Sam listens to our daily podcasts. He made an interesting observation and asked for a possible explanation:
The following two GES radio shows about the same topic seem to contradict each other:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrnbA5jU73c (see here).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyVl9VM3pkc (see here).
Only the first 30 seconds after the intro of each video is relevant. The bottom link is the more recent of the two.
Am I to understand that your view changed?
Thank you for your time!
In the first podcast, Philippe Sterling and I said that Jesus said far more about hell than about heaven.
In the second podcast, Mike Lii and I said that Jesus said far more about heaven than about hell.
Both are true, depending on what you mean by heaven and hell.
Some description of Hades, but no description of the third heaven. What Philippe and I meant is that Jesus told us almost nothing about what the third heaven is like, but He did give a glimpse of Hades, especially in His account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.
Jesus referred to Hades four times (Matt 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23). Hades was the place where all the dead—believers and unbelievers alike—went until the time that Jesus ascended to the third heaven and took all the believers with Him (Luke 16:19-31).
Jesus also referred to Gehenna eight times (Matt 5:22, 29, 30; 18:9; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5), though it is translated as hell in every instance in the NKJV and most English translations. It is uncertain as to what the Lord meant by Gehenna. If He meant Hades, why didn’t He say so?
Gehenna might refer to the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15), Hades, or to a place outside Jerusalem where trash was continuously burned. If the last of those suggestions was meant, then Gehenna would refer to judgment in this life, not after this life.
The Lord indicated that Hades is the place where people are brought down and that it is a place of torment for unbelievers.
Jesus referred to the heaven(s) 156 times. Yet very few of those references refer to the third heaven (cf. 2 Cor 12:2). Most of them refer to the first heaven (the sky where birds fly) or the second heaven (outer space). However, on the rare occasions that He referred to the third heaven, He told us nothing about what it is like now or what it will be like in eternity.
Much description of the coming kingdom, ruling with Christ, and eternal rewards, but nothing about the lake of fire. If Gehenna refers to Hades or temporal judgment, then Jesus revealed nothing about what the lake of fire will be like. If it refers to the lake of fire, He offered only a vague description.
Mike Lii and I meant that Jesus said a whole lot about the Millennium and the eternal state on the new earth in His teaching. He spoke often about the coming kingdom, ruling with Him, His judgment of believers, and eternal rewards. But He said nothing or almost nothing about what unbelievers will do in eternity and what the lake of fire will be like.
The Lord never once referred to hell in evangelistic contexts. When people say Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven, they mean that He referred to eternal torment much more than eternal bliss in His evangelistic messages. But that isn’t true. In the Gospel of John, the only evangelistic book in the Bible (John 20:30-31), the Lord never once referred to Hades, Gehenna, or the lake of fire. He never said, “He who does not believe in Me will be tormented forever.” He used the word torment ten times in the Synoptic Gospels, but never in His evangelistic messages. He did say that the believer would not perish—that is, would not be eternally condemned (John 3:16-17). But He said nothing about the details of this condemnation.
I suggest you study this issue for yourself. I think you will agree that the Lord said more about Hades than about the third heaven, but that He said more about the coming kingdom than He did about the lake of fire.
Keep grace in focus, and you will continue to know that you will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus and His servants in His glorious kingdom.
