The Fathers
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians 16, 1 (c. 110 AD)
“My brethren: the corrupters of families will not inherit the kingdom of
God. And if they who do these things according to the flesh suffer death,
how much more if a man corrupt by evil teaching the faith of God, for the
sake of which Jesus Christ was crucified? A man become so foul will
depart into unquenchable fire; and so also will anyone who listens to him.”
St. Justin Martyr, First Apology 52 (c. 155 AD)
“He shall come from the heavens in glory with His angelic host; when He
shall raise the bodies of all the men who ever lived. Then he will clothe the
worthy in immortality; but the wicked, clothed in eternal sensibility, He will
commit to the eternal fire, along with the evil demons.”
St. Cyprian of Carthage, Letter to the People of Thibar 58 (56), 10
(253 AD)
“Oh, what a day that will be, and how great when it comes, dearest
brethren! When the Lord begins to survey His people and to recognize by
examining with divine knowledge the merits of each individual! To cast
into hell evildoers, and to condemn our persecutors to the eternal fire and
punishing flame! And indeed, to present to us the reward of faith and
devotion.”
Aphraates the Persian Sage, Treatises 22, 22 (inter 336-345 AD)
“And again, in regard to punishment, I say that not all men are equal. He
that sinned much is much tormented. He that offended not so much is less
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