All will be made immortal, but it will be quite different for those who repent now.
Luke 16:19-31 (NIV)
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 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.’
25 “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. 26 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.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “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.’ ”
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 37: The Last Judgment (Part 2)
The evil ones will be convicted
by the witness of their own consciences,
and shall be made immortal—
but only to be tormented
in the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels.
In contrast,
the faithful and elect will be crowned
with glory and honor.
The Son of God will “confess their names”
before God his Father and the holy and elect angels;
all tears will be “wiped from their eyes”;
and their cause—
at present condemned as heretical and evil
by many judges and civil officers—
will be acknowledged as the “cause of the Son of God.”
And as a gracious reward
the Lord will make them possess a glory
such as the heart of man
could never imagine.
So we look forward to that great day with longing
in order to enjoy fully
the promises of God in Christ Jesus,
our Lord.
Summary
We need to lead off with a disclaimer about today's passage. The number one consideration for properly interpreting any passage of scripture is to understand the context which it comes in.
This story about the rich man and Lazarus is just that - a story. More specifically, it's a parable. Parables are more than just 'earthly stories with heavenly meanings.' A better way of thinking of them is as 'shocking stories with spiritual meanings.'
That's exactly what Jesus does as he tells this story. It's part of a series of examples Jesus was using to shock His primary audience - the Pharisees - into changing their thinking.
And this story contains some big shockers: first of all, notice the rich man doesn't get a name, but the poor beggar does. Secondly, it's the powerful member of the establishment who ends up in Hades, while the 'riffraff' Lazarus ends up in heaven. Third, the rich man ends up in Hades even though he had Moses and the Prophets.
It's those points that would have shocked the Pharisees, not the details about what life would be like either in heaven or hell. Jesus' purpose in this parable is to explain that being a wealthy member of the establishment didn't result in a ticket to heaven.
Dig Deeper
Even though Jesus' point in this parable isn't to shed light on what the afterlife will be like, we can still take away a few very generalized ideas.
The first takeaway is that there is, in fact, life after death. As our Confession puts it, all people shall be made immortal, but the way the evil ones will experience immortality will be significantly different than those who are in Christ. Jesus captures this reality in His parable as well: the rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day, experiences torment and agony, while the poor beggar is carried to Abraham's side.
Jesus also describes a great chasm between Abraham and the rich man in Hades, which is uncrossable. Interestingly, Jesus never uses the term 'heaven' in this parable. But don't let that bother you; Remember, sharing eschatological (end time) details is not Jesus' primary purpose in this parable.
The Bible is frustratingly vague when it does come to specific details about the life to come. That's because the Bible's primary point is the same as Jesus' parable here: that you must be convinced to repent here and now by the One who rises from the dead. By the time you attain immortality, it will be too late.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has prepared an everlasting fire for the devil and his angels;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will repent and warn others now, while there's still an opportunity to do so;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 17
