In this parable Christ was meeting the people on
their own ground. The doctrine of a conscious state of existence between
death and the resurrection was held by many of those who were listening
to Christ's words. The Saviour knew of their ideas, and He framed His
parable so as to inculcate important truths through these preconceived
opinions. He held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see
themselves in their true relation to God. He used the prevailing opinion
to convey the idea He wished to make prominent to all--that no man is
valued for his possessions; for all he has belongs to him only as lent
by the Lord. A misuse of these gifts will place him below the poorest
and most afflicted man who loves God and trusts in Him.
Christ desires His hearers to understand that it is
impossible for men to secure the salvation of the soul after death.
"Son," Abraham is represented as answering, "remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things;
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this,
between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would
pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would
come from thence." Thus Christ represented the hopelessness of looking
for a second probation. This life is the only time given to man in which
to prepare for eternity.
The rich man had not abandoned the idea that he was
a child of Abraham, and in his distress he is represented as calling
upon him for aid. "Father Abraham," he prayed, "have mercy on me." He
did not pray to God, but to Abraham. Thus he showed that he placed
Abraham above God, and that he relied on his relationship to Abraham for
salvation. The thief on the cross offered his prayer to Christ.
"Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," he said. (Luke 23:42.)
And at once the response came, Verily I say unto thee today (as I hang
on the cross in humiliation and suffering), thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise. But the rich man prayed to Abraham, and his petition was not
granted. Christ alone is exalted to be "a Prince and a Saviour, for to
give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Acts 5:31. "Neither
is there salvation in any other." Acts 4:12.
The rich man had spent his life in self-pleasing,
and too late he saw that he had made no provision for eternity. He
realized his folly, and thought of his brothers, who would go on as he
had gone, living to please themselves. Then he made the request, "I pray
thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him [Lazarus] to my
father's house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this place of torment." But "Abraham saith unto
him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said,
Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." When the
rich man solicited additional evidence for his brothers, he was plainly
told that should this evidence be given, they would not be persuaded.
His request cast a reflection on God. It was as if the rich man had
said, If you had more thoroughly warned me, I should not now be here.
Abraham in his answer to this request is represented as saying, Your
brothers have been sufficiently warned. Light has been given them, but
they would not see; truth has been presented to them, but they would not
hear.
"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." These words were
proved true in the history of the Jewish nation. Christ's last and
crowning miracle was the raising of Lazarus of Bethany, after he had
been dead four days. The Jews were given this wonderful evidence of the
Saviour's divinity, but they rejected it. Lazarus rose from the dead and
bore his testimony before them, but they hardened their hearts against
all evidence, and even sought to take his life. (John 12:9-11.) The law
and the prophets are God's appointed agencies for the salvation of men.
Christ said, Let them give heed to these evidences. If they do not
listen to the voice of God in His word, the testimony of a witness
raised from the dead would not be heeded. Those who
heed Moses and the prophets will require no greater light than God has
given; but if men reject the light, and fail to appreciate the
opportunities granted them, they would not hear if one from the dead
should come to them with a message. They would not be convinced even by
this evidence; for those who reject the law and the prophets so harden
their hearts that they will reject all light.
The conversation between
Abraham and the once-rich man is figurative. The lesson to be gathered
from it is that every man is given sufficient light for the discharge of
the duties required of him. Man's responsibilities are proportionate to
his opportunities and privileges. God gives to every one sufficient
light and grace to do the work He has given him to do. If man fails to
do that which a little light shows to be his duty, greater light would
only reveal unfaithfulness, neglect to improve the blessings given. "He
that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he
that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10. Those
who refuse to be enlightened by Moses and the prophets and ask for some
wonderful miracle to be performed would not be convinced if their wish
were granted. The
parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows how the two classes
represented by these men are estimated in the unseen world. There is no
sin in being rich if riches are not acquired by injustice. A rich man is
not condemned for having riches, but condemnation rests upon him if the
means entrusted to him is spent in selfishness. Far better might he lay
up his money beside the throne of God, by using it to do good. Death
cannot make any man poor who thus devotes himself to seeking eternal
riches. But the man who hoards his treasure for self can not take any of
it to heaven. He has proved himself to be an unfaithful steward. During
his lifetime he had his good things, but he was forgetful of his
obligation to God. He failed of securing the heavenly treasure. |
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