For some, the doctrine of eternal misery is confirmed and established by interpreting this narrative as a literal story. But I believe that it is a parable— “a similitude or comparison, by which some certain affair or thing is feigned, and told, as if it were really transacted, and is compared with some spiritual thing, or is accommodated to signify it.” (Benjamin Keach) Here, “Jesus teaches about the importance of stewardship.” (Edward Fudge)
The Jews had been unfaithful stewards of God's word; and therefore, and the center for worship and learning was about to move to the Gentile nations, as Jesus said to the Samaritan,
“Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21–24)
“‘There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple," (royalty) but the sepulcher was departing from Judah for Shiloh had come. (cp. Gen 49:10)— "and fine linen’ (19a) "prescribed for priests (Ex. 28:39). The coat, turban and girdle must be of fine linen." (New Bible Dictionary) So, the garments were symbolic of the royal priesthood. God had told Moses to speak His Words to the children of Israel: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus19:6) Unfortunately, the children of Israel did not live up to their part of the covenant. "They were the prototype of the Laodicean church who in the book of Revelation is Pharisaic in its boast, ‘I am rich… and have need of nothing’ (Rev. 3:17). That utterance embodies in a simple phrase the abominable attitude of the Pharisee towards God and man. It echoes the language of him who thanked ‘the God within’ that he was not as other men, ‘not even as this publican.’ Little glimpsed he the truth of his real state, that he was ‘poor, blind, miserable, and naked’ even as the Laodiceans were to be in all their vain self-sufficiency.” (J. Preston Eby)
The rich man of Judah, who wore the royal and priestly garb, “fared sumptuously every day.” (19b) "Figuratively, this represents the magnificent spiritual feast available only to the Jews, who were the sole remaining part of God's called people Israel.” (Bryan T. Huie)— “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus”, (20a) representing the Gentiles with “an exceedingly emphatic name… for it seems to be derived from עזר לא Laozer, which signifies a helpless person. Some have imagined, from the name of Lazarus and the particular detail of circumstances, that this was a history: but this must be a groundless supposition, as the incidents are plainly parabolical; and some ancient manuscripts, particularly that of Beza at Cambridge, have at the beginning,—and he spake unto them another parable.” (Thomas Coke) Lazarus was “full of sores.” (20b) “The Greek word for 'full of sores' is somewhat more technical than the English one; literally, ulcerated, one which a medical writer like St. Luke would use to express a generally ulcerous state of the whole body." (C. J. Ellicott) He was under the curse. But he desired the blessing. He asked to be laid at the gate of the temple, “desiring to be fed with the (spiritual) crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.” (21a)
The story of another Lazarus: “And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.’ But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ But He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.’ And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.’ Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:22-28)
Literally, “The other dogs came and licked his sores.” (21b) In comparison- “Lazarus is just as much a dog as the ones licking his sores! Neither Lazarus nor the dogs are, of course, literal dogs, but they serve as figures of the heathen nations surrounding Judah, and without the abundant blessings of God they soothe one another the best way they can, except when they are fighting - as dogs often do... Lazarus' association with the dogs and his lying at the rich man's gate, fed upon crumbs that fell from his table, places him quite convincingly in both the ‘dog’ class and the ‘Gentile’ class. In the encounter with the Canaanite woman it was the ‘dogs’ that ate the crumbs, while in the parable of the rich man it is Lazarus who eats the crumbs. How beautifully this confirms to our understanding Lazarus' identity with the ‘dogs.’ The ‘dogs’ of that day were the non-Jewish pagans, and this woman was a Canaanite, the vilest of the vile. Lazarus lay at the rich man's ‘gate,’ and this woman encountered the Lord at the ‘border’ of the land of Israel. How plainer can language be! As to religion, all that the nations had of truth and reality were the crumbs that fell from the Jewish table. The heathen had no prophet; they had no Scripture revealed by the Holy Spirit; they had no great temple service instituted by the God of heaven; they had no covenant with the true and living God.” (J. Preston Eby)
But the Gentiles, being represented by Lazarus in the story, asked of God and were helped of Him. “‘So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.’ (22a) Death did not carry the beggar to Abraham’s bosom immediately. “The figurative meaning of being in one's bosom is to be in a position of closeness, to be highly regarded. This symbolism is indicated by the ancient practice of having guests at a feast recline on the chest of their neighbors. The place of highest honor would therefore belong to the one seated next to the host, calling to mind the example of John at the Last Supper (John 13:23).” (Bryan T. Huei)
Paul explains how the Gentiles could be in this place of highest honor from the beginning. “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ (Gen. 22:18) So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Gal 3:8-9)
“The rich man in this story is not in Gehenna, the place of final punishment.” (Edward Fudge)— but rather in the Sheol / Hades which is a synonym with the grave. The setting “is therefore a temporary condition (Vine 286)…” (Hell Know by Dirk Warren) It is “where all the dead are gathered indiscriminately, both the good and the bad, the saints and the sinners.” (W. Tyndale)... The grave or ground will contain all of the dead “from biological death to the Day of Judgment (Rev. 20:11-13).” (Robert Taylor) In metaphor "eight chapters before this, Luke has Jesus describing the death of a little girl. He told the mourners that she was sleeping. [Luke 8:53] When his friend died, Jesus told his disciples ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ [John 11:11] So, either Jesus has changed his mind about the nature of death, or the story he is telling the Pharisees is not intended to teach that kind of doctrine.” (Jefferson Vann)
“Jesus does not say the rich man is taken immediately to an eternally burning hell. He says the rich man dies and is buried. (Luke 16:23a) People are buried in a grave and covered with earth. Hades is the Greek word for ‘grave.’ The King James Version generically translates hades into ‘hell,’ as it also does the Greek words tartarus (the present condition of darkness and restraint of the fallen angels or demons) and gehenna (a place at the bottom of a high ledge at the south end of Jerusalem where garbage and dead bodies were dumped and burned). Other Bible translations correctly distinguish the different meaning in these words. The rich man went to the same kind of place Jesus did when He died—… ‘Hades’ (NKJV)—but the Father did not leave Him there (Acts 2:31-32)." (Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man by Martin G. Collins)
When the rich man died, his eyes were closed. Now, by resurrection unto condemnation, his eyes were opened or lifted up. "And in the hades (earth) having lifted up his eyes, being in torments" , that is, mental anguish over pending Judgment and fiery death, "he doth see Abraham afar off," perhaps, speaking of the thousand years between the resurrection of the just and that of the unjust. "and Lazarus in his bosom." (Young's Literal Translation) Lazarus "had been tossed into a beggar’s grave. But his name was known in Heaven.” (Peter Pett) Lazarus, who represents those who are Abraham's spiritual children, had been resurrected at Christ's return with all the firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:23).
Jesus had prophesied of a still future ingathering of all such beggars by resurrection. The disciples would see "the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” (Mark 13:26-27)
"Daniel 12:2 speaks of those who will be resurrected to eternal life (the just) and of those who will be resurrected to damnation or judgment (the unjust). In the parable, Jesus speaks of two different, separate resurrections (John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:4-5, 11-12). Jesus pictures the rich man as wicked and lost, but even he will open his eyes and rise from his grave after the Millennium. Having passed up his opportunity for immortality by choosing this world's temporary, material riches and pleasures rather than eternal, spiritual riches, he is without hope, doomed to perish in the Lake of Fire.” (Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man by Martin G. Collins)
"The NT teaches, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the happiness of the righteous and the misery of the wicked are consummated, not in the intermediate state, but at the resurrection. It is when Christ comes to be glorified in His saints, that He also takes vengeance on them that know not God.“ (E. P. Barrows, 1858) "The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man shows the resurrection from the dead, not an instantaneous going to heaven or hell. It is a resurrection from death, not from life. It depicts mortals who die and are dead, not immortals who never lose consciousness and live forever under punishment in a fiery hell. Jesus describes bringing back to life one who was dead, who had no conscious realization of the lapse of centuries and millennia since his death." (Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man by Martin G. Collins)
“Then he [the rich man] 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.’ (24a) The cry for water is a cry for eternal life. In the restored earth, there shall be “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Rev. 22:1) “It is pellucid as the clearest crystal, and he who drinks shall never die, for death and the curse are now no more.” (Sutcliffe) “The allusion seems to be to that earthly paradise so well watered, Genesis 2:8-14, or else to Ezekiel 47:1-12. This river is Christ, John 4:14, and so is that tree of life, Revelation 22:2. The second Adam is a quickening spirit.” (Trapp) “In John 7:38 we are specifically told that the rivers of living water refer to the Spirit of God. Thus central to the city of God is the Spirit of God.” (Pett) But they must obtain the oil for their lamps before death.— “for I am tormented in this flame’ (24b)- tested or judged in the Great White Throne Judgment.
“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.’ (25) The rich man stored up mammon during his life – not spiritual treasures in heaven. And it was not Abraham’s place to give relief. The wrath of God abides on him.— ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ (26) Death creates an impassible gulf. It "separates forever the lost and the saved. Not a ray of hope is given by the Lord, that there is the slightest possibility after death for another chance [of salvation after death].” (A. Gaebelein) “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” (Rev 22:11) "The statement that 'a great gulf is fixed' fairly implies, indeed, that the case of the rich man is hopeless; but as it can not imply the perpetuity of Hades, for that is elsewhere expressly said to be destroyed (Rev 20:14), it can not teach the final condition, nor the immortality, of any occupant of Hades." (The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus by Charles F. Hudson)
“I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment (testing)." (27-28) The rich man appears to think that there is still a ray of hope for his brethren at this point- that perhaps they have not died the first death. But the eschatology of the end-time Judgment will not allow it. All that awaits them is the Judgment and the awful second death.
Also, the brothers are symbolic of the church at the time of Jesus’ first visitation. Some believe that the five brothers are the full blooded brothers of Jacob and Leah, Genesis 35:22-26. Jacob's first wife was Leah, and of Leah were born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. For example, J. Preston Eby explains: “If this telling detail has no significance for modern evangelists who preach from this parable, let me assure you that it meant a great deal to those to whom Jesus was speaking, because they knew their history, they held great pride in their ancestry, they knew who their brethren were, they knew exactly who He was talking about! It established to them the identity of the rich man Judah, the southern kingdom of the Jews! However, William Tanksley Jr. of Rethinking Hell states that there is no clear evidence that people in the Bible group brothers according to their mother. He also pointed out that the southern kingdom of Judah is normally only associated with two tribes- Judah and Benjamin. John Gill suggested that the "five brethren" of the rich man's are his "brethren and countrymen, according to the flesh; who when he was alive, stood in such a relation to him; said to be ‘five’ an allusion to the children of Israel coming out of Egypt, ‘by fives’, or five in a rank, Exod 13:18.”
And Berean Insights— Bible Gem 1082 – The Identity of the Five Brothers (Luke 16:28)— suggests that there is a references in the Bible “to five representing the whole: the family, the clan, the tribe, the people of Israel.” (Genesis 47:2; Judges 18:2; 1Chronicles 2:4, 6; 1Chronicles 3:20; 1Chronicles 7:3, 7; Matthew 25:2; Luke 12:52) Or perhaps the brothers had a spiritual rather than physical full-blood bond through Leah. They were the remnant:
“Judah was originally a mix of primarily Judeans and Benjamites, but during the reign of Asa, king of Judah 912–871 BC, some members from the northern tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon moved to Judah (2 Chronicles 15:9). Members from the tribe of Levi were scattered throughout the land of Israel, including Judah (Nehemiah 11:36). So we can count that the land of Judah in Jesus day was primarily settled by descendants from these 6 tribes, that may be represented by the 6 brothers of Jesus parable.” (Truth Info website)
Regardless of the particulars, the rich man obviously means some relations by “brethren”. And the northern kingdom, also known as house of Israel, was carried into captivity by Assyria in 722 BC and never recovered: “Then, about 135 years later, the southern kingdom of Judah was subdued and finally conquered by Babylon (c. 587 B.C.). God had delivered His people to their enemies, as He had promised. The people of Judah were given another chance. After the Persians defeated the Babylonians, the Jews were allowed to return to Judea (c. 538 B.C.) and eventually they rebuilt the Temple. Chastened and aware that their sins had brought about the captivity, many sought to obey God's laws upon their return to the land. But by the time of Christ, once again unbelief had become a major problem.” (Bryan T. Huie) The same degeneration is prophesied for the church at the end of this age under the name "Mystery Babylon" (Rev 17).
The rich man of Judah in the parable wants to warn his brethren of the coming Judgment. But Abraham has an in-season word him: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” (29) “Moses, as well as the prophets, are shown several times in the New Testament to support Yeshua's identity as the Messiah (Luke 24:27, 44; John 1:45; 5:46; Acts 3:22-24; 7:37; 26:22-23; 28:23). [If a warning were in order, but it's not] Abraham would tell the rich man that his brothers would have to recognize the prophesied Messiah because of the things written about him in the Tanakh. This echoes what Yeshua told the Jews in John 5:45-47: ‘Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you — Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.’” (Bryan T. Huie)
Hear the pushback: “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” (30-31) And, in fact, Jesus did come to them from the dead and most didn’t repent, as it is written: “But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Cor 3:14-16)
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