Why the parable of Lazarus and the rich man is nothing more than a parable.

Reason #1 The Dead are unconscious

Ecclesiastes 9:5" "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward, because all memory of them is forgotten.""

Ecclesiastes 9:10"Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom."

Psalms 146:4 " .His spirit goes out, he returns to the ground; On that very day his thoughts perish.

Reason #2
If  not a parable, The Rich man was sent to torment because he was rich and the beggar was rewarded because he was poor and sick.

Reason#3

If not a parable, then this would mean the resurrection already started,
The first resurrection didn't happen till many many years later. And only the 144,000 are part of it. 
Revelation 20:5,6" (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6  Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; .....but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and they will rule as kings with him for the 1,000 years."

Reason#4 The Lazarus in the parable was pictured as someone who was always a sick beggar. Lazarus(Friend of Jesus) was only sick for a certain amount of time. John 11:3,6,17

"What does the parable mean? The “rich man” represented the Pharisees. (See Lu 16 verse 14.) The beggar Lazarus represented the common Jewish people who were despised by the Pharisees but who repented and became followers of Jesus. (See Luke 18:11; John 7:49; Matthew 21:31, 32.) Their deaths were also symbolic, representing a change in circumstances. Thus, the formerly despised ones came into a position of divine favor, and the formerly seemingly favored ones were rejected by God,........."
Read more regarding the parable meaning here: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989234#h=38:0-40:594 "

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