Saturday, July 6, 2019

PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

My Dear Precious Child,
    In the teachings of Jesus Christ relating to My kingdom of heaven coming into the earth in the lives of My children, He tried emphatically to alert the rich, the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes and the religious leaders to what their lives would be like if they refused to believe in Him and accept His salvation.  After they laughed at Jesus Christ when He told the parable about the lure of money and how the love of it it will pollute a person's life, Jesus told them another parable relating to love of money.  He told them that there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linens and he feasted magnificently every day.  At the gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus who was covered with sores so badly that dogs would lick his sores.  Lazarus longed to fill his stomach with the scraps that fell from the table of the rich man.  The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham.  The rich man also died and was buried. (Luke 16:19-22)
    In his torment in Hades, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom.  The rich man cried out to Abraham to pity him and send Laxarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue since he was in agony in the flames.  Abraham told the rich man that during his lifetime good things came to him just like bad things came to Lazarus, and now Lazarus was being comforted while the rich man was in agony.  He also told the rich man that there was a great pit that had been fixed to stop anyone from crossing from one side to another, so it was impossible for Lazarus to cross over the pit to help the rich man. (Luke 16:23-26)
    The rich man appealed to Abraham to send Lazarus to his father's house to warn his five brothers so that they did not come to the place of torment also.   Abraham answered the rich man by telling him that they had Moses and the other prophets, so let his brothers listen to the truth in their prophesies.  The rich man surmised that if someone went to his brothers from the dead that they would listen to him and repent.  Then Abraham told the rich man that if they would not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they would also not listen to someone who would rise from the dead.  (Luke 16:27-31)
    In that parable Jesus Christ was talking about the Jews who had always enjoyed prosperity, especially the religious and political leaders who were always dressed in glamorous, colorful clothing fit for kings.  They were listening to Jesus Christ teach about My kingdom but they refused to believe Him because of the lifestyle of Jesus, a simply dressed Man who ate with sinners, prostitutes and adulterers instead of surrounding Himself with the elite people of the day.  The Jews expected their Messiah to come as an earthly king who would dress in their same fine clothes, and with plans to make Israel the ruling nation of the world.  Jesus was telling the political and religious leaders in the parable that they had enjoyed the niceties of prosperity while they were in the world, but when My kingdom of heaven came into the earth that the very people who surrounded Jesus Christ and those people who believed His message of salvation would be enjoying My blessings and rewards for their belief in My Son.  He was, in essence, telling the privileged people that they had no excuse for not discerning the divinity of Jesus Christ because He was exactly what the prophets had predicted that He would be, powerful against the works of the devil but gentle and merciful to the sick, the diseased, the demon possessed and even the adulterers who were, according to Jewish law, supposed to be stoned instead of forgiven.  The prophesies said that He would be gentle of heart to the needy instead of a king who would lord his position over people.(Matthew 11:29)
    Jesus Christ was prophesying what would happen after He was crucified, that the religious and political leaders who had harassed, abused and ridiculed Jesus would continue their rejection of Him instead of their identifying Him as My Son because He had risen from the dead.  The result would be their inheriting the devil's torment for them for their lives on earth and eternity instead of their inheriting My blessings and rewards for them in My kingdom of heaven.
    Unfortunately, even after Jesus Christ came to sit down in My heaven with Me, the religious and political leaders continued their harassment, abuse and their ridicule of My Son by their continuing to have the same attitudes and actions toward the followers of Jesus Christ.  They killed some of them also, just like they did Jesus Christ.  My forgiveness for them was still in effect because, as in Paul's life, Jesus appeared to Him and asked why he was persecuting Him since Paul had been a contributor to the harassment, abuse and ridicule of the followers of Christ. Yet Paul believed immediately and was obedient to Christ when Christ appeared to him.  He had been chosen to take My salvation to the pagans from the foundation of the world.  He called it the mystery that had been hidden which was Christ living inside of humans, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27;Ephesians 3:17) Paul was the exception.  Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared to Paul and Paul believed immediately. 
    When Jesus Christ was teaching all of the parables and explaining My truths to His disciples, the religious and political leaders were totally blinded to His divinity even though He had healed the sick, cast out demons and taught the keys of My kingdom with wisdom.  The leaders even accused Him of healing with the spirit of Beelzebub, the devil, which caused them to commit the unforgivable sin, of which there is no forgiveness in the world and in My heaven if there is no repentance.(Luke 11:15)
    The parables explained in many ways the fate of the Jewish rulers who refused to identify Jesus Christ as My Son when He came to earth to save them from the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)  He said that anyone who causes the least of My children to stumble, it is better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck. (Luke 17:1)
     The fate of the politicians and religious leaders was made clear in this parable.  The glorious fate of the followers of Jesus Christ was also made clear in the parable.   My children have the choice of to whom they will join or bind themselves, to the devil or to Me.  Choose My Son and His forgiveness and you will live in My kingdom of heaven while in the earth and with Me for eternity. (Mark 10:29-30)
     Your Father of Redemption and Forgiveness   
               

No comments: