hello to you I do hope you're well welcome to this GCSE revision session I'm Ben Wardle and today we are continuing our look at Christian belief and teaching and we are looking today at life after death so oh I'm adding a participant now oh this is very exciting um let's take a look at the specification shall we that's what we're meant to do and as you can see we are well on our way through the Christian belief and teaching section now so we are looking to date at different Christian beliefs about the afterlife and their importance that's a really important word we're going to look at different understandings of the afterlife so for example ideas of a physical heaven and a physical hell compared with ideas of a spiritual heaven and a spiritual hell for example our key areas of focus are going to be on Resurrection which of course is that key Central event in the New Testament when Jesus rises from the dead and we're also looking at judgment and Heaven and Hell so really really interesting concepts for us to be studying and revising today so let's just very quickly start with our key terms shall we which are the key to our success in this GCSE exam so Heaven is the belief that after death Christians can enter a state of being with God for eternity a really ambiguous definition there isn't it that idea of a state of being with God and we're gonna look at the different understandings of that whether it's the physical place as Jesus says my father's house has many rooms for example or is it more of a spiritual state where you are with God in a spiritual sense we've been got hell belief in a place of Eternal suffering lovely or a state after death of being in separation from God so again these different understandings is it an actual place that you go um you know and it's going to be nice and warm you don't need to pack too many jumpers or is it a state is it an absence of God is it a state of being away from God and I think they're very very different aren't they so interesting to think about how different Christians come to hold different beliefs about whether it's a physical place or a spiritual State we then have judgment which is this idea God will decide whether you go to heaven or to hell it's the belief that God will decide whether each person should receive eternal life or Eternal punishment based on their Earthly life so the idea you're going to be held to account for your conduct in this world and later on in the belief and teaching section we'll be looking at this idea of Salvation who is saved whether it's through your faith so what you believe or whether it's through your Works what you do we then have Resurrection so there are two key definitions here you know overall it's the idea of being raised from the dead that's what a resurrection is isn't it if I try to resurrect my Tick Tock career for example that would be a you know an attempt to bring it back to life to get it going again uh if you've got any idea for that do let me know in the comments um it is the event in Christianity three days after the crucifixion so it happened on Easter Sunday according to Easter tradition to Christian tradition when it is believed that God raised Jesus from the dead you know seen as the most significant event in Christianity you know would Christianity exist if the resurrection had not or has not happened and it is also the form that many Christians believe the afterlife will take referring to either physical or spiritual body so the idea that at the end of time at the end of the world there will be a resurrection of all believers that people will come back to life they will come back from the dead either in physical or spiritual form so something to look forward to see you there and salvation our final definition it simply means being saved this is such an important definition you know with my students this is the first word we talk about when we talk about Christianity it is all about this idea of Salvation the idea that Adam and Eve brought about Sin you know they committed the original sin they brought about the fall and therefore Jesus is needed God has to become flesh God has to become a man in order to save humanity and restore that relationship so salvation is this core key Concept in Christianity the idea of being saved the belief that through God's grace Jesus is death and Resurrection brought about salvation for Humanity showing us how important the resurrection is it's the faving of the soul and being able to enter eternal life in heaven remember Christians do believe in the idea of original sin or many Christians do I should say that people are born sinful and therefore you need to be saved in order to um attain eternal life in heaven for example so the four key Concepts we are looking at today are here for you on a little table we're looking at Resurrection we're looking at judgment we're looking at Heaven and Hell now our focus is going to be looking at scriptural evidence for each of these things so we'll look at some key quotes that you could refer to in a question for and we're also going to look at the influence of these beliefs very important you know the exam boards want us to know why they are important to Christians and by looking at the influence they have on Christians today will really start to unpack why they are so important why they are so influential for for Christians so we're going to start with resurrection and we're going to start with some of those scriptural foundations for this belief so Jesus himself declares according to the Gospel of John I am the resurrection and the life the one who believes in me will live even though they die so a really bold declaration there isn't it um Saint Paul writes that if Christ has not been raised your faith is useless and you are still living in your sins so thank Paul saying that if the resurrection has not happened on Easter Sunday then your faith is useless it's absolutely pointless and you are sinful so the only you know way to be freed from thin if you like is if Christ if Jesus have raised from the dead have been raised from the dead excuse me for the poor English there because the idea is that in his resurrection Jesus overcomes death and therefore he overcomes sin the key idea in Christianity is that before Adam and Eve thinned there was no death there was no suffering there was no pain they brought all of that into the world and Jesus removed it Jesus overcomes it Jesus defeats it if you like to think Paul's saying that without the resurrection your faith your Christian faith is useless it gives meaning to your faith and of course if it hasn't happened you are still sinful so the only way to be saved is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and again Saint Paul therefore we know that since Christ was raised from the dead he cannot die again death no longer have Mastery over him the idea that he has overcome death he has overcome sin this is a you know great amazing incredible Triumph that Jesus have achieved over sin over death over suffering Etc so just to recap Resurrection means being raised from the dead in the New Testament it is the event three days after the crucifixion where when it's believed that God raised Jesus from the dead Jesus um Jesus's resurrection excuse me is celebrated on Easter Sunday um and a great link here to the practices faction isn't it you could get a question in the exam about the importance of Easter or whether Easter is more important than Christmas why is Easter so important because it's when the resurrection happened you know the event that gives meaning to Christianity that allows people to overcome sin to be saved and to have life after death all happens on Easter Sunday showing you how important it is showing you how significant it is Jesus's resurrection shows him overcoming sin and death which as we've said is said to have been brought into the World by Adam and Eve in Genesis so if you're looking at the Bible you know in its narrative structure you start with that fall in Genesis and then Jesus repairs the relationship he redeems Humanity he you know brings about the atonement the reconciliation he overcome sin and death many Christians believe their faith in Jesus means they will also be resurrected after death so the idea that because Jesus overcame death so can you if you believe in him and there will be a resurrection either as a physical or spiritual body so I've said we're going to do we're going to really focus on what the influence of this belief is what is the impact of it why is it so important well it means Christians put their faith in Jesus you know the idea that it shows you he is the Son of God and it shows you if you believe in him you can also overcome death by having faith in him by believing in his resurrection you can also achieve a resurrection so it illustrates his importance you know without that event happening as Saint Paul said your faith is pointless and the influence of course is that Christians celebrate Easter Sunday they see Easter is so important and significant it gives evidence Jesus is the son of God you know not every person dive on the Friday and comes back to life on the Sunday the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead it's giving you that evidence if you like that biblical evidence he is the Son of God therefore he's worthy of worship and you should believe in him and it gives hope if you're talking about the influence of it it gives hope doesn't it that death will not be the end that there is hope for life after death that there is hope for a resurrection so quick question for you something to consider just to keep us on our toes would Christianity exist do you think if Jesus had not risen from the dead if Jesus had just been killed on the craft on the charge of blasphemy on the Friday and that was it do you think in the world today we would have two billion Christians would Christianity exist without the resurrection just something to consider in terms of its importance and its centrality to Christianity considering what Saint Paul said and considering everything we've discussed about how it shows Jesus's identity it's seen as proof he is the Son of God and how it allows Christians to have eternal life the idea that it opens the door for eternal life and it allows for Christians to be saved because that acts that Resurrection represents overcoming death overcoming Finn you know it's a great source of Hope for Christians so just something to think about maybe chat about that at the dinner table tonight you know anyway moving on we're looking at our next keyword now which is Judgment so again I'll just give you a couple of key quotes they think Paul said we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ so that each of us may receive what is due for us for the things done while in the body whether good or bad so you know a bit like the idea of karma you know you will be held to account for how you've conducted yourself um and then the power of the sheep and the goats Matthew 25 says the righteous will have eternal life the idea that there is going to be a consequence for our Earthly actions and that how you've conducted yourself in this world will have a direct influence on what happens to you in the next where you go so it's all about judgment being held to account and this belief as I've put here that God will decide whether each person should receive eternal life or eternal punishment and that will be based on their Earthly life you are going to be judged and of course when we started our look at beliefs and um teachings we spoke about the idea Christians believe God is just so this is a really great example of that God is going to be just and he will decide fairly he will be fair in his judgment that he is making so Christians believe God is just and will decide the destination of every human soul after death and of course all of this is showing us God's omnipotence his power it's showing us his omniscience that he knows everything that you've done and also importantly Jesus is involved in judgment and he offers all people salvation and that's where you could maybe say the omnibenevolence comes in um and we're going to think about this you know because wooden all loving God fend anybody to hell and we're going to talk about that later when we talk about hell believe it or not so just something to think about you know if God is a just judge you know does that mean some people do have to go to hell and you know what is required for that judgment to be made or will all people ultimately be saved so in the past horrible at the sheep and the goats are key text from Matthew 25 God is represented as judging people based on their Earthly conduct and it's very much about their actions and it's about their works those who have performed Good Deeds who in this parable are the Sheep are rewarded with eternal life in heaven those who have not performed Good Deeds the goats those who have not helped those in need are sent to Eternal punishment in hell and Jesus says very famously whatever you have done to the least of these you have done to me so how you have treated people will influence how God judges you on Judgment Day so what is the influence of this well if you believe God is going to judge you based on your Earthly life you are going to be very conscious about how you live that life aren't you if you're going to follow God's rules and worship him you're going to perform good work in order to be saved you're going to avoid sin in order to avoid the punishment you may also have hope that Justice will be done you know if you look at the world around you you will see it in Joseph you know you will see people getting away with things that it's not right there getting away with and equally you'll see people doing good things without any reward from society and so you could have hope that ultimately you know in the end Justice will finally be done and of course you may also encourage others to be good as well because you want them to be saved in the same way so you know just start to think if you believe in judgment if you believe God is going to judge you and hold you to account for your actions how is that going to influence you how is it going to shape you what is the impact of that for you in how you live your life our next one then is heaven and our Focus for this one is really going to be about asking is having a physical place is it a spiritual place what does that mean so a few quotes Jesus says in John chapter 14 my father's house have many rooms he says in John chapter 3 that those who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life so this idea that heaven is eternal life John chapter 18 Jesus says my kingdom is not of this world so again the idea Heaven is another world it's another place uh Matthew 25 Parables the sheep and the goats the righteous will have eternal life so it's a place of reward it's a place that those who have done good things and good deeds will go um a really interesting one from The Book of Revelation at the end of the Bible from chapter 21 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes there will be no more death or Mourning or crying or pain so that heaven is being characterized here as a place where there is no suffering which of course contrasts with what you find in the world and then Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians it is the Eternal house in heaven not built by human hands so it's you know of a different nature if you like it in a different place and it exists for eternity and that's really important the idea that the Earth is temporary whereas Heaven is eternal you know Jesus and his early followers were expecting the imminent end of the world they were anticipating the world was going to end within their lifetimes and so they were contrasting the temporary nature of the world they lived in with the Eternal nature of heaven so Heaven it refers to the belief that after death Christians can enter a state of being with God excuse me guys for eternity Heaven interestingly is rarely described in the Bible we you know we hear language of the kingdom of God has come near you know and Jesus speaks about how you enter the kingdom of God but we don't really have much description we do know it is a place and of course you know it's that physical place or a spiritual place without sin sadness or suffering some Christians as we've said believe it is a physical Place others believe it is a spiritual State you know and there are lots of contradictions it's very easy to argue for both sides of the argument based on scripture so for example Saint Paul writes that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God so that would suggest it is a spiritual place isn't it but he also describes Heaven as an eternal house not built by human hands so you know there are lots of different ideas that we do get from the Bible not all of it is consistent um but what we do also need to know is the influence of this belief so whether you're believing Heaven is physical or spiritual how is it influencing you as a Christian what is the impact what is the importance well it gives people there is sorry it gives hope there is life after death and we give people hope that good deeds will be rewarded you know that doing good things will ultimately be rewarded a bit like we said in terms of Judge being about Justice being done it means people will obviously be a good person in order to reach heaven you know they're going to follow God's teachings they're going to do the Good Deeds because they want to enter that state of being with God it gives people hope and it means they look forward to a time of closeness to closeness to guard a card speak excuse me and it means they remain committed to the religion you know they have faith and they have hope no matter what's going on in life right now no matter how difficult times are it gives people hope there will be a time when there is no sin there is no sadness there is no suffering when you will finally find Eternal peace and happiness and you know it might also give reassurance if you're grieving for example you know that you'll be reunited with a loved one that they are safe they are happy and that you will see them again so really important I think in terms of your psychology you know the psychological impact and influence Heaven has and then all so in terms of your actions you know doing what you need to do in order to go there in order to achieve that salvation and Achieve that Eternal happiness so as I as I've been asking is having a physical place or a spiritual State I wanted to share a couple of contrasting views which you could use if you're asking the exam to give different Christian views about heaven about what heaven is like about you know whether it is a physical place or a spiritual state so St Paul says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God suggesting it's spiritual the catechism says that heaven is the state of supreme definitive happiness so the idea it's the state of Happiness is a really interesting interpretation the catechism also says to live in heaven is to be with Christ does that mean he's going to be at the table next to you offering you you know a slice of his pizza or does that mean that you are going to be in a state of Oneness with God and with Jesus what does that mean well Jesus himself says my father's house have many rooms and of course you know that the connotations of that if I can get into English teacher mode for a minute is that it's a difficult place you know it's a house with many rooms and yes it must be many rooms for the billions and billions of people who are now you know rocking up and having a lovely time and then Saint Paul said the Eternal house not built by human hands so again that housing metaphor but saying it's a house not built by human hands so what is the house like you know so lots to think about lots to consider is having a physical place or spiritual State you just need to know let's make it really simple some Christians believe it's a physical Place whereas others believe it's a spiritual State and you could simply say they believe it's a physical place because Jesus said my father's house has many rooms the connotations of this is that it's a Biblical Place whereas um Saint Paul writes flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God or the catechism says it is a state of supreme happiness which connotes which suggests it is a spiritual state where the physical body will not be it's for the soul if that makes sense and the final one for us to look at today is Hell let's end on a positive shall we let's end on an upbeat note I love this quote here guys from Revelation chapter 21. the fiery Lake of burning sulfur guys if you don't remember any other quote surely that one is going to stick in your mind for the exam the fiery Lake of burning sulfur iconic we also have of course Matthew 25 they will go away to Eternal punishment so the idea sounds lovely doesn't it that those who have not helped people will be sent to uh punishment forever to Eternal suffering and then interestingly the catechism says that hell is a willful turning away from God the catechism says no one predestines um no God predestines no one to Hell excuse me instead it requires a willful turning away from God so God doesn't want anyone want to go to hell of course he's you know all loving he's only benevolent and God will do everything he can to make sure you don't go there you know hell if a willful turning away from God which of course is what Finn is you know when we've spoken about the definition of sin before it's all about going against God isn't it so it's a willful Turning Away does that mean you go to a physical place where you're punished or does it mean you're in a spiritual state of Separation so that's something to think about as well so the Bible teaches that hell is where unrepentant Sinners go after death if they have not accepted God's offer of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus so this idea that God wants to save everybody God is only benevolent and of course that key teaching in Christianity of forgiveness yeah so God will forgive you and he wants you to be saved Jesus is the sacrifice for all of humanity um but if you are unrepentant if you do not want to be forgiven if you do not want to accept that salvation hell is where Christians believe you will go it is a place of pain and suffering without God again is it physical pain or is it more of a spiritual pain caused by absence some Christians believe that hell is a physical place you know in that great quote from Revelation about the fiery Lake would endorse that view whereas some believe it is a spiritual state of being separated from God for or eternity which of course is something a Christian wants to avoid but if someone's an atheist you know they're not going to be scared of hell are they because they don't believe God exists in the first place so to be separated from God for eternity he is going to be on you know unnoticeable some Christians believe that nobody will go to hell because God forgives everybody and this belief that everybody will be saved is known as universalism so there will be Universal salvation we will talk about this later when we talk about salvation in more detail but just for now it's really interesting some Christians do believe that hell is the place but nobody is there that's a very famous quote from Pope John Paul II and it's the idea that it exists but because God is all about forgiving because God is all loving and because Jesus died for everybody nobody actually goes to hell some people the Catholic Church believes go to Purgatory which is a place where their souls are cleansed and where they are prepared to enter Heaven but nobody is actually enduring this eternal punishment in the burning Lake because that goes against God's Omni benevolence and as I say that key idea of forgiveness so what is the belief going to do in terms of its influence how is it going to influence people what if the impact of belief in hell why is Hell important for Christians well it leads people to avoid sin in order to go into hell avoid going to hell excuse me unless they fancy a few laps of the fiery Lake and it means people will put their faith in Jesus that he will save them the idea that you know you need Jesus in order to be saved that his death and Resurrection is all about the atonement of sins and then the gift of eternal life it means Christians will follow Jesus's teachings to avoid going to hell really emphasized by the parable of the sheep and the goats isn't it it means people will feel scared of hell you know there's an influence of this belief it's going to have a psychological effect on you isn't it a bit traumatic I would say uh it may lead someone to believe in universalism you know the idea of Hell could be so horrific that some someone may be influenced to think nobody can go there you know and so they would believe in universalism it may also influence someone to evangelize to save others you know it might mean you tell everybody you possibly can you know you need to believe in Jesus you need to follow these teachings because you don't want them to end up in Hell facing this um Eternal punishment but again we have to consider is it a physical place or a spiritual State always be keeping in mind that phrase some Christians believe yeah always be considering that there are many different views within Christianity and make sure you're ready to bring those in when you're writing your exam answers and then just another way of looking at that influences question a really important question to prepare for on the exam you could be asked about a way that um Resurrection influences Christians how belief in judgment will influence Christians what is the impact on how they live and what they do how does belief in heaven influence Christians and how does belief in Hell influence Christians and of course for you know your format question you're going to be asked to give two different ways that the belief influences Christians so there's my sentence started for the first one you might like to have a go at that and see how you get on in terms of considering what is the impact why are these beliefs important how do they influence Christians thank you very much for joining me today if you've got any further questions any thoughts any good quotes from the Bible that you think really illustrate any of these beliefs please do leave them in the comments down below always great to hear from you have a great day good luck with all your studies and I'll see you soon bye-bye