The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is found in Luke 16:19-31 and is commonly viewed as a literal account of an actual event by those in Christendom and is seen as proof that God is going to burn the wicked alive forever.  However, many things in this account give evidence that it is a parable meaning something else and is not literal.

The first bit of information in that story that is not an actual fact is found in verses 20 and 21....Lazarus is viewed as a beggar who had no recourse but to beg for food from the tables of rich people.  Yet, Lazarus was not a beggar in a fleshly sense.  He had a home with his sisters Mary and Martha and when he was sick he was at home in bed with them taking care of him, certainly not out sitting in the streets being licked by dogs and begging.  But in a spiritual sense, Lazarus was a beggar anxious to get spiritual food that wasn't obtainable from the real rich men, the religious leaders, who considered everyone not of their class to be dirt.

Secondly, it is said that Lazarus is taken to Abraham's bosom...for that to be literal, Abraham would have to be in heaven, but we know that Abraham was not a saint  or one of the heavenly class since he died before Jesus opened the way to heavenly life...so the resurrection hope that Abraham has is to the paradise earth just like all the faithful who lived before Jesus.  They must also have Jesus preached to them so they can become believers and chose for themselves whether they will become Christian.  Romans 14:12, Romans 10:10, 13, 14, John 3:16.  Obviously, they must have him preached to them before they can put faith in him, but they cannot do that while dead in the grave.  (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, Psalm 146:4, Revelation 20:4,5)

In the NT or Christian Greek Scriptures, Abraham is a symbol of Jehovah God himself (and Isaac a symbol of his Son, Jesus, the Word).  Abraham's wife, Sarah, likewise is symbolic representing the faithful angels up in heaven who act as a wifelike organization to God and serve as a helper in caring for his things on earth.  (Gen. 22:12, 16,  Romans 8:32, Galatians 3:29, Galatians 4:22-26, Gal. 6:16).

Also, the parable, if taken literally, indicates that those in heaven can see, hear and talk to those in Hades.  How many people do you think would like to live in heaven if they really thought they were going to spend eternity listening to those in a place of burning torment holler, moan and scream at them for water???  And how could they get there to give them water?  And further more, what good would a whole glass of water do in such a place much less one drop on the tip of someone's finger?

How are these things to be taken?

In telling this parable, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, the false religious leaders of his day, who thought they were rich toward God and were really spiritually starving both themselves and the Israelites who Jesus said were skinned and tossed about like sheep without shepherds because they couldn't get spiritual food from their leaders.  (Luke 16:14, 15)  As an entire group, they symbolized the rich man in the parable.

Lazarus represented those who gained God's favor by "dying" toward their former lives and wicked course of action by learning Bible Christianity and getting baptized, buried in water symbolizing this death.  Romans 6:4-11, Ephesians 2:1-5.  So even though Christians undergo this spiritual death and become alive toward God, they are still walking around alive and able to talk to the wicked people symbolized by the rich man.

So how did the Pharisees, the rich man, "die"?  Before Jesus came along and began preaching to them, they were acting in ignorance.  They just followed the same false traditions and teachings of their parents and ancestors without knowing they were in error.  Once Jesus began preaching to them and teaching them, they now knew they had been in error, but they refused him.  John 15:22-24 shows how they would have had no sin had Jesus not come and taught them and performed these works. Once they heard, they had no excuse for their sin.  Upon rejecting Jesus and true religion, they "died" toward God even though they were still walking around making accusations, requests, trickery and asking questions of Jesus' servants.  Both were alive and in the same place, yet because one group was wicked and one righteous, there was a great chasm between them and neither was willing or able to cross over to the other side.  It is the same with true and false, wicked and righteous today.  Before we learn the truth and accept it and get baptized, we are all dead men walking.  Romans 6:4-11, Ephesians 2:1-5.

The rich man further asked that Jesus disciples "water down" the truth and comfort their religious brothers by stopping this work.  Many times, they arrested, whipped, imprisoned and killed Jesus' followers trying to get them to stop teaching.  A drop or even a whole glass of water is nowhere near enough for true Christians.  They become fountains of (John 4:14), baths of water (Ephesians 5:26, Titus 3:5), burying places of water (Romans 6:3, 4) and floods of water (1 Peter 3:20, 21, Matthew 14:37-39).  Never may we agree to condense the waters of Bible truth to a single drop to please self-righteous, money loving, false teachers!!

For free Bible studies, to ask questions, etc., email Peter Briant pbriant@hotkey.net.au or John Golden widget@win.bright.net for more information.  Ladies can email me.