what-happens-after-death

44 What Happens After Death? How Eternal Life Will Ultimately Be Offered to All45After Jesus Christ returns, He will expand the process of offering salvationto all mankind. Everyone who lives during the 1,000 years immediatelyafter He returns will receive the opportunity to accept the gift ofeternal life available through Him. Following the Millennium will come aphysical resurrection of all who did not receive the calling to salvation duringtheir lifetimes. Then they, too, will be called—their first opportunity forsalvation, not a second chance.The Scriptures overwhelmingly show that God’s great purpose anddesire is to give eternal life to His children and to keep them from failing(Jude 21-24; Romans 8:31-32; 2 Timothy 4:18; Luke 12:32). All will begiven the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ, accept eternal life throughHim and prove their commitment to God by their works, the actions intheir lives. Only those who knowingly, purposefully and willfully defy Godand reject the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will be refused eternal life.Lazarus and the Rich Man:Proof of Heaven and Hell?Many interpret one of Jesus’ parables tomean that people have immortal soulsthat go to heaven or hell immediately at death.But does this parable really say that? Let’sexamine the matter, paying close attention to thehistorical context.Jesus presents the following story: “There wasa certain rich man who was clothed in purpleand fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus,full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring tobe fed with the crumbs which fell from the richman’s table. Moreover the dogs came and lickedhis sores.“So it was that the beggar died, and was carriedby the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich manalso died and was buried. And being in torments inHades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afaroff, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried andsaid, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, andsend Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his fingerin water and cool my tongue; for I am tormentedin this flame.’“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that inyour lifetime you received your good things, andlikewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comfortedand you are tormented. And besides allthis, between us and you there is a great gulffixed, so that those who want to pass from here toyou cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, thatyou would send him to my father’s house, for Ihave five brothers, that he may testify to them, lestthey also come to this place of torment.’“Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses andthe prophets; let them hear them.’“And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if onegoes to them from the dead, they will repent.’“But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Mosesand the prophets, neither will they be persuadedthough one rise from the dead’” (Luke 16:19-31).When we look at this account in light of otherscriptures and in its historical context, it becomesapparent that this is an allegory, a familiar story ofthe time that Jesus uses to point out a spiritual lessonto those who knew the law but did not keep it.It was never intended to be understood literally.Bible language expert Dr. Lawrence Richards, indiscussing this passage in The Victor Bible BackgroundCommentary: New Testament, explainsthat Jesus used contemporary Jewish thoughtabout the afterlife (which by this time was influencedby pagan mythology) to point out a spirituallesson about how we view and treat others.In this view of the afterlife, Hades, the abodeof the dead, was “thought to be divided into twocompartments” and “conversations could be heldbetween persons” in the abode of the righteousand those in the abode of the unrighteous. “Jewishwritings also picture the first as a verdant land withsweet waters welling up from numerous springs,”separated from the second, which was describedas a parched and dry land. These elements showup in Christ’s allegory.“In Christ’s story God was the beggar’s onlysource of help, for the rich man was certainly notgoing to do a single thing for him! . . . It is importantto see this parable of Jesus as a continuation of Hisconflict with the Pharisees over riches. Christ hassaid, ‘You cannot serve God and Money’ (16:13).When the Pharisees sneered, Jesus responded,‘What is highly valued among men is detestable inGod’s sight’ (16:15).“There’s no doubt that the Pharisees remainedunconvinced . . . And so Christ told a storyintended to underline the importance of what Hehad just said . . .“During this life the wealthy man would surelyhave been featured on the 1980s TV program,‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.’ The cameraswould have focused on his marble mansion withits decorative wrought iron gates . . . and thefabulous feasts he held for his important friends.“As the TV equipment was taken into the richman’s home, a cameraman might have stumbledover the dying beggar, destitute and abandonedjust outside the rich man’s house . . . Surely hewas beneath the notice of the homeowner, whonever gave a thought to the starving man justoutside, though all Lazarus yearned for was just acrumb from the overladen tables.“If we look only at this life, the rich man seemsto be both blessed and fortunate, and the poorman, rejected and cursed. There is no questionwhich state people would highly value, and whichthey would find detestable.“But then, Jesus says, both men died. Andsuddenly their situations are reversed! Lazarusis by ‘Abraham’s side,’ a phrase which pictureshim reclining in the place of honor at a banquetthat symbolizes eternal blessedness. But the richman finds himself in torment, separated fromthe place of blessing by a ‘great chasm’ (16:26).Even though he begs for just one drop of water,Abraham sadly shakes his head. No relief ispossible—or appropriate! . . .“The rich man had received his good things,and had used them selfishly for his benefitalone. Despite frequent injunctions in the O[ld]T[estament] for the rich to share their good thingswith the poor, this rich man’s indifference to Lazarusshowed how far his heart was from God andhow far his path had strayed from God’s ways.They were his riches, and he would use them onlyfor himself. Ah, how well the rich man depictsthose Pharisees who ‘loved money’ and who eventhen were sneering at Jesus!“And so Jesus’ first point is driven home. YouPharisees simply cannot love God and Money.Love for Money is detestable to God, for you willsurely be driven to make choices in life which arehateful to Him. A love of money may serve youwell in this life. But in the world to come, you willsurely pay.“But Jesus does not stop here. He portraysthe rich man as appealing to Abraham to sendLazarus to warn his brothers, who live as selfishlyas he did. Again Abraham refuses. They have‘Moses and the Prophets’ (16:31), that is, theScriptures. If they do not heed the Scriptures theywill not respond should one come back from thedead . . .“In essence then Christ makes a stunningcharge: the hardness and unwillingness of thePharisees and teachers of the Law to Jesus’ wordsreflect a hardness to the Word of God itself, whichthese men pretend to honor . . .“This entire chapter calls us to realize that if wetake this reality seriously, it will affect the way weview and use money, and the way we respond tothe poor and the oppressed” (1994, pp. 193-195).This is the point of the allegory Jesus uses, Dr.Richards explains, not to teach the popular (buterroneous) idea of heaven and hell.