Luke 16
19 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and
lived in luxury every day.
20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs
came and licked his sores.
22 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to
Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far
away, with Lazarus by his side.
24 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.'
25 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.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been
fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can
anyone cross over from there to us.'
27 He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's
house,
28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also
come to this place of torment.'
29 Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen
to them.'
30 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to
them, they will repent.'
31 He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they
will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'
Do you see the problems with this whole story, versus the point that comes across? The story is filled with falsehoods. The accurate point of the story is: unless you obey the law of Moses, you will be going to hell. Furthermore, the story implies a false point: that is, if you are rich you shall certainly go to hell; which is not true.
So, what are all the bad things that are taught in this story?
1. By this story, we see that a man is judged at death vs. on the day of judgment.
2. Those in hell can bother those in paradise (in this case: heaven/paradise).
3. That hell or paradise is a place where the spirit can exist apart from the body.
4. Those that are righteous are in heaven upon death, thus, what is the point of the day of judgment?
4. That paradise is heaven vs. on the earth as we know, or should know, that the kingdom of the God of Israel comes
down to earth, that is the heavenly Jerusalem.
5. That being poor and miserable is the key to entering into paradise
6. Being rich is the recipe for going to hell with assurance.
8. Life goes on after the death of the fleshly body, which is false.
Yehoshua did not say this awful and false story, because he does not and cannot utter doctrinal lies just to get a point across, so that people would obey the law.
The doctrine of death is:
When a person dies, regardless of means, the body of the man is lifeless and so rots. Moreover, the spirit of that man is also dead, not nonexistent, just asleep. The person will remain in this condition until he is resurrected. After the person is resurrected he will then be judged. Thus, judgment does not come at one's death. After people are judged, and if they are found to be sinners they will then be thrown into hell, or if righteous they will be welcomed into Yehoshua's kingdom that comes down from heaven to us on earth. After that, everyone will not be able to die again. For once Yehoshua resurrects people they will never die again, because it is at that point in time that Yehoshua will do away with the aspect of death. Thus, that is the meaning of the resurrection = to live forever, regardless of being either in the kingdom, or in fire.
Now, depending on how a person dies, this basic fact about the state of death can be altered in a major way.
If a righteous man or a sinner is murdered, these facts do not change about their state upon death. It changes only when a righteous man is beheaded, then this fact can change for that person. If this is the case, the man's spirit lives on after his murder, and his spirit would then ascend to the altar of the Lord in the heavens until the death of the one that murdered him. Likewise, a regular man, whether a righteous man or a sinner, can become a ghost if a living person commits necromancy and calls on the dead man's spirit, as in the case with Samuel the prophet. This is why the LORD gave a commandment in Deuteronomy 18:11, "you must not commit necromancy", because the LORD is not a liar, and thus, He would never give a commandment over something you can not do. In this particular story, we see that Samuel's spirit was sleeping/was dead and that when aroused by the medium, his spirit was awakened. When Samuel was awakened, he rebuked Saul who asked the evil woman to perform this deed of necromancy, and also asked, "Why did you disturb me?" Just on a footnote, we see that the brain has nothing to do with thinking, nor talking, because Samuel's body was dead and rotting, yet, he was talking with King Saul. Therefore, don't let pagans deceive you by saying otherwise.
Thus, when a person dies and his spirit is also dead, it is clear he knows nothing. It is like when you are asleep, yet without dreams. In the state of regular sleep, you do not realize you are even existing because you are in a deep sleep until you actually wake up. This is what death is like. This is why Solomon, when speaking by the word of the Lord, said: 'Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom (Ecc 9:10)."
Thus, if hell is hot, would you not "know" it? Or, if heaven were wonderful and pleasant, would you not "know" it? Yet, Solomon said you will "know" nothing. Furthermore, if a righteous man enters into the Lord's presence, would he not learn much 'wisdom'? Yet, Solomon says you will not gain wisdom after death.
If we go to the 12th Chapter of Daniel, we see that judgment comes after the resurrection, not upon death. "And all those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2)." By this, we also see that life did not carry on after death, but rather, it resumed once again after the resurrection took place.
This is why when David is praying to Yehowah he is hoping that He will keep him alive, because if he should die he will not be able to worship the Lord, and serve Him any longer, nor will he know of His wonders. Here is what he says, "For in death [there is] no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks (Psalm 6:5)?" Or again, "Shall Thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [or] Thy faithfulness in destruction (Psalm 88:11)?" And again, "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence (Ps 115:17)."
This is why Job wants to die, and so also declares that the wicked are at ease, versus being in fiery torment. In his grief he also speaks of the day of resurrection, let's read:
Job 14
7 At least there is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail.
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.
10 But man dies and is laid low;
he breathes his last and is no more.
11 As water disappears from the sea
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,
12 so man lies down and does not rise;
till the heavens are no more, men will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.
and again,
Job 3
11 Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
15 with rulers who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver's shout.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the slave is freed from his master.
So, we see that the Tanach is consistent when it comes to the doctrine of death, the resurrection, and the judgment. Matthew 7:21-23, and Matthew 25:31-46, and the Book of Revelation compliment these themes. Yet, when we come to this story in Luke, it goes against the Tanach and the book of Revelation. This is also why it is impossible for Moses to be there on the mountain with Jesus when Jesus was transfigured. This is why Paul is wrong when he states that "...away from the body is with the Lord (paraphrase - 2 Cor 5:8)." This is also why Peter is wrong when he states that when Jesus died he (Jesus) went to hell to preach to those that died in the flood, 1 Peter 3:18-20. This is also why Jesus never said, "today you will be with me in paradise" to the thief that was crucified next to him. Furthermore, just to comment about that, we see that the thief did not die that day, for this is why his legs were broken.. And if he did not die that day, then Jesus would not have been a very accurate prophet in regards to predicting his death, read here. Luke, by the way, is the only one that gives this conversation, and as we know he was not an eyewitness to anything .
Therefore, Yehoshua the holy man and prophet did NOT utter this story as "Luke" claims, but rather someone else said it just to get the point across that unless you obey the Torah you will go to hell. "Luke," however, somehow heard this story and assumed Jesus said it, but as we know through the article called, "Was the last supper really the Passover?" that Luke was not a Jew. Thus, as he was wrong about Jesus breaking the wrong bread on Passover, because he does not know the law, it is clear by this story that he also doesn't know the doctrines of the Tanach, and because of that he does not have enough discernment to figure out what is truth, or what is false.
Thank you,
Maregaal
