I totally missed this thread, lol.
As far as taking the parable literally or spiritually, I would rather err on the side of being too literal. I'll admit that I'm not 100% positive, but Revelation indicates that Hell is only a precursor to the lake of fire...completely separate. If you take Revelation literally, which I do, the beings in Hell will be loosed for a thousand years, then at the great white throne judgment, they will be eternally cast into the lake of fire.
Another interesting connection I made recently--Jesus talks about how he is going to go into the heart of the earth. In Revelation, he is said to hold the keys of Hell and death. I imagine this is because Hell is literally in the center of the earth, and when Jesus went to Hell for three days (and I'm sure I'm raising a whole separate issue by mentioning that, oh well), he beat death and rose again...Hell is said to have gates, and gates have keys, and I don't see any good reason to not take that literally. Anywho, there's a lot of indication that Hell is in the center of the earth.
This is extremely interesting because in 1 Sam 28:13, which I read recently, says that Samuel (mistaken by the woman as a god) rose out of the earth. Obviously Samuel wasn't suffering because he's, you know, Samuel, but this further strengthens the idea that Hell has a nice side and a nasty side.
EDIT: Again, I understand that their aren't explicit verses that say, "There are two sides of Hell. You got that? Take it literally. LITERALLY I SAY!" But I think there is more indication towards there being two sides of Hell than not, so I side with whatever has more evidence.
EDIT 2: Upon thinking about it even further, it doesn't seem like any contradictions or problems are raised with their being two sides of Hell. I mean, why not? Tradition isn't a good reason not to accept something.
And upon thinking about the reference to Lazurus as simply a parable, maybe. But keep in mind that all the other parables referred to real, tangible things, even if they were used to convey a spiritual truth. Jesus wasn't actually a winepresser or whatever, but winepressers and vineyards did exist. Likewise, the reference to two people having a conversation in Hell, while one suffers and the other doesn't, may very well exist. Also, if it wasn't true, why was Jesus so specific in using a proper name like Lazurus? If there was just some spiritual message he wanted to communicate, he would have just left it anonymous.
EDIT 3: The Greek word for "Hades" in Luke 16:23 is actually hades (go figure), and it occurs in:
Mt 11:23, 16:18
Lk 10:15
Acts 2:27,31
Rev 1:18, 6:8, 20:13,14
If you look up those references, Hades is always associated with suffering or death. The word "hell" is geenna, and is similar but different. Basically, hell is a bad place to be, but, as I pointed out earlier, it contains (or at least is adjacent to) Abraham's Bosom, if they are 1) in the heart of the earth, and 2) their inhabitants can communicate with each other. At any rate, hell, Hades, and Abraham's Bosom are all just "holding tanks" like I said before, and it doesn't really matter whether or not hell and Hades are the same or separate, or anything like that. The most important thing is that:
1) Before Christ's death and resurrection, the saints' sins had not yet been paid for, and they couldn't be in heaven where God is. They needed a place to wait until Christ did die for their sins. That place was Abraham's bosom.
2) The lost souls went to hell and Hades. I don't think there's any argument with that. But, one day in the future, these souls will be released and eventually cast into the lake of fire, which is where they'll spend eternity. Both places suck.
That's all I really meant by bringing up Abraham's Bosom. I don't see how accepting it or denying it affects any major doctrine, but I thought it was interesting when I heard it.
EDIT 4: This is my last edit, lol. Remember when Jesus told the theif that he would see him in paradise that day? Well, that theif couldn't have been to heaven until at least three days later when his sins were fully paid for. And Jesus didn't go to heaven until the ascension, of course. So in order for that verse to be true, there has to be a different "paradise" they went to that was not heaven. Abraham's bosom fits in perfectly.
I'm really sorry for spewing out jumbled ideas/verses. I hope you follow. I just wanted to point out a couple things that lead me personally to believe that they're are two sides of Hell, or at least a temporary paradise that is not heaven.