So You Wanna Talk About Hell?
a video series I'm doing on YouTube
One of my teachers, Dr. Bradley Jersak, wrote a book on the afterlife called Her Gates Will Never Be Shut. Originally published in 2009, Dr. Jersak’s work takes a scholarly dive into the context, history, and evolution of the words we use to talk about hell. Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, is quoted in his biography as expressing extraordinary praise for the book, saying it is one of the best he’s read on the afterlife.
Several of my good friends have asked me about hell recently, so I thought I’d tackle the subject as part of a daily YouTube series.
Since I’ve never read Dr. Jersak’s book, and because I trust his scholarship, I thought I’d use his book as the framework for my series due to its comprehensive approach, agreeing when I can and disagreeing when I feel the need to.
Here’s a link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9hYEK_exryE9YkIMKqHmMKopqZAmRk8t.
In the first video, I talk about my personal experience with the doctrine of hell. I’ve held just about every view one can on hell, even if I held some of those views as only a fleeting possibility. Sometimes I’ve held multiple, contradictory views at the same time. You may recall from previous writings/videos of mine that I’ve found myself caught between annihilation and universal reconciliation. I think Bradley does a good job in his book talking about why holding this tension can actually be reasonable.
You can see the first video here:
Did you know I upload a video to YouTube everyday?
Currently, I’ve done several series corresponding to the liturgical calendar.
For Advent, I studied the theology of Karl Barth surrounding the Christmas miracle over 27 videos.
For Christmas, I talked about Rainer Maria Rilke’s work Letters to a Young Poet across 12 videos.
For Epiphany, I did a verse by verse study of Revelation over 49 videos.
For Lent, we went through 1 John to challenge ourselves to rethink who God is in light of the revelation of Jesus in 41 videos.
During Holy Week, I talked about penal substitutionary atonement theory for six videos.
We then embarked on a fifty video series on Resurrection for Eastertide.
And now, during the time after Pentecost, we are studying hell, currently at 23 videos.
If you’d like to follow these videos, be sure to subscribe to YouTube since I don’t always crosspost to Substack.
Thank you for sharing this, brother. It is always encouraging to see believers reflecting on God's truth and encouraging one another in the faith. In a world filled with uncertainty, we need constant reminders to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Hebrews 12:2 says, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He is our hope, our strength, and our foundation in every season of life. I am reminded of Psalm 46:1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. No matter what challenges we face, the Lord remains faithful and His promises never fail. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us that His mercies are new every morning and that His faithfulness is great. Philippians 4:6-7 also encourages us not to be anxious about anything, but to bring everything to God in prayer. What a blessing it is to know that we can cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us. Sometimes we do not know what tomorrow holds, but we know the One who holds tomorrow. I also love the reminder found in Isaiah 26:3, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. The closer we walk with Christ, the more we experience His peace, even in difficult circumstances. Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That truth gives us confidence and hope regardless of what we may face. Thank you again for sharing, brother. Posts like this encourage us to remain steadfast in our faith and to continue trusting the Lord day by day. Please keep our ministry in India in your prayers as we teach God's Word, serve meals to children, and share the love of Christ in our community. May the Lord bless you, strengthen your faith, and draw you closer to Himself each day. God bless you, brother.