What Happens to Unbelievers When They Die? (Luke 16:24-29)

The account of the rich man and Lazarus shows us what happens to unbelievers when they die. There are 13 verses in the account and most of them focus on the rich man. Aside from being told Lazarus was in comfort at Abraham’s side, or bosom, there’s nothing else said about him. Instead, almost all the attention is on the rich man and his experience as an unbeliever. Table of ContentsFamily Worship GuideSermon NotesLesson One: When unbelievers die (Part One) they are in torment.Lesson One: When unbelievers die (Part Two) they receive no second chances.Lesson One: When unbelievers die (Part Three) they remember their earthly lives.Lesson Two: The living shouldn’t communicate with the dead. https://youtu.be/vQyOkFVOtOs The account of the rich man and Lazarus shows us what happens to unbelievers when they die. The focus is on the rich man and his experience. Family Worship Guide Directions: Read the following verses and then answer the questions: Day 1: Luke 16:23, 24-25, 28, Daniel 12:2, Revelation 14:10-11, Matthew 5:29, 7:13, Mark 9:44-48: what are some of the unbiblical beliefs about the afterlife held by false religions? How are those beliefs shown to be untrue by this account? What are some other verses in Scripture that tell us unbelievers experience eternal torment when they die? Day 2: Luke 16:26, Hebrews 9:27, Luke 16:25, 27-28 cf. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12: why do you think unbelievers don’t receive second chances when they die? How can we tell from the account that the rich man remembered his earthly life? What are some things from his earthly life that he remembered? Day 3: Luke 16:29, 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Isaiah 8:19: why do you think God doesn’t want the living attempting to communicate with the dead? Can you find other verses in Scripture that condemn mediums, Ouija boards, or séances? Can you think of individuals in Scripture, besides Saul, who consulted mediums? Sermon Notes The title of this morning’s sermon is, “What Happens to Unbelievers When They Die?” On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse, and we find ourselves at Luke 16:24. We are in the account of the rich man and Lazarus. As you know, religions have different beliefs about what happens after death. I looked up the beliefs of the top five religions… Sikhism is fifth. Sikhs do not believe in an afterlife, such as heaven or hell. They believe in reincarnation and the way you live in this life determines your form in the next life. Buddhism is fourth. Buddhists also believe in reincarnation, and they believe people who attain a state of enlightenment can enter Nirvana, the highest state of perfect peace and happiness where suffering and desires do not exist. Hinduism is third. Hindus also believe in reincarnation. People are reincarnated based on their karma, or how they lived their previous life. Islam is second. Muslims believe everyone will be resurrected into either paradise or hell based on their obedience to the Five Pillars. Christianity is first, largely because it includes all religions that call themselves Christian, including those we consider to be cults. Among the cults, there are different beliefs about the afterlife. For example… Mormons believe there are different levels or kingdoms: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom, and outer darkness.316 People go to different kingdoms depending on what they believed and how they lived this life.317 Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe our souls are immortal; they believe our souls cease functioning, just as our physical bodies do. When people die, they enter a state of soul sleep. Unrighteous people remain dead for eternity, or are annihilated, but the righteous are resurrected. Seventh-day Adventists also believe in soul sleep and annihilation. When Christ returns, He will awaken believers to go to heaven with Him, while unbelievers cease to exist. Catholics believe people go to heaven, hell, or purgatory. This account shows us what actually happens to unbelievers when they die, and it completely conflicts with the views of these religions. There are 13 verses in this account and most of them focus on the rich man. Aside from being told Lazarus was in comfort at Abraham’s side, or bosom, there’s nothing else said about him. Instead, almost all the attention is on the rich man and his experience as an unbeliever. Last week we made it through verse 23. This morning we will pick up at verse 24, which describes the rich man’s experience and helps us understand what happens to unbelievers when they die. Luke 16:24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ This is the first of two times the rich man tries to get Lazarus to serve him. He ignored Lazarus during his earthly life, but now he pays special attention to him because he wants something. Look at Abraham’s response… Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. This is an example of perfect justice. The rich man ended up being treated exactly like he treated others. He did not show compassion to others during his earthly life and now no compassion is shown to him in the next life. And this brings us to the first part of lesson one… Lesson One: When unbelievers die (Part One) they are in torment. This account doesn’t only show us what the afterlife includes; it also shows us what it excludes. Briefly take your minds back to the religions I just mentioned and their views of the afterlife. We see that Scripture disagrees with all of them. First, the afterlife does not include soul sleep. The rich man and Lazarus are completely conscious, aware of their situations, and capable of feeling comfort and intense pain. Second, there is no reincarnation. The rich man and Lazarus are not returning in different forms based on how they lived their earthly lives. Lazarus is not coming back as a rich man, and the rich man is not coming back as a poor man, or worse, some animal or insect. Third, the afterlife does not include annihilation for the unrighteous. The rich man remained very much in existence. I told you last week that death occurs when our soul leaves our body. Hades is the location souls go when people die, while their bodies are somewhere else. In this account, the rich man and Lazarus’s souls were in Hades, but their bodies were somewhere else: The rich man was buried, so his body would be wherever he was buried Lazarus did not receive a burial, so more than likely his body would be above ground somewhere Because their souls were separated from their bodies, we might be tempted to think that they didn’t feel or experience anything, because we typically associate feeling with our physical bodies. But we see that is not the case at all. Even though their souls were separated from their bodies, they still experienced strong feelings of comfort and torment. There are 13 verses in this account and most of the verses focus on the rich man’s torment. Notice the theme: Verse 23 says he is in torment Verse 24 he says he is in anguish Verse 25 Abraham says he is in anguish Verse 28 he says he’s in a place of torment And if you want to understand how bad the torment is, consider the rich man wanted Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue, but he couldn’t even receive that relief. I take this to mean that the torment in Hades doesn’t even allow the smallest pleasure. To think that hell itself, or the lake of fire, is worse is almost unimaginable. Some people foolishly mock the torment of hell. They act like it won’t be that bad or they go even further and say it will be a place they can join their old friends…like it is a party or celebration. Some people will even say, “I don’t mind if I go to hell. I will have lots of good company.” The rich man did not see it that way. In a moment he will try to prevent his brothers from joining him. One of the reasons some commentators don’t view this account literally is verse 23 says the [rich man] lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. They don’t think the rich man should be able to look up and see Abraham and Lazarus, but this is not the only place in Scripture telling us this happens. Briefly turn a few chapters to the left to Luke 13:27… Luke 13:27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when YOU SEE ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB AND ALL THE PROPHETS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and yourselves thrust out. Again, we see evidence that somehow the unrighteous in torment can see the righteous in comfort. And it seems to be this knowledge that contributes to the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Notice how it is written… There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when YOU SEE ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB AND ALL THE PROPHETS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and yourselves thrust out. Part of the torment in Hades and then in hell is the knowledge of the blessedness and comfort the righteous dead experience that the unrighteous dead forfeited. This past week I received a comment on my blog from someone I don’t know. I want to share what he wrote, because it captures the common view of annihilation. Here’s part of what he said… “You won’t find eternal torment one time in the Old Testament.” This is not true. We talked two weeks ago that eternal punishment is veiled in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament, but it is mentioned in at least one verse…