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Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
At the very moment Lazarus died, he received an angelic transport immediately into the glorious and comforting presence of God!
Angels came for Lazarus. His name finally made sense. When there was no one else to offer any assistance, God had helped him after all. The Lord rescued him from all his troubles and healed every wound of his broken body.
Everyone else may have forgotten Lazarus, but he was remembered by God.
Augustine observed: “Jesus kept quiet about the rich man’s name and mentioned the name of the poor man. The rich man’s name was thrown around, but God kept quiet about it. The other’s name was lost in silence, and God spoke it…You see, God who lives in heaven kept quiet about the rich man’s name, because He did not find it written in heaven. He spoke the poor man’s name because He found it written there, indeed He gave instructions for it to be written there.”
Since Lazarus’s name was written in heaven, the angels came for him when he died.
What a moving picture of the love that God has for His people at the time of death of death.
Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
By nature, we are afraid of death and all the unknowns of eternity. But in His kindness and compassion God will send the fairest creatures in heaven to receive us.
Converted, trusting solely in someone other than yourself
Because he trusted in God through nearly intolerable suffering, Lazarus was carried by angels to a place called “Abraham’s bosom.”
Remember that Abraham is “the father of all who believe” (Rom 4:11). It makes sense for believers to be with him when they die.
Connecting the dots from the parable, it is clear that Lazarus was a believer.
He was not saved because he was poor. Earthly suffering is no guarantee of eternal reward.
Lazarus was saved by His trust in God.
Although being poor does not save a person any more than being rich condemns one, it is still a great encouragement to see what riches the poor may receive by faith.
When Lazarus died, the torment of his earthly troubles was over. Immediately he went to be with all the saints at Abraham’s side.
Abraham’s bosom is a symbol of the blessed joy every believer has after they die. There is close fellowship with the Lord and His people in the glorious afterlife, even before the eternal state.
When we die, the angels will carry us to Christ. We will wait there in paradise until the day that Christ will give us new bodies like His resurrected body.