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● Luke 16:27-31 . . I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for
I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to
this place of torment.
. . . Abraham replied: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to
them.
. . . No, father Abraham-- he said --but if someone from the dead goes to
them, they will repent.
. . . He said to him: If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will
not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Abraham was a prophet (Gen 20:7) which means he was an inspired man.
As such, he would be privy to information that would normally be
unavailable to the average rank and file pew warmer. However prophets
aren't meant to keep what they hear from God to themselves; they're
messengers, e.g. Abraham was a teacher/mentor. (Gen 18:19)
So then, I think it's fairly safe to assume the information that Abraham
passed on to the rich man came to Abraham via inspiration; which, if so,
means that our reaction to his remarks should be very different than the rich
man's. He brushed aside what Abraham told him; but we, I should hope, are
wiser than that impious dunce because we know that a prophet's teachings
are the voice of God.
I think it's pretty safe to assert that if people won't listen to Abraham, then
neither will they listen to Jesus.
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