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Studying Jesus' words on hell and the parable of The Rich Man & Lazarus (the begger) has always been very telling about what hell is like. I've always found this parable to be fascinating especially as God showed me, over time, new things about this parable I hadn't noticed before.
Luke 16:19-31: 19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Here's what we learn about hell from Jesus:
There are some that say they're going to party with their friends in hell, etc. but Jesus points out that they will be utterly alone. The rich man was completely separated from God and all the good things associated with Him and His character. Everyone has experienced various degrees of loneliness, but this is the ultimate loneliness; no God, no person, just you and the knowledge of what you should have done in life.
It does not say that the rich man was burning up and then his pain was over, but that he was in an eternal flame. This flame does not run out of fuel. In Matthew 25:41 Jesus refers to this eternal flame: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” See Matthew 25:31-46 for complete context (notice who it was originally prepared for).
The rich man knew Lazarus by name. This indicates that while he lived his life of extravagant luxury and self-absorbtion, he was well aware of Lazarus' plight. Yet, he chose to do nothing about it. For us, James 4:17 clearly states: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sins.” The rich man knew his wrongs and that he deserved what he received. He had no excuse. He did not speak of his or Lazarus' previous life as he knew they both received what they deserved.
The rich man had absolutely no control over his situation in eternity. He could not dictate or request that someone go tell his family how to avoid the doom that awaited them if they didn't change their ways as he failed to do. He knew their fate was the same as his unless they repented. How tragic to know what will happen and not be able to do anything about it, especially towards family members and friends. (However, those of us that know Christ can do things today.)
The part about the rich man seeing what he could not have sounds gut-wrenching. He could see even from far off, what Lazarus was enjoying. It seems torturous to be able to constantly see what you could not reach and know you never could.
It is worth noting that the Jews in Jesus' time put a lot of stock in Abraham being their father. If they were going to claim Abraham as their father, Jesus was going to point out Abraham's condemnation of their behavior. (It is worth nothing that Christ told this parable after addressing the Pharisees and their love of money. This context is important to remember.)
Some people might have problems with Jesus relaying Abraham speaking only of the rich man having good things in his lifetime and Lazarus having suffering. We do not have record of what Lazarus' life was like outside of his suffering, but the Bible clearly communicates that those without Christ and continuing to live a life of sin will not enter Heaven. All we have recorded is that Jesus spoke of the selfish self-indulgent lifestyle of the rich man. He doesn't touch on Lazarus' spiritual condition as the crux of the story was to point out the Pharisees' love of material things as well as their favoritism towards the wealthy. They were well-known for neglecting the needs of the poor, the orphans and widows.
I do not believe Jesus' words are an admission of opposites in the afterlife. Meaning, if you had good things in life, you'll have bad things in the afterlife and vice versa. Jesus, was merely pointing out that the rich man received what he wanted in life. His life's ambitions was for the “here and now” and the rich man's answer was based on what he was most interested in. If you base your life on material possessions and living it up now with no regard for Christ's work and what He requires, you will have missed the boat and there is nothing else to gain, afterwards.
I know some will say, “Well, that's just a story he told.” If you look at Jesus life as recorded in Scripture, everything he says is to address an issue of importance. Since He is also the Son of God, I'd think he'd also have a better understanding of the afterlife than we obviously do.
We are commanded to share the Good News about Him, but there is personal responsibility for everyone to accept or reject Christ. If having Christ save us and guide us through this life isn't worth sharing, shouldn't steering others away from hell be worth it?
For those that have not accepted Jesus Christ's free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, what do you have to lose and what do you stand to gain, in regard to eternity?
If you want to read more about the existance of hell, I suggest reading this article from Hank Hanegraaf at the Christian Research Institute.
I also recommend reading some of the articles listed at the top of BibleGateway's topical page on Hell:
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