24 “Then he cried 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.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
Jesus opens a window into the supernatural and gives us a glimpse of hell's reality. Quite interesting to behold...
First of all - hell is a place of torment and regret, Secondly, the occupants of hell have all 5 of their senses in tact! The Rich Man could See, Hear, Taste, Smell, and Touch. Thirdly, probably one of the most tormenting things of all is...HE COULD SEE HEAVEN FROM WHERE HE WAS...but he couldn't enter in!Finally, one of the most powerful truths Jesus lets us in on is, the scripture explains that there is an uncrossable gulf between heaven and hell...this would lend to the probability that there is a great and perilous distance between the two, yet, the Rich Man and Abraham could maintain and carry on a conversation as though they were next to each other!! They would probably miles away but because of the dynamics working in eternity...they speak as though they are face to face!!
Having understood these truths, I would like to raise an issue with you...in our text, the first thing the Rich man wanted to happen was that an immediate need of his be taken care of, (Just like when he was on earth, he got what he wanted); once this was denied, he did the unthinkable...HE CARED ABOUT HIS LOST 5 BROTHERS!! It's clear that the scripture shows his concern about his lost brothers...I immediately began to ponder...'Does this Damned - to - Hell soul care about the lost more than I do?
Now, granted, he had to go to hell to probably realize this truth, but is it still possible? Looking at this story does make me wonder something...
Is it possible that a friend or family member has died and gone to hell while we yet live, and they cried out to Abraham that he would send someone to us...and here we are?? Makes you think huh? Could we be saved today because of the request made by one of our friends or family members that have been condemned to hell already? Do they have more passion for my soul than I did for theirs? Something to chew on.
