Reply To: The Nature of Man/Life of Christ – Week 4 Forum – March 10, 2016

[Rhonda]

Luke 16:22 states, “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;”

Based on what we have studied thus far in class, I found it very interesting that Lazarus the man described as the beggar with sores which the dogs licked was carried by angels.  This was a spiritual triumph suited to one accepted by the most high God.  However, the rich man probably had a lavish funeral on earth as a sign of an earthly honor suited to a worldly life.

Also, the rich man saw and recognized Lazarus even though he no longer existed in his natural body. This is evidence that contrary to many beliefs, we do not just fail to exist after death. The spirit and soul is separated from the body after physical death here on earth, but we do not cease to exist.  This shows us that the real man is the inward man, the hidden man of the heart, which is an eternal being.

The rich man was still able contact the intellectual realm because he still possessed his soul. This was evident when he tried to rationalize contacting his brothers (whom he still had memory of) to warn them of the place he was in. The rich man was still able to reason and think and tried to use this ability to demand that Lazarus dip his finger in water to cool his tongue.  However, he no longer had a physical body and was separated from his bothers in the physical realm.