Lazarus and the rich man. A chilling story of a wicked man tortured in the fire and brimstone of hell for all eternity. A warning of what awaits all those who would reject the message of Jesus and remain in their sins. For thousands of years this parable (and yes, it is a parable) has been used to prove that the wicked will burn forever in hell, while the righteous watch from blissful paradise. More than any other parable, this one has served to weaken the faith of those who would have come to know God by appalling them at the sheer atrocities which God commits; “What sort of a God”, they say, “would torture unsaved children in hell while their saved mothers watch from across a great gulf in heaven? What sort of HEAVEN is that? If that is GOD, I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM!”
But there is good news! That ISN’T God! I agree with those people - if THAT is a “loving” God, I want no part of Him! AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU! Because that doctrine is NOT a doctrine of God, and that is NOT what is going to happen to the unsaved dead, and that is most definitely NOT the meaning of this parable!
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