Death Can be Hell

“In Hades [the rich man] lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:23

Jesus was telling a true story to the crowds of people, but specifically to Pharisees who were mocking his teachings about wealth. In this story, Jesus compared a rich man to a poor man named, Lazarus. The nameless rich man had it real good and was enjoying a life of splendor from his wealth. Lazarus however was poor and their was no joy in being poor. No joy in begging and no joy in eating whatever fell from the mouth of the rich, but there was plenty of humiliation.

Both experienced Death, but their after-life were very different.

The rich man was in torment. He went from living a life of joyous splendor, to living in spiritual torment. He was in Hades. Jesus was telling them that their physical lives will end, but their spiritual lives will continue and in the case of these two men, one was being tortured and the other was not. The rich man was being tortured and the poor man was being comforted.

In our society, we tend to make the after-life either heaven or hell. It’s one or the other. Yet, this passage is telling us about a place called Hades. Hades is the Greek word many bibles translate as, the grave or Hell. Most modern translations prefer “the grave” but some leave the word in it’s original Greek to convey the meaning when used in passages like this that refer to a form of existence after death.

Death has a Sting

In this story, Hades, is a place that both the rich man and poor man were part of, they were both in Hades but there was a difference in how they existed. The rich man lived in torment; the poor man lived in comfort.

Jesus told this true story because He wanted to drive home the point that we all continue to exist once we lay down this fleshly house we called life. Our spirit continues and what kind of new life we live is determined by how we live our lives today.

The whole message of the good news of Jesus Christ is that we can live with Him forever—in comfort. By believing in the truth of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible, we can be like the poor man and live our after-life in comfort with Jesus. Yes, we won’t be with Abraham, but with Jesus Himself (John 14:3).

Jesus Overcame Death with Life

Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). That abundant life starts with believing that Jesus is the one who can save us from the present life and the one to come. You see, we all by default will receive the rich man’s punishment…even if we are poor. Your financial status doesn’t determine your future, your faith does.

Your faith in Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, will open up for you the New Life He wants us all to have. A New Life that starts now and continues forever. A New Life that may have some uncomfortable moments now but will be comfortable forever after.

If you don’t know if you have this New Life, then it’s time to find out.