Early Christian Beliefs About Hell

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Direct teaching

but fear Him who after death is able to cast both soul and body into hell.” And hell is a place where those are to be punished who have lived wickedly, and who do not believe that those things which God has taught us by Christ will come to pass.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

...eeds; and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, the second death." This is what is called Gehenna, which the Lord referred to as eternal fire. "And if anyone," it is said, "was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." After this, he says, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away; there was also no more sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, like a bride adorned for her husband." "And I heard," it is said, "a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men, and He will live with them; they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death will be no more, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, because the former things have passed away." Isaiah also declares the same: "For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and there shall be no remembrance of the former, nor shall the heart consider them, but they shall find joy and exultation in it." This is what the apostle mentioned: "For the form of this world is passing away." Similarly, the Lord declared, "Heaven

Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh Direct teaching

But He also teaches us that He is rather to be feared who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. That is the Lord alone. It is not those who kill the body but are not able to harm the soul, Matthew 10:28. That is to say, it is not any human powers. Here, then, we have a recognition of the soul's natural immortality, since men cannot kill it, and of the body's mortality, since it can be killed. From this we learn that the resurrection of the dead is a resurrection of the flesh. For unless it were raised again, it would be impossible for the flesh to be killed in hell. But a tricky question may be raised here about the meaning of the body, or the flesh. So I will state at once that by the human body I understand nothing other than that structure of flesh which, whatever kind of material it is made of and shaped into, is seen and touched, and is sometimes even killed by men. In the same way, I would not admit that anything but mortar and stones and bricks form the body of a wall. If anyone brings into our argument some body of a subtle, hidden kind, he must show it, uncover it, and prove to me that this very body is the one killed by human violence. Then I will grant that this

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...at each person deserves by the examination of His divine knowledge. Then He will send the guilty to Gehenna, and He will set our persecutors on fire with the endless burning of a punishment by fire. But to us He will give the reward of our faith and devotion. What glory there will be, and how great the joy, to be allowed to see God; to be honored to receive, with Christ your Lord God, the joy of eternal salvation and light; to greet Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; to rejoice with the righteous and the friends of God in the kingdom of heaven, with the delight of immortality given to us; to receive there what neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man! For the apostle declares that we shall receive greater things than anything we do or suffer here, saying, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come hereafter which shall be revealed in us.” When that revelation comes, when that glory of God shines upon us, we shall be happy and joyful, honored by the condescension of God. But they will remain guilty and miserable who, either as deserters from God or as

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Direct teaching

...g immortality, and we will now show it again. Then it may be clear that righteousness alone obtains eternal life for man, and that God alone gives the reward of eternal life. For those who are said to have been made immortal by their merits, since they had neither righteousness nor any true virtue, did not gain immortality for themselves, but death by their sins and lusts. Nor did they deserve the reward of heaven, but the punishment of hell, which hangs over them together with all who worship them. And I show that the time of this judgment is drawing near, so that the proper reward may be given to the righteous, and the deserved punishment may be inflicted on the wicked.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

and death and hell were sent into the lake of fire, the second death.” Now this is what is called Gehenna, which the Lord styled eternal fire.

Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh Direct teaching

If, therefore, any one shall violently suppose that the destruction of the soul and the flesh in hell amounts to a final annihilation of the two substances, and not to their penal treatment (as if they were to be consumed, not punished), let him recollect that the fire of hell is eternal— expressly announced as an everlasting penalty;

Cyprian, Treatises Direct teaching

...fruit of repentance. Weeping will be useless, and prayer ineffective. Too late they will believe in eternal punishment who would not believe in eternal life.

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Direct teaching

and we believe that those who live wickedly and do not repent are punished in everlasting fire.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Direct teaching

he truly will be cast down to hell, and be condemned to eternal punishment.

Archelaus, Disputation with Manes Supporting witness

And if again, you find fault with the one because He has prepared a fire, why do you not find fault with the other, who says, Depart from me into everlasting fire?

Hippolytus, Treatise on Christ and Antichrist Supporting witness

... the saints, Daniel says, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall rise, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Isaiah says, "The dead shall rise, and those who are in their tombs shall awake; for the dew from you is healing to them." The Lord says, "Many on that day shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live." And the prophet says, "Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light." And John says, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection; over such the second death has no power." For the second death is the lake of burning fire. And again the Lord says, "Then the righteous shall shine like the sun in his glory." And to the saints He will say, "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." But what does He say to the wicked? "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, which my Father has prepared." And John says, "Outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever makes and loves a lie; for your par

Hippolytus, Against Plato Supporting witness

And the fire which is un-quenchable and without end awaits these latter, and a certain fiery worm which dies not, and which does not waste the body, but continues bursting forth from the body with unending pain.

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

but in the other, really, enduringly, and more rigidly: for the fire is eternal, and the wrath of God which shall be revealed from heaven from the face of our Lord (as David also says, “But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth”), entails a heavier punishment on those who incur it,—the elders pointed out that those men are devoid of sense, who, [arguing] from what happened to those who formerly did not obey God, do endeavour to bring in another Father, setting over against [these punishments] what great things the Lord had done at His coming to save those who received Him, taking compassion upon them;

Matthew 25:46 Direct teaching

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Matthew 25:41 Direct teaching

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 13:42 Direct teaching

And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Revelation 20:15 Direct teaching

And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Mark 9:48 Direct teaching

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

2 Peter 2:4 Direct teaching

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

Luke 16:23 Direct teaching

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Revelation 20:14 Supporting witness

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Alexander of Alexandria, Epistles on the Arian Heresy Direct teaching

... the veil was torn, and darkness covered the earth on which its Lord had closed His eyes. Meanwhile hell was shining with light, for the star had gone down there. The Lord, indeed, did not descend into hell in His body, but in His Spirit. He is certainly at work everywhere, for while by His body He raised the dead, by His Spirit He was setting their souls free. For when the body of the Lord was hanging on the cross, the tombs, as we have said, were opened. Hell was unbarred. The dead received life. The souls were sent back again into the world. And this happened because the Lord had conquered hell, had trampled down death, and had covered the enemy with shame. Therefore the souls came out from Hades, and the dead appeared on the earth.

Gregory Thaumaturgus, On All the Saints Direct teaching

..., they open the gates of heaven. And if anyone does not believe that death has been abolished, that Hades has been trampled underfoot, that its chains are broken, and that the tyrant is bound, let him look at the martyrs sporting in the presence of death and raising the joyful song of Christ's victory. O what a wonder! From the hour when Christ plundered Hades, men have danced in triumph over death. "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55. Hades and the devil have been plundered, stripped of their ancient armor, and driven out of their own power. And just as Goliath had his head cut off with his own sword, so also the devil, who has been the father of death, is put to flight through death. He finds that the very thing he used to use as the ready weapon of his deceit has become the mighty instrument of his own destruction. Yes, if we may speak this way, when he cast his hook toward the Godhead and took the familiar pleasure of the bait, he himself is clearly caught while he thinks he is the captor, and he discovers that instead of touching mere man, he has touched God. For this reason the martyrs leap upon the head of the dragon and des

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Direct teaching

For this reason, the guards of Hades trembled when they saw Him, and the bronze gates and iron bars were broken. For look, the Only-begotten entered, a soul among souls, God the Word with a human soul. For His body lay in the tomb, not emptied of divinity. But just as, while in Hades, He was in His essential being with His Father, so He was also in the body and in Hades. For the Son is not confined by space, just like the Father, and He contains all things in Himself. But by His own will He lived in a body made alive by a soul, so that with His soul He might enter Hades, and not with His pure divinity.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

Therefore the Lord preached the gospel to those in Hades. So Scripture says, "Hades says to Destruction, We have not seen His form, but we have heard His voice." It is not the place itself that heard the voice, as the words above say. Rather, it was those who had been put in Hades and had given themselves over to destruction, like people who voluntarily throw themselves from a ship into the sea. They, then, are the ones who hear the divine power and voice. For who, if he is in his right mind, can suppose that the souls of the righteous and the souls of sinners are under the same condemnation, and so accuse Providence of injustice?

Venantius, Poem on Easter Supporting witness

...the fields, and the sea rightly praise the God who rises above the stars after crushing the laws of hell. Look, He who was crucified now reigns as God over all things, and all created things offer prayer to their Creator. Hail, festive day, worthy to be honored throughout the world, on which God has conquered hell and gains the stars! The changes of the year and the months, the generous light of the days, the splendor of the hours—all things applaud with their voice. So, in honor of You, the wood applauds with its leaves. So the vine, with its silent shoot, gives thanks. So the thickets now ring with the whispering of birds, and among them the sparrow sings with overflowing love. O Christ, Savior of the world, merciful Creator and Redeemer, the only offspring from the Father's Godhead, flowing in an indescribable way from the heart of Your Parent, You, the self-existing Word, powerful from the mouth of Your Father, equal to Him, of one mind with Him, His companion, coeternal with the Father, from whom the world first received its beginning! You suspend the sky, You gather the earth together, You pour out the seas. By Your rule, all things fixed in their places continue to flouri

Origen, Commentary on John Supporting witness

...en the Son of God takes flesh and bones, is one of His sandals. I think the other is the descent to Hades, whatever that Hades may be, and the journey with the Spirit to the prison. As for the descent into Hades, we read in Psalm 16, "You will not leave my soul in Hades," and as for the journey to the prison with the Spirit, we read in Peter's Catholic Epistle, 1 Peter 3:18-20, "Put to death," he says, "in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit; in which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, which at one time were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God once waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared." He, then, who is able rightly to explain the meaning of these two journeys is able to untie the strap of the sandals of Jesus. He does this by bending down in his mind and going with Jesus as He goes down into Hades, and by descending from heaven and from the mysteries of Christ's deity to the coming that He necessarily made among us when He took on man, as His sandals. Now He who put on man also put on the dead, for Romans 14:9 says, "For this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." This is why