Dead Man Talking

“Dead Man Talking”

Luke 16:19-31

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

King James Version (KJV)

How many of you know what a séance is? The word itself is French for “session” and is a practice associated with occultism where people seek to communicate with the dead. These activities usually take place in a darkened room because strong light is said to hinder communication. It generally involves 6-8 people led by a medium that “channels” the spirit of the deceased. There has always been a fascination with this type of communication with the dead and a quick study of the Bible gives an example of this type of activity. In 1 Samuel 28 we have King Saul seeking to communicate with Samuel the prophet who has been dead for some time. He does this by consulting a “witch” who possessed a “familiar spirit” which is translated doppelganger or personal demon in Wikipedia.

This was not the spirit of Samuel but a demonic presence and the Scripture makes it plain that this type of activity is an abomination to the Lord and is very dangerous for those who get involved in it but that still does not stop folks because of the interest there is in our culture in the supernatural. In my opinion most if not all of the so called out of body experiences or NDE’s reported today involve this same type of demonic activity but in our text today we have something different. For almost 2,000 years we have had this account in Luke 16 of contact with the dead told by our Lord. Scholars have speculated that this is a real actual glimpse into the world beyond the grave. It is literally a dead man talking and we ought to listen for he says some things that should be considered by all of us. As I studied this passage it came to me that what we have here is the example of a man who was not a believer in life but became a believer in death. His experience in hell led him to make several statements that I wish to examine this morning. First, let me say something about the place where this scene takes place: HELL, LITERALLY

Now the word for "hell" is interesting. According to William Barclay, it literally referred to the Valley of Hinnom, to the South West of Jerusalem. William Barclay says "It was notorious as the place where Ahaz had introduced into Israel the fire worship of the heathen god Molech, to whom little children were burned in the fire. ... (2 Chronicles 28:3). Josiah, the reforming king, had stamped out that worship and had ordered that the valley should be forever after an accursed place. ...(2 Kings 23:10). In consequence of this, the Valley of Hinnom became the place where the refuse of Jesusalem was cast out and destroyed. It was a kind of public incinerator. Always the fire smouldered in it, and a pall of thick smoke lay over it, ... So Gehennah, the Valley of Hinnom, became identified in people’s minds with all that was accursed and filthy, the place where useless and evil things were destroyed. That is why it became a synonym for the place of God’s destroying power, for hell.