Let us let the Bible interpret itself along the principle of "line upon line and precept upon precept" on the following passage of Scripture which is so often used to teach a disembodied state of the soul and/or spirit after death.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. Luke 16:19-21

Luke 16:10-14 identifies the rich man is none other than the Pharisees, who were covetous; that is, lovers of money. The name "Lazarus" is the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Eleazar" which in turn means "God is helper." Eleazar was also Aaron's son, one of the heads of the fathers of the Levites which had no inheritance in the land, but their inheritance was the LORD (Exodus 6:25; Numbers 18:23). Lazarus' desiring to partake of the crumbs from the rich man's table illustrates the fact that the rich man, the Jews, of which the Pharisees were a part in Jesus' day, were entrusted with the oracles (or words) of God (see Romans 3:1-2). That the Word of God is referred to as bread can be demonstrated by such texts as Mark 7:27-28; Mark 14:22; etc.

Notice, there has been no distinction made between the rich man and Lazarus to show whether one was righteous or whether one was unrighteous or, indeed, whether a state of righteousness existed in either one. In fact, Psalms 37:25 reads: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." The comparison is only made to show the elevation of the one and the abasement of the other.

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; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:22-23

We notice in these verses Lazarus and the rich man both died. This word "died" is used in the same sense as in Luke 15:24 in the parable of the prodigal son where it reads: "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." The word "died" in these verses points out the condition of the hearers of the good news of the Kingdom of God as to whether they repented and accepted the message or rejected it (Luke 16:16).

That it could not be describing a literal after-death, pre-resurrection existence is clear by the context. If it were literal, Lazarus literally would have been touched by angels. This would have made the angels unclean according to Numbers 19:11. Also, it could not be taken literally because the angels carried Lazarus into Abraham's bosom. Into Abraham's bosom would literally be Abraham's internal organs, most notably his heart; see Nehemiah 9:7-8: "Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; and foundest his heart faithful before thee ... "

Therefore, we are to understand that Lazarus had the same heart condition as Abraham after hearing this good news of the Kingdom proclaimed after John (Matthew 5:3; Luke 16:16). That the rich man did not accept this message is seen by the expression "died, and was buried." And where was he buried? In "hell" (Greek, hades). Remember Matthew 16:18 where Jesus referred to "the gates of hell" (Greek, hades)? This is understood to mean the Church of Jesus Christ would never go into a state of nonexistence but would always be a vital, living body (see Romans 12:5).

However, the rich man, not receiving this message of the Good News of the Kingdom preached after John, remained lost, or dead; that is, he did not become part of the Church of Jesus, the Christ. Also the fact that in hell, (Greek, hades) the rich man "lift up his eyes" shows it could not be literal, since disembodied souls or spirits, if such a state were possible, wouldn't have literal eyes. Of course, the Bible doesn't teach a conscious existence beyond literal death anyway, but, quite to the contrary, describes death as unconscious sleep (see Psalms 6:5; 30:9; 31:17; 88:11; 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiates 9:6,10; 12:7; Isaiah 38:17-19; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; etc.).

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.' Luke 16:24

This shows the rich man is still calling Abraham his "father" even after hearing the glorious gospel of the Kingdom of God (see John 8:39). Jesus taught in Matthew 23:9: "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." These Pharisaic religious leaders were still looking for their salvation to be as a result of their genealogy instead of their reception of Jesus, who is the King of the Kingdom. The rich man's torment was coming from his tongue which had been set on fire. James 3:6 reads: "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." The rich man out of the abundance of his heart decided his relationship or lack of relationship to Christ by his words. Matthew 12:34-37 reads: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

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.' Luke 16:25

See Matthew 12:34-37 for the interpretation of this passage also.

'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.' Luke 16:26

This gulf is reminiscent of the gap of Ezekiel 22:30, which reads: "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none." This gulf or gap cannot be bridged by anyone to offer assistance to those who are perishing, nor can it be bridged by those wishing to escape destruction. It can only be bridged by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the man that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before God, again making connection and communication with God a reality for all those who believe through Jesus, the Christ.

Then he said, 'I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' Abraham saith unto him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.' Luke 16:27-30

This passage of Scripture again identifies the rich man and his family as the ones who had been entrusted with the written Word of God; that is, Moses and the prophets. The rich man wants something else as a sign to his family members; that is, a witness from a person who had risen from the dead. Jesus said in Matthew 16:4: "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed." "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (cf. Matthew 12:40). When Abraham says they should hear Moses and the prophets, the rich man makes a statement with everlasting consequences. He says, "Nay, father Abraham. ... " In other words, the rich man identifies himself again with that wicked and adultrous generation that always seeketh a sign instead of listening to the Living Word of God.

And he said unto him, 'If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.' Luke 16:31

People who will not believe Jesus, the Living Word of God, or the Bible, the written Word of God, will have no concrete, incontrovertible basis for belief in God, no matter what the sign. What does the Scripture say even about Abraham? "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). God has revealed himself to us through Holy Scripture even as Hebrews 1:1-2 says: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."

Thus, we have the Bible interpreting its own Words, by the Word of God.