What did Jesus Christ say about Hades and about Gehenna and the Lake of Fire and did He 'preach hellfire' in order to urge repentance? A teaching of Jesus recorded in the Gospels warns of Hades immediately after death and before the Judgment for the selfish rich who neglect those in direst ill-health and poverty. Another saying warned the hometown of Jesus about a Hades destination for rejecting His teachings and divine calling. Then there are a few Gehenna teachings of Jesus Christ that are recorded in the Gospels. Four teachings recorded concerned Gehenna as distinct from Hades - one in Matthew chapter 5 and again in Matthew 18, another in Matthew 5, one in Matthew 10 and one in Matthew 23. The Gehenna sayings are all about ceasing from sin because of the awfulness of being cast into Gehenna. The awfulness of it is used by Jesus as all that is necessary to justify drastic action to prevent further sin. It is motivation Pharisees need to desist from hypocrisy (although virtually impossible given how hypocritical they were). It is the motivation advocated by Jesus for desisting from hating a brother even merely vocally. Plus it is reason sufficient on its own for fearing God who can consign us there. In Revelation Jesus, after His resurrection and ascension, switched to teaching about the Lake of Fire and again used it to teach the awful folly and wickedness of those who will not repent and will be thrown into it at the Judgment as a result.
