Interpreting the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus: It's Really Good News!

48. If then we have understood in what august significance God Almighty is called Father, and in what mysterious sense our Lord Jesus Christ is held to be His only Son, and with what entire perfection of meaning His Spirit is called the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Trinity is one in substance but has distinctions of relation and of Persons, what also is the birth from a Virgin, what the nativity of the Word in the flesh, what the mystery of the Cross, what the purpose of our Lord's descent into hell, what the glory of the Resurrection, and the delivery of souls from their captivity in the infernal regions, what also His ascension into heaven, and the expected advent of the Judge;
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2711.htm

14. Since those also which are called our deserts, are His gifts. For, that faith may work by love, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. And He was then given, when Jesus was glorified by the resurrection. For then He promised that He Himself would send Him, and He sent Him; because then, as it was written and foretold of Him, He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. These gifts constitute our deserts, by which we arrive at the chief good of an immortal blessedness.
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130113.htm

You need to run to the right or north to run towards the truth, friend.

It was never understood to be a parable until conditionalists who teach soul sleep made that interpretation up.
The earliest conditionalists I know of were Unitarians to avoid the doctrine of eternal punishment along with soul sleep.

Those who are not aware of historical theology are bound to make a few mistakes in understanding the Bible.

.
Eternal life doesn't make people immortal, but it does give them the
potential to become incorruptible, i.e. 110% sinless, viz: like God which, as
as shown in the two verses below, is quite an advantage.

• Heb 6:18 . . Heb 6:18 . . It is impossible for God to lie

• Jas 1:13 . . God cannot be tempted by evil

I came into this world with human nature; so it's very easy to tempt me with
evil-- and dishonesty in one form or another is my way of life, viz: I have a
natural proclivity for white lies, bald-faced lies, deceit, dissembling,
equivocation, exaggeration, slander, half truths, prevarication, false
impressions, omitting facts, cover-ups, and pretense; etc.

About 50+ years ago I reasoned that were I to be somehow disconnected
from human nature and endowed with the nature of God, then I too would
be impervious to temptation same as He; and I too would be impervious to
dishonesty same as He, viz: my normal proclivity would be honesty instead
of dishonesty, and temptation would bounce off me like a golf ball thrown at
a Russian tank, viz: I would be completely indifferent to evil.

Not long afterwards I discovered that the nature of God is available.

• 2Pet 1:3-4 . . His divine power has given us everything we need for life
and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory
and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious
promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and
escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The bottom line is: quite a few folks are on a road to Hell not so much
because they sin, but because they'll never stop sinning, and the reason they'll
never stop is because they're leaving this world with human nature instead of
divine nature.

• Jer 13:23 . . Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?
Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
_

Sorry, got lost in the translation so to speak.

The question is hell. The only logical reason that hell (an eternal place of punishment and fire) must exist is the immortality of human soul. It has been shown via various means that human soul is not intrinsically immortal. Hence the argument for hell is illogical. So why is there a hell? Hellmongers are left with God's Personal Preference. First explain how you should know the Personal Feelings of the Invisible, Unknowable God.

Where is hell explicitly defined in 1 Corinthians 15 or even the bible? Show the logical premises, that hell is there and in my face. My contention, it is not in the Scriptures.

Like I said with DNA and demonic worms, these are conclusion of a human mind given to fables and fantasies. Not the logical reasonings of An Omniscient Mind teaching what needs to be known.

You make a good point. I won't use that word for this point. I'll use the word "figurative". The Biblical authors often use figurative language to describe spiritual realities...in this case, the tongue of the rich man and the finger of Lazarus. As for the "bosom" of Abraham, it's a Hebrew idiom meaning "in close relationship to", like how Jesus is "in the bosom of the Father" (John 1).

"the parable of the fig tree" echoed in Matthew 24 is a ... parable.

My point concerning Absolom's men is that people "knowing nothing" does not mean they are unconscious. Neither the context of 2 Samuel nor Ecclesiastes indicates such an interpretation.
Again I ask, do you understand what Solomon means when he says, "under the sun" throughout the book?

Please show me how the context of the book indicates that Solomon believes that.

Yes its all literal. "Abraham's bosom is the name of

I am not sure I understand you. I Cor 15 and the definitions I posted shows that our bodies become incorruptible.

@Phoneman-777
..."Abraham's bosom is the name of the region of Hades where the righteous OT saints waited to be redeemed out of.
"You will not abandon my soul to Hades" (Acts 2:27)

Hell proper is clearly defined in Matthew 25:46, All are rose in a general Resurrection as Jesus taught there. I Cor 15 tells us the body is eternal so to speak. That is why those who do not know Jesus are punished.

"
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM:
By: Kaufmann Kohler
In the New Testament and in Jewish writings a term signifying the abodeof bliss in the other world. According to IV Macc. xiii. 17, the righteous who die for their faith are received by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in paradise (compare Matt. viii. 11: "Many shall come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven"). In Ḳid. 72b, Adda bar Ahaba, a rabbi of the third century, is said to be "sitting in the bosom of Abraham," which means that he has entered paradise. With this should be compared the statement of R. Levi (Gen. R. xlviii.): "In the world to come Abraham sits at the gate of Gehenna, permitting none to enter who bears the seal of the covenant"
https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/362-abraham-s-bosom

"
Characteristics of the risen body
All shall rise from the dead in their own, in their entire, and in immortal bodies; but the good shall rise to the resurrection of life, the wicked to the resurrection of Judgment. It would destroy the very idea of resurrection, if the dead were to rise in bodies not their own. Again, the resurrection, like the creation, is to be numbered amongst the principal works of God; hence, as at the creation all things are perfect from the hand of God, so at the resurrection all things must be perfectly restored by the same omnipotent hand. But there is a difference between the earthly and the risen body; for the risen bodies of both saints and sinners shall be invested with immortality. This admirable restoration of nature is the result of the glorious triumph of Christ over death as described in several texts of Sacred Scripture: Isaiah 25:8; Osee, xiii, 14; 1 Corinthians 15:26; Apocalypse 2:4. But while the just shall enjoy an endless felicity in the entirety of their restored members, the wicked "shall seek death, and shall not find it, shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them" (Revelation 9:6).

These three characteristics, identity, entirety, and immortality, will be common to the risen bodies of the just and the wicked. But the bodies of the saints shall be distinguished by four transcendent endowments, often called qualities.

The first is "impassibility", which shall place them beyond the reach of pain and inconvenience. "It is sown", says the Apostle, "in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:42). The Schoolmen call this quality impassibility', not incorruption, so as to mark it as a peculiarity of the glorified body; the bodies of the damned will be incorruptible indeed, but not impassible; they shall be subject to heat and cold, and all manner of pain.
The next quality is "brightness", or "glory", by which the bodies of the saints shall shine like the sun. "It is sown in dishonour," says the Apostle, "it shall rise in glory" (1 Corinthians 15:43; cf. Matthew 13:43; 17:2; Philippians 3:21). All the bodies of the saints shall be equally impassible, but they shall be endowed with different degrees of glory. According to St. Paul: "One is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, another the glory of the stars. For star differeth from star in glory"'(1 Corinthians 15:41-42).
The third quality is that of "agility", by which the body shall be freed from its slowness of motion, and endowed with the capability of moving with the utmost facility and quickness wherever the soul pleases. The Apostle says: "It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power" (1 Corinthians 15:43).
The fourth quality is "subtility", by which the body becomes subject to the absolute dominion of the soul. This is inferred from the words of the Apostle: "It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:44). The body participates in the soul's more perfect and spiritual life to such an extent that it becomes itself like a spirit. We see this quality exemplified in the fact that Christ passed through material objects."
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12792a.htm

It should be clear that unredeemed sinners will face "everlasting fire" in eternity (Matthew 25:41) which is "everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:46); which will be characterized by "wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41-42, Matthew 13:49-50).

Perhaps, but there's are pretty clear that the person itself is going to be on fire.

For instance, Satan (personified as the "king of Tyre" in Ezekiel 28) is told God will "bring a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, it will turn thee to ashes..."

Also, "and ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of thy feet..."

Again, "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume;into smoke shall they consume away".

You'd be correct if not for Romans 2:7-9 KJV, which plainly says in no uncertain terms that only ones who are granted immortality are those who "seek" immortality.

Why must we "seek" immortality?
BECAUSE WE DO NOT POSSESS IMMORTALITY.
"(Jesus) ONLY hath immortality" (1 Timothy 6:15-16 KJV).

The wicked are not seeking immortality and thus will not be granted it (Romans 2:8-9 KJV).
They will burn up and out of existence and shall not "be" anymore - neither Satan (Ezekiel 28:19 KJV) nor the wicked (Obadiah 16 KJV).

We Annihilationists are such because it's dishonest to resort to things like:

• making the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus literal, then willfully ignoring glaring Scriptural contradictions which arise
• ignoring Paul's words 2 Corinthians 5 about the "naked" and "unclothed" intermediate state between our carnal body and the resurrection body, which is lying in the grave dead without a body in silence, darkness, without thoughts, emotions, memories, interaction with those still alive, or praise for God above
• twisting "absent from the body AND present" into "absent from the body IS TO BE present..."
• insisting that the soul does not die when Scripture over and over declares souls can die, which is the very thing that "mortal" means

No, at this point you should practice CONSISTENT hermeneutics: if we would let go of preconceived notions implanted by false pulpit prophets and accept that Abraham's bosom is symbolic, the Rich Man is symbolic, Lazarus is symbolic, then logical progression would mean the FLAMES OF TORMENT ARE ALSO SYMBOLIC, which they are. This parable has nothing to do with about what happens when we die, for there are too many Scriptures which teach plainly, clearly, unmistakably that the dead know nothing, perceive nothing, plan nothing, emote nothing, say nothing, see nothing, praise nothing, accomplish nothing, interact with nothing, etc.

Sure, while it is alive and exists...because the soul is the "I" the "ego" the "self" the "person"...the WHOLE BEING comprised of its two parts, the Body and the Breath of Life.

At death, the Spirit returns to God as it was when it left, the Body returns to the dust, and the Soul ceases to be, according to Genesis 2:7 KJV.

Thank you so much Means a lot to me.