So far we have seen what Scripture, and especially the Old Testament, says about the state of the dead. Now that we have this basis, it is good to discuss a passage from the New Testament, where Jesus tells a story: the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Moses and the Prophets
People usually conclude from this parable that the Lord is teaching about the state of the dead in the afterlife, but that is a misconception. Otherwise, Jesus’ teaching would contradict the Tenach and what the Lord is pointing out in this story is that his listeners would pay attention to what Moses and the prophets say (Luke 16:29, 31). The Pharisees and scribes did not do this and that is why Jesus tells them this story.
Anyone who listens to Moses and the prophets knows that the story of the rich man and Lazarus cannot be about the condition of the dead and that the usual explanation of it cannot be correct.
not literal
The content of the story shows that it cannot be literally true, because nowhere does the Hebrew Bible teach that there is consciousness in death.
- for in death there is no remembrance of You; who will praise You in the realm of the dead (Ps.6:5)?
- in the realm of the dead they are silent (Ps.31:17)
- the dead ‘sleep’ in the dust of the earth (Dan.12:2)
- the dead know nothing (Eccl.9:5)
- there is no work or counsel or knowledge or wisdom in the realm of the dead (Eccl.9:10)
- for the realm of the dead does not praise You, death does not extol You (Ps.38:18)
- the dead cannot praise YHWH, none of those who have gone down into silence (Ps.115:17)
The story that Jesus tells about the rich man and Lazarus is a parable. It doesn’t say that, but there are enough parables that are generally recognized as such, where it isn’t mentioned either. For example, in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 16) and the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10).
always in parables
At one point we read that Jesus spoke to the crowd only in parables (Matt. 13:34). From that moment on it was standard and did not need to be mentioned. If the Lord were to make an exception, that would have to be mentioned.
In Luke 15 and 16 the Lord speaks a series of five parables, but only the first, that of the lost sheep, is actually called that (Luke 15:3).
no explanation
If what Jesus tells about the rich man and Lazarus is a representation of the situation in the realm of the dead, then this parable would provide explanation and teach us about ’the hereafter’. But parables are not explanations, but need explanation (Matt. 13:18, 36). Things are hidden in parables (Matt. 13:11) and that is also the case in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus tells the Pharisees and Scribes a fictional story to confront them with the fact that they did not listen to Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:31).
not according to Scripture
In the parable that Jesus tells, we find many details that contradict what Moses and the prophets teach about death. Nowhere do we find concepts such as:
- being carried by angels
- Abraham’s bosom
- communication in the realm of the dead
- fire in the realm of the dead
- suffering pain in the flames
- a gap between ’two sides’ of the realm of the dead
metaphorically
In the gospels, we find no passage that is so clearly figurative as the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. If the situation in the realm of the dead were literally as presented in the parable, then the situation on ’the good side’ would hardly be better than on ’the bad side’ of the gap. The believers would then see their unbelieving family members and other loved ones suffering forever in the flames and also be able to communicate with them. While Ecclesiastes 9:5 explicitly states that there is no consultation in the realm of the dead.
body
And does man already have a body in death? Because in the parable there is talk about eyes, fingers, the tongue, but also about feelings such as pain and thirst. That would also be absurd in the doctrine of the immortal soul, because it is taught there that one only receives a body at the resurrection.
traditions of men
Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, because the Pharisees and scribes had sat in the chair of Moses (Matt. 23:2), they burdened the people with self-invented laws (Matt. 23:4; Luke 11:46), it was tradition of the elders (Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:3) and the Lord calls it: the leaven (=the false doctrine) of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 16:6,11-12). These traditions were not in accordance with Moses and the prophets, but human traditions recorded in the Talmud and Midrash.
In the next blog we will discuss the parable verse by verse.