Why Legendary Evangelist Is So 'Disturbed' by Pop Culture's Portrayal of Heaven and Hell

As the Rev. Billy Graham approaches his 97th birthday next month, his family is promoting what is widely expected to be the celebrated evangelist's final book — one that focuses on heaven, hell and the afterlife in an effort to clear up "misinformation" about eternity.

The subject matter for the new book, titled, "Where I am: Heaven, Eternity and our Life Beyond," was inspired by Graham's surprise over the ways in which heaven and hell have been framed in contemporary culture, according to his son, evangelist Franklin Graham.

"As he gets older, he realizes he's on the doorstep of eternity, but at the same time he has been disturbed about culture," Franklin Graham recently told The Church Boys podcast. "Some of this pop culture and books and movies ... have come out that portray heaven and hell from a different perspective than what the Bible preaches."

Graham, who spoke on behalf of his elderly father, said that Billy Graham has always approached his ministry from the perspective of what the "Bible says," so that's exactly the lens through which he wrote "Where I Am."

Listen to Franklin Graham discuss the book — and what the Bible says about eternity — at the 31:00 mark below:

"He just takes the Bible and tells what the Bible says about heaven, hell, eternity," Graham said, noting that recent movies and books about the afterlife were a catalyst for his father's decision to explore scripture references to the afterlife.

Billy Graham's goal, according to his son, is to clear up "misinformation" on the subject.

"Mankind today is still faced with two choices: It's either heaven or hell," Franklin Graham said, explaining that he believes God will judge those who reject Christ. "We want to think that God is this loving God, and he would never send anybody to hell. He is a loving God, but he's a just God."

He continued, "[God] is offering salvation to everyone. Jesus Christ came from heaven to this Earth for the sins of mankind. Jesus Christ died on a cross."

Graham went on to tell The Church Boys that the Bible describes hell as "a place of darkness" and a place of "wailing and weeping." As for heaven, he said that it is the place where "Jesus is."

"We're here on earth for just a short period of time. None of us knows the day our life will come to an end," Graham said. "It's about faith and have you accepted Christ or rejected him? It's either two paths."

Graham also accused the Obama administration of "celebrating sin" during his interview with The Church Boys. Listen to that segment here:

And he doubled down on contentious claims about Muslim immigration:

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