“A Glimpse Beyond The Curtain”

Like 16:19-31

Christ pulled the curtain back to give a glimpse of life after death for two persons who represent two classes of people.

1. “A certain rich man”.

       16:22  “The rich man also died and was buried”

       16:23  “And being in torments in Hades”

       Until the resurrection of Christ, Hades was the abode of the dead, both saved and unsaved. There were two compartments divided by a “great gulf”: Gehenna, the place of torment for the unsaved (Luke 12:5), and the place for the saved, here called “Abraham’s bosom”, and Paradise in Luke 23:43; Acts 2:31. After the resurrection of Christ, Paradise is

       now said to be in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2 - 4).

      Facts revealed about those in Gehenna:

       1. They are conscious and have feeling sensations.16:23-24 “being in torments”; “Cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame”

       2. They remember their days on earth.

           16:25 “remember that in your lifetime ...”

       3. There is no escape.

           16:26 “there is a great gulf fixed”

       4. They are concerned that their loved ones not come to that place.

           16:28 “lest they also come to this place”.

2. “A certain beggar named Lazarus”.

       16:22  “the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s

         bosom”

      Facts revealed about those in Paradise:

        1. They are immediately escorted by angels to Paradise.

             16:22 “died and was carried by angels” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

        2. They are comforted.

             16:25 “now he is comforted” (Philippians 1:23)

        3. They cannot help those who are in Hades or those who remain

            on earth.

            16:26 “those who want to pass from here to you cannot”

            16:29 “they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them”