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NASB | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day. |
Subject: IS LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN A PARABLE |
Bible Note: Good Morning Pastor, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my comments. I have two comments. The first is that if in the OT the saints slept until Christ's resurrection then doesn't that mean Abraham was in the grave and not in Heaven holding Lazarus? Which means that the Rich man and Lazarus was either a parable or a story of some point in the future. The other comment is in scripture when I find texts that seem to contridict one another I like to dig up every text I can find on the subject and see if in context I can find (be shown) harmony. Immortality of the soul is a complex issue and in my study it was much easier to view rich man and Lazarus as a parable rather than trying to expain away the other texts. (I don't mean this negatively. I say this in the aspect that the two appear in conflict so one or the other must be brought into subjection to the other). Let's assume that the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a literal story. Do people actually have conversations between heaven and hell? Do the people actually have fingers and tongues. If it is a literally story these present problems do they not? If this is a parable what is the teaching? Riches gained by greed, dishonesty or oppressing the poor are not a sign of God's favor. This fits with the parables prior to this as well. I believe there are many issues which don't require absolute unity in order to be brothers in Christ. My concern with this issue is the growth of spiritualism in the world. During the early Christian Church's struggle with paganism creaping into the church (which eventually lead to the reformation) a dangerous theology entered the church. Many Christians began praying to the dead. In many stories the dead spoke back. If you believe, as I believe the Bible teaches, that the dead are sleeping until the resurrection at the second coming then this false theology dies. Again thank you for your time and comments. I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you (Num. 6:24). SBoone |