Great Question! 2025 - Are Heaven and Hell Real?

Great Question! 2025 - Are Heaven and Hell Real? During WholeLife Church’s annual ‘Great Question!’ Series, Lead Pastor Ken Wetmore is given a question submitted by one of our members with only a week to prepare his answer. This week’s question launches the 2025 Great Question! series and does not disappoint: Great Question 1: The Old Testament doesn't say much about an afterlife beyond the grave. A vague mention of the dead coming back to life appears in Isaiah 26:19, and Daniel 12:2 speaks of resurrection and judgment. In contrast, the New Testament describes heaven and hell as real, specific places. Since most of the Old Testament lacks clear ideas of life after death—and since by the time the New Testament was written, Jewish thought had been influenced by other religions like Zoroastrianism and by Greek philosophy—should we understand heaven and hell as actual places, or as theological concepts shaped by these influences? Reach out to us with your questions and comments: • Text/Voicemail:  407-965-1607 (about:invalid#zCSafez)   • Email:  podcast@wholelife.church (mailto:podcast@wholelife.church) • #SpeakingOfGrace Get Connected with WholeLife! Reach out and let us know how we can serve you: http://wholelife.church/connect SUBSCRIBE NOW to our companion podcast, This Is WholeLife (https://this-is-whole-life.captivate.fm/listenlinks) , which dives deeper into the message and topic with Pastors Ken Wetmore (https://wholelife.church/ken-wetmore) , Melanie Bockmann (https://wholelife.church/melanie-bockmann) , Assistant Communication Director Lucas Moraes (https://wholelife.church/lucas) , and Communication Director Randy Magray (https://wholelife.church/randy) as the host. It’s the perfect midweek commute podcast to stay connected with your family at WholeLife Church. We encourage your questions, comments, and feedback, which we are ready to discuss and share in the next episode!   Speaking of Grace is available every