"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." -Luke 16:24
We read in Luke 16:24 that the rich man was suffering horribly in torment, burning in flames of fire. The rich man BEGS (you see, now he is the beggar) for a drop of water from Lazarus' finger; BUT, there is NO relief whatsoever. The rich man is now utterly poor, and must suffer the eternal consequences of his rebellion and sin against God, for he has died in his sins. He begs... "Please, please, just one drop of water"; BUT, there is none. So many people today are woefully ignorant of the Truth of God's Word. We've heard so many false prophets preach about love, love, love, that we've forgotten about God's holiness which demands justice. The average person today won't even read ONE Gospel tract; BUT, they will reap what they sow when they are one day begging for ONE DROP of water in Hellfire.
The rich man died and went to Hell; BUT, Lazarus was escorted be angels to Paradise (i.e., Abraham's bosom)... "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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (Luke 16:22-23). Evidently the Paradise side of Hades contained water. The Greek word for "hell" in Luke 23 is Hades, which is equivalent to the Old Testament Hebrew word Sheol, or place of the dead. When you died, you were said to have gone to "Sheol"; however, Psalm 9:17 irrefutably evidences that the wicked do not go to the SAME place as the righteous, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." The answer is simple--Sheol (or Hades) is composed of 2 separate areas: Paradise and Torment. This is clearly evidenced in Luke 16:18-31. The wicked were sent to the Torment side of Hades; but the righteous to Paradise to be received into Abraham's bosom. Some skeptics today would lead us to believe, that the story Jesus told about the rich man burning in Hell is not Literal. Only an unscholarly, willingly blind, unbeliever, would deny the literalness of Luke 16:18-31.
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." -2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9
Americans Have Forgotten the Poor
There are beggars just like Lazarus in the world today, desiring to be fed with our crumbs; BUT, they are starving to death instead. No wonder Isaiah 5:14 states... "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it." Lazarus couldn't even get ONE crumb from the rich man while on earth; BUT, now the tables have been turned, they are in eternity, and the rich man can't even get ONE DROP of water! Those in the world today, who selfishly live for themselves, and ignore the cries of the poor, will give account to God in eternity. To give to the poor is to lend to God... "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again" (proverb 19:17).
While America's wealthy families (8,900,000 U.S. MILLIONAIRES as of 2005) stuff their faces and live like kings, 18000 children continue to starve to death everyday. There are 946 BILLIONAIRES in the world! This year, total pet-related sales in the United States are projected to be $31 billion. An estimated $5 billion worth of holiday season gifts were offered – not to the poor – but to the roving family pets. Americans spend $20.3 billion a year on games and toys. One doesn't need toys to play with when the most popular game is playing deaf and blind to the needs of the poor. Americans spend $586.5 billion a year on gambling. $31 billion goes annually in the U.S. for tobacco products. $58 billion is spent on alcohol consumption. $250 billion dollars are spent annually in the U.S. on the medical treatment of tobacco and alcohol-related diseases. Here are $976.3 billion dollars – almost a trillion - spent every year in the US on pets, toys, gambling, alcohol and tobacco. SPOILED!
While Americans live high-on-the-hog, the poor continue to starve to death! Millions die from malnutrition and untreated diseases. Much of the money that Americans donate to charity is STOLEN by crooked charitable organizations, who pay their top executives over $100,000 a year, and sometimes millions! Yet, people foolishly keep giving. I recently wrote to http://www.worldorphans.org/, asking them in the kindest of terms, what their top executives were paid per year including benefits. To no surprise, they never wrote back! Sadly, most Americans don't care if the money actually gets to the poor, just so long as we can pat ourselves on the back and feel good about ourselves. We are a nation of hypocrites! What we need to do in America is ELIMINATE the middleman, i.e., the fat-cat charitable organizations, who are growing obese with people's donations. It's no wonder why James Robison refuses to disclose his ministries' finances to the BBB. The ministry is LIFE FOR TODAY. Pat Roberson's THE 700 CLUB also refuses to cooperate with the BBB. I am just being honest, not unkind. A legitimate organization shouldn't have anything to hide. Tragically, many of the RICH families in America today have made their money by exploiting people's desire to help the poor, etc. We need to rise above the televangelists, organized religion, and the charitable organizations if the poor are truly going to be helped!
The small amount of
pocket-change that Americans give to the poor, as compared to the trillions
we spend on ourselves is staggering! Furthermore, trillions of dollars
have gone to corrupt televangelists, who live in multimillion dollar
mansions, drive luxurious cars, and live sinful lives of whoremongering,
booze, wild parties, and the Devil's music. The poor of this world are
begging for our crumbs; BUT, we are instead sending our money to lying
televangelists, sinister ministers, and fat-cat charitable
organizations--and 18,000 kids still starve to death every single day in
this world! The rich man in Luke 16:18-31 DIDN'T care about anyone
except himself. He was selfish, self-righteous, and self-conceited--as
are MOST Americans today!
JUST ONE DROP!
"Please" the rich man begs... "please, send Lazarus with a
drop of cold water to relieve my suffering." This is a clear
indication as to what the wicked can expect in Hell... unbearable thirst
caused by the tormentuous flames. Isn't it tragic, that most people
today refuse to listen to even ONE sermon, or give a soulwinner ONE minute
of their precious time. No one has time for God anymore.
Americans are absolutely saturated with idolatry, even naming one of our
most popular TV shows... AMERICAN IDOL. We not only sin against
God in America, we even name one of our biggest cities... SIN CITY.
Woe unto America!
If you have rejected Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you're not afraid of Hell, you will be... YOU WILL BE! ..."It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).
"The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day." -Isaiah 2:11
