2 Comments

  1. Andy

    Hi, interesting fact is that Jesus never made anything up in his parables. Everything he uses to describe his parable does exist in this form. If he was making up places and objects he would be lying.
    So, while being a parable, the description of Sheol / Hades we get can be trusted unless we believe that Jesus lies this one time about it.
    Regards, Andy

    • Dirk Waren

      Hi Andy.

      Thanks for your interest and the honest feedback.

      Actually, Christ’s parables were made up since they were figurative stories used to convey spiritual truths. His other parables — symbolic tales — utilized mundane things that actually existed in the physical realm and, in many cases, still exist, like seed, the different kinds of soils, the field, the wheat, the tares and the wedding banquet. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is different in that the events mostly take place after physical decease; in other words, it’s not a mundane tale.

      Not only is this story a parable, it’s a fantastical parable. Nowhere does the Bible say that a parable has to reflect reality and cannot be fantastical. For instance, righteous Jotham shared a parable in Judges 9:8-15 about trees talking to each other. Should we take that as reality? Of course not; the argument holds no water.

      Christ Himself is the living “Word of God,” so he’s not going to contradict the written Word of God, including the LORD’s detailed descriptions of the nature of Sheol (Hades) in the Old Testament. This is another key that the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is not to be taken literally. After all, anyone — regardless of sectarian mindset — who simply does an honest, systematic study on Sheol/Hades in the Bible will admit that a literal reading of Jesus’ tale contradicts what the entire rest of the Bible teaches about Sheol. The problem is that most believers don’t know anything about the nature of Sheol/Hades — as plainly taught in the Scriptures — beyond the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

      For important details and further scriptural evidence please see this article, which is actually the eighth chapter of SHEOL KNOW.

      If you have any questions/comments about the info noted in that article, don’t hesitate to post a comment at the bottom of the page or you can write me at dawaren@msn.com

      Your Servant,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *