I believe in annihilation too, but in the Lake of Fire. Hades is not the Lake of Fire. Hades ( and everyone in it) is thrown into the Lake Of Fire after the Great White Throne Judgment _ after the Millennial Kingdom _ at which time the first earth and first heavens are destroyed ( 2 Peter 3:10) as well.
Sheole is often referred to as Hell. It is not the place of final destruction though, it is temporal, within the earth. So in a sense in is phase one of death. Death is Lso thrown into the Lake of Fire ( which is what I call Hell) or phase two if you will.
A story nestled within a chapters of parables. To say otherwise is kind of a stretch.
About Luke 16:19-31
THIS IS NOT A PARABLE!
This is not symbolic language, and is to be taken literally. Why?
Parables DO NOT include specific names of real people, like Abraham, nor his spiritual location. It is also clear that the Rich man and Lazarus are real souls! The Rich man's location is therefore real.
>Why describe two separate and distinct locations that exist after death _ in detail _ to symbolize something else if they did not exist?
>What moral truth would be gained from something or some place that was not real?
Jesus' parables were always about common experiences that people could relate to and draw meaning out of. His parables did not use detailed descriptions of fictional, abstract territories!
The message to all is a stark warning. This Rich man died and went to a place of loneliness, fire and torment. This wasn't his grave or tomb. He didn't become extinct when he died nor was he asleep. He was conscious! He asks for water, a drop, because when Lazarus was alive, he begged for scraps of food. Notice how the Rich man's pride is no longer with him - he is humbled. I don't know, if it is real humility or just an act of manipulation? He was hoping for mercy, to receive more than a drop. When he realized there would be no relief for him, he asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers ( who were also real people) to warn them of this place.
> Abraham also made it clear that these two locations were separated by a gulf (chasm) that no one from either location could pass over!
> The last line of the story points to another reality and parallel to this story, Jesus' death and resurrection.
This whole story alludes also to judgments throughout the Bible that speak of fire and torment that ultimately leads to destruction. There is no hope for that Rich man or anyone else who is cast there, no second chance, no Purgatory, no redemption. This is what death means without faith in God, which is the primary reason we have a Savior. But we must believe that He is our Savior.
That was after the Babylon exile, a foreign concept entered the vernacular
as per wiki
The Second Temple Period wrought several radical theological changes within the Israelite population, and marked the transition from Israelite religion to modern Judaism. The idea of Sheol underwent extensive modification and became widely diversified, with a newfound plethora of interpretations. With the codification of Rabbinical Judaism and the Talmud, Jewish theology concerning the afterlife had largely abandoned the concept of a single destination for all mankind after death and adopted the more recognizable model which espoused a place of reward for the righteous, and a place of punishment for the wicked called Gehinnom. Subsequently, Sheol, and the related terms Abaddon, Bor, Shakhat, etc., were reduced to synonyms for this realm of punishment.
Parables DO NOT include specific names of real people.
I leave the proof to you. Not aware of any scriptural requirements.
Definition of a parable.
Matthew 13:10-11
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
symbols of parable
Bosom of Abraham is the place in Sheol for the Righteous Dead - colloquial especially amongst pharisee hell believers.
Lararus (greek) = Eleazar (hebrew) = God Has Helped.
Rich man = pharisee (audience of scoffers in Luke 16)
It is parabolic lesson of hypocrisy with the current middle class sensibilities in focus.
Purgatory is completely extraneous wrt to faith. Wages of sin is death. The purpose of the hell concept is to empower earthly majesty. I have only One King :) and he alone manages the covenants.
