The Rich Man Went to Hell and Was Punished
We read of the rich man who went to hell in Luke
16:19-31. He died in his sins. Let’s read this factual account in the
Scriptures . . .
“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which 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. 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; And IN HELL he lift up his eyes,
being in TORMENTS, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom. And 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. But Abraham said, Son, remember that
thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil
things: but now he is comforted, and thou art TORMENTED. And
beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they
which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that
would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou
wouldest send him to my father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also
come into this place of TORMENT. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses
and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if
one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, IF
THEY HEAR NOT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, NEITHER WILL THEY BE PERSUADED,
THOUGH ONE ROSE FROM THE DEAD.”
Notice, Jesus did NOT say this was a parable; therefore, WE MUST ACCEPT
IT AS LITERAL! Also notice that in all of Jesus’ parables, He always
referred to a “certain man” or a “far off country.” Jesus never used specific
names in His parables. Jesus used specific names in this account: Lazarus and
Abraham. This is a factual account of something that happened. The word TORMENT(S)
is found mentioned 3 times in verses 23, 25 and 28. Just as today, A MAN
IS ONLY AS GOOD AS HIS WORD. We must believe then that JESUS SAID
WHAT HE MEANT and MEANT WHAT HE SAID! The rich man was not a criminal,
he was not a drug dealer, he was not a murderer, etc. What was it that kept the
rich man from getting saved? Ready for this? He thought he had heaven on
earth so he didn’t take the Word of God seriously.
The rich man lived for himself.
He could have cared less about the poor—people such as Lazarus. Lazarus
was very poor and diseased. The rich man was very rich and stingy. Lazarus ate
the crumbs out of the garbage pail of the rich man. The rich man was selfish
and self-centered but that’s not what sent him to hell. He went to hell because
he never put his FAITH in Christ as Savior. He was guilty of the worst sin of
all—UNBELIEF. He never stopped long enough to consider his ways and turn to God
for the forgiveness of his sins. He probably thought the preacher was a quack
and the Word of God was just another religious book. Unfortunately, hell became
his new home because of his wealthy pride that blinded him in unbelief.
Most Rich People Will Be Eternally Damned in the Lake of Fire
Oh how many rich people are sadly in hell right now. “Go to now, YE
RICH MEN, weep and howl for your MISERIES that shall come upon you”
(James 5:1). “For it is EASIER FOR A CAMEL TO GO THROUGH A NEEDLE’S EYE,
than for a RICH MAN to enter into the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). “For
the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and
the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so
also shall the RICH MAN FADE AWAY IN HIS WAYS” (James 1:11). I’d like to
add here, most people in the United States are rich and don’t realize it. These
verses may indeed be speaking about you. The United States is a very rich
nation. Even homeless people living on the streets have something here that
immigrants are willing to risk their lives to have—opportunity.
People are dying in the oceans and in box cars trying to escape the
poverty stricken and communist lands they reluctantly call home. Surely we are
a blessed people in the United States. However; along with this prosperity has
arisen a stiff-necked people, full of pride. The rich man is Luke sixteen which
we just read about had no color TV set—he had no refrigerator, no telephone, no
electricity, no car, no plumbing, no washer or dryer, no modern medicine, no camera,
no CD player, no radio, etc. By today’s standards he would be considered poor.
Yet, he was called a “rich man” by God. I contend that we're all very rich indeed and in danger of the same kind of
fate that the rich man met—Eternal damnation in hell. Do you take the Word of
God SERIOUSLY? Or do you take God’s Word lightly?
Hell is a Place of Brutal Torment — Jesus Said that Hell Has Fire!
Let’s look at
some more verses concerning hell. Jesus foretells of WEEPING and GNASHING
OF TEETH, “...there shall be WEEPING and GNASHING OF TEETH”
(Matthew 8:12). “Bind him hand and foot,
and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be WEEPING
AND GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew 22:13). “And shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be WEEPING AND
GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew 24:51). “And shall cut him asunder, and appoint
him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF
TEETH” (Matthew 25:30). “There shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH,
when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out” (Luke 13:28).
“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter
into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the FIRE THAT
NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED: Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE
IS NOT QUENCHED. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for
thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into
the FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED: Where their worm dieth not,
and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it
out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than
having two eyes to be cast into HELL FIRE: Where their worm dieth not,
and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED” (Mark 9:43-48). Hell has fire!
The Wicked and the Righteous Cannot Go to the Same Grave
Do you really
think Jesus would have spoken all these Words if hell didn’t have fire? Let’s hear Jesus’ Words in John 14:2, “In my
Father's house are many mansions: IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. Jesus
said what He meant and meant what He said.
For anyone to deny that hell has fire is unbelief. When a man tells me
he doesn’t believe that hell has fire, I know that he doesn’t believe the
Bible. The Bible teaches that Hell is fire and eternal damnation. I’ve heard
people contend that the word “hell” only means grave. In some places in the
Bible this is true, but in most others it means hell fire and punishment.
Psalm 9:17 is a good example of where “hell” CANNOT mean simply “grave.”
... “THE WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL, and all the nations that
forget God.” Do not the righteous also go to the grave? If the word “hell” only
means “grave,” then both the wicked and the righteous go to the same place.
Only a fool would say such a thing. In most cases in the Bible, the word “hell”
implies damnation and fire. The wicked go to hell-fire and punishment, the
righteous go to Heaven for life everlasting. Don’t be foolish my friend in
denying that hell is real. I can assure you that this world we live in is NOT
hell. I believe the worst thing about hell won’t be the suffering and torment,
it will be the constant realization that you could have been up in heaven
serving a loving God for all eternity.
Oh how bitter the bitterness which will be inflicted upon those
suffering in Hell, an eternity to sulk in regrets and resentments. Perhaps this
is the “worm that dieth not” which we read about several times in the
Scriptures—the conscience. No one knows for sure what the “worms” are but
whatever they are, I sure wouldn’t want to find out. The only safe place to be
is in the everlasting arm of Jesus... “The eternal God is thy refuge, and
underneath are THE EVERLASTING ARMS” (Deuteronomy 33:27). Are you safe
and secure in the Everlasting Arms? Only in Jesus Christ can any person find
true salvation and security.
