Luke 16:26

The gulf is said to be fixed, because it cannot be loosened, moved, or shaken.

As if he says, We can see, we cannot pass; and we see what we have escaped, you what you have lost; our joys enhance your torments, your torments our joys.

What then, I asked, are the fire and the gulf and the other features in the picture? Are they not that which they are said to be? I think, she replied, that the Gospel signifies by means of each of them certain doctrines with regard to our question of the soul. For when the patriarch first says to the Rich Man, "Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things," and in the same way speaks of the Poor Man, that he, namely, has done his duty in bearing his share of life's evil things, and then, after that, adds with regard to the gulf that it is a barrier between them, he evidently by such expressions intimates a very important truth.… This, in my opinion, is the "gulf"; which is not made by the parting of the earth, but by those decisions in this life which result in a separation into opposite characters. The man who has once chosen pleasure in this life, and has not cured his inconsiderateness by repentance, places the land of the good beyond his own reach; for he has dug against himself the yawning impassable abyss of a necessity that nothing can break through.

I think that we have proved that Christ did not object to the riches of the rich man but to his impiety, infidelity, pride and cruelty.…The rich must not start saying that I have agreed to be their advocate. They felt afraid, after all, when reminded of the gospel. When they heard about the rich man hurled into the pains of hell, they felt afraid. I have reassured them. They do not need to fear riches but vices. They should not fear wealth but greed. They should not be afraid of goods but of greed. Let them possess wealth like Abraham, and let them possess it with faith. Let them have it, possess it and not be possessed by it.

There follows: "And in all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been established, so that those who wish to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they pass from there to here." In this matter, it must be carefully investigated how it is said, "Those who wish to cross from here to you cannot." For there is no doubt that those who are in hell desire to cross over to the lot of the blessed. But those who have already been received into the lot of blessedness—in what sense is it said that they wish to cross over to those who are tortured in hell? But just as the reprobate desire to cross over to the elect, that is, to migrate away from the affliction of their punishments, so for the just to cross over to those who are afflicted and placed in torments means to go in mind through mercy and to wish to free them. But those who wish to cross from the seat of the blessed to those who are afflicted and placed in torments cannot do so, because the souls of the just, although they have mercy in the goodness of their nature, being now joined to the justice of their Creator, are bound by such great rectitude that they are moved by no compassion toward the reprobate. For they are in harmony with the Judge to whom they cling, and they do not condescend out of mercy to those whom they cannot rescue, because they will then see them as foreign to themselves to the same degree that they perceive them to be rejected by their Creator whom they love. Therefore neither do the unjust cross over to the lot of the blessed, because they are bound by perpetual damnation; nor can the just cross over to the reprobate, because, already raised up through the justice of judgment, they have no mercy on them from any compassion whatsoever.

(ubi sup.) For as the wicked desire to pass over to the elect, that is, to depart from the pangs of their sufferings, so to the afflicted and tormented would the just pass in their mind by compassion, and wish to set them free. But the souls of the just, although in the goodness of their nature they feel compassion, after being united to the righteousness of their Author, are constrained by such great uprightness as not to be moved with compassion towards the reprobate. Neither then do the unrighteous pass over to the lot of the blessed, because they are bound in everlasting condemnation, nor can the righteous pass to the reprobate, because being now made upright by the righteousness of judgment, they in no way pity them from any compassion.

"The abyss" signifies the distance and difference between the righteous and sinners. For just as their intentions were different, so too their dwelling places have a great disparity, since each receives recompense according to their intention and life. Note here also an objection against the …

And in all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor from there can they cross over to us. In this context, it is very much to be asked …

The great gulf signifies the distance of the righteous from sinners. For as their affections were different, so also their abiding places do not slightly differ. You may from this derive an argument against the followers of Origen, who say, that since an end is to be placed to punishments, there will be a time when sinners shall be gathered to the righteous and to God.

Third, as regards the depth of the divine judgments, he adds: And besides all this, a great chasm has been established between us and you: in which is intimated the impossibility of drawing near between the reprobate and the elect: Ecclesiastes 11: "If a tree …

And besides all this,.... The different circumstances of each, both past and present, which should be observed and considered: between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; as this may regard the state of the Pharisees after death, it intends not the natural distance between heaven and hell; though there may be an allusion to the notions of the Jews concerning that, who on those words in Ecc 7:14. "God hath set the one over against the other", say (f), "this is hell and paradise, what space is there between them? an hand's breadth; R.

10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

A great gulf - The word translated “gulf” means chasm, or the broad, yawning space between two elevated objects. In this place it means that there is no way of passing from one to the other. Fixed - Strengthened - made firm or immovable. It is so established that it will never be movable or passable. It will forever divide heaven and hell. Which would pass - We are not to press this passage literally, as if those who are in heaven would “desire” to go and visit the wicked in the world of woe.

The parable we have now read, in one respect stands alone in the Bible. It is the only passage of Scripture which describes the feelings of the unconverted after death. For this reason, as well as for many others, the parable deserves especial attention. We learn, firstly, from this parable — that a man's worldly condition is no test of his state in the sight of God. The Lord Jesus describes to us two men — of whom one was very rich, and the other very poor. The one "fared sumptuously every day."

The parable we have now read, in one respect stands alone in the Bible. It is the only passage of Scripture which describes the feelings of the unconverted after death. For this reason, as well as for many others, the parable deserves especial attention. We learn, firstly, from this parable — that a man's worldly condition is no test of his state in the sight of God. The Lord Jesus describes to us two men — of whom one was very rich, and the other very poor. The one "fared sumptuously every day." The other was a mere "beggar," who had nothing that he could call his own. And yet of these two, the poor man had grace — and the rich man had none. The poor man lived by faith, and walked in the steps of Abraham. The rich man was a thoughtless, selfish worldling — dead in trespasses and sins. Let us never give way to the common idea that men are to be valued according to their income, and that the man who has most money is the one who ought to be the most highly esteemed. There is no authority for this notion in the Bible. The general teaching of Scripture is flatly opposed to it. "Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble — are called." (1 Corinthians 1:26.) "Let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this — that he knows and understands me." (Jeremiah 9:24.) Wealth is no mark of God's favor. Poverty is no mark of God's displeasure. Those whom God justifies and glorifies — are seldom the rich of this world. If we would measure men as God measures them — then we must value them according to their grace. We learn, secondly, from this parable — that death is the common end to which all classes of mankind must come. The trials of the "beggar," and the sumptuous faring of the "rich man" — alike ceased at last. There came a time when both of them died. "All go to one place." (Ecclesiastes 3:20.)

FOR the last few months I have been led to blow the silver trumpet, sounding forth the love and mercy of our God in Christ. Many times in your hearing I have preached a full Christ for empty sinners, and have set forth the freeness and graciousness of the Divine proclamation which in the Gospel is made to the chief of sinners. I have not, concerning that point, shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God.

FOR the last few months I have been led to blow the silver trumpet, sounding forth the love and mercy of our God in Christ. Many times in your hearing I have preached a full Christ for empty sinners, and have set forth the freeness and graciousness of the Divine proclamation which in the Gospel is made to the chief of sinners. I have not, concerning that point, shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. But I feel that I must now blow a blast upon the rough ram's horn—for sometimes our congregations need to be reminded of the Law and terrors of God--and of the judgment to come. Our experience is that the preaching of judgment is greatly blessed of God. We have remarked that a very large number of conversions have occurred under those sermons in which the declaration of God's wrath against all iniquity has been the most plain and solemn. A thunderstorm clears the air. There are pestilences which would gather beneath the wings of calm which can only be purged away by the lightning flash. When God sends His servant with heavy tidings, His message of alarm cleanses the spiritual atmosphere and kills the sloth, pride, indifference, and lethargy, which otherwise might fall upon the people. As the sharp needle prepares the way for the thread, so the piercing Law makes a way for the bright silver thread of Divine Grace. The lancet is quite as needful as the healing balm. The Law is our teacher to bring us to Christ—like the old Greek pedagogue who led the boy to school—so the Law leads us to Christ-who teaches and instructs us and makes us wise unto salvation. Those who preached the Law, as well as the Gospel, in the Puritan times, were the most fruitful soul winners. We find our blessed Lord and Master, whose heart was overflowing with compassion, and whose very Nature was love, often dwelling upon the wrath to come.