Letter 21

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An inquirer
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore explains Abraham's words to the rich man in the parable of Lazarus (Luke 16:26).

Abraham's statement to the rich man — "Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed" — reveals something crucial about the afterlife. In this world, the distance between virtue and vice can be crossed in an instant. A sinner can repent; a saint can fall. But after death, the positions are fixed and the chasm cannot be bridged. This is not cruelty — it is the natural consequence of choices made in life. The rich man had every opportunity to help Lazarus and chose not to. Now he begs for a drop of water from the very man he once stepped over. The lesson is plain: use the time you have. The chasm is being dug by your own hands, every day, in the choices you make now.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.