What Is The Parable Of The Rich Man And Lazarus About?

I have been asked by a few people my views on Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) concerning my response to Kirk Cameron’s recent (December 2025) videos on eternal consciousness.

Below is my response and view:

“Jesus telling a parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus is specifically talking about the wealthy religious elite in Jerusalem that would be judged.

They wore fine purple and linen, as the rich man wore in the parable.

The description of purple and fine linen are in Revelation 17:4, 18:12, and 18:16.

This is a description of the corrupt Jewish leaders in the Great City, Mystery Babylon- Jerusalem, Revelation 11.8.

In talking about the rich Jewish leader and poor Lazarus, Jesus refers to the law of Moses which predicted the coming of the Christ.

However, the wealthy Jewish leaders rejected Jesus before and after his resurrection.

By including the law of Moses in the parable, Jesus puts this story directly in the old covenant age where he pronounced judgment on Jerusalem, the temple, the Sanhedrin, and other leaders (Matthew 23-26:64)

The wealthy Jewish leader was in Hades (Luke 16:23) not Hell.

In Revelation 20, death and hades was thrown into the lake of fire.

Neither Hades or the lake of fire is Hell.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Sheol (translated as Hades in the Septuagint) was the place where souls of the dead were prior to the Great White Throne Judgment.

The soul of the wealthy Jewish leader seemed to be in a section of Sheol/Hades that was reserved for those who rejected Jesus prior to Jesus coming in judgment on unbelieving Israel in the first century.

Eventually, Hades was emptied and the souls were judged (Revelation 20:11-15).

The souls of those whose names were written in the books were thrown into the lake of fire along with death and hades.

The books are first mentioned in Daniel 12 and would be opened at the close of the old covenant law age (Daniel 12:1-4).

Daniel would be raised at the end of the old covenant age and receive his inheritance of eternal life (Daniel 12:13).

This occurred at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Following the emptying of Sheol/Hades, death and hades were throne into the lake of burning fire (Revelation 20:14).

Hades no longer exists.

I write about this in more detail in my books on Revelation.

Thanks for asking.

Great question!”

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