20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
and lo,
The word “lo” carries the idea of surely. Grammatically it is an injection used to call attention to something important. We need the certainty of Christ’s presence in ministry.
I am with you always,
Jesus will be with those who proclaim the Great Commission every step of the way. He had been with the disciples for three years, but His promise was that He would be with them every day in the future.
This promise is not a sedative for blasé Christians but an incentive for us to fulfill the Great Commission.
even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Jesus concluded the Great Commission with a promise that He would continually be with those who carry the message until the end of time; that is, unto the consummation of time.
PRINCIPLE:
The risen Messiah is central to the Great Commission.
APPLICATION:
Jesus commits Himself to be with all those who share the Great Commission until He returns. This commitment means that He will give power to those who preach the gospel. Why should we be timid in sharing our faith if that is so?
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He, Himself has said, “I will never [the Greek says, “I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever leave you”; five particles] leave you nor forsake you.”
You didn’t do a verse-by-verse commentary on Luke. You really should have since it has something that you cannot find anywhere else in the Bible: The Rich Man and Lazarus!
So I have two questions. Why do the rich man, Lazarus and Abraham have bodies? Bosom, finger, and tongue.
And do you think that were two compartments of Hades during the time of the Old Testament?
Tom, each book you find on versebyversecommentary.com takes years to study and present. It is one of the books that I have not gotten to yet.
There is a difference between Paradise and Hades. Both Sheol of the Old Testament and Hadies of the New Testament are tempory hells until the Lord dumps both into the Lake of Fire (Re 20).
There is a question as to whether that passage in Luke is a parable, if it is a parable, then the rich man and Lazareth are not real people. If it is a parable, then it breaks the pattern of people with names in a parable.
Tom, sorry, that was a typo. I corrected my comment to “both Sheol of the Old Testament Hadies of the New Testament are temporary hells.”
Well, that’s good to hear. But you actually made another mistake. Sheol and Hades are one thing, not two. So you can’t say BOTH will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Also, you forgot to answer my questions.
Why do the rich man, Lazarus and Abraham have bodies as indicated by their body parts: bosom, finger, and tongue?
And do you think that there were two compartments of Hades during the time up until Christ sacrificed his life on the cross?
Tom,
No, I did not make a mistake, as you appear to want me to make. You apparently do not have the capacity to distinguish careful wording. When I used the word “of” in “Sheol of” and “Hades of,” that referenced the Old and New Testaments’ use of the terms. Although Sheol and Hades are essentially the same (both carry the same general sense; that is, the intermediate state), they are not exactly the same. Sheol in the OT is roughly analogous to Hades in the NT. The term Sheol was used for the lost in nation Israel and for the lost during the period of the Patriarchs. The term Hades was used for the lost during the time of Jesus and beyond.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to describe the realm of the dead is Sheol. It simply means “the place of the dead” or “the place of departed souls/spirits.” The New Testament Greek approximation to Sheol is hades, which is also a general reference to “the place of the dead.” The Greek word gehenna is used in the New Testament for “hell” and is derived from the Hebrew word hinnom. Other Scriptures in the New Testament indicate that Sheol/Hades is a temporary place where souls are kept as they await the final resurrection. The souls of the righteous, at death, go directly into the presence of God—the part of Sheol called “heaven,” “paradise,” or “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23).
This differentiation between the wicked and the righteous dead continues throughout the New Testament. The righteous dead are “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8), “in paradise” (Luke 23:43), or in the presence of God (Rev. 6:9; 7:9; 14:3). The unrighteous are held in punishment and wicked angels are imprisoned in Tartarus, a Greek term designating the lowest part of Hades (1 Peter 3:19; 2 Peter 2:4, 9; Jude 6). Jesus’ woe to unrepentant Capernaum that it will be brought down to Hades is not simply a prophecy of its earthly demise, but its judgment.
In the progress of dispensations (progressive revelation), a separation had come to be made between elements that originally were mingled together, so that Hades was henceforth appropriated to those who were reserved in darkness and misery to the great day; and other names were employed to designate the intermediate resting place of the redeemed.
By the beginning of the New Testament period, hadēs had three meanings: (1) death, (2) the place of all the dead, and (3) the place of the wicked dead only. Context determines which meaning an author intends. In Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15, Jesus speaks of the descending of Capernaum to hadēs. He simply means that the city will be destroyed. In Acts 2:27, quoting Psalm 16:10, hadēs is referred to as the place of the dead. Christ did not stay among the dead in hadēs; unlike David, He rose from the dead (see Acts 2:27). In Revelation 20:13–14, hadēs refers to the place of the dead, because hadēs is emptied of all who are in it, when the wicked are judged and cast into the lake of fire (see Hell), hadēs is also thrown in the lake of fire.
Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus portrays additional features of the intermediate state (Luke 16:19–31). Jesus spoke of the rich man as being tormented in Hades, while Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham, dwelling in joy and peace (Luke 16:19–31). An unbridgeable chasm separates the wicked and the righteous dead. Death has fixed the human’s destiny without further opportunity for repentance. The rich man recalls his fate and that of his family and cries out in distress for Abraham to send them a sign and relieve his punishment but to no avail. The details of parables should not be pressed to teach doctrine for the hermeneutics of parables teach one principle or main idea. Jesus’ description of the basic conditions of the godly and ungodly dead is indispensable to the parable’s point. [if indeed it is a parable]
The rich man experiences torment in Hades, in an intermediate state, for the bodily resurrection and the final judgment are still future. Jesus’ point is that Hades foreshadows the rich man’s final judgment. Similarly, Lazarus resting at Abraham’s side denotes the joyous abode of the righteous dead (Luke 16:23). Thus, Luke 16:19–31, the account of the rich man and Lazarus (and which, strictly speaking, is not a parable because it has names), indicates a difference in Hades after the ascension of Christ. In Luke 16:23, the rich man is tormented in flames, while the poor man Lazarus goes to Paradise. Thus, 16:23 clearly refers to hadēs as the place of the wicked dead. [Note: I have given two conflicting arguments because no one has come up with a convincing argument]
Note this argument from Dr. Unger about two compartments: “Before this far-reaching event, it seems clear that Hades was in two compartments, the residence respectively of saved and unsaved spirits. “Paradise” and “Abraham’s bosom,” both common Jewish terms of the day, were adopted by Christ in Luke 16:22 and 23:43 to designate the condition of the righteous in the intermediate state. The blessed dead, being with Abraham, were conscious and “comforted” (16:25). The dying thief was on that very day to be with Christ in “Paradise.” The unsaved were separated from the saved by a “great chasm fixed” (16:26). The rich man, who is evidently still in Hades, is a representative case and describes the unjudged condition in the intermediate state of the wicked. As to his spirit, he was alive, fully conscious, in exercise of his mental faculties, and also tormented. It is thus apparent that insofar as the unsaved dead are concerned, no change in their abode or state is revealed in connection with the ascension of Christ. At the sinners’ judgment of the great white throne, Hades will surrender the wicked. They will be judged and cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:13–14; see Lake of Fire). However, with regard to the state of the righteous and the location of paradise, Christ’s ascension has evidently worked a drastic change. The apostle Paul was “caught up to the third heaven … into Paradise” (2 Cor. 12:1–4). Paradise, therefore, now denotes the immediate presence of God. When Christ “ascended on high” He “led captive a host of captives” (Eph. 4:8–10). Since it is immediately added that He “descended into the lower parts of the earth,” evidently the paradise division of hades, He set free the saved spirit denizens of the underworld. Thus during the present church age, the redeemed who die are “absent from the body … at home with the Lord.” The wicked, by contrast, are in hades. Both are awaiting resurrection: one the resurrection to life and the other the resurrection to condemnation. ” [evidently, there were two compartments until a given point]
Note Silva on whether OT believers go to a place of gloom or go to be with the Lord immediatly: “An important question regarding Sheol is this: At death, did the OT believers go to such a place of gloom or did they go to be with the Lord immediately? The former view was prevalent in the early church, which also held that Christ at his death descended into Sheol (HADES) to bring the OT believers to heaven with him. The latter view is held by those who believe that the Sheol concept was held by the Israelites in common with their pagan neighbors until God gradually revealed more and more information about the life after death, climaxing his revelation in Christ who brought life and immortality to light. Both views contain considerable difficulties.” 2
1 Unger, M. F. (1988). Hades. In R. K. Harrison (Ed.), The new Unger’s Bible dictionary (Rev. and updated ed.). Moody Press.
2 Silva, M., & Tenney, M. C. (2009). In The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Q-Z (Revised, Full-Color Edition, Vol. 5, p. 472). The Zondervan Corporation.