Luke 16:19-31 State of rich and poor in hell

                            Lazarus and the Rich Man

¹⁹There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

 ²⁰And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

 ²¹And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

 ²²And 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;

 ²³And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

 ²⁴And 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.

 ²⁵But 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.

 ²⁶And 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.

 ²⁷Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

 ²⁸For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

 ²⁹Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

 ³⁰And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

 ³¹And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. -Luke 16:19-31 Bible, King James Version

 

Last Judgment Posthumous, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1762], tr. by John Whitehead [1914], at sacred-texts.com

 

227.

[230] CONCLUSION. Lastly, it shall be told what the state of man is after death, whatsoever his religion may have been. They who have led a good life, who are such as have shunned evils because they are sins, and have conducted their business with rectitude [morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness] and sincerity, are not let into the evils of their will, but are held by the Lord in good, and in intelligence and wisdom therefrom. But they who have lived in evil, are let into the evils of their will, and then they can think in no other way than in agreement with those evils; and when in that state, they appear as if insane, more like beasts than men. The love of doing evil then rules them, and they now rush into all things which they have coveted. They who have been in the love of ruling for the sake of self are more insane than others. I have seen many such spirits, and they appear as if utterly deprived of all rationality; and yet they then believe that they are wise, yea, the wisest of all. But it is allowed them at times to return into the rationality which they had in the world, when, from shrewdness, they had feigned themselves gifted with every virtue. Still, even then, the pleasure of returning into the delight of their will draws them on so that they cannot be led away except unwillingly; they wish to be insane. And because they are of such a character they are sent into hells, and then it is not permitted them to go out. And they there remain under the supervision of a judge who imposes tasks on them which they must do daily. If they do not perform them, they receive neither food, clothing, nor bed; and if they do evil they are severely punished. Thus by means of adequate tasks they are led away from the delights of their will. In such a prison all are held, both men and women, who have lived in evil, that is, who have given reins to their sins. But before they go, they are deprived of everything which they had formerly learned from the Word, and of everything which they had known concerning faith, and also of the knowledge of who they had been in the world, whether kings or magistrates, bishops or elders, rich or poor, or of the common people. And they are then all alike among themselves, nor is one greater than another. A low countryman may be together with an eminent man, nor does either know who had been the more eminent in the world; for elation of the mind exists equally with those who are of the common people as with those who are in the highest places. And... they cannot go out to all eternity; for if, perchance, they put forth a foot, they are punished; and if they are taken out by others they become more insane than before. I have sometimes seen this done. They are like robbers who, from fear of punishment, live honestly in a house in a city, but as soon as they come into the woods they constantly think about robberies.