Life After Death

Chapter 2

Between Death and Resurrection

by Richard W. DeHaan

    I would like to consider with you one of the most fascinating passages you will find anywhere in the entire Bible.I'm referring to the story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus in hades (Luke 16:19–31).

    This passage is very helpful in our understanding of the life beyond. In particular it gives information about the intermediate state—the time between death and the resurrection of the body.

    As Bible commentator W.G. Broadbent pointed out, the Lord Jesus in this account “opens the veil of the unseen in one of the very few such revelations found in Scripture.” J.C. Ryle commented that Luke 16 is the only Bible passage relating to the feelings of the unsaved after death.

    Before we get into our study of the Scripture passage itself, I should give a word of warning. We must be careful not to minimize the reality of what Jesus teaches about life after death in Luke 16 by treating the account as a parable.

    In fact, there is no convincing reason that we should not accept the story abou the rich man and Lazarus as an actual occurance. G. Campbell Morgan made the observation that if it were simply a parable, it's the only one in which a person is named.

    Jesus said, “There was a certain beggar, named Lazarus.” And even if Jesus was giving a parable, we can learn a number of things from it about life after death. Our Lord certainly would not mislead us, even in a parable.

    Please notice first of all the difference between the rich man and Lazarus IN LIFE. Jesus said:
    There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day (Luke 16:19).

    This man was well–off financially. I can imagine tht he was enjoying life to the fullest, taking advantage of all the fine things his money could buy.

    Lazarus, on the other hand, was just about as poverty-stricken and destitute as a person can be.
    And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores,
    And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores (Luke 16:20–21).

    Even though the rich man in this story turns out to be “the bad guy,” and the poor man is “the good guy,” let's not jump to any unwarranted conclusions.

    There is nothing wrong with wealth itself. The fact that the man in Jesus' story had many possessions is not the thing that condemned him. And the fact that Lazarus had no money is not the thing that saved him.

    You see, it's not money that's the “root of all evil” rather, the LOVE of money is the problem. It's not a person's wealth that destroys him; instead, it's the all–consuming desire to obtain more and more. The greed becomes so strong that God is forgotten, the needs of others are ignored, and life becomes a mad pursuit of self–indulgence.

    The apostle Paul could say, “To me to live is Christ.” But a person who is obsessed by the acquisition of material possessions must say, “To me to live is money.”

    The fact that the rich man ended up in the place of the lost indicated that the Lord had been ruled out of his life. Yes, one man was extremely wealthy, and the other was destitute.

    The contrast between the rich man and Lazarus doesn't end there. Notice the striking difference between the two men IN DEATH.
    And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom; the rich man also died, and was buried (Luke 16:22).

    According to the Lord Jesus, both men died. But only of the rich man was it said that he “was buried” Nothing is recorded about Lazarus being put in a grave.

    Some Bible scholars have therefore speculated that Lazarus was so poor, so friendless, so neglected, and so alone in the world that no one was interested enough to give him a decent burial.

    In fact, it was suggested by G. Campbell Morgan that his body may have been carried to the “city dump” and disposed of there. The rich man, on the other hand, was no doubt given the best of funerals.

    But we learn from verse 22 that something far greater than that was done for Lazarus. It is at this point that the contrast between the two becomes even greater.

    Circumstances improved so much for Lazarus that the ordeals and deprivations of his earthly existence faded into insignificance. He was “carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.

    With that wonderful experience of Lazarus in mind, my father M.R. DeHaan, M.D., wrote about all believers who die and go to glory:

    We read in our papers of the tumultuous welcome given our President when returning home after a tour of many nations. Waht a scene! A parade of dignitaries in cars, marching bands, crack troops in perfect step, flags waving, and police attending, with all the splendor and fanfare of a conqueror coming home.But that is nothing compared with the homegoing of the saint of God; nothing compared with the trill of dying for a saint.

    To go home, to leave these old clods of clay, to be loosed from bondage of the material, to be set free, to say goodby to mortality and be surrounded by the heavenly hosts, to be carried by the angels, up, up, up, up, amid the shouts of triumph of the saints already in heaven; and then to be welcomed by the innumerable company of angels, and then—glory, hallelujah!—to be introduced to the King and hear Him say, “Welcome home, My child.” Truly when one thinks of this, one can exclaim with Paul:
    “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (I Corinthians 15:55).

    Lazarus “was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.” (The expression “Abraham's bosom” was used by the Jews to designate the place of rest, comfort, and blessing enjoyed by the righteous.)

    As the Lord Jesus comtinued His story about the rich man and Lazarus, He revealed some interesting and arresting realities about life after death that we wil consider more carefully.

    First, He indicated that:

There is Consciousness.

    Jesus had this to say about the man who was lost:
    And in hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom (Luke 16:23).

    Yes, “in hades he lifted up his eyes....and seeth Abraham.” The rich man was conscious. He knew where he was. He was aware of what was going on. He saw Abraham and Lazarus.

    This teaches us that there is no such thing as soul-sleep. There is, or course, body–sleep; that is, at death our bodies, those physical tents which house our souls, are disassemble. They are placed in the grave. They are laid to rest. They are dust returning to dust, awaiting resurrection. In that sense the body “sleeps”—but not the soul!

    Therefore, when the apostle spoke of those “who sleep in Jesus” (I Thessalonians 4:14), he certainly didn't mean to indicate that those who die in Christ are oblivious to what's going on.

    Although the body may sleep, the soul does not. Consider this: if the soul were unconscious between death and the resurrection, how could Paul have spoken about being absent from the body and present with the Lord?

    Or how could we explain his preference to depart this life and be with Christ? In anticipation of a conscious enjoyment of the presence of the Lord, the apostle could say: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Later in the same chapter he declared:
    For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:23).

    Yes, these Scriptures show clearly that in life after death there is consciousness.

    Second, in His description of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus also revealed that in the life after death:

There is recognition.

    The man who was unsaved cried out and said:
    Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame (Luke 16:24).

    The man in hades not only saw Abraham and Lazarus, he knew who they were. You see, there is not only consciousness in the life beyond, but an awareness that includes the recognition of other people. Neither heaven nor hell is going to be populated by a mass of faceless, impersonal, unknown inhabitants. There is recognition. WE shall know one another.

    Third, in the life after death:

There is Remembrance.

    The suffering man's cry for relief was answered.
    But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewize Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented (Luke 16:25).

    Abraham said, to the man in hades, “remember.” That in itself could very well be one of the greatest curses of all for those who die in unbelief.

    To remember the past with the knowledge that things can never be reversed; to remember the past with many regrets; to remember the past with its neglected opportunities to receive Christ; yes, to remember the past, and to know that things could have been so much different, will in itself be a portion of the anguish awaiting those who enter eternity without receiving Christ.

    As I listened to the evening news on television, I witnessed an interesting interview with a prisoner on death row. During an attempted robbery he had shot and murdered a man in the presence of the victim's two children.

    He was sentenced to die in the electric chair, and at the time of the telecast he had only one day to live. This man was so bothered by his awful and brutal crime that he had refused to let his attorney file for a stay of execution.

    He wanted to die. He saw death as an escape from a nagging conscience and the reproach of an angry society.

    In fact, he said this about hes impending execution (and these are his exact words): “It's my shot at freedom, It's my way out of this living hell.” But he was mistaken!

    Dying may have released him from his “living hell,” but it opened the door to something far worse—the judgment of God in an eternal hell. And part of the punishment, no doubt, is a remembrance of the past.

    I'd like you to see how Jesus' story concludes (read Luke 16:27–31).

    According to Abraham, a word from one who came back from the dead would be no more convincing than the testimony of Moses and the prophets.

    Even though men and women may disregard the Scriptures, and even though they would refuse the witness of someone who came back from the grave, they will believe when they themselves go to be with the dead.

    There are no unbelievers on the other side. Before the rich man in Jesus' story died, he may well have scoffed at God and laughed at the thought of a life beyond. Be that as it may, of this we are certain: the moment the call of death came and he opened his eyes in hades, he was a believer.

    No, in the life after death there are no unbelievers. But for those who are lost, it's too late. How important it is to listen and believe the Word of God right now!

    And remember, if the message of the Bible as proclaimed by faithful ministers is not enough to bring you to Christ, neither would the voice of one who come back from the dead.

    I therefore urge you to believe what you have heard from God's Word. There is more to life than these few, fleeting years. Death is not the end.

    Every last one of us is going to spend eternity in one of two places. The choice is yours.

    So, if the Spirit of God has been speaking to your heart today, and if you realize that if you died right now you wouldn't be ready for heaven, why don't you place your trust in Christ for salvation?

    He said that “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Jesus also said this:
    Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24).

    Acknowledge the fact that you've sinned against God and deserve His punishment. Then, recognizing that He loved you so much that He gave His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pay the price for your sins through His death on the cross, ask Him to save you. Use your own words.

    But if you don't know how to pray, you might say something like this: “Lord Jesus, I accept everything the Bible says about You. I believe You died for me, that You arose from the dead, and that You are living today. Admitting that I could never save myself, I now receive You as my Savior. I'm trusting You and You alone for my salvation. Save me. I do believe.

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