PART 5 GOD IS BUILDING HIS NATION WHILE THE
NATIONS RAGE
As we begin to understand our identities and inheritance in
the Lord we also begin to understand other passages in the Bible that we may
have misunderstood or misinterpreted. One of these would be the parable of the
rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16.19-31.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
“There was a rich man
who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury
every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named
Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat the crumbs
that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and
licked his sores.
“The
time came when the beggar died and the angels carried
him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also
died and was buried. In
Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with
Lazarus by his side. 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.’
“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. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who
want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to
us.’
“He
answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,
so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham
replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them
listen to them.’
“No, father Abraham,’
he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them,
they will repent.’
“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.”
Most of the teaching I heard on this parable growing up in
church was that this was describing heaven and hell. As I began to allow the
Bible to interpret itself, look from a Hebraic mindset from the time of Yeshua,
rather than the 21st Century, I began to understand it in a much
different way.
The rich man represents the Jews and Pharisees at that time.
The Pharisee’s lived in luxury and the Jewish people were the inheritors of the
covenants and promises of God. Lazarus, the poor man, is representative of the
Gentiles/Pagans who do not know the one true God.
Lazarus is eating the crumbs that fall from the table. Look
at Matthew 15.21-28 for interpretation:
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A
Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of
David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from
demon-possession.”
Jesus did not answer a word. So
his disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying
out after us.” He answered, “I was only sent to the lost sheep of
Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread
and toss it to their dogs.” 27
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
master’s table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you
have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was
healed from that very hour.
This woman is begging
the Lord to heal her daughter who is possessed by demons. She is willing to eat
the crumbs from the table which the dogs were eating. Just as in the parable,
Lazarus represents the Gentiles.
This is a Gentile/pagan Canaanite woman. Yeshua tells her
his mission is to the lost sheep of Israel not Gentiles like her—yet. She begs
him saying even the dogs eat the crumbs. Yeshua sees her great faith and heals
her.
Lazarus in the parable and this woman are the same—Gentiles.
The rich man is the Jewish people who have been given all the blessings and
covenants.
In the parable the rich man says he has five brothers that
he would like warned of his situation. Who are they? In the previous post we
looked at the tribes of Israel. The information is in the birth mothers of the
twelve tribes.
Leah had six sons: Rueben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,
and Zebulun. We went over the birthrights of these tribes in the previous post.
Judah becomes the ruling tribe. He receives this right by default due to the
sins of his brothers. Judah represents the nations—the Jewish people. He is the
scepter tribe from which Messiah Yeshua will come. He has five brothers.
Judah also represents the Jewish people in our end times.
They are the current nation of Israel. In this parable (a story to make a
point) Judah is the rich man.
When Lazarus (which means
Yahweh has Helped) dies he goes to rest in Abraham’s bosom which
is the place of honor for the Jewish people. Yeshua is telling them that the Lazarus
(the Gentiles) are now going to be in the place of honor because he believes.
The Pharisees are rejecting Yeshua.
The rich man pleads with Abraham to send somebody back to
warn his brothers. Abraham tells him they have the Torah which explains it all.
The rich man pleads that if somebody rose from the dead they will repent.
Abraham says even that will not convince them!
Earlier the rich man pleaded for a drop of water to cool his
tongue. Water represents the Torah which is given from above, just as rain
comes from above and is a blessing which waters the earth. He should have
studied and believed the Torah which reveals the Messiah. He is thirsty in this
hot place.
This is not a story of what heaven and hell are—it is a
parable about how the Gospel is going to be preached to the Gentiles (which are
composed of the lost sheep of Israel) when Judah (the Jews) reject Messiah. A
parable is a story used to make and enforce a point.
Hades/hell is
the word used for death in the Greek. Hell/Sheol is
the grave in the Bible (Hebrew Old Testament). Read these posts: https://burningbush647.blogspot.com/2017/10/
How could heaven be heaven if we can see our loved ones
burning in agony? This parable is not a description of what happens when we die—it
is about the Jews rejecting Messiah and the Gospel being opened to the
Gentiles. That’s all. Yeshua Himself said no man has ascended into heaven (John
3.13).
When we die we go to sleep in the grave and await the sound
of His voice (John 6.17-47). WE are resurrected into eternal life and receive
immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15). Hell comes after the white throne judgment
in Revelation 20. In the Bible Gehenna means hell. That is where the wicked
are cast after their judgment in Revelation 20—allow the Bible to interpret
itself. Hell,
in the Bible means death, pit, or grave.
Gehenna was located in the Valley of Hinnom—a burning
garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem. When Yeshua used this word He was
describing the judgment of those who are not saved as in Revelation 20. The
people of Yeshua’s time knew what Yeshua meant when he said Gehenna.
This is not hell—hell is the grave. Gehenna is the fiery pit the wicked are thrown into in Revelation 20 after the white thrown judgment. Matt 10.28...Hell here is Gehenna, check it out in a concordance.
The word hell means the grave or pit. Look it up in your concordance. Hell has been misused and mis-interpreted in the Bible.
Review the following postings.
The word hell means the grave or pit. Look it up in your concordance. Hell has been misused and mis-interpreted in the Bible.
Review the following postings.
As you see there is so much to consider. Allowing the Bible
to interpret itself is not always easy—but it reveals truth! We can disagree on
these things--but we should study to be approved. Things become much clearer
once we begin to allow the Bible to interpret itself.
At some point it doesn’t really matter if most believers
disagree. Truth is truth. Besides there are rewards in the Kingdom of God,
which is the Millennial Kingdom to come (MK). We will receive our rewards at
that time.
The more truth we understand the higher our rewards will be.
We don’t judge our brothers here in this life. We will probably be surprised at
the position and rewards some will receive in the Kingdom! Today is the day of
our preparation for that which is to come. Amen!
The final post of the series will be a short summary
The final post of the series will be a short summary
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