What a horrible thought to think that rich man in hell mentioned in this Bible passage is still in hell. Pray for the lost in your life and for the families of friends you know who have passed and cannot pray for their families. You can stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30) for their children and families while you are still in the land of the living. Always remember that your prayers here on earth do not have a shelf life and will out last your days on earth. The rich man in hell can no longer pray for his relatives and friends, but you can.
19 "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
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;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he 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; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
- Luke 16:19-31
THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH
“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Matthew 13:41-42
THE THING THAT'S GOING TO END YOU TO HELL
"Don't say that a loving God is going to send you to hell - He's not. The thing that's going to send you to hell is that you're a sinner and you don't want to admit it."
- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher
MAN'S TRUE ESTATE OF POWER AND RICHES
"A man may be outwardly successful all his life long, and die hollow and worthless as a puff-ball; and he may be externally defeated all his life long, and die in the royalty of a kingdom established within him. A man’s true estate of power and riches, is to be in himself; not in his dwelling, or position, or external relations, but in his own essential character. That is the realm in which he is to live, if he is to live as a Christian man."
- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American Clergyman and Scholar
THE SEAT AND CENTER OF ALL TORMENT
"Conscience which should have been the sinner's curb here on earth becomes the sinner's whip that will lash his soul in hell. That which was the seat and center of all guilt now becomes the seat and center of all torment."
- John Flavel (c1627-1691) English Puritan Minister
SINNERS SINKING INTO HELL UNCONCERNED
"When sinners are careless and stupid, and sinking into hell unconcerned, it is time the church should bestir themselves. It is as much the duty of the church to awake, as it is for the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city."
- Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) American Presbyterian Minister
GOD DID NOT SPARE ANGELS WHEN THEY SINNED
“God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment”
- 2 Peter 2:4
I WILLINGLY BELIEVE THAT DAMNED ARE
“I willingly believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful, rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked on the inside.”
- C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish Writer and Scholar
THE MOST LIKELY MAN TO GO TO HELL
"The most likely man to go to hell is the man who has nothing to do on earth. Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them."
- Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) English Baptist Preacher
HOW WILL YOU ESCAPE BEING CONDEMNED TO HELL?
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
- Matthew 23:33
Photo Credit: metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/670721