Real with Consequences vs False with None
Written by John Carson
In Matthew 13, Jesus’ disciples asked Him:
“Why do You speak to them in parables?”
He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
“Truly, I say to you,
many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (verses 10-11, 17)
Heaven is beyond our comprehension, and yet Jesus told parables to reveal heavenly truths of which prophets and righteous people longed to hear. So if we want to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus’ words provide us with those truths about what heaven is like.
The revealing of those mysteries meant that every word of every parable had the utmost significance of meaning. This brings us to ask a few questions about the parable Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31:
Jehovah’s Witnesses will want you to believe none of those are true. To them, a chasm does not exist, as they do not believe people continue to consciously exist while their bodies lie dead in the graves.
But how are we to view Jesus’ parables? Were they based upon real-life scenarios, or were they not true to reality?
For example, if you read the parable of “The speck and the log” in Matthew 7:1-6, you will notice it is a story that is true to reality. We all know what specks, logs, and eyes are, by the fact that they really do exist.
The telling of a parable based upon what is not real, would be the last thing we would expect Jesus to tell. Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil, including his lies.
Compare the parables Jesus taught below. I listed all 50 of them. You can click on the references to read each one. You will notice all the parables Jesus taught that are widely accepted as real-life scenarios, are marked with an R.
R | 1. The speck and the log | |
R | 2. The two houses | |
R | 3. Children in the marketplace | |
R | 4. The two debtors | |
R | 5. The unclean spirit | |
R | 6. The man building his barns | |
R | 7. The barren fig tree | |
R | 8. The sower | |
R | 9. The tares | |
R | 10. The seed | |
R | 11. The grain of mustard seed | |
R | 12. The leaven | |
R | 13. The lamp | |
R | 14. The dragnet | |
R | 15. The hidden treasure | |
R | 16. The pearl of great value | |
R | 17. The householder | |
R | 18. The marriage | |
R | 19. The patched garment | |
R | 20. The wineskins | |
R | 21. The harvest | |
R | 22. Thrown into prison | |
R | 23. The unforgiving servant | |
R | 24. The Good Samaritan | |
R | 25. The three loaves | |
R | 26. The good shepherd | |
R | 27. The narrow gate | |
R | 28. The guests | |
R | 29. The great banquet | |
R | 30. The wedding clothes | |
R | 31. The tower | |
R | 32. The king going to war | |
R | 33. The lost sheep | |
R | 34. The lost coin | |
R | 35. The lost son | |
R | 36. The unjust steward | |
37. The great chasm | ||
R | 38. The servant’s duty | |
R | 39. Labourers in the vineyard | |
R | 40. The talents | |
R | 41. The persistent widow | |
R | 42. Pharisee and tax-gatherer | |
R | 43. The two sons | |
R | 44. The wicked vine-growers | |
R | 45. The fig tree | |
R | 46. The watching servant | |
R | 47. The man on a journey | |
R | 48. Character of two slaves | |
R | 49. The ten virgins | |
R | 50. The vine and branches |
You will notice I did not place an R beside number 37. I left it blank purposefully for you to make up your own mind on how you ought to read it. The only parable questioned by the Watchtower (based upon a scenario that is considered by them as unreal), is this story Jesus told, where there is a great chasm between Lazarus and the Rich Man after they had both died (Luke 16:19-31). Why would this one parable alone be questioned by Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Consider these questions:
Why should we believe virtually every other parable Jesus told were based upon reality, except for this one? If that chasm does not exist, wouldn’t Jesus telling of this parable mislead those listening to Him, into believing that it does exist? This would be very confusing indeed to His listeners (and those reading His words).
And, if Satan (who is the teller of lies) wanted to point to this parable to mislead people into believing something that is not true, then how would he have accomplished this? Were Jesus’ words somehow twisted by Satan? Not at all. A plain reading of those verses reveals heavenly truths Jesus wanted to communicate.
If the teaching that conscious existence continues after a person dies, is an actual lie from Satan (that the Rich Man experiencing torment, and Lazarus experiencing wonderful peacefulness, is not true), why then did it come from the lips of Jesus?
Does the great chasm in Luke 16 actually exist? If we are to read all the parables CONSISTENTLY, then what would be the basis for believing that what Jesus described in that parable was false?
There is no honest basis for disbelieving what Jesus taught, which means we should take what Jesus said to be ALL true. The chasm is real, and there is conscious existence after death.
Which side of the chasm will you be on when you die? Do you know if you will experience everlasting joy in Jesus’ Holy Presence because of His wonderful grace, or torment because you rejected Jesus Christ and His finished work? To learn more, go to our page: The Gospel
For more information on conscious existence after death, see also: Beyond The Grave
Latest comments
14.09 | 00:17
Is it your intent to share your faith with me? I'm a devout Latter-day Saint.
30.06 | 17:21
Let's add, the keys to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) the key of David (Rev. 3:7) the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52) and the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt.16:19) only given to Simon/Peter.
24.05 | 06:04
Intuitive
10.02 | 23:31
Checked out the great video. 👍 Thumbs up!
The Mormon Religion was officially founded by Joseph Smith Jr. on April 6. 1830 after the Book of Mormon (BOM) was published in that same year.
Joseph Smith Jr. was born in Vermont on December 23, 1805. He claimed that when he was 14, he received a vision from God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees near his home where he received instructions not to join any of the Christian churches because they were all wrong.
Three years later, Smith claimed that an angel named Moroni (a character found in the BOM) appeared to him in his bedroom whom he said revealed to him that he was selected to translate "Reformed Egyptian" (a language that does not exist) from gold plates into old English. These plates were supposedly hidden near Palmyra, New York and are said to be written around the 4th century. The BOM was named after Moroni’s father, Mormon. Mormons view the BOM as sacred. No one is able to study the original plates because Joseph Smith claimed the angel took them back on May 2, 1838 (History of the Church 1:60).
Smith had a scribe named Cowdery. Smith did not actually translate directly from any plates. Rather, in his writings, he said he placed a "seer stone" in a hat and covered any light from entering it as he placed his face in the hat. According to Martin Harris, “By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet . . . , and when finished he would say, ‘Written,’ and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected,” Smith said, “By the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics".
Despite such methods of translation, there have been at least 3,913 changes made in the BOM from the time it was first published. Joseph Smith stated, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” Smith also claimed that John the Baptist appeared to him on May 15, 1829 while he was translating the BOM, and instructed him to restore the church by preaching the only true gospel.
Mormons regard the BOM as sacred writings, and view it in higher standing than that of the Holy Bible. Mormon Missionaries will ask you to pray that it is true. (See our page Pray to Know)