What Does the Torment of the Rich Man in Luke 16:19–31 Mean?

This account does not aim to reveal anything about possible experiences or deliberations in the realm of the dead. About that, “the law and the prophets” were already clear enough.

There is no… deliberation or knowledge or wisdom in the realm of the dead to which you are going…
Ecclesiastes 9:10.

This satire (!) is addressed to the Pharisees, who were fond of money (16:14). In Luke 13:27–30 we read that there will be prominent Jews (>the rich man!) who, at the dawning of the Kingdom of God, will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (>Abraham’s bosom), but will themselves be cast outside (>impassable chasm), that is, they will not be allowed to experience the Messianic kingdom on earth. They should have allowed themselves to be corrected by “the law and the prophets”; otherwise even someone rising from the dead would not have been convincing to them (cf. John 12:9–11).

See also
the rich man and poor Lazarus

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