Did Jesus speak more about hell than heaven?
Upvote:1
Frequency. About a dozen years ago, I studied the parables of Jesus with a view to discovering the most important topics by counting how many parables discussed each subject. Among the topics I studied were money, heaven and hell. For heaven, I included all talk of eternal life and reward after death. For hell, I counted all references to judgment. Thus my categories are broader than yours, but should be helpful. The references to heaven, the kingdom of heaven and reward occurred in a little over half the parables. So did the references to hell and judgment. However, the count of the parables that spoke of heaven was a little higher than that for hell and judgment. Thus I would say that hell is NOT spoken of more than heaven.
This analysis, of course, neglects the non-parable statements of Jesus (a minority of his sayings) and Jesus' words in Revelation, which veer towards judgment.
(Editor: The following refers to content that was removed from the Question. See the original version thereof for relevant context.)
Annihilationism. Since you mention annihilationism in your question, here is a thought. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) God constructed the universe in a particular way, and that includes what death is and is not. The universe was constructed in such a way that Jesus could lay down his life and take it up again. His offering of his unspotted person in sacrifice was the greatest act of love in all history. However, if someone were to be able to offer themself to be annihilated and cease forever to be so as to rescue someone else from judgment, then would that not be a greater sacrifice than what Jesus gave? For this reason, I do not believe that the annihilation of souls is possible. God designed our beings and this world so as to make it impossible. Otherwise, to make the greatest possible sacrifice for sinners would have required the permanent cessation of existence of the Son of God, rupturing the Trinity and destroying the universe, thus destroying all people and saving none. That would create a logical impossibility. Therefore annihilationism is logically impossible. Whatever the ultimate state of the reprobate is, that is not the solution to your dilemma. It seems that even the apostle Paul wished that he could make some such sacrifice for his countrymen, but knew it to be impossible:
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (Romans 9:1-3)
Two missions. Back to the relative frequency of Jesus' statements, we must distinguish between the two missions: the incarnation and earthly life of Jesus during his first coming and the his return in glory at his second coming. The first coming was to announce salvation and to make the payment that purchased it for all who believe. The second coming of Christ also addresses salvation, as the ultimate salvation of the righteous will occur then, but the main preoccupation of Revelation is the judgment of the wicked. Thus the two poles of salvation and damnation vary in terms of emphasis according to what time it is in salvation history. Inferring too much from the frequency of how often Jesus spoke about matters is unwise, because as the times and seasons flow through history, so does the focus of God in how he interacts with mankind vary.
Upvote:2
As you will remember from your Church of God teaching, the Bible nowhere says that salvation means going to Heaven, so it's hardly surprising that Jesus doesn't talk much about it.
It's John, in Revelation, that says more about Heaven itself than anyone else. And what he describes is his interpretation of a vision. He sees the Kingdom of God, here on earth, and he sees various beings (e.g. angels), and things (e.g. a city) descending from heaven to earth, but there is no indication that humans themselves would ever go up to heaven.
What Jesus talks about is "The Kingdom of God" (or "The Kingdom of Heaven" as Matthew calls it). But that kingdom is to be here on physical Earth, not in God's Heaven.
Most people would be surprised at how little the Bible actually says about heaven.
Consider all the uses of the word "heaven" in the Gospels:
Matthew:
- reward in heaven
- Father which is in heaven
- as it is in heaven
- exalted unto heaven
- looking up to heaven
- in heaven their angels
- treasure in heaven
- God in heaven
- Son of man in heaven
- clouds in heaven
- from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other
- angels of heaven
- clouds of heaven
- (4×) heaven and earth
- (2×) by heaven
- (2×) bound in heaven
- (2×) loosed in heaven
- (5×) from heaven
- (13×) Father [which is] in heaven
- (33×) kingdom of heaven (Matthew's term for "Kingdom of God")
Mark:
- he looked up to heaven
- looking up to heaven
- treasure in heaven
- Father also which is in heaven
- Father which is in heaven
- (2×) angels which are in heaven
- stars of heaven
- the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven
- heaven and earth
- the clouds of heaven
- he was received up into heaven
- (4×) from heaven
Luke:
- the angels were gone away from them into heaven
- the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended
- the heaven was shut up three years and six months,
- in heaven
- looking up to heaven
- exalted to heaven
- your names are written in heaven
- Lord of heaven
- Father which art in heaven
- joy shall be in heaven
- lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven
- not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven
- treasure in heaven
- peace in heaven
- powers of heaven
- he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven
- (2×) against heaven
- (2×) heaven and earth
- (8×) from heaven
John:
- (15×) from heaven
- you shall see heaven open
- These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come
They are almost all talking about things that are already in heaven (angels, stars, God), or using heaven to mean the earth's air (clouds). Three of them do refer to "into heaven", but they are talking about angels and Jesus.
Jesus (and the Gospel writers) effectively never use the word "heaven" in a way that involves humans (other than Jesus).
The only seeming exception is "reward/treasure in heaven", but, without a preconceived belief that human afterlife will be in heaven, there is no reason to suspect that it refers to anything that isn't simply in heaven now, waiting to be brought to earth in the future.
Compare this with the "many mansions" in heaven and "shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God".
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