Luke 16:22-24

These verses describe the two destinies of the men, which were as different as their lives on earth had been. The angels assist God in caring for humans (Hebrews 1:14). They escorted Lazarus’ spirit to Abraham’s bosom whereas the rich man simply experienced burial without heavenly honors. The point is the care that God lavished on Lazarus. Jesus pictured Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom enjoying the future messianic banquet in the millennial kingdom (cf. Luke 13:28-29). Formerly the rich man had enjoyed banquets and Lazarus had begged for scraps from his table (Luke 16:21), but now the tables had turned.

The figure of Abraham’s bosom connotes a place of security, godly fellowship with other Old Testament believers, and honor. Hades is the general name for the place of departed spirits (cf. Luke 10:15), and it is the equivalent of the Hebrew Sheol. However in the New Testament, Hades always refers to the abode of the unsaved dead before their resurrection and condemnation at the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Gehenna is a different place, the lake of fire, which is the final destiny of all unbelievers following the great white throne judgment (Luke 12:5). At the beginning of the messianic kingdom only unbelievers will be in Hades since God will have resurrected all Old Testament saints including Lazarus (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2). "Paradise" (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4) seems to be a euphemism for God’s presence, the place where all believers’ spirits go, regardless of when they die, until the resurrection of their bodies.

For the rich man Hades was a place of torment. He could see the righteous far away but could not leave Hades to join them. This revelation by Jesus Christ refutes the doctrine of "soul sleep," the theory that when people die they become unconscious. The rich man appealed to Abraham to send Lazarus to extend him some mercy. His address, "Father Abraham," was typically respectful for a Jew (cf. Luke 3:8; John 8:39). However the rich man’s appeal to his racial connection with the father of the Jews was ineffective. This fact should have warned the listening Pharisees not to count on their Jewish heritage to admit them into the kingdom. [Note: See ibid., 1:271, for evidence that the Jews believed that their physical connection to Abraham guaranteed their salvation.] The rich man still viewed Lazarus as a servant who could help him rather than as an equal. His judgment had not led him to repent of his selfishness even in death. Obviously many modern ideas about hell are traceable to this parable.