Beloved friends, we welcome you to the messages from the greatest book in the world, and that is the Bible, The Living Word of God. We greet you in the precious name of God's beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will carefully discern today what you will do and what I will do with His Blessed Word of Truth. We continue in Luke's Gospel and consider in chapter sixteen verses nineteen through thirty one the story of the rich man and Lazarus we have divided the whole section into three divisions in verses nineteen through twenty one we have two men in life in verse twenty two we have the written record of the same two men but two men in death. And the last section will reveal to us the same two men and where they spend eternity. This is the same history and the experience of all humanity. We come into life, we go through death, and we enter, ultimately, eternity. Today we consider from verse twenty-two these two men, the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar, as they pass through death, the time and circumstance when their life is ended upon the earth. May I very faithfully state, on the authority of God's word, supported by the history of all mankind, there has never been one person who has ever been able to evade meeting the one who has been called the king of terrors, that is death, as recorded in Job eighteen and fourteen. No matter who the person may be, whatever age they may be, this is a divine appointment which only two men in all history have been accepted. Those two men, as the Bible student may well know, those two men were Enoch and Elijah, the record of it in Genesis chapter five concerning Enoch, the record of Elijah in second Kings chapter two, the only two men in all human history as far as we know, who passed into eternity without dying. But let us read the account that we have before us, Luke sixteen and verse twenty-two. 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. Now this record is very brief, but it is certainly to the point, the inevitable certainty for the rich one as well as the poor. Whether it be great or small, whether they be black or white, whether they be red or yellow, whether they be educated or illiterate. It is appointed, and may I re-emphasize, this appointment is a divine one. It is appointed unto man once to die. Now do these two men carried with them on their occasion of their exit from life, they carried with them just as much as they possessed when they came into the world. One of the earliest of Bible characters, Job, made a true statement in the book of Job chapter one and verse twenty-one, when he stated frankly, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. We have a New Testament apostle confirming that fact by divine inspiration thousands of years later when he wrote, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. First Timothy chapter six and verse seven. Both the rich man as well as the beggar went out of this world as they came in with nothing the wise man Solomon wrote as he came forth from his mother's womb naked shall he return to go as he came and shall take nothing of his labor which he may carry away in his hand Ecclesiastes five and verse fifteen once upon a time there was a passer-by on a certain occasion who saw an elaborate funeral proceeding down the street. It happened to be the funeral of a very rich man when he inquired who it was that was being buried. And as soon as he learned that it was that rich person of the community, he raised the question to the man to whom he was speaking. How much did he leave? And I'm sure that many times that's often the question that people raise. How much did he leave? But he received this answer. He left it all. How true that is, my beloved friend. Whatever you and I may have materially, in this world, we will never take anything out of it when we die. But dwell with me first on the rich man's death in this verse. The rich man also died, and this is what it declares. He was buried. Note the word buried. We may well believe he had an elaborate funeral, a large courtage of relatives and friends. Yes, without question of doubt, honorary pallbearers. He had chosen, without doubt, whoever did the burial, a beautiful burial place. Perhaps a great religious and solemn service. But all these things are irrelevant, and also they are unnoticed by God in the record. The record only states he was buried. Yes, perhaps the public knew and heard of it. The public saw the account of his death and heard of it far and near. For he was a man of great wealth. But he was bankrupt in the sight of God. He had nothing. We read of Lazarus and what God says of his death. The beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. I rather enjoy this obituary account of the beggar's death more than the one about the rich man. Very frankly, the death of the beggar probably caused no commotion. Possibly some said, good riddance to the man. The community may be better and is better off without him. And his poor emaciated body was probably thrown or cast into a pauper's grave without any kind of a ceremony. But wait a minute. When we think of the death of Lazarus, he had some unusual pallbearers who took care of him. and took care of his never-dying soul. And instead of burying him, these pallbearers carried him. The rich man was buried, but we read that beggar was carried, not by earthly men, by no means, but by heavenly angels. His soul knew God, and he was the same man, The Word of God tells us so. Read only the book of Hebrews chapter one in verse seventeen, which tells us very plainly that the angels, are they not ministering spirits? Send forth the minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. My beloved, that the angels carried Lazarus was an absolute proof. and the evidence he was an heir of salvation. For the angels would never have escorted him as they did were enough. You know and I know he was carried. And may I say, you know I prefer being carried when I die than just being buried. My friend, may I raise the question, which will it be for you? What a choice. Note the choice. Note the distinction. The word of God plainly states it. And not without purpose. One man was buried. The other man was carried. It was not the body. But it was the soul of the beggar. That was carried to the glory of Abraham's bosom. Then note where the angels took him. Into Abraham's bosom. He went to be in the company of his great ancestor, Abraham, the father of all the faithful, the one who in the Bible is more than once called the friend of God. The poor man had no friends upon the earth, but when he departed by the angelic pallbearers, they took him in the midst of a host of heavenly friends. Read down into verse twenty-five. Know what Abraham said about Lazarus. Now he is comforted when he was in Abraham's bosom. May I state very definitely that Abraham's bosom was believed by all Jews to be the highest place of happiness, the greatest place of security, where one could go after death. The Lord knew when he spoke these words. Those who were listening to him understood the meaning of it. They needed no other explanation. And I'm sure the only simple thing you and I can say, where Lazarus went, stands in contrast to hell. And therefore, to you and to me where Lazarus went, was certainly heaven. My friend, when your funeral comes, may I ask you kindly, lovingly, from our scripture reading, Will you be buried, or will you be carried? How precious are the words of Paul when he wrote, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. For to be with Christ is far better. Philippians one, twenty-one and twenty-three. Two men in death. How different their destination. Which one do you want, my friend? Make sure that Christ is your Savior. For if he is not your Savior, you will only be buried. But if he is your Savior, praise God, you will be carried. Blessed Father, In the precious name of the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all mankind, and the Savior of every sinner who will trust in, may it die truth. Bless every listener to the conscience and to the saving of their soul. Amen.