Luke 16:19-31
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.’”
Do you believe in the resurrection?...Do you believe in heaven, and life after death?...Well, first we have to believe in the Bible and God and Jesus to believe in these things...
Jesus tells a story about a rich man and a poor man...This story is also about the resurrection of our bodies after their deaths...Some believe in the resurrection of the body after we die, some do not...Jesus tells us that some people will not believe in life after death, even if they saw it with their own eyes...Even if they have seen a man come back from his death, like Lazarus -some will still not believe the Word of God...The rich man tells Abraham that his family would listen and believe in life after death and repent, if they could only see Lazarus who had died...
The Bible gives us stories of God and what He has done for His people...The New Testament speaks of God sending His Son to us to help us with our sins...And the New Testament gives us the life of Jesus and what He is like...The Old Testament gives us five books by Moses and many books from the Prophets...If we do not believe in the Bible, then it is difficult for some people to believe in life after death -even if they see someone come back from the dead...Jesus came back from the dead, and many do not believe in Him or that He was the Messiah or that He actually did resurrect from His death...
So long ago Jesus said this, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."...This was said two thousand years ago...And it is still true today...