Luke 16:
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
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.
The target audience for this parable was to the Pharisees...he was addressing them only. The point of the parable was that Jews were going to suffer a separation from God because of unbelief....they were going to be cut off from the Lord and his kingdom in order for the world to gain from their loss....salvation was to come to the world (Lazarus)....the gentiles were going to receive the gospel and be made "alive" to God...they were without God in the world beforehand...which describes their poor condition. Lazarus name means "One whom God helps". Indeed God has helped the called gentiles. The Jews were the rich because they had the promises and connection to God...they had the law and prophets...that is what made them "rich". The rich man (the house of Judah) was clothed in purple (signifying royalty) and fine linen, which signified priests�.they were the kings and priests�a holy nation in the world. They had in their possession the knowledge of the kingdom of God. They had power and authority from God. They were rich�they had the adoption, the glory , the covenants, the giving of the law, the promises, and the service of God. The "rich" man had FIVE brothers...the "rich" man is JUDAH who had five full-blooded brothers from the same mother. Leah bore Jacob five additional sons besides Judah. They are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Zebulun. Jesus lamented over the cutting off of the Jews:
Matthew 23:
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
The Jews' house was to be left desolate...they were to cut off from God's presence because of unbelief which is "hell"...it has been "hell" on earth for the Jews for the last 2000 years...but God ultimately returns to them. The word "hell" in the KJV of the bible is really Hades which means the unseen state of the dead which describes the spiritual condition of the Jews. It is a fire of torment that was foretold:
(Amos 2:4 KJV) Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
2:5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
The rich man, Judah, is tormented by the flame of the fire..
They were accused of not believing because they did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah they had been waiting for....they had the Law (Moses) and the prophets who spoke entirely of Jesus but failed to recognize it. They (the Jewish leaders) would not believe Jesus even if he rose from the dead...which he did and they haven't believed. They were following the commandments of men rather than the commandments of the Lord.....the Christian church has repeated this error!!!!
(Mat 15:9 KJV) But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
They have been in "exile"....they have lost the temple in 70 AD and had been dispersed among the nations until recent times. With the loss of the temple which contained the presence of God for them, it has been an exile from His Spirit. They had stumbled upon the cornerstone set by God and the kingdom was taken from them and given to the gentiles until their time has been fulfilled....the fullness of the gentiles...Ephraim..
(Mat 21:42 KJV) Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Jesus accused the Pharisees of shutting up the kingdom of heaven so that the sheep underneath their leadership do not enter in. Lazarus goes to the bosom of Abraham...the "gentiles" are counted as the seed of Abraham because of the promise of God. The fixed, great gulf between the Jews and "Christians" is evident even today.
But, all is not lost for the Jews because of their unbelief. Christians are not to be arrogant about this because it is plainly explained that they will be grafted back into the living vine.
Romans 11:
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
In Micah, it is very specific about when the Jews will return out of exile to the presence of God.
(Micah 5:2 KJV) But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Jesus the Messiah (the Christ) had come from the tribe of Judah and was rejected by most of his brethern (the Jews) and so he "gave them up" until the Christian church and the world has given birth (more on that at a later study). The Christian church has bowed down to the works of their own hands which God detests and ultimately a smaller, remnant church will come out of them with a repentant, clean heart and vessel and will understand and teach the true plans of God per the Scriptures.
God will strengthen the house of Judah (the Jews) and will graft them in again as though they had not been cast off. The repentant Christians (Ephraim) will see this and rejoice and God saves us as well..
(Zec 10:6 KJV) And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
10:7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
The red heifer sacrifice deals with the return of the Jews from "exile" or their dead state. They are to be purified spiritually from touching a "dead" body because they "died" spiritually and were buried. The kingdom of God was taken from them. They will be made "alive" again to God....resurrected if you will.
(Rom 11:15 KJV) For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
When the Messiah reveals himself to his brothers (the Jews of the flesh), it will be like Joseph revealing himself to his brothers.
Genesis
45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
The Jews will initially be troubled at the Messiah's revelation to them because of their past actions toward Jesus.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
The Messiah assures them that what was done was for the benefit for all mankind. He is the savior (to preserve life). He wants them to come to him.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
When this revelation of the Messiah to the Jews happens, it is a time when there is a famine of hearing the words of God.(Christian church leaders are "drunken" and are not feeding or giving drink to the sheep) the great harvest of the rest of the world is still yet to happen at the appointed time.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Jesus was sent by God per his plans to preserve a remnant of both Jews and Christians.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
It was not the Jews own doing that caused things to work out the way they did...it was God's plan all along. God has made Jesus the Lord and King of the entire world (all men, kingdoms) and is subject only to God himself.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
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