my interpretation of the Lazarus and the Rich man story

anti_nietzsche · December 03, 2015, 08:12:05 PM

Hi there,

tonight I had a major breakthrough in bible study. I think God helped me understand the story of Lazarus and the Rich man. It began when I remembered that there was another mention of Lazarus in the Gospel of John, the brother of Maria and Martha.

So, what if the two stories are related?

Take it like this, Lazarus coming to Abraham refers to Jesus having been his friend and even resurrecting him after he had died. After this experience Lazarus had the faith and peace of Abraham. Many jews saw this and believed and had a similar faith and peace then. But the rich men who lived in luxury every day saw this and could not join these jews in faith, love and peace. Instead they felt fear and shame. They prayed to Abraham to go to their brothers who yet believed nothing, so they would not also fall prey to such shame and fear. But Abraham replies, they need to listen to Moses, the law to love your neighbor as yourself. And Lazarus' rising from the dead did not change their mind.

In the company of Lazarus, in Jesus' company, there was living water to be had, the holy spirit that Jesus spoke about. But the believers in Christ apparently cannot give the rich to drink from it. God himself gives us such drink and we need to be open to love or we will not get that drink. This is also given in the story.

Also, what we need to keep in mind is that Lazarus, having been dead for three days, must have had some knowledge of the afterlife, a bit like in one of these near-death experiences. I have been told by a christian friend that the spirits of the departed stay on Earth after death for a while, until they are buried usually, to say farewell to the Earth and their loved ones. (We will see us again.) We cannot fathom the depth of Lazarus' peace after having returned from being dead.

Did I get the story right? What do you think?

Ross · December 04, 2015, 03:34:05 AM

" But the rich men who lived in luxury every day saw this and could not join these Jews in faith, love and peace. "

Indeed the rich seem to focus on the temporary things, not the eternal. Don't have time to actually study the word, or the interest since they see themselves as already blessed. Job took correction to amend his ways; rich people don't appear to receive that correction in this life, but will in the coming age.

" God himself gives us such drink."

Each in his appointed time.

" I have been told by a Christian friend that the spirits of the departed stay on Earth after death for a while."

Interesting opinion- one among many.
I.M.O key thing about the spirit is elaborated by Paul in 1 Cor 15 where he differentiates between the spirit of life and the holy spirit.
Plus Christ paid for us in all aspects of our being, spirit, body, and soul. He died in all 3 of the aspects to cover us completely.
SO when we die the spirit of life leaves us but the rest goes asleep till the resurrection .
1 Thess 4;16,17 talk about that.

jugghead · January 31, 2016, 01:25:35 AM

For me the rich man and Lazarus speak of the mind and the heart ..... (or of two natures, the Adam nature and the Christ (divine) nature

The rich man ..... believing he is rich in physical things but empty in the heart, that emptiness is his thirst for water (the Spirit)

Lazarus ..... being in the bosom of Abraham, with Abraham being the Father of faith, though Lazarus was poor in physical things he was rich in spiritual things, he was rich in the Spirit

When Christ speaks of the blessed being poor in spirit, I believe He is speaking of what that word poor originally means "a beggar" blessed are those who beg for the Spirit, for if you ask you shall receive simply because a beggar knows what he lacks where as a rich doesn't believe he lacks anything

my :2c: worth

marie glen · January 31, 2016, 06:44:24 AM

What a kool phrase to hear! ..major breakthrough in bible study.. :smile:

This one, Lazarus and the rich man, has puzzled me.. then I figured, well, it's a parable! :laughing7:

..and then again, later, I'm leaning toward thinking, parable, yes, but also a bit of a peek at Judgment 'Day'.. I think I have realized that in the book of revelation God slides in and out of time and around in time.. And I'm thinking the "outside" of the new Jerusalem in chapter 22 - is "outer darkness" of judgment 'day' but mentioned in revelation aFter Yahweh has made "all things new" - there's that sliding around in and out of time..

And that Lazarus being in the joy of the 1st resurrection on that 'day' but Abraham the rich man is still in the desert of regret.. But! "send someone to tell my brothers". hmmm, that throws me back off ..

I did read recently, in a thread here, that it was a pharisaic myth (in the Talmud?) that there was levels in Sheol, including a paradise level and a torment level.. But we know Ecclesiastes says no knowing or doing in Sheol.. And also what Paul wrote to Timothy about 'myths'.. I think it was Timothy, could've been Titus..
:gsmile:

jugghead · January 31, 2016, 07:04:31 AM

Think about this ..... you would be surprised at what the Lord will reveal ..... the five brothers being your own five senses, simply because your five senses are that which brings in information to the mind.

Blessings

2KnowHim · January 31, 2016, 03:38:07 PM

I also believe that this is speaking of "One man", and has a familiar ring to it .....for in vs. 22 it says, they both died, one was carried and the other buried.

Luk 16:22 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;

Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

We also note that...When on the cross Jesus was also carried and buried. For He said "Father into thy hands I commend my spirit, .....And again we have .....

2Co_8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

sheila · January 31, 2016, 03:52:33 PM

I like that.......dust the serpents food/old corrupt nature in Adam returns unto the earth.......all the kingdoms of this world I will

give unto you if you bow down/RICH MAN....of what benefit is it unto a man if he gain the whole world..but lose his soul?

the soul that is sinning will die...but he that loses his soul/life for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.....

double souled=two images that man bears..cloven hoof.

Lazarus Short · February 20, 2016, 09:08:10 PM

This is what I came up with in my book research. I hope it helps this thread.

Now we reach the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, one of the usual pillars and proofs of Hell – but there is a lot more going on here. First, all of Jesus' parables, as far as I can tell, are teaching about the Kingdom of God, especially how it operates. We should not view any of it as being literally true in itself. Consider how Jesus explains the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:24-30) to His disciples. In verses 37-39 He gives it all away – He Himself is the Sower, the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the Kingdom, the tares are the children of the "wicked one," the enemy is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. We could say that His parables are allegories or similes. No one has any problem with political cartoons – elephants and asses are political parties, bears are Russia, bulldogs are the UK, etc.

Given that, how should we regard the characters of this parable/allegory/simile? We will go step-by-step. First off, who is the unnamed rich man? We see him wearing purple, the color of rulers, of royalty. He also wears linen, the fabric of the priesthood. God Himself granted Israel to be a kingdom of priests, in Exodus 19:6. With ten tribes long lost to exile, and most of Judah and Benjamin left behind in the East, the little kingdom around Jerusalem was "the last man standing," or the Israel of record. It had a king, it had priests, and it was prosperous – at least, it saw itself as rich in the ways of God. Given all this we should view the rich man as the nation of Judah.

Lazarus has a name, but we must figure him out too. If the rich man is Judah, and Lazarus is poor, could he be a foreign nation, one not rich in the ways of God? Confirmation comes in Luke 16:21 – he wanted to be fed with crumbs from the rich man's table. This takes us back to Jesus' brief encounter with the Canaanite woman – she humbly accepted being called a dog, but hinted that she yet deserved some crumbs (Matthew 15:22-28). This sad picture is completed by the dogs licking Lazarus' sores, for dogs are seldom mentioned in the Bible. Lazarus, then, stands for any heathen nation, or for all of them. Just as in the parable of the wedding feast, where people are brought into the feast/Kingdom without a selective process, Lazarus dies and is brought to Abraham's bosom.

Now as I've said before, a funny thing happened on the way to the Septuagint. Jews had more contact with Greek language and culture. As part of that contact, after the exile, some of their ideas about Sheol began to change. In their minds, Sheol came to be compartmentalized like the Greek Hades. Part of it was now thought to be for the righteous, called the Bosom of Abraham. Another part was for the wicked, and called "hell" in the KJV, but footnoted as "hades." These parts were thought to be separated by a fiery gulf - all that would have been easily understood by Jesus' hearers.

OK, we've got the rich man and Lazarus both dead, meaning that Judah and the gentiles (nations) are both now in a new condition. The rich man (Judah) sees that Lazarus (the Nations) are now accepted into the Kingdom of God. Jesus spoke of this when He told His Jewish hearers, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43) Do you see how He rejected the fig tree of Judah, just as He cursed the literal fig tree, as we read in Matthew and Mark? I would go so far as to say that the Jewish nation had become the basket of very good and very bad figs we read about in Jeremiah. These represent the Jews who responded to Jesus, and those who did not.

Back to our parable – Lazarus is in a good place, and no doubt the "good fig" Jews are there with him. The early church was made up of these good fig Jews, and more and more non-Jews came in until this whole group came to be called Christians, and made a final split with Judaism about 150 AD. This split, at the time, was not as clear-cut as it might appear from our vantage point in time, but that's another subject. The rich man is not in such a good place. These "bad figs" have suffered Roman oppression, the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, exile and dispersion. Persecutions went on and on for many centuries, in many countries. Truly, Judah, the rich man, is now tormented in a flame. He calls out to Abraham for the smallest favor – a drop of water – and could that be a reference to the water Jesus told the woman at the well of? Yes, I think it is.

Abraham admits that the rich man is his son, but reminds him that his time and status as God's favored nation has come and gone. Truly, his place has been taken by "a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." I won't try to parse that nation down, but for the sake of convenience, let's just say it is the "nation" of Christendom, a term seldom heard of in today's secular world. Since the split between Judaism and Christendom, a fiery gulf has indeed come between them, with few people bridging that gap or being converted one way or the other.

The rich man asks Abraham to send warning to his five brothers. Here, we see another reason to see him as Judah, for the man Judah had five full-blooded brothers, as we can easily read in Genesis 29:32-35 and 30:17-20. They are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Zebulun. Abraham insists that Moses and the prophets (which Jesus said testified of Him) should keep the brothers from the rich man's fate, but then the rich man makes the odd request that someone witness to them from the dead. Truly, this is an odd request, for the Jews disputed the resurrection of Jesus, and did not record the resurrection of those whose graves were opened after that of Jesus. History bears out that these resurrections would have no impact on those who rejected Jesus.

There it is, my view on the parable – a prophecy, not a proof text for Hell.

marie glen · February 21, 2016, 12:36:20 AM

Quote from: Lazarus Short on February 20, 2016, 09:08:10 PM

These "bad figs" have suffered Roman oppression, the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, exile and dispersion. Persecutions went on and on for many centuries, in many countries. Truly, Judah, the rich man, is now tormented in a flame.

...Oh My G-sh!! :faint: You got it! :banana: :banana: (I have to finish reading now.. and "even if one were to go to Lazarus/them and tell them one rose from the grave he/they wouldn't believe it".. oh my goodness you got it!)

Quote from: Lazarus Short on February 20, 2016, 09:08:10 PM

He calls out to Abraham for the smallest favor – a drop of water – and could that be a reference to the water Jesus told the woman at the well of? Yes, I think it is.

:thumbsup:

Quote from: Lazarus Short on February 20, 2016, 09:08:10 PM

Now as I've said before, a funny thing happened on the way to the Septuagint. Jews had more contact with Greek language and culture. As part of that contact, after the exile, some of their ideas about Sheol began to change. In their minds, Sheol came to be compartmentalized like the Greek Hades. Part of it was now thought to be for the righteous, called the Bosom of Abraham. Another part was for the wicked
These parts were thought to be separated by a fiery gulf

:thumbsup: that's true.. read that in a few places

Quote from: Lazarus Short link=topic=13745.msg196411#msg1 96411 date=1455995290

all that would have been easily understood by Jesus' hearers.

– a prophecy, not a proof text for Hell.

I think you're right! ...the fig tree.. the basket of figs.. (when we see the fig tree blossom..? sorry straying..) the five brothers.. It all seems to fit and is the best i've ever heard! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: mystery (for me) solved!

micah7:9 · February 21, 2016, 01:33:28 AM

Very good offering thanks Laz :dsunny:

Lazarus Short · February 21, 2016, 02:41:53 AM

You are all very welcome! :URWelcome:

That parable was a hard saying, and I had to do considerable research on it, and related topics. I didn't want to wait until I posted the entire analysis of Luke. Yeah, and I thought Luke would be easy! :declare: :LH:

Ross · February 21, 2016, 03:19:00 AM

Amazing how ALL things work together for good. :dsunny:

sheila · February 21, 2016, 06:23:52 PM

Laz...I really enjoyed your post...surely His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. I was awakened this morning in regard to this post

and how it relates to the latter sign God had given unto Moses,so that Pharoah the prince of this world would believe.

Exodus 4;6 And the Lord said furthermore to him..'Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom;and when

he took it out,behold...his hand was leprous as snow. And He said 'put thine hand into thy bosom again..and he put his hand into

his bosom again and plucked it out..and behold..it was turned again as his other flesh.

v8 and it shall come to pass..if they will not believe thee,neither hearken to the voice of the first sign..that they will believe

the voice of the latter sign.

and it shall come to pass..if they will not believe also these two signs,neither hearken unto thy voice..that thou shalt take of the water

of the river,and pour it upon the dry land;and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

1 John 5;8 wittness bearers on earth..the spirit the water the blood..........

prophesy that God would send another prophet like unto Moses...and how Jesus would fulfill these things...

Jesus come up out of the Jordan[water] and the spirit in the form of a dove come upon Him[spirit] and shed His blood

[like the two doves..one killed over running water] blood on the dry land[you must drink my blood/this cup is my blood]

the bosom position is the returning of the heart unto the Father..the Father's heart is His will and desire........[this is my son..hear ye

him/all those that challenged Moses as God's spokesman.]....

coming out of the will and desire of the Father's heart makes leprous..returning unto the Father's heart/will/bosom

makes that which was leprous..clean.

Luke 16;29 Abraham sayeth unto him....They have Moses and the prophets,let them hear them....[transfiguration Moses,Elijah

appeared speaking with Him]

Jude 11 woe unto them for they have gone in the way of Cain[who killed his brother that offered a sacrifice pleasing unto God]

and ran greedily after the error of Balaam[curse what God has blessed for money] for reward, and perished... in the gainsaying

of Korah[Numbers ch 16 famous in the congregation..men of renown....]..

sheila · February 21, 2016, 06:46:29 PM

Numbers 16;26 depart from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing..lest ye be consumed in all their sins]

Come out of her my people..and quit touching the unclean thing.....

from times of old there have usurpers of the priesthood..men have taken it through violence..from the time Cain slew Abel

because his sacrifice was acceptable unto God....there are carnal men without the spirit..that God did not choose..that have

put to death those that are chosen of God to speak what He desires.

the rich man has gained the whole world[talent hidden in the earth] and lost his soul..Cains..Balaams and Korahs

[all these kingdom of the world I shall give you..if ye bow down and do one act of worship..for they have been given unto me]

rosered · February 21, 2016, 06:51:11 PM

I can certainly see how the rich man is the kings of the earth
and Lazarus is Whom God helps by faith you are saved it is the gift of God

Abraham has 2 sons
one is of the flesh and as the sands of the sea shores , separated little pebbles of sinking sand moved by the dead seas [Ishmael's] Hebrew Meaning: The name Ishmael is a Hebrew baby name. In Hebrew the meaning of the name Ishmael is: God listens. In the bible Ismael was son of Abraham by Sarah's Egyptian slave woman Hagar

and the other sons of promise by the Spirit and Light of Life and as the stars of heaven [angels messengers ] [Isaacs]In Hebrew the meaning of the name Isaac is: He laughs. Laughter. The only son born to Abraham and his wife Sarah (in the Old Testament).

Abraham's two sons Galatians 4 The last shall be first and the first shall be last ......

John 3 ...5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7"Do not be amazed that I said to you,

'You must be born again.'...8"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

sheila · February 21, 2016, 06:58:27 PM

Eccl 9;4 better off a live dog than a dead lion.

sheila · February 21, 2016, 07:12:13 PM

Samson..the strong man..slew the lion with a jawbone of an ass[Balaam's ass speaks to him..the angel of Lord appears unto him..

curse not what God has Blessed] out of the carcass of the dead lion come honey..Rev 10;11 you must prophesy again......

and it taste like honey.......Mt 21;5 Tell ye the daughter of Zion,behold,thy King cometh unto thee meek,and sitting upon an ass

and a colt,the foal of an ass.

Cardinal · February 21, 2016, 07:40:28 PM

:cloud9: The Tabernacle bears witness.....His body "fits" the compartments.....the wound in His side/inner court, also runs into meaning of "wide breach". Those of the outer court are as the rich man, those of the Holy of Holies, as Abraham. My :2c:

sheila · February 21, 2016, 07:47:33 PM

Lazarus had no-one to bind up his wounds...thus the dogs licked them.......Bless and curse not.......LOF is prepared for those who

are cursed..don't throw you brother's into the LOF prepared for the cursed[satan and his demons[messengers]

is this not a smoking BRANCH snatched from the fire?

Ezekiel 8;17 is it a light thing[bind up my people's wounds lightly] to the house of Judah that they....and LO..they put the Branch to their

nose........Numbers 5;18 bitter waters that bring a curse[test/trial of jealousy]..............

sweet wine..bless and curse not..sweet odour of Christ

there were bitter waters there..causing the casting forth of their young..someone put a branch in there and sweetened the waters.

for out of the same mouth come forth both blessings and cursings..both bitter and sweet.it should not be so.

Numbers 5 IF THOU HAST NOT GONE ASIDE TO UNCLEANESS WITH ANOTHER INSTEAD OF THY HUSBAND,BE THOU FREE

FROM THE BITTER WATER THAT CAUSETH THE CURSE.....

and if the woman be not defiled she shall be clean and shall conceive seed.

Good news of great joy..unto you a son is given...O'Immanuel.

sheila · February 21, 2016, 08:17:27 PM

the dogs ate Jezebel's body..but not her hands and feet[do what they say..but not as they do]Elijah/Moses/and Jesus speaking at

the transfiguration. the seizing of Nabal's vineyard..taking the kingdom of violence.

sheila · February 21, 2016, 10:22:58 PM

Phillipians 3;2,12 barking dogs. the Distinction between Egypt and True Israel..is that even Israel's dogs do not bark when

the angel of death passes-over.

sheila · February 21, 2016, 10:44:57 PM

fleshly circumcision becomes dogs/concision/and evil works. when the administration changed from Law covenant to Grace......

those that did not follow the angel of His presence[O'Immanuel] were left behind in the wilderness of this world...thus a great gulf

of fire between the camp of the Lord and the egyptians[prince of this world] that pursued them..a pillar of fire by night and a

cloud by day..so that they come not near each other.[Lazarus and rich man]

Rev 22;15 for without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and who-so-ever loveth and maketh a lie.

Rev ch 20;9

marie glen · March 06, 2016, 06:36:32 AM

Quote from: Lazarus Short on February 20, 2016, 09:08:10 PM
This is what I came up with in my book research. I hope it helps this thread.

Now we reach the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, one of the usual pillars and proofs of Hell – but there is a lot more going on here. First, all of Jesus' parables, as far as I can tell, are teaching about the Kingdom of God, especially how it operates. We should not view any of it as being literally true in itself. Consider how Jesus explains the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:24-30) to His disciples. In verses 37-39 He gives it all away – He Himself is the Sower, the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the Kingdom, the tares are the children of the "wicked one," the enemy is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. We could say that His parables are allegories or similes. No one has any problem with political cartoons – elephants and asses are political parties, bears are Russia, bulldogs are the UK, etc.

Given that, how should we regard the characters of this parable/allegory/simile? We will go step-by-step. First off, who is the unnamed rich man? We see him wearing purple, the color of rulers, of royalty. He also wears linen, the fabric of the priesthood. God Himself granted Israel to be a kingdom of priests, in Exodus 19:6. With ten tribes long lost to exile, and most of Judah and Benjamin left behind in the East, the little kingdom around Jerusalem was "the last man standing," or the Israel of record. It had a king, it had priests, and it was prosperous – at least, it saw itself as rich in the ways of God. Given all this we should view the rich man as the nation of Judah.

Lazarus has a name, but we must figure him out too. If the rich man is Judah, and Lazarus is poor, could he be a foreign nation, one not rich in the ways of God? Confirmation comes in Luke 16:21 – he wanted to be fed with crumbs from the rich man's table. This takes us back to Jesus' brief encounter with the Canaanite woman – she humbly accepted being called a dog, but hinted that she yet deserved some crumbs (Matthew 15:22-28). This sad picture is completed by the dogs licking Lazarus' sores, for dogs are seldom mentioned in the Bible. Lazarus, then, stands for any heathen nation, or for all of them. Just as in the parable of the wedding feast, where people are brought into the feast/Kingdom without a selective process, Lazarus dies and is brought to Abraham's bosom.

Now as I've said before, a funny thing happened on the way to the Septuagint. Jews had more contact with Greek language and culture. As part of that contact, after the exile, some of their ideas about Sheol began to change. In their minds, Sheol came to be compartmentalized like the Greek Hades. Part of it was now thought to be for the righteous, called the Bosom of Abraham. Another part was for the wicked, and called "hell" in the KJV, but footnoted as "hades." These parts were thought to be separated by a fiery gulf - all that would have been easily understood by Jesus' hearers.

OK, we've got the rich man and Lazarus both dead, meaning that Judah and the gentiles (nations) are both now in a new condition. The rich man (Judah) sees that Lazarus (the Nations) are now accepted into the Kingdom of God. Jesus spoke of this when He told His Jewish hearers, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43) Do you see how He rejected the fig tree of Judah, just as He cursed the literal fig tree, as we read in Matthew and Mark? I would go so far as to say that the Jewish nation had become the basket of very good and very bad figs we read about in Jeremiah. These represent the Jews who responded to Jesus, and those who did not.

Back to our parable – Lazarus is in a good place, and no doubt the "good fig" Jews are there with him. The early church was made up of these good fig Jews, and more and more non-Jews came in until this whole group came to be called Christians, and made a final split with Judaism about 150 AD. This split, at the time, was not as clear-cut as it might appear from our vantage point in time, but that's another subject. The rich man is not in such a good place. These "bad figs" have suffered Roman oppression, the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, exile and dispersion. Persecutions went on and on for many centuries, in many countries. Truly, Judah, the rich man, is now tormented in a flame. He calls out to Abraham for the smallest favor – a drop of water – and could that be a reference to the water Jesus told the woman at the well of? Yes, I think it is.

Abraham admits that the rich man is his son, but reminds him that his time and status as God's favored nation has come and gone. Truly, his place has been taken by "a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." I won't try to parse that nation down, but for the sake of convenience, let's just say it is the "nation" of Christendom, a term seldom heard of in today's secular world. Since the split between Judaism and Christendom, a fiery gulf has indeed come between them, with few people bridging that gap or being converted one way or the other.

The rich man asks Abraham to send warning to his five brothers. Here, we see another reason to see him as Judah, for the man Judah had five full-blooded brothers, as we can easily read in Genesis 29:32-35 and 30:17-20. They are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Zebulun. Abraham insists that Moses and the prophets (which Jesus said testified of Him) should keep the brothers from the rich man's fate, but then the rich man makes the odd request that someone witness to them from the dead. Truly, this is an odd request, for the Jews disputed the resurrection of Jesus, and did not record the resurrection of those whose graves were opened after that of Jesus. History bears out that these resurrections would have no impact on those who rejected Jesus.

There it is, my view on the parable – a prophecy, not a proof text for Hell.

I hope you publish this in your "hell no" book/writings.. :thumbsup: I came back to reread it.. if I remember "the basket of good and bad figs" I'll remember the parable as prophecy.. :Peace2:

Lazarus Short · March 06, 2016, 07:33:22 AM

Quote from: marie glen on March 06, 2016, 06:36:32 AM

I hope you publish this in your "hell no" book/writings.. :thumbsup: I came back to reread it.. if I remember "the basket of good and bad figs" I'll remember the parable as prophecy.. :Peace2:

It's in the chapter devoted to the Gospel of Luke.

rosered · March 06, 2016, 05:29:47 PM

Quoteazarus has a name, but we must figure him out too. If the rich man is Judah, and Lazarus is poor, could he be a foreign nation, one not rich in the ways of God? Confirmation comes in Luke 16:21 – he wanted to be fed with crumbs from the rich man's table. This takes us back to Jesus' brief encounter with the Canaanite woman – she humbly accepted being called a dog, but hinted that she yet deserved some crumbs (Matthew 15:22-28). This sad picture is completed by the dogs licking Lazarus' sores, for dogs are seldom mentioned in the Bible. Lazarus, then, stands for any heathen nation, or for all of them. Just as in the parable of the wedding feast, where people are brought into the feast/Kingdom without a selective process, Lazarus dies and is brought to Abraham's bosom.

Lazarus /Elazer is anyone whom God helped by hearing their cry ..

http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Lazarus.html#.VtxKnfkrK00

We can see also whom God raises from the dead as Lazarus was taken and given a position at Gods table from the beggars door /gate opening John 12

1Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

2So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.

3Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume

It is God Himself whom is merciful to the broken and contrite ones and are poor in Spirit [Matt 5] "The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. beggar asks for more Holy Spirit which is the kingdom of God being full of Spirit and truth Luke 11:13
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

John 4 ...23"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

It all works together for the good of those whom Love Him and are called according to His purpose :HeartThrob:

News:

my interpretation of the Lazarus and the Rich man story

anti_nietzsche

2KnowHim

micah7:9