Luke 16:19-31
Moses and the Prophets
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
John 5:31-47
Believing in Moses
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing —testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Many believers and non-believers believe that God hides...Some non-believers tell us, it is as easy to believe in the Easter bunny, as it is to believe in God...Some non-believers use another bunny that starred in the movie Harvey, as the six foot invisible rabbit who walked around with Jimmy Stewart, as a God comparison...What non-believers are saying is not only is God hiding, but that they do not even believe that He exists...Therefore, if God doesn't exist, He could never have a Son who exists...
Many believers have traditional answers of why God does not show Himself...One of the most frequent I read is that He wants us to have complete free will...If He were to show Himself day in and day out -then we would have no reason to seek Him and have no reason for faith in Him...This would be because, He certainly would exist (if you saw Him everyday) and "faith in God" becomes an archaic phrase...By hiding and for those believers that do seek Him, therefore they can grow their faith, and come to a more mature-type faith (after all, should God just give us our faith)...Other theists say our sin hides us from Him...Our sin, since the fall of Adam and Eve, keeps us separate from God...Other theists teach us that God is all knowing, therefore He knows how much contact we need in our lifetime with Him...He knows the exact and perfect amount of His Presence that we need in our lives...Others say that we are wicked and because we sin, we do not seek Him and we hide from Him (like Adam and Eve hid in the Garden (Genesis 3:8)) because we do not want to be seen by Him...Christians say if you believe in Jesus, then you can believe in God -because Jesus spent His whole ministry teaching about God...No Man ever made God more central and a part of their life than Jesus did...Jesus was with God, in the beginning...Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God...And God became flesh and made His dwelling among us, when Jesus walked the earth...Jesus' life reveals the exact nature of God...And the Word and Word's that came from His mouth are like no other...
I believe in the Christian argument...I believe God has a Son named Jesus...God (Himself) can hide, if He chooses to, for any number of the above reasons, or for reasons only known to Him...One of the reasons, I believe in this argument, is because there were over four hundred years from between the Old Testament and the New Testament...Many thought God was hiding in this four hundred year period...I think we like to think of ourselves today as smarter than man of two thousand and even a thousand years ago -but I do not believe this...I do not believe that I am smarter that Thales of Miletus, Apastambha, Pythagoras, Panini, Euclid, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Isaac Newton, Keppler, and other great scholars and mathematicians of long ago...I could not even today, take a group of friends to Egypt and build another Great Pyramid of Giza besides the ones that were built in 2500 b.c...There were smart people all throughout mankind's history...I think Solomon and St. Paul were two on mankind's brightest authors and thinkers...Both of these gentlemen are in the Bible and believed in God...And it (even) took Paul some persuasion to believe that God actually had a Son -and to become a Christian...
Jesus teaches us in the Parable of the rich man and Lazarus that even if one returns from the dead some people will not believe...The poor man is carried by angels to the patriarch Abraham, and is by his side...Jesus teaches and Abraham tells the rich man that while Lazarus was on earth he was poor and received bad things...But while he was on earth he was rich and received good things throughout his lifetime...And even if Lazarus would rise from the dead and return and talk to the rich man's five brothers they would still not believe...Abraham says they have Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced, even if a miracle happens, and they see someone has risen from the dead...
Jesus later tells another group that their accuser is Moses...If they do not believe in Moses, then they will not believe in Him...Moses believed in a Great Prophet, a Messiah would come from God...But if you do not believe in Moses, Jesus, and believe the forty some authors of the Bible are lying, then you must believe Jesus is the biggest liar of all...Because in these teachings, Jesus is telling us, we have Moses and the Prophets to believe in and to listen to...If we do, then we can believe in Him...Jesus is telling us that to believe in God and Him, we have to read the Bible...And not only do we have to read it, but we have to believe what in it is true and did happen...Moses and the Prophets make up much of the Old Testament...The New Testament is all about Jesus...If we believe in Moses and what Moses wrote, we can believe in God and that He has a Son named Jesus...Because, if we believe Moses, you would believe Jesus, for Moses wrote about Him (John 5:46)...