What Happens to Unbelievers When They Die? (Luke 16:24-29)

What happens to unbelievers when they die? In Luke 16:19–31, Jesus describes the rich man in conscious torment in Hades, remembering his earthly life and unable to cross to the place where Lazarus is comforted. Death does not give him a second opportunity to turn to God. The final judgment and lake of fire are described later in Revelation 20:11–15.

This study of Luke 16:24–29 considers the rich man’s suffering, the fixed separation after death, and his concern for his brothers. Jesus’ warning calls us to hear God’s Word and trust Christ while we are alive. You can read the study below or listen to the accompanying sermon.

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Luke 16:24 continues the account of the rich man and Lazarus, directing our attention to the rich man’s condition after death.

People hold very different beliefs about life after death. Some expect reincarnation, some believe the dead are unconscious, and others believe the unrighteous will eventually cease to exist. We need to test these ideas by Scripture.

In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus describes conscious comfort and suffering after death. Let’s look carefully at what He says and consider it alongside the Bible’s teaching about resurrection and final judgment.

After describing Lazarus’s poverty, death, and comfort at Abraham’s side, Jesus turns much of His attention to the rich man. His requests and Abraham’s answers help us understand the seriousness of dying without Christ.

Luke 16:24 describes the rich man’s experience and helps us consider what happens to unbelievers when they die.

Luke 16:24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

This is the first of two times the rich man tries to get Lazarus to serve him. He ignored Lazarus during his earthly life, but now he pays special attention to him because he wants something.

Look at Abraham’s response…

Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

This is an example of perfect justice. The rich man ended up being treated exactly like he treated others. He did not show compassion to others during his earthly life and now no compassion is shown to him in the next life.

When unbelievers die they are in torment

This account shows that death does not end personal existence or awareness. The rich man suffers, remembers, and speaks. These details help us evaluate beliefs about the afterlife.

First, the afterlife does not include soul sleep. The rich man and Lazarus are completely conscious, aware of their situations, and capable of feeling comfort and intense pain.

Second, there is no reincarnation. The rich man and Lazarus are not returning in different forms based on how they lived their earthly lives. Lazarus is not coming back as a rich man, and the rich man is not coming back as a poor man, or worse, some animal or insect.

Third, the afterlife does not include annihilation for the unrighteous. The rich man remained very much in existence.

Death separates the soul from the body. Luke 16 places the rich man in Hades and Lazarus at Abraham’s side. This is the condition described before the final resurrection and judgment, when Revelation 20:13–15 distinguishes Hades from the lake of fire.

Both men have died, but the account does not give the same details about their bodies:

• The rich man was buried, so his body would be wherever he was buried
• Jesus says angels carried Lazarus to Abraham’s side, but He does not tell us whether Lazarus received a burial.

Because their souls were separated from their bodies, we might be tempted to think that they didn’t feel or experience anything, because we typically associate feeling with our physical bodies.

But we see that is not the case at all. Even though their souls were separated from their bodies, they still experienced strong feelings of comfort and torment.

There are 13 verses in this account and most of the verses focus on the rich man’s torment. Notice the theme:

• Verse 23 says he is in torment
• Verse 24 he says he is in anguish
• Verse 25 Abraham says he is in anguish
• Verse 28 he says he’s in a place of torment

And if you want to understand how bad the torment is, consider the rich man wanted Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue, but he couldn’t even receive that relief.

I take this to mean that the torment in Hades doesn’t even allow the smallest pleasure. To think that hell itself, or the lake of fire, is worse is almost unimaginable.

Some people foolishly mock the torment of hell. They act like it won’t be that bad or they go even further and say it will be a place they can join their old friends…like it is a party or celebration. Some people will even say, “I don’t mind if I go to hell. I will have lots of good company.”

The rich man did not see it that way. In a moment he will try to prevent his brothers from joining him.

One of the reasons some commentators don’t view this account literally is verse 23 says the [rich man] lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

Some readers find this surprising, but Jesus gives a related warning in Luke 13:27–28. Those excluded from God’s kingdom will recognize that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets are welcomed there, while they themselves are shut out.

Jesus describes their grief and anguish. These passages warn us about the loss of fellowship with God and His people; they do not answer every question about what people in the afterlife can see.

I received a comment on my blog from someone I don’t know. I want to share what he wrote, because it captures the common view of annihilation. Here’s part of what he said…

“You won’t find eternal torment one time in the Old Testament.”

This is not true. We talked two weeks ago that eternal punishment is veiled in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament, but it is mentioned in at least one verse…

Daniel 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some TO SHAME AND EVERLASTING CONTEMPT.

He continues…

“Jesus never talked about hell, not once. He talked about Gehenna (the Valley of Hinnom). And in the [rest of the] New Testament you can’t validate eternal conscience torment from one verse in Revelation speaking of the lake of fire.”

If I understand him, he is saying that we can’t support eternal conscious punishment from only one verse in Revelation about the lake of fire.

Hopefully you remember the verses from Revelation 20 about the lake of fire, and there are multiple verses, not just one.

And there is another section of Revelation that describes eternal conscious punishment…

Revelation 14:9–11 describes judgment on those who worship the beast and receive its mark. Their torment continues without rest, and its smoke rises forever. This is another passage supporting the seriousness and duration of God’s judgment.

Jesus also warned directly about hell. For example:

• Matthew 5:29: Jesus warns that it is better to lose a part of the body than for the whole body to be thrown into hell.
• Luke 12:5: Jesus tells us to fear the One who has authority over our eternal destiny, not merely those who can kill the body.

Other warnings describe destruction and unquenchable fire:

• Matthew 7:13: Jesus contrasts the narrow gate with the broad way that leads to destruction.
• Mark 9:48: “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”

Luke 16 shows that the rich man continues to exist consciously after death. Taken together with these passages about final judgment, it supports eternal conscious punishment rather than annihilation.

Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

Earlier the rich man and Lazarus were close. Lazarus was laid at his gate in front of the rich man’s house. Now there is a great chasm between them.

And notice how it’s worded: a great chasm HAS BEEN FIXED, versus a great chasm [exists].

The phrase has been fixed means someone put or fixed the chasm there, and that Individual is God. God set up the afterlife in such a way the righteous and unrighteous remain separated.

When unbelievers die they receive no second chances

After I preached this passage, someone came up to me and made the point that they could understand why someone would want to pass from the place of torment to the place of comfort, but they were surprised it also said nobody could pass from the place of comfort to the place of torment…because nobody would want to do that. Maybe it lets us know righteous people are not able to cross the chasm if they wanted to deliver a loved one from the place of torment.

This lesson is important because it answers the question…

Can unbelievers who die somehow make their way from the place of torment to the place of comfort?

No. The fixed chasm leaves the rich man unable to move from torment to comfort. His need to be reconciled to God could not be postponed until after death.

A related question concerns purgatory. The Catholic Catechism, paragraphs 1030–1032, describes it as a final purification for people already assured of salvation. It does not describe purgatory as a second chance for someone condemned to hell. It also teaches that prayers, Masses, and other acts can help the dead undergoing purification.

I do not believe Scripture teaches purgatory. My confidence is in Christ’s completed sacrifice for His people, described in Hebrews 10:10–14, rather than in suffering after death to become fit for heaven.

When my brother passed away, I can remember the masses, or Catholic Church services, and indulgences that were offered for him to shorten his suffering in purgatory.

But in this account, the rich man is not working off his sins. There is no indication his torment will ever end, or that once he has suffered enough, he will be able to go to heaven.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches proxy baptism: a living person is baptized on behalf of someone who has died. Its teaching is that the deceased person may accept or reject this ordinance, not that the ceremony automatically saves the person. I do not believe this provides a biblical basis for salvation after death.

When I was a schoolteacher, I became good friends with a Mormon and I remember him telling me that he was convinced I would go to heaven even if I didn’t embrace all their beliefs, because someone would be baptized for me after I died.

Now listen to this verse that could almost sound like it argues for the baptism of the dead…

1 Corinthians 15:29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

The context matters. First Corinthians 15 is Paul’s defense of the resurrection. In verse 29, he asks why people would be baptized on behalf of the dead if the dead are not raised. The verse does not identify these people as members of a false religion or explain all the details of the practice.

Paul’s point here is the reality of resurrection. He is not giving the church a command to baptize on behalf of deceased people or promising them another opportunity for salvation.

Hebrews 9:27 It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

In other words, there are no second chances for unbelievers after death.

Luke 16:27–28 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

Quite the reversal:

• Lazarus was the beggar looking for the rich man’s help during their earthly lives.
• Now the rich man is the beggar looking for Lazarus’s help in the next life.

The rich man wants his brothers warned, but that does not mean more information automatically produces repentance. At the end of the account, Abraham explains that someone who refuses to hear Moses and the Prophets will not be persuaded even by a resurrection (Luke 16:31). The issue is whether we will hear and respond to God’s Word.

When I officiate the funerals of unbelievers, I cannot offer the assurance that their loved one is in a better place. The rich man’s concern for his brothers gives us a sober reason to urge the living to trust Christ. We should point people to Jesus’ warning rather than claim to know a particular deceased person’s message.

Notice the rich man remembered Lazarus, his father, and his brothers from his earthly life….

When unbelievers die they remember their earthly lives

This answers one of the most common questions we have about the next life…

Will we have knowledge of, or remember, our earthly lives?

The rich man did not receive a new consciousness or have his memory wiped clean. Instead, he remembered quite a bit from his earthly life.

Abraham reminded him about the good things he received during his earthly life…

Luke 16:25 Abraham said, ‘Child, REMEMBER THAT YOU IN YOUR LIFETIME received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things.

The rich man could remember his earthly life, and he remembered his father and brothers.

One other question we have is…

In the next life, will we recognize people from our earthly lives?

It seems so. The rich man recognized Lazarus. And interestingly, even though the rich man never met Abraham, he recognized him too, which implies we will have greater – versus lesser – knowledge in the next life than in this life.

The end of 1 Corinthians 13 supports that our knowledge will be increased in the next life…

1 Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away…12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

The mention of the five brothers is the first indication that the rich man thought about anyone but himself.

Unfortunately, his concern came too late to do any good, as Abraham says…

Luke 16:29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’

Abraham directs the brothers to Moses and the Prophets—the Scriptures they already have. This leads to a related question: should the living seek guidance from the dead? Other passages answer that question directly.

The living shouldn’t communicate with the dead

In 1 Samuel 28, Saul seeks a medium, and the account describes Samuel appearing and announcing judgment. I understand this as an exceptional event God allowed to judge Saul, not a model for seeking guidance.

We do not have to settle every question about what a medium can do to know what God commands. Scripture forbids seeking guidance through mediums or inquiring of the dead.

Listen to this…

1 Chronicles 10:13 Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and ALSO CONSULTED A MEDIUM, SEEKING GUIDANCE. 14 He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

The Chronicler names both Saul’s disobedience to the Lord and his consultation of a medium. We should not treat the medium as the only reason Saul lost his kingdom: Samuel had already announced that judgment after Saul rejected God’s command (1 Samuel 15:22–28).

Saul’s final attempt to obtain guidance through the dead was another serious act of unfaithfulness. First Chronicles 10:13–14 connects his death and the transfer of the kingdom to his failure to seek and obey the Lord.

And there are plenty of other verses in the Old Testament that condemn attempting to communicate with the dead:

• Leviticus 19:31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them
• Leviticus 20:6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
• Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

In Deuteronomy 18:9–14, seeking the dead appears among the practices of the nations God was driving out before Israel. Israel was forbidden to imitate them. These verses show how seriously God regards seeking spiritual guidance apart from Him.

Last verse on the subject…

Isaiah 8:19 When they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

I spent much of my Catholic life doing exactly what this verse forbids: inquiring of the dead on behalf of the living, whether it was Mary or saints. It was a sinful thing for me to do and it is sinful for anyone else to do as well.

God’s people have no business attempting to communicate with the dead using mediums, Ouija boards, séances, or anything similar.

When I was a schoolteacher one year a Jehovah’s Witness was an aide in my class. She was probably in her seventies, and I would say we became close friends. Even though we had considerable theological differences, she appreciated my heart for my students to come to know Christ, and there were many things I appreciated about her.

Occasionally we would have biblical discussions and one time we talked about hell. She believed largely like the man who commented on my blog that the Bible does not teach eternal conscious torment. I showed her some of the verses that I mentioned in the sermon, and she said she would get back to me. Soon after, she came back with a copy of the Watchtower Magazine, the publication of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The magazine took the verses about hell and turned them into annihilation.

I can understand why people would want these verses to be about annihilation versus eternal torment. I could almost wish that was the case. But we serve a perfectly holy and just God and this is the punishment for people who die without Christ.

During one of our conversations, she said to me…

“How could a loving father send his children to hell?”

I said, “A loving father wouldn’t send his children to hell. The people who go to hell are not God’s children.”

God doesn’t send His children to hell. If you want to avoid eternal punishment, then you must become one of God’s children…

John 1:12 To all who did receive [Christ], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

If we believe what Jesus teaches about judgment, how can we be indifferent to people who do not know Him?

If we believe the gospel’s power to save, how could we not share it with the people we love?

If you have questions about this passage, trusting Christ, or something you would like prayer for, please contact me. I would consider it a privilege to hear from you.

Questions for Reflection

• What warnings does the rich man’s experience give about life after death?
• Why should the opportunity to respond to God now be taken seriously?
• How does Scripture direct us to seek truth from God rather than attempt contact with the dead?

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