This story alone is the greatest contributing factor to the idea that one is either in heaven or hell after death. There are a few other verses that are used to suggest that the position is true but thats due to seeking an organizations, preachers, theologians, friends, or teachers opinion instead of searching Scriptures. I will now give you my take (which is by no means perfect) on the passages dealing with the rich man and Lazarus.

Mattithyahu 13:10-11 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mattithyahu 13:34-36 All these things spake Yahshua in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

We see that it was Yahshuas habit to speak to the crowds in parables only. When he was by himself with the disciples would be the only time that he would begin to explain the parables he spoke. In the following all words in brackets and green are my take on the parallels I find here.

Luke 16:14-15 And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him. And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but G-d knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of G-d.

So the Pharisees and a crowd were present when he began to speak about this story. There is a certain reason why the Scriptures specifically mentioned that the Pharisees were lovers of money.

Luke 16:19-31 Now there was a certain rich man [Pharisee], and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores [harlots, publicans, gentiles, etc.]. [The Pharisees felt that riches showed G-ds approval on someone just like many Xtians make the mistake of believing. Many assume that bad things equal Satan and that good things (especially if its riches, possesions, job, etc.) automatically equals G-ds blessing for a good life which is a faulty assumption].

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom [The Kingdom, this was Abrahams inheritence to come and for all those that follow after the faith he had][It was the beggar that had the closeness to Abraham having his faith while the rich man did not][the breast of a human, embrace, loving enclosure, beloved][so far there has been no concept mentioned about a place called Abrahams bosom, remember that the Jews loved to claim Abraham as their father, making the mistake of thinking that they obtained righteousness by physical lineage alone and that they were close to Abraham Ref: Mattithyahu 3:9] and the rich man also died, and was buried.

And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom [no concept mentioned in all the rest of Scriptures of Hades being a place where you can see others in Abrahamss bosom]. And 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 in anguish in this flame.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us [Death brings about an irreversible situation obvisously].

And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house;

[If this was real why would someone ask Abraham to send a dead man back to the realm of the living, would he not know that only Elohim has that power?] for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.

The last statement was made for a very good reason. Here Yahshua in this story says the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his bretheren. Abraham said they had Torah and the Prophets but the man argued that a dead man would be better to get his family on track. Abraham responds that if they would not hear the witness of Moses and the prophets then they would not hear a dead man raised from the dead. Now consider the following passages:

Yohanan (John) 12:10-11 But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him [Lazarus] many of the Jews went away, and believed on Yahshua.

So even the real dead man Lazarus was not enough for the Pharisees to believe in Yahshua as Meshiach though the Tanach clearly pointed to him. So instead of believing they wanted to even kill a dead man miracoulsy raised to life. The story was fulfilled indeed by the Pharisees.

By putting all Scriptures together concerning death and then looking at this story proves that it was only a parable of a very true situation. The Pharisees loved their position, they thought they were blessed individuals for being Abrahams seed. In death it will be the beggars, the so-called unlearned and gullible [Yohanan 7:46-49], babes, harlots, publicans, etc. [Mattithyahu 21:31] will be the ones who enter the Kingdom. Yahshua wisely brought up that which was going to happen in the future. One rose from the dead and yet they still would not believe on him.

We cannot run to verses here and there that seem to back up our concepts. We must first determine the witness of Scriptures together. If there is a clear and obvious position that the Scriptures take and then there's a scripture that seems to say something else, its best to understand the others first. On the surface these passages seemed to suggest people being alive after death. However such a position would pit this against all other Scriptures that make it clear that there is no consciousness after death. Yahshua here was not teaching something that clearly would have been a revolutionized idea. If so there would have been some contention no doubt and there would have been a need for the position to be better explained as the Tanach would have taught the Jews differently.