B
BayCityRickL
Guest
I did a search on “hell” in the forums and didn’t see anything directly on the subject in the first page of hits.
What do we know about hell? Well, consider what Jesus said:
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Luke 16:19 “There was a rich man* who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.
16:20 And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
16:21 who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
16:22 When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,
16:23 and from the netherworld, * where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham **far off ** and Lazarus at his side.
16:24 And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
16:25 Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
16:26 Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’
16:27 He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house,
16:28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’
16:29 But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’
16:30 * He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
16:31 Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’” from The New American Bible
Jesus confirms that there is a “hell”, it is a place of torment, our friends are not there in the sense that they give us any comfort, there is no escape, there is no relief, the torment is exaggerated because we are reminded of what heaven looks like. It would appear that the rich man got to hell as a result of a sort of thing that any of us might do.
This parable is used in the lectionary, but I doubt whether there is ever much emphasis put on the hell-aspect of Jesus’ parable. But, it is there, in Jesus’ own words.
What do we know about hell? Well, consider what Jesus said:
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Luke 16:19 “There was a rich man* who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.
16:20 And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
16:21 who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
16:22 When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,
16:23 and from the netherworld, * where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham **far off ** and Lazarus at his side.
16:24 And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
16:25 Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
16:26 Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’
16:27 He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house,
16:28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’
16:29 But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’
16:30 * He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
16:31 Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’” from The New American Bible
Jesus confirms that there is a “hell”, it is a place of torment, our friends are not there in the sense that they give us any comfort, there is no escape, there is no relief, the torment is exaggerated because we are reminded of what heaven looks like. It would appear that the rich man got to hell as a result of a sort of thing that any of us might do.
This parable is used in the lectionary, but I doubt whether there is ever much emphasis put on the hell-aspect of Jesus’ parable. But, it is there, in Jesus’ own words.