wicked dead are now in the lake of fire. This is certainly a fact worthy of note.
5. The account of the rich man stands at the conclusion of a discourse made
up of parables. Thus Luke 15 presents us with the parable of the lost sheep, the
ten pieces of silver, and the prodigal son. The sixteenth chapter is made up of
two parables; the unjust steward and the rich man and Lazarus. It is true that the
account of the rich man and Lazarus is not called a parable by the sacred
penman; but the fact is the same with respect to the two cases which precede
this; and the three are introduced in the same manner: "A certain man had two
sons;" "There was a certain rich man which had a steward;" "There was a certain
rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen."
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6. It is generally admitted that a parable cannot be made the foundation of
any doctrine, or be used to disprove doctrines established by plain and literal
testimony. But the doctrine of the present punishment of the wicked dead rests
upon a single parable, and that parable the case of a single individual.
7. The proper interpretation of any portion of the Sacred Record will show that
it is in divine harmony with the general tenor and plain facts of the whole book.
8. Three of the dead are here introduced - Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich
man - and all are represented as in hades. "In hell [Greek, hades] he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
Luke 16:23. Hades is the place of all the dead, the righteous as well as the
wicked.
5
Thus, at the resurrection of the just, they shout victory over death and hades,
from whose power they are then delivered. "O Death, where is thy sting? O
Grave [Greek, hades], where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:55. The wicked dead are
in hades; for at the resurrection to damnation, hades delivers them up. Rev.
20:13. The resurrection of Christ did not leave his soul in hades; i.e., he then
came forth from the place of the dead. Hades, therefore, is the common
receptacle of the dead. Those who are in hades are not alive, but dead. "DEATH
and HADES delivered up the DEAD which were in them." Rev. 20:13. Even the
language of Abraham implies that all the party were then dead. To Dives, he
says, "Thou in thy lifetime [now passed] receivedst thy good things; but now he is
comforted, and thou art tormented." Classing himself with dead Lazarus, he
adds: "Between US and you there is a great gulf fixed." The rich man then begs
that Lazarus may be sent to his brethren, declaring that if one went unto them
from the dead, they would repent. And Abraham, denying his request, said that
they would not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." This scene
transpires in hades, the place of the dead; and those who act in it are three dead
persons.
9. A clue to the proper interpretation of this parable is found in verses 29 and
31: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. . . . If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from
the dead." This language directs the living to Moses and the prophets for
instruction concerning man's condition in hades. In their testimony will be found