Scriptural and Patristic Quotes on Hell

This blog post is put together to refute views on hell which maintain that God is all-loving and does not punish at all. The unrighteous are supposedly only tormented by their guilt and remorse over their failure to accept God’s love while being in His presence eternally. Hell, therefore, is supposedly a relative perception or state of mind. In fact, these views closely resemble the modern Christian Science views on hell. Those who uphold these unorthodox views rely on explanations of the fathers that God is passionless. They argue that references to God’s “anger” and “wrath” should never be understood literally, but rather, anthropomorphically. These arguments, however, are illogical. If God’s “wrath” and “anger” are to be dismissed as anthropomorphic, how do we dismiss scriptural (and patristic) references to God’s “punishment”, “condemnation”, “curse”, “judgement”, “destruction”, “damnation” etc as figurative (or anthropomorphic) since these are not emotions or passions. While some church fathers speak of the fire of hell as the fire of God’s presence, they clearly speak of hell as punitive and retributive, not the fire of “His love”. There is no evidence that the “scourge of love” view has any place in Orthodoxy (except in the writings of Isaac the Syrian and others who upheld the heretical doctrine of universal salvation). Isaac, like other universalists, believed the fire of hell was remedial; its purpose was to purify for the final restoration of all beings, including the devils. This is why he called hell the “scourge of love”.  The “Scourge of love”, being a universalist view, therefore has no place in true Orthodox eschatology. While scripture and Church father speak of God’s remedial punishment intended to lead to a sinner to repentance, these references were regarding life on earth, not the afterlife. References to punishment in the afterlife were clearly eternal and retributive for the sake of justice. Moreover, the all-loving God who does not punish at all was the heretical view upheld by Marcion, condemned by the Orthodox Church in the 2nd Century.  Below are scriptural and patristic references:

Quotes on judgment

Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 4 CHAPTER 28
Those persons prove themselves senseless who exaggerate the mercy of Christ, but are silent as to the Judgment, and look only at the more abundant grace of the New Testament; but forgetful of the greater degree of perfection which it demands from us

Irenaeus – Against Heresies
The God, therefore, who does benevolently cause His sun to rise upon all, and sends rain upon the just and unjust, shall judge those who, enjoying His equally distributed kindness, have led lives not corresponding to the dignity of His bounty

St. Antony–Vita Antoni, Address to Monks
“so let us daily abide firm in our discipline, knowing that if we are careless for a single day the Lord will not pardon us, for the sake of the past, but will be wrath against us for our neglect. As also we have heard in Ezekiel; and as Judas because of one night destroyed his previous labor.” 

St. Athanasius – Festal Letters, Letter VII
And the kind of fruit those have who thus love
pleasures, he immediately describes, adding, ‘And these things are revealed in the ears of the Lord of Hosts, that this sin shall not be forgiven you until ye die.’ Yea, even while they live they shall be ashamed, because they consider their belly their lord; and when dead, they shall be tormented, because they have made a boast of such a death. To this effect also Paul bears witness, saying, ‘Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them.’ And the divine word declared before concerning them; ‘The death of sinners is evil, and those who hate the righteous commit sin.’ For bitter is the worm, and grievous the darkness, which wicked men inherit.

St. Basil The Great – THEOLOGY—QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
This being confessed, we perceive that the words, he shall be beaten with few stripes, and he shall be beaten with many, do not indicate duration but difference in the nature of punishment. For if God be a just judge, rendering to each not only of the good but also of the wicked, according to his works, one may be worthy of inextinguishable fire, yet this may be of a gentler or fiercer power of burning ; and one of the worm that dieth not, yet this again causing a milder or a sharper pain according to his deserts; and one may be worthy of hell, yet hell may easily have different punishments; and another of outer darkness, where some may be in weeping alone, and others also in gnashing of teeth, on account of the severity of the pains.
And that outer darkness plainly indicates that there is an inner darkness too. And the expression in Proverbs, the depth of Hades, shows that some are in Hades, but not in the depth of Hades, enduring a lighter punishment. 

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on Colossians
For such is ever the devil’s way; he puts forward everything in a wily, and not in a straightforward manner, to put us on our guard. If there is no Judgment, God is not just (I speak as a man): if God is not just, then there is no God at all…Seest thou the drift of this satanical argument?…Let us then not be persuaded by him. For there is a Judgment, O wretched and miserable man!

St. Jerome – Jurgens, Vol. 2, Commentary on Ephesians, pg. 193
“There are many who say there are no future punishments for sins nor any torments extrinsically applied, but that sin itself and the consciousness of guilt serve as punishment, while the worm in the heart does not die, and a fire is kindled in the mind, much like a fever…These arguments and fraudulent fancies are but inane and empty words having the semblance of a certain eloquence of speech but serving only to delude sinners; and if they give them credence they only add to the burden of eternal punishment which they will carry with them.”

St. Cyril of Alexandria — Commentary on Gospel of St. John
“He saith, Verily, verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. They then who by obedience have honoured Him, shall be with Him unhindered, and shall delight them in the good things that pass understanding: but they who refuse not to insult Him with their folly, albeit sons of the bridechamber, shall go away in sorrow to hell, to pay bitter penalties. For they shall be cast out, as it is written, into the outer darkness. True therefore will be the Lord saying darkly to the Jews, Where I am YE cannot come.

Clement of Alexandria – The Instructor
For the Divine Being is not angry in the way that some think; but often restrains, and always exhorts humanity, and shows what ought to be done. And this is a good device, to terrify lest we sin. “For the fear of the Lord drives away sins, and he that is without fear cannot be justified,” says the Scripture. And God does not inflict punishment from wrath, but for the ends of justice; since it is not expedient that justice should be neglected on our account. Each one of us, who sins, with his own free-will chooses punishment, and the blame lies with him who chooses. God is without blame. “But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who taketh vengeance? God forbid.” He says, therefore, threatening, “I will sharpen my sword, and my hand shall lay hold on judgment; and I will render justice to mine enemies, and requite those who hate me.

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on First Corinthians
But, “They are men,” someone will say, “who do these things; as for God, He is loving unto men.” Now, first of all, not even men do these things in cruelty, but in humanity. And God Himself, as “He is loving unto men,” in the same character doth He punish sins. (Sirac. xvi. 12.) “For as His mercy is great, so also is His reproof.” When therefore thou sayest unto me, “God is loving unto men,” then thou tellest me of so much the greater reason for punishing: namely, our sinning against such a Being… For as His mercy is great, so also is His punishment.

St. John. Chrysostom – Homily on the Gospel of St. John
Many of the more careless sort of persons, using the loving-kindness of God to increase the magnitude of their sins and the excess of their disregard, speak in this way, “There is no hell, there is no future punishment, God forgives us all sins.” To stop whose mouths a wise man says, “Say not, His mercy is great, He will be pacified for the multitude of my sins; for mercy and wrath come from Him, and His indignation resteth upon sinners” (Ecclus. v. 6 )

Scriptural References

Deut 32: 39-41
“See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. 

Daniel (12:2)
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Isaiah 66:15 (NKJV)
For behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many.

Isaiah 30:33 (NKJV)
For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pile thereof  is fire with much wood; The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it.

Hosea 5:6
They shall go to seek the Lord, 1
But they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them

Matthew 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will
 hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Romans 1:18–20 (ESV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Romans 2:4-5  
“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?  But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”.

Romans 2: 5-9
But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil

Romans 3:5-8
But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?…Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

Romans 6:23 (ESV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 12:9
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

God will judge the world, and His condemnation is just:

James 2:13
“because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.” 

Those in Hell are ordered to “depart” from God. They are “cursed”. It is eternal fire “prepared” for the devil. For those who argue that Hell is the presence of God’s love, is God’s love “prepared”?

Matthew 25:41 (ESV)
“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.

Hell fire is outer darkness. It is not the presence of God’s love. The sinful are “thrown” there. Can anyone be “thrown” into God’s love? Is God’s love “outer darkness”?

Luke 3:9
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 8:12 (ESV)
while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The unrighteous will “depart” from the presence of God and “shut out”. The will certainly not be in his favor:

Matthew 25: 10-13
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

Matt 7: 23 21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

2 Thessalonians 1:9
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might

Romans 2: 4-10
“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good” 

Jude 1:7
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The unrighteous will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven:

Rev 21: 27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Rev 21:14-15
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Those in hell are actively cast there by God’s authority. This not just a passive consequence of their lifestyle

Luke 12:4–5 (ESV)
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Hell is a “sentence” not just a consequence or a state of mind:

Matthew 23:33 (ESV)
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

God is love but He is also Just. He will actively punish:

2 Thessalonians 1:5–10,
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Those who reject Christ will experience God’s wrath and anger, not His love:

Romans 2:8,
“But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Jesus delivers from wrath to come:

1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 (ESV)
For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Hell is a place of fiery judgment and indignation. It is not God’s love

Heb 10:26-31
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hell is a place of punishment

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matt 24:46)

The punishment will have levels of severity. It is active, not passive punishment:

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He willcut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. (Luke 12:46-48)

Rev 21:
 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book

The eternal fire and torment is the “wrath of God” and his “indignation”, not His love:

Rev 14: 9-11
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. 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 torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night

Rev 19: 15
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

God’s Justice

Hell is necessary because God is just

St. Cyril of Jerusalm – CATECHESIS XVIII
Consider also the very principle of justice and reflect within yourself.
You have a variety of servants, let us say, of whom some are good, some bad. You esteem the good and you punish the bad. If you happen to be a judge, you praise the good and chastise the bad. Do you think that while justice is preserved before you, a mortal man, before God, the ever-changeless King of all, there is no just requital? To deny it would be impious. Or consider this. Many murderers have died in their beds, unpunished; where, then, is the justice of God? Oftentimes a murderer, guilty of fifty murders, is beheaded once; how will he pay the penalty for the forty-nine? If after this world there is no justice and retribution, you charge God with injustice. But do not wonder at the delay of the judgment. Everyone who contends for a prize is crowned or put to shame only after the contest is over; never does the presiding judge crown men while they are still contending; he waits until all the contestants have finished, intending afterwards, having sifted them, to award the prizes and the crowns. So God also, while the strife in this world goes on, assists the just only in part; but afterwards he bestows on them their rewards in all fullness
.

Tertullian – The Five Books Against Marcion
Thus far, then, justice is the very fullness of the Deity Himself, manifesting God as both a perfect father and a perfect master: a father in His mercy, a master in His discipline; a father in the mildness of His power, a master in its severity; a father who must be loved with dutiful affection, a master who must needs be feared; be loved, because He prefers mercy to sacrifice; be feared because He dislikes sin; be loved, because He prefers the sinner’s repentance to his death; be feared, because He dislikes the sinners who do not repent. Accordingly, the divine law enjoins duties in respect of both these attributes: Thou shalt love God, and, Thou shalt fear God. It proposed one for the obedient man, the other for the transgressor.

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on the Gospel of St. John
Now if there were no Resurrection, how could He be “the first-born,” when no one of “the dead” was to follow Him? If there were no Resurrection, how would the justice of God be preserved, when so many evil men prosper, and so many good men are afflicted and die in their affliction? Where shall each of these obtain his deserts, if so be that there is no Resurrection?… Let us not then anger Him, but hear Him when He saith, “Fear Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell”

St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XVIII.
But further, attend, I pray, to the very principle of justice, and come to thine own case.  Thou hast different sorts of servants:  and some are good and some bad; thou honourest therefore the good, and smitest the bad.  And if thou art a judge, to the good thou awardest praise, and to the transgressors, punishment.  Is then justice observed by thee a mortal man; and with God, the ever changeless King of all, is there no retributive justice?  Nay, to deny it is impious.  For consider what I say.  Many murderers have died in their beds unpunished; where then is the righteousness of God?  Yea, ofttimes a murderer guilty of fifty murders is beheaded once; where then shall he suffer punishment for the forty and nine?  Unless there is a judgment and a retribution after this world, thou chargest God with unrighteousness.  Marvel not, however, because of the delay of the judgment; no combatant is crowned or disgraced, till the contest is over; and no president of the games ever crowns men while yet striving, but he waits till all the combatants are finished, that then deciding between them he may dispense the prizes and the chaplets.  Even thus God also, so long as the strife in this world lasts, succours the just but partially, but afterwards He renders to them their rewards fully.

St. John Chrysostom Homiles on 1 Thessalonians
Again, a certain one for having gathered sticks on the Sabbath was stoned, and yet this was a small commandment, and less weighty than circumcision. He then who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was stoned; but those who often commit ten thousand things contrary to the Law have gone off unpunished! If then there be not a hell, where is His justice, where His impartiality, that respects not persons?…Again, numberless instances one might enumerate. What? Ananias and Sapphira were immediately punished, because they stole part of what they had offered. Has no one then since that time been guilty of this? How was it then that they did not suffer the same punishment? Do we then persuade you that there is a hell, or do you need more examples?

Pseudo-Clementine Literature: Recognitions of Clement, Book III
In a word, to the Hebrews, whose opinion concerning God was that He is only good, our Master said that they should seek also His righteousness; that is, that they should know that He is good indeed in this present time, that all may live in His goodness, but that He shall be righteous at the day of judgment, to bestow eternal rewards upon the worthy, from which the unworthy shall be excluded. Then Simon: “How can one and the same being be both good and righteous?” Peter answered: Because without righteousness, goodness would be unrighteousness; for it is the part of a good God to bestow His sunshine and rain equally on the just and the unjust; but this would seem to be unjust, if He treated the good and the bad always with equal fortune, and were it not that He does it for the sake of the fruits, which all may equally enjoy who are born in this world. But as the rain given by God equally nourishes the corn and the tares, but at the time of harvest the crops are gathered into the barn, but the chaff or the tares are burnt in the fire, so in the day of judgment, when the righteous shall be introduced into the kingdom of heaven, and the unrighteous shall be cast out, then also the justice of God shall be shown. For if He remained forever alike to the evil and the good, this would not only not be good, but even unrighteous and unjust; that the righteous and the unrighteous should be held by Him in one order of desert.”…
Where, then, is the justice of God, if there be no immortal soul to suffer punishment in the future for impious deeds, or enjoy rewards for piety and rectitude?”…“This very thing which draws you into incredulity, affords to us a certain conviction that there shall be a judgment. For since it is certain that God is just, it is a necessary consequence that there is another world, in which every one receiving according to his deserts, shall prove the justice of God.

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies Concerning the Power of Demons
If there is a God, as indeed there is, it follows that He is just,for if He is not just neither is He God, and if He is just He recompenses to each according to their desert. But we do not see all here receiving according to their desert. Therefore it is necessary to hope for some other requital awaiting us, in order that by each one receiving according to his desert, the justice of God may be made manifest.

Nature of the Fire

God is a consuming fire, but the fire of hell is not the same fire that purifies the believers

St. Gregory Nazianzen – Orations on Holy Baptism
For I know a cleansing fire which Christ came to send upon the earth, and He Himself is analogically called a Fire. This Fire takes away whatsoever is material and of evil habit; and this He desires to kindle with all speed, for He longs for speed in doing us good, since He gives us even coals of fire to help us.  I know also a fire which is not cleansing, but avenging; either that fire of Sodom which He pours down on all sinners, mingled with brimstone and storms, or that which is prepared for the Devil and his Angels or that which proceeds from the face of the Lord, and shall burn up his enemies round about; and one even more fearful still than these, the unquenchable fire which is ranged with the worm that dieth not but is eternal for the wicked.  For all these belong to the destroying power; though some may prefer even in this place to take a more merciful view of this fire, worthily of Him That chastises.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: -Oration on the Holy Lights, Ch. XXXVI:
“I know a cleansing fire which Christ came to hurl upon the earth and He Himself is called fire in words anagogically applied….I know also a fire that is not cleansing but avenging, that fire either of Sodom, which mixed with a storm of brimstone, He pours down on all sinners, or that which is prepared for the devil and his angels, or that which proceeds from the face of the Lord and burns up all His enemies all around. And still there is a fire more fearsome than these, that with which the sleepless worm is associated, and which is never extinguished but belongs eternally to the wicked.”… its is better to be punished and cleansed now than to be sent to the torment to come, when it will be time for punishing only, and not for cleansing.”

Hell is the wrath of God and His vengeance

Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 4 CHAPTER 28
Inasmuch, then, as in both Testaments there is the same righteousness of God [displayed] when God takes vengeance, in the one case indeed typically, temporarily, and more moderately; 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

St. John. Chrysostom – Homily on the Gospel of St. John
Many of the more careless sort of persons, using the lovingkindness of God to increase the magnitude of their sins and the excess of their disregard, speak in this way, “There is no hell, there is no future punishment, God forgives us all sins.” To stop whose mouths a wise man says, “Say not, His mercy is great, He will be pacified for the multitude of my sins; for mercy and wrath come from Him, and His indignation resteth upon sinners” (Ecclus. v. 6 ): and again, “As His mercy is great, so is His correction also.” ( Ecclus. xvi. 12.) “Where then,” saith one, “is His lovingkindness, if we shall receive for our sins according to our deserts?” That we shall indeed receive “according to our deserts,” hear both the Prophet and Paul declare; one says, “Thou shalt render to every man according to his work”( Ps. lxii. 12 , LXX.); the other, “Who will render to every man according to his work.” (Rom. ii. 6.)

St. Macarius – The Fifty Spiritual Homilies
For that reason the immaterial and divine fire enlightens souls and tests them as pure gold is tested in the furnace. But it burns out any evil, as if it were thorns and stubble. For “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29), “taking revenge on those who do not know him in flaming fire and who do not obey His Gospel” (2 Thess. 1:8)

St. John Chrystostom – Homilies on Hebrews, Homily XX
Next he adds testimony, saying, (ver. 31, 30) “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.” “For” it is written: “Vengeance [belongeth] unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people.” “Let us fall,” it is said, “into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men.” ( Ecclus. ii. 18.3170) But if ye repent not, ye shall “fall into the hands of” God: that is fearful: it is nothing, to “fall into the hands of men.” When, he means, we see any man punished here, let us not be terrified at the things present, but shudder at the things to come. “For according to His mercy, so is His wrath.” And, “His indignation will rest upon sinners.” ( Ecclus. v. 6.)

Irenaeus Book 4 CHAPTER 27
And again does the apostle say, “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of mistrust. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.” And as then the condemnation of sinners extended to others who approved of them, and joined in their society; so also is it the case at present, that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” And as the wrath of God did then descend upon the unrighteous, here also does the apostle likewise say: “For the wrath of God shall be revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of those men who hold back the truth in unrighteousness.” And as, in those times, vengeance came from God upon the Egyptians who were subjecting Israel to unjust punishment, so is it now, the Lord truly declaring, “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him? I tell you, that He will avenge them speedily.” So says the apostle, in like manner, in the Epistle to the Thessalonians: “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, at the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven with His mighty angels, and in a flame of fire, to take vengeance upon those who know not God, and upon those that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them who have believed in Him.”

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke
But against those, who, in the greatness of their wickedness, have scorned His goodness, and rejected the Saviour, there is decreed wrath and misery; and, as it were, a winter of torment and punishment, from the blast of which hard will it be to escape. For, as the Psalmist says; “Fire, and brimstone, and the whirlwind,  is the portion of their cup.” And why so? Because they have rejected, as I said, the grace that is by faith; and therefore the guilt of their sins cannot be wiped away, and they must bear, as they deserve, the punishment due to those who love sin. For so, when speaking of the Jews, He said; “Verily I say unto you, that if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins.”

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke
More openly by means of this which follows did the blessed Baptist shew us the aim of what has been said. Let him who loves to search consider carefully the force of the thought. He that 
believeth not (he saith) on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. But if it were possible to understand that the unbeliever should be indeed bereft of the life in the body, he would surely have immediately added, “but death abideth on him.” But since he calls it the wrath of God, it is plain that he is contrasting the punishment of the ungodly with the enjoyments of the saints, and that he calls that life, which is the true life in glory with Christ, and the torments of the ungodly, the wrath of God. That punishment is ofttimes called wrath by the Divine Scriptures, I will adduce two witnesses, Paul and John: for the one said to the converted among the Gentiles, And were by nature the children of wrath, even as others; and the other to the Scribes and Pharisees, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Catechetical Lectures
There is a sentence in the Gospels to this effect, He who believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him: for the Father is wroth, when the Only-begotten Son is set at nought. It is a great matter to a king, if even one of his soldiers be but dishonoured; and when it is one of his more honourable guards or friends, then his anger becomes yet greater; but if any offer outrage to the king’s only-begotten son himself, who shall sooth the father, when wroth concerning his only-begotten son
?

According to St. Cyril, the unrighteous will be banished from the presence of God

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on Gospel of St. John, BOOK IX
For all created things shall come to judgment. And rendering becoming awards, corresponding to the life each one has led, He will say to them on the left, i.e. to those that have minded the things in the world: Depart from Me ye cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; howbeit to them on the right, i.e. to the holy and good: Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…So—-for I will sum up the meaning of the Lord’s saying—-the lovers of the evil things in the world shall go down to Hades and be banished from the presence of Christ; howbeit there shall be with Him and dwell with Him for ever the lovers of virtue, they who have kept inviolate the earnest of the Spirit, and being with Him of a surety they shall also behold His Divine Beauty without all hindrance. For, he says, the Lord shall be thine eternal Light, and God thy glory. And it is also likely that this is what the Lord means to make manifest, when we hear Him saying: Yet a little while and the world beholdeth Me no more; but ye behold Me; because I live ye shall live also. Howbeit in no wise will He speak falsely in saying that the time intervening, before His Revelation as it were, is a little while. For to God Who always is, even what is a long time with us counts utterly for nothing; and the Psalmist will testify this when he says: For a thousand years in Thy sight, O Lord, are but as yesterday that is past, and a watch in the night.

God is loving but also punishes sinners

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on First Epistles of St. Paul to the Corinthians
But, “They are men,” some one will say, “who do these things; as for God, He is loving unto men.” Now, first of all, not even men do these things in cruelty, but in humanity. And God Himself, as He is loving unto men,” in the same character doth He punish sins. (Sirac. xvi. 12.) “For as His mercy is great, so also is His reproof.” When therefore thou sayest unto me, “God is loving unto men,” then thou tellest me of so much the greater reason for punishing: namely, our sinning against such a Being. Hence also Paul said, (Heb. x. 31.) “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Endure I beseech you, the fiery force of the words, for perhaps–perhaps you will have some consolation from hence! Who among men can punish as God has punished? when He caused a deluge and entire destruction of a race so numerous; and again, when, a little while after, He rained fire from above, and utterly destroyed them all? What punishment from men can be like that? Seest thou not that the punishment even in this world is almost eternal? Four thousand years have passed away, and the punishment of the Sodomites abideth at its height. For as His mercy is great, so also is His punishment.

Augustine – Doctrinal Treatises
It is in vain, then, that some, indeed very many, make moan over the eternal punishment, and perpetual, unintermitted torments of the lost, and say they do not believe it shall be so; not, indeed, that they directly oppose themselves to Holy Scripture, but, at the suggestion of their own feelings, they soften down everything that seems hard, and give a milder turn to statements which they think are rather designed to terrify than to be received as literally true For “Hath God” they say, forgotten to be gracious? hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies?” Now, they read this in one of the holy psalms. But without doubt we are to understand it as spoken of those who are elsewhere called “vessels of mercy,” because even they are freed from misery not on account of any merit of their own, but solely through the pity of God. Or, if the men we speak of insist that this passage applies to all mankind, there is no reason why they should therefore suppose that there will be an end to the punishment of those of whom it is said, “These shall go away into everlasting punishment;” for this shall end in the same manner and at the same time as the happiness of those of whom it is said, “but the righteous unto life eternal.

St. John Chrysostom – Commentary on Epistle to the Romans
And wilt thou not be persuaded even after this that there is punishment and vengeance? At that rate thou wilt deny that even the devil is punished. For, “Depart,” He says, “into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt. xxv. 41.) Now if there be no hell, then neither is he punished. But if he is punished, it is plain that we shall also. For we also have disobeyed, even if it be not in the same way. And how comest thou not to be afraid to speak such daring things? For when thou sayest that God is merciful, and doth not punish, if He should punish he will be found in thy case to be no longer merciful. See then unto what language the devil leadeth you?…For if the wicked are not to be punished, and there is no recompense made to any one, some one else will say, perhaps, that neither are the good crowned.

Augustine – On the Holy Trinity
And it is good for us to cleave to God, since He will destroy every man who is estranged from Him. Therefore the Holy Spirit, whatever it is, is something common both to the Father and Son. But that communion itself is consubstantial and co-eternal; and if it may fitly be called friendship, let it be so called; but it is more aptly called love. And this is also a substance, since God is a substance, and “God is love,” as it is written.

St. Shenuti the Archimandrite – Homily 
Brethren, if we want to escape God’s punishment and find mercy in his eyes, let us sit every evening alone by ourselves and search our souls for what we presented to our guardian angel to offer to the Lord. 

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Ver. 73
But let no one accustom himself to swear from hearing that God sware unto Abraham. For just as anger, when spoken of God, is not anger, nor implies passion, but signifies power exercised in punishment, or some similar motion; so neither is an oath an act of swearing. For God does not swear, but indicates the certainty of the event,—that that which He says will necessarily come to pass. For God’s oath is His own word, fully persuading those that hear, and giving each one the conviction that what He has promised and said will certainly come to pass.

Sunday Theotokia
Blessed are you O’ Daughter of Joachim Because from you came the one born, And he saved us from the punishment of hell 

Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth

St. Cyril – Commentary on St. John
For even though they now in the body and yet in full enjoyment of the pleasures of the flesh, for their exceeding senselessness seek not their Redeemer, yet when they wretched fall into hell and have their abode in the place of punishments, when they are in the ill itself, then, then will they seek even against their will. For there (He says) is weeping and gnashing of teeth, each (it is likely) of those there wailing his carelessness in what was good, and well-nigh saying what is in the Book of Proverbs, I have not obeyed the voice of him that instructed me and taught me.

St. Cyril – Catechetical Lectures
Rather fear ye Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell: for unless the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ had power over both, how should He subject both to punishment? for how shall He be able to take what is another’s, and cast it into hell, except He first bind the strong man, and spoil his goods?

 St. John Chrysostom – Commentary on First Corinthians
“And wherefore,” saith one, “doth God suffer such men to be rich?” Because He is long-suffering: because He would bring us to repentance; because He hath prepared hell; because “He hath appointed a day in which He is to judge the world.” (Acts xvii. 31.) Whereas did He use at once to punish them that are rich and not virtuously…Therefore doth He bear with them, calling all to repentance. But if they will not, but continue in the same, they shall hear Paul saying that “after their hardness and impenitent heart they treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation, and righteous judgment of God:  (Rom. ii. 5.) which wrath that we may escape, let us become rich with the riches of heaven, and follow after the laudable sort of poverty.

Cyprian, Epistle 55
Oh, what and how great will that day be at its coming, beloved brethren, when the Lord shall begin to count up His people, and to recognize the deserving’s of each one by the inspection of His divine knowledge, to send the guilty to Gehenna, and to set on fire our persecutors with the perpetual burning of a penal fire, but to pay to us the reward of our faith and devotion!

St. John Chrysostom Homiles on Gospel of John
Let us not then anger Him, but hear Him when He saith, “Fear Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell” ( Matt. x. 28 ); that by that fear we may become better, and being delivered from that perdition, may be deemed worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Clementine Homily 17, Chap 7
Whatsoever therefore any one does to man, be it good or bad, is regarded as being done to Him. Wherefore the judgment which proceeds from Him shall go before, giving to every one according to his merits. For He avenges His own shape.

Hell is retributive punishment

Additional Quotes>>

St. Cyril of Alexandria – GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN

When then (He says) ye having betrayed to the cross the Son of man endure your retributive punishment, and pay penalties correspondent to your daring deeds against Me, then shall ye weeping know that I am the All-Powerful, that is God. For if one sparrow enter not the snare of the fowler without the will of God, how shall a whole country, (He saith) and the beloved 21 nation go on to destruction so complete, except God supreme over all had surely permitted that so it should be? Evil therefore and all-dread is the contempt of God which bringeth to the consummation of things to be deprecated. Wherefore Paul too rebuketh some, saying of God, Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God is leading thee to repentance, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath in the Day of wrath?

St. Cyril of Alexandria – GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN
But now attend carefully, for I am about to take up again the question proposed at first. God declares Himself to shew His kindness and His incomparable love of  men in a manner suitable to Deity…The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy and true, forgiving transgressions and iniquities and sins; and He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the sins of fathers upon children unto the third and fourth generation. Forgive this people their sin according to Thy great mercy, as Thou hast been favourable to them from Egypt even until now. It appears therefore that He Who is God over all attributes to Himself love of men and the greatest forbearance towards evil. It will be fitting in the next place to set forth the cause on account of which the Jews, being deceived, could suppose our good God to be mindful of injury and exceeding wrathful.

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on Corinthians
As I said then; that it hath no end, Christ has declared. Paul also saith, in pointing out the eternity of the punishment, that the sinners “shall pay the penalty of destruction, and that for ever” (2 Thess. i. 9.) And again, (1 Cor. vi. 9.) “Be not deceived; neither fornicators. nor adulterers, nor effeminate, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” And also unto the Hebrews he saith, (Heb. xii. 14.) “Follow peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord.” And Christ also, to those who said, “In thy Name we have done many wonderful works,” saith, “Depart from Me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity” (St. Matt. vii. 22.) And the virgins too who were shut out, entered in no more. And also about those who gave Him no food, He saith, (St. Matt. xxv. 46.) “They shall go away into everlasting punishment.” [2.] And say not unto me, “where is the rule of justice preserved entire, if the punishment hath no end?” Rather, when God doeth any thing, obey His decisions and submit not what is said to human reasonings. But moreover, how can it be any thing else than just for one who hath experienced innumerable blessings from the beginning, and then committed deeds worthy of punishment, and neither by threat nor benefit improved at all, to suffer punishment? For if thou enquire what is absolute justice; it was meet that we should have perished immediately from the beginning, according to the definition of strict justice. Rather not even then according to the rule of justice only; for the result would have had in it kindness too, if we had suffered this also. For when any one insults him that hath done him no wrong, according to the rule of justice he suffers punishment: but when it is his benefactor, who, bound by no previous favor, bestowed innumerable kindnesses, who alone is the Author of his being, who is God, who breathed his soul into him, who gave ten thousand gifts of grace,whose will is to take him up into heaven;—when, I say, such an one, after so great blessings, is met by insult, daily insult, in the conduct of the other party; how can that other be thought worthy of pardon? Dost thou not see how He punished Adam for one single sin?

St. John Chrysostom commentary on Romans
For now what takes place is for correction; but then for vengeance.
 And this also St. Paul showed, when he said, “We are chastened now, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:32.)…. But then the punishment from God shall be manifest, when the Judge, sitting upon the fearful tribunal, shall command some to be dragged to the furnaces, and some to the outer darkness, and some to other inexorable and intolerable punishments.

St. Polycarp – The Martyrdom of Polycarp, Ch. XI
“Thou threatenest me with fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but thou art ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly.”

St. Justin Martyr: First Apology 12
“No more is it possible for the evildoer, the avaricious, and the treacherous to hide from God than it is for the virtuous. Every man will receive the eternal punishment or reward which his actions deserve. Indeed, if all men recognized this, no one would choose evil even for a short time, knowing that he would incur the eternal sentence of fire. On the contrary, he would take every means to control himself and to adorn himself in virtue, so that he might obtain the good gifts of God and escape the punishments.”

St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lecture 18:10
“We shall be raised therefore, all with our bodies eternal, but not all with bodies alike: for if a man is righteous, he will receive a heavenly body, that he may be able worthily to hold converse with angels; but if a man is a sinner, he shall receive an eternal body, fitted to endure the penalties of sins, that he may burn eternally in fire, nor ever be consumed. …Since then the body has been our minister in all things, it shall also share with us in the future the fruits of the past.”

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: -Oration on the Holy Lights, Ch. XXXVI
“I know a cleansing fire which Christ came to hurl upon the earth and He Himself is called fire in words anagogically applied….I know also a fire that is not cleansing but avenging, that fire either of Sodom, which mixed with a storm of brimstone, He pours down on all sinners, or that which is prepared for the devil and his angels, or that which proceeds from the face of the Lord and burns up all His enemies all around. And still there is a fire more fearsome than these, that with which the sleepless worm is associated, and which is never extinguished but belongs eternally to the wicked.”… its is better to be punished and cleansed now than to be sent to the torment to come, when it will be time for punishing only, and not for cleansing.”

St. Basil the Great: Jurgens, pg. 21, On Psalm 28, No. 6: 
“The voice of the Lord divides the flame of fire. I believe that the fire prepared in punishment for the devil and his angels is divided by the voice of the Lord. Thus, since there are two capacities in fire, one of burning and the other of illuminating, the fierce and punitive property of the fire may await those who deserve to burn…”

St. John of Damascus, Exact Exposition, Ibid. Bk. 2:29:
“Also one must bear in mind that God’s original wish was that all should be saved and come to His Kingdom 1 Timothy 2:4. For it was not for punishment that He formed us but to share in His goodness, inasmuch as He is a good God. But inasmuch as He is a just God, His will is that sinners should suffer punishment.”

Synodikon of Orthodoxy: “Those who prefer the folly of the so-called wisdom of the profane philosophers and follow their teachers and accept the migrations of human souls or that they are destroyed like the souls of the animals and return to nothingness and on account of this deny the resurrection, judgment, and final retribution of the acts of their lives, anathema.”

Tertullian – The Five Books Against Marcion
Even His severity then is good, because just: when the judge is good, that is just. Other qualities likewise are good, by means of which the good work of a good severity runs out its course, whether wrath, or jealousy, or sternness. What would be said, if, when you thought the doctor necessary, you were to find fault with his instruments, because they cut, or cauterize, or amputate, or tighten; whereas there could be no doctor of any value without his professional tools?…Your conduct is equally unreasonable, when you allow indeed that God is a judge, but at the same time destroy those operations and dispositions by which He discharges His judicial functionsWhence has found its way to the heretics an argument of this kind: If God is angry, and jealous, and roused, and grieved, He must therefore be corrupted, and must therefore die. Fortunately, however, it is a part of the creed of Christians even to believe that God did die, and yet that He is alive for evermore. Superlative is their folly, who prejudge divine things from human; so that, because in man’s corrupt condition there are found passions of this description, therefore there must be deemed to exist in God also sensations of the same kind. So also in regard to those others, — namely, anger and irritation. we are not affected by them in so happy a manner, because God alone is truly happy, by reason of His property of incorruptibility. Angry He will possibly be, but not irritated, nor dangerously tempted; He will be moved, but not subverted. All appliances He must needs use, because of all contingencies; as many sensations as there are causes: anger because of the wicked, and indignation because of the ungrateful, and jealousy because of the proud, and whatsoever else is a hindrance to the evil. So, again, mercy on account of the erring, and patience on account of the impenitent, and pre-eminent resources on account of the meritorious, and whatsoever is necessary to the good. All these affections He is moved by in that peculiar manner of His own, in which it is profoundly fit that He should be affected; and it is owing to Him that man is also similarly affected in a way which is equally his own.

No Repentance After Death

There is no repentance after death

St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Catechetical Lectures
And if it is said, The dead shall not praise Thee, O Lord, this shews, that since in this life only is the appointed time for repentance and pardon, for which they who enjoy it shall praise the Lord, it remains not after death for them who have died in sins to give praise as the receivers of a blessing, but to bewail themselves; for praise belongs to them who give thanks, but to them who are under the scourge, lamentation. Therefore the just then offer praise; but they who have died in sins have no further season for confession

Cyprian Epistle 55
The pain of punishment will then be without the fruit of penitence; weeping will be useless, and prayer ineffectual. Too late they will believe in eternal punishment who would not believe in eternal life.

Aphrahat – Demonstrations, 22
So they shall sit in oppression and in the shadow of death, and shall not remember this world, until the end shall be and they shall rise again for the judgment. O you rapacious and extortioners and plunderers of your fellows, remember Death, and  multiply not your sins; for in that place sinners repent not; and he who has plundered his fellows’ goods shall not possess his own, but shall go to the place where man shall make no use of wealth. And he shall come to nought and pass away from his honour, but his sins shall be laid up against the day of judgment.

St. Cyprian – Writings of Cyprian
Let us cleanse our house with spiritual cleanliness, that every secret and hidden place of our breast, truly enlightened by the light of the gospel, may say, ” Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this great evil in Thy sight.” Because the death of sinners is evil, and in hell there is no repentance.

St. Cyprian: To Demetrian 24:
“An ever-burning Gehenna and the punishment of being devoured by living flames will consume the condemned; nor will there be any way in which the tormented can ever have respite or be at an end. Souls along with their bodies will be preserved for suffering in unlimited agonies. . . . The grief at punishment will then be without the fruit of repentance; weeping will be useless, and prayer ineffectual. Too late will they believe in eternal punishment, who would not believe in eternal life.”

St. Ephraim Syrus – The Nisibene Hymns
Be not wroth against me, gracious Jesus, for the words that my pride has spoken before Thee!  Who is there that when seeing Thy Cross, shall have doubted that Thou art man?  Who is there that shall have seen Thy Power, and shall not believe that Thou art also God?  Lo! thus by these two things I have learnt to confess that Thou art man and likewise art God!  For as much as the dead in Hell repent not, go up among the living, O Lord, and preach repentance.

St. Ignatius – Epistle to the Smyrnaeans
Moreover, it is in accordance with reason that we should return to soberness [of conduct], and, while yet we have opportunity, exercise repentance towards God. For “in Hades there is no one who can confess his sins.” For “behold the man, and his work is before him.” And [the Scripture saith], “My son, honor thou God and the king.”…For neither will you commit any offense against your fathers, if you now show a desire to betake yourselves to that which is quite opposed to their error, since it is likely enough that they themselves are now lamenting in Hades, and repenting with a too late repentance; and if it were possible for them to show you thence what had befallen them after the termination of this life, ye would know from what fearful ills they desired to deliver you…

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on Philippians
Let us then not make wailings for the dead simply, but for those who have died in sins. They deserve wailing; they deserve beating of the breast and tears. For tell me what hope is there, when our sins accompany us Thither, where there is no putting off sins? As long as they were here, perchance there was great expectation that they would change, that they would become better; but when they are gone to Hades, where nought can be gained from repentance (for it is written, “In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?”) (Ps. vi. 5.), are they not worthy of our lamentation? Let us wail for those who depart hence in such sort; let us wail, I hinder you not…

St. John Chrysostom – Exhortation to Theodore
Let us then turn to Him, my beloved friend, and execute the will of God. For He created us and brought us into being, that He might make us partakers of eternal blessings, that He might offer us the kingdom of Heaven, not that He might cast us into Hell and deliver us to the fire; for this was made not for us, but for the devil: but for us the kingdom has been destined and made ready of old time. And by way of indicating both these truths He saith to those on the right hand, “Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” but to those on the left “Depart from me, ye cursed, into fire everlasting prepared” (he no longer says “for you” but) “for the devil and his angels.” Thus hell has not been made for us but for him and his angels: but the kingdom has been prepared for us before the foundation of the world. Let us not then make ourselves unworthy of entrance into the bride-chamber: for as long as we are in this world, even if we commit countless sins it is possible to wash them all away by manifesting repentance for our offences: but when once we have departed to the other world, even if we display the most earnest repentance it will be of no avail, not even if we gnash our teeth, beat our breasts, and utter innumerable calls for succour, no one with the tip of his finger will apply a drop to our burning bodies, but we shall only hear those words which the rich man heard in the parable “Between us and you a great gulf has been fixed.”…For only when we are in Hades should we abandon the hope derived from repentance: for there only is this remedy weak and unprofitable: but while we are here even if it is applied in old age itself it exhibits much strength. 

St. Cyril of Alexandria — Commentary on Gospel of St. Luke, SERMON CIII
For certainly after the resurrection from the dead we must stand in Christ’s presence; and there a recompense shall of necessity be made to the compassionate and merciful: but a condemnation commensurate with their deeds shall be the lot of those who were harsh and without mutual love; for it is written, “that there is judgment without mercy for those who have shewed no mercy.” And if so, how is it not the proof and perfection of a sound mind, that before we descend to the pit of torment we should take forethought for our life? For come, and let us discuss this among ourselves. Suppose that for some cause or other which the law condemned they had dragged us before the judges, and so a sentence such as our offences deserved had been passed upon us after our conviction; should we not with pleasure offer up our wealth to escape from all torment and punishment? And how can there be any doubt of this? For oneself is better than possessions, and life than wealth. Now we are guilty of many sins, and must give an account to the Judge of whatsoever we have done; and why then do we not deliver ourselves from judgment and the everlasting fire while time permits?

Agpeya – Prayer of the Twelfth Hour
Behold, I am about to stand before the just judge in fear because of my numerous sins, for the life spent in pleasures deserves condemnation. Repent therefore, O my soul so long as you dwell on earth, for the dust in the grave offers no praise, and amongst the dead no one remembers, nor those who are in Hades, give thanks. Rise up from your laziness and implore the Saviour in repentance, saying; Lord have mercy upon me and save me.

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies 1 Timothy, Chapter 5:11-15
Let us therefore love God with fear. The law indeed is not made for a righteous man; but since the greater part are virtuous from constraint rather than from choice, the principle of fear is of great advantage to them in eradicating their desires. Let us therefore listen to the threatenings of hell fire, that we may be benefited by the wholesome fear of it. For if God, intending to cast sinners into it, had not previously threatened them with it, many would have plunged into it. For, if with this terror agitating our souls, some sin as readily as if there were no such thing in existence, what enormities should we not have committed, if it had not been declared and threatened? So that, as I have ever said, the threatenings of hell show the care of God for us no less than the promises of heaven. For the threat cooperates with the promise, and drives men into the kingdom by means of terror. Let us not think it a matter of cruelty, but of pity and mercy; of God’s concern and love for us. If in the days of Jonah the destruction of Nineveh had not been threatened, that destruction had not been averted. Nineveh would not have stood but for the threat, “Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah iii. 4.) And if hell had not been threatened, we should all have fallen into hell. If the fire had not been denounced, no one would have escaped the fire. God declares that He will do that which He desires not to do, that He may do that which He desires to do. He willeth not the death of a sinner, and therefore He threatens the sinner with death, that He may not have to inflict death. And not only has He spoken the word, but He has exhibited the thing itself, that we may escape it. And lest it should be supposed to be a mere threat, He has manifested the reality of it by what He has already done on earth. Dost thou not see in the flood a symbol of hell, in that rain of all-destroying water an image of the all-devouring fire? “For as it was in the days of Noah,” He says, “they were marrying and giving in marriage” (Matt. xxiv. 38.), so is it even now. It was then predicted long before it took place, and it is now predicted four hundred years or more beforehand: but no
one heeds it. It is looked upon as a mere fable, as a matter of derision; no one fears it, no one weeps or beats his breast at the thought of it. The stream of fire is boiling up, the flame is kindled, and we are laughing, taking our pleasure, and sinning without fear. No one even bears in mind That Day. No one considers that present things are passing away, and that they are but temporal, though events are every day crying out and uttering a fearful voice. The untimely deaths, the changes that take place in our lives, our own infirmities and diseases, fail to instruct us.

St. Basil – Extract concerning Future Punishment
“When the Lord, therefore, in one place declares that these shall go into everlasting punishment, and in a second sends some away into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels; and in another place names hell fire, and adds, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched,—since these and such like passages are found in many parts of inspired Scripture, it is one of the devices of Satan that the mass of mankind, as if forgetful of these declarations of our Lord, should prescribe an end to punishment, in order to encourage themselves in sin. For if there shall once be an end of punishment, eternal life also shall clearly have an end. And if we cannot endure to think this of life, on what principles shall we assert that eternal punishment will end”

St. Cyril of Alexandria — Commentary on Gospel of St. John
Not only does He say that they shall die in their sins, but declares clearly that, ascending not to the mansions above, they will remain outside of the good things of the kingdomDouble therefore is the punishment to them who believe not, and not in any single thing their loss. For just as they who have fallen into bodily loss of health must needs suffer and endure the trials of the suffering and besides be deprived of the pleasures of health; so and not otherwise do they who have departed into Hades, and there undergo punishment proportionate to the sins, both endure the state of punishment and lose the enjoyment of the hope of the saints
Most excellently then does our Lord Jesus Christ say not only that they shall die in their sins, but also that they shall not mount up to the mansions above…but to those who have chosen to disbelieve Him, rightly and needs does He say, Whither I go YE cannot come…What communion hath light with darkness, as Paul saith?…Whither I go, YE cannot come. Being Very God, I am absent from no one, I fill all things, and being with all, I dwell specially in Heaven, gladly having abode with holy spirits…But it were not possible that ye being men by nature should take wing to Heaven and have your abode with the Saviour. Therefore have I Myself come to you, I heard the Saints oftentimes crying aloud, Bow Thy Heavens o Lord and come down; I bowed the Heavens therefore and have come down; for in no other way could ye look to come hitherFor I shall go, yea shall return again whither YE cannot come; even though ye should seek the Giver of salvation by an untimely after counsel, ye shall not find Him: what follows ye may see. For ye shall surely die in your sins, and weighed down by your own transgressions, shall go mourning to the prison-house of death, there to pay the penalty of your lengthened unbelief. The Saviour then being good and exceeding loving to man, compels the Jews by fears of future punishment even against their will to be saved. 

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book X
For even if it be the fact that Christ raises the bodies of all men, for there will be a resurrection of the evil and the good alike, yet not to all without distinction will a new life of glory and felicity be given. For it is clear that some only rise again to punishment, and will have a life more grievous than any death, while others spending ages of blessedness, will actually live the desirable and holy life in Christ. For that they who are doomed to receive the sentence of punishment from Christ on the occasion of the judgment, will abide without a taste of the blessed life, although they shared with the Saints the lot of resurrection, He makes plain by these words: He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God shall abide on Him. For know that although while all the evil and the good alike await the resurrection, He says that those who are fast bound by the charge of disobedience cannot even attain to a glimpse of the life, as He declares that it is not the mere act of resurrection that is life, but that that life rather consists in rest and glory and felicity, spiritual of course and of no other kind.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book II, Chapter VIII
Verily verily I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God; the hour again that is, when they that hear shall live. By the words then in the beginning, He means the time of the resurrection, wherein He teaches through the word of the Judge that they that sleep shall rise again to answer for their life in the world, that as I said before, devising the fear thence arising as a bridle, He might persuade them to live full excellently and wisely: by the closing words He shews that the due time of believing is now come, but also says that everlasting life will be the reward of obedience: all but declaring, Ye shall all come to judgement, sirs, that is at the time of the Resurrection, but if it seem bitter to you to be punished, and to undergo endless penalties at the hand of the offended Judge, suffer not the time of obedience to pass by, but laying hold of it while yet present, haste ye to attain to everlasting life.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book IV, Chapter II
To these things we say, Yes, all flesh shall live again: for Prophecy foretells that the dead shall be raised. For we consider that the Mystery through the resurrection of Christ extendeth over the whole nature of man, and in Him first we believe that our whole nature has been released from corruption. For all shall rise, after the likeness of Him That was raised for our sakes, and hath all in Himself, in that He is Man. And as in the first-formed we fell down into death, so in the First-born again, who was so for our sakes, all shall rise again from the dead: but they that did good, unto the resurrection of life (as it is written), and they that wrought evil, unto the resurrection of doom. And I will grant, that in no passing degree bitterer than death is the resurrection unto punishment, and the receiving life again unto disgrace alone. In the stricter sense then wo must understand the Life that is really so, the life in Christ, in holiness and bliss and unfailing delight. For that this is truly life the wise John too knows, saying, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God shall abide on him. For lo, lo, he says that he which is in unbelief shall not see life: although every creature looks to return again to life, and to rise again. It is then manifest, that the Saviour with reason called that the life which is prepared for the Saints, I mean that in glory and in holiness, which that we ought to pursue after by coming to the participation of the Life-giving Flesh, no right-minded person will doubt.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, SERMON CIII
For certainly after the resurrection from the dead we must stand in Christ’s presence; and there a recompense shall of necessity be made to the compassionate and merciful: but a condemnation commensurate with their deeds shall be the lot of those who were harsh and without mutual love; for it is written, “that there is judgment without mercy for those who have shewed no mercy.” And if so, how is it not the proof and perfection of a sound mind, that before we descend to the pit of torment we should take forethought for our life? For come, and let us discuss this among ourselves. Suppose that for some cause or other which the law condemned they had dragged us before the judges, and so a sentence such as our offences deserved had been passed upon us after our conviction; should we not with pleasure offer up our wealth to escape from all torment and punishment? And how can there be any doubt of this? For oneself is better than possessions, and life than wealth. Now we are guilty of many sins, and must give an account to the Judge of whatsoever we have done; and why then do we not deliver ourselves from judgment and the everlasting fire while time permits? And the way in which to deliver ourselves is to live in virtue;—to comfort the brethren who are grieved with poverty, and open our hand wide to all who are in need, and to sympathize with the sick.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book , Book II, Chapter VIII
He signifies by these words the time of the resurrection of all, when, as the Divine Paul wrote to us, The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a summons, with the voice of the Archangel, with the trump of God, to judge the world in righteousness, and render to every man according to his works. For He raiseth by a word and God-befitting Operation not only the sick from little diseases, but those also who have been already submerged by death and overcome by invincible corruption. And hence introducing the greater, He says, The hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall hear His Voice. For He who by a Word brought into being things that were not, how should He not be able to win back into being that which was already created? For thus each will be the effect of the same Operation, and the glorious production of one Authority. And profitably does He subjoin that they shall come forth of their graves, they that were holden of base deeds and that lived in wickedness to undergo endless punishment, the illustrious in virtue to receive the reward of their religiousness, eternal life: at once (as we said above) introducing Himself as the Dispenser of what belongs to each, in these words of His; and persuading them, either from fear of suffering dreadful punishments, to forego evil and to hasten to elect to live more soberly, or pricked with desire after some sort for eternal life, make more zealous and eager haste after good.

St. Ignatius of Antioch (35 – 108 AD) – Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 11
The last times are come upon us. Let us therefore be of a reverent spirit, and fear the long-suffering of God, lest we despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance. For let us either fear the wrath to come, or let us love the present joy in the life that now is; and let our present and true joy be only this, to be found in Christ Jesus, that we may truly live.  

Aphrahat – Demonstration XXII
But all the rest of the world who are called sinners shall stand in the judgment and be rebuked. Those in whom there is a little shortcoming will the judge rebuke, and make known to them that they have offended. And He will give them the inheritance of life after the judgment. And understand that our Lord has made known to us in His Gospel, that every man according to his work shall receive his reward…The sinners whose sins are many shall be condemned by the place of judgment, and shall go into torments. And from that time and onwards, judgment shall rule over them.

Agpeya (Coptic Orthodox Daily Book of Prayers, Sixth Hour, Absolution)
Lord grant us an unblemished life of peace and goodness to please Your Holy and Glorified Name.
Allow us to stand in front of the fearful judgement seat of Your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Without falling into condemnation, so we may praise You with all Your saints. Eternal Father, we glorify You with Your consubstantial Son, and the Holy Spirit, giver of life, now and forever. Amen.

The wicked will be cut off from the Spirit

St. Basil the Great – On the Holy Spirit, Chapter 16, P. 40
Moreover by any one who carefully uses his reason it will be found that even at the moment of the expected appearance of the Lord from heaven the Holy Spirit will not, as some suppose, have no functions to discharge: on the contrary, even in the day of His revelation, in which the blessed and only potentate 1 Timothy 6:15 will judge the world in righteousness, Acts 17:31 the Holy Spirit will be present with Him. For who is so ignorant of the good things prepared by God for them that are worthy, as not to know that the crown of the righteous is the grace of the Spirit, bestowed in more abundant and perfect measure in that day, when spiritual glory shall be distributed to each in proportion as he shall have nobly played the man? For among the glories of the saints are many mansions in the Father’s house, that is differences of dignities: for as star differs from star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:41-42 They, then, that were sealed by the Spirit unto the day of redemption, and preserve pure and undiminished the first fruits which they received of the Spirit, are they that shall hear the words well done thou good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Matthew 25:21 In like manner they which have grieved the Holy Spirit by the wickedness of their ways, or have not wrought for Him that gave to them, shall be deprived of what they have received, their grace being transferred to others; or, according to one of the evangelists, they shall even be wholly cut asunder, Matthew 24:51 — the cutting asunder meaning complete separation from the Spirit. The body is not divided, part being delivered to chastisement, and part let off; for when a whole has sinned it were like the old fables, and unworthy of a righteous judge, for only the half to suffer chastisement. Nor is the soul cut in two—that soul the whole of which possesses the sinful affection throughout, and works the wickedness in co-operation with the body. The cutting asunder, as I have observed, is the separation for aye of the soul from the Spirit. For now, although the Spirit does not suffer admixture with the unworthy, He nevertheless does seem in a manner to be present with them that have once been sealed, awaiting the salvation which follows on their conversion; but then He will be wholly cut off from the soul that has defiled His grace. For this reason In Hell there is none that makes confession; in death none that remembers God, because the assistance of the Spirit is no longer present. How then is it possible to conceive that the judgment is accomplished without the Holy Spirit, wherein the word points out that He is Himself the prize Philippians 3:14 of the righteous , when instead of the earnest is given that which is perfect, and the first condemnation of sinners, when they are deprived of that which they seem to have? 

Contrary to a modern doctrinal deviation which purports to be “Orthodox” and asserts that God does not punish in hell and also asserts that the wicked experience the fullness of God’s love and presence in Hell, St. Cyril explains that the wicked will not participate in the Holy Spirit in hell. They will share nothing with the righteous except the resurrection from the dead:

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book VI
For the restoration to life is common to both saints and sinners, to both Greeks and Jews, as well as ourselves, for: The dead shall arise, and they that are in the tombs shall awake, and they that are in the earth shall rejoice, according to the sure promise of the Saviour. But the participation of the Holy Spirit is not thus common to all, being the more than life, as it were something beyond that which is common to all; and will be bestowed only upon those who are justified by faith in Christ: and the Divine Paul also will prove this to us, saying: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall all sleep, hut we-shall not all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For indeed all shall rise from the dead, because this is granted to all nature, through the grace of the Resurrection; and in One, that is, Christ, Who was the first and foremost to break down the dominion of death and attain eternal life, the common lot of humanity was changed and made incorruptible, even as also in one, that is, the first Adam, it was condemned to death and corruption.But there will be at that time an important difference among those who are raised, and very widely distinct will be their destiny. For those who have gone to their rest with faith in Christ, and who have received the earnest of the Spirit in the appointed time of their bodily life, will obtain the most perfect grace, and will be changed to the glory which shall be given from God. But those who have not believed the Son, and have deemed such an excellent reward of no account, shall be once more condemned by His voice, and, sharing with the rest in nothing save in the restoration to life,shall pay the penalty of such prolonged unbelief. For they shall depart down into Hades to be punished, and shall feel unavailing remorse. For, saith He, there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“For such is ever the devil’s way; he puts forward everything in a wily, and not in a straightforward manner, to put us on our guard. If there is no Judgment, God is not just (I speak as a man): if God is not just, then there is no God at all: if there is no God, all things go on at haphazard, virtue is nought, vice nought. But he says nothing of this openly. Do you see the drift of this satanical argument? How, instead of men, he wishes to make us brutes, or rather, wild beasts, or rather, demons? Let us then not be persuaded by him. For there is a Judgment, O wretched and miserable man! I know whence you come to use such words. You have committed many sins, you have offended, you have no confidence, you think that the nature of things will even follow your arguments. Meanwhile, says he, I will not torment my soul with the expectation of hell, and, if there be a hell, I will persuade it that there is none; meanwhile I will live here in luxury! Why do you add sin to sin? If when you have sinned you believe that there is a hell, you will depart with the penalty of your sins only to pay; but if you add this further impiety, you will also for your impiety, and for this your thought, suffer the uttermost punishment; and what was a cold and shortlived comfort to you, will be a ground for your being punished forever. You have sinned: be it so: why do you encourage others also to sin, by saying that there is no hell?…For, if we corrupt others, do we get allowance for our sins? Do you see not the devil, how he attempted to bring down Adam? And has there then been allowance for him? Nay, surely it will be the occasion of a greater punishment, that he may be punished not for his own sins only, but also for those of others. Let us not then suppose that to bring down others into the same destruction with ourselves will make the Judgment-seat more lenient to us. Surely this will make it more severe. Why thrust we ourselves on destruction? The whole of this comes of Satan.” – St. John Chrysostom, Homily 2 on Colossians

St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.XXV.iii

For tell me, if thou hast a servant, and he, after suffering much evil at the hands of his fellow-servants, takes no account of any one of the rest, but is only anxious not to provoke his master; is he not able by this alone to do away thine anger? But what, if his offenses against thee are no manner of care to him, while on those against his fellow-servants he is full of thought; wilt thou not lay on him the heavier punishment? So also God doeth: when we neglect His wrath, He brings it upon us more heavily; but when we regard it, more gently. Yea, rather, He lays it on us no more at all. He wills that we should exact vengeance of ourselves for our offences, and thenceforth He doth not exact it Himself. For this is why He at all threatens punishment; that by fear He may destroy contempt; and when the threat alone is sufficient to cause fear in us, He doth not suffer us to undergo the actual trial.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on Zephaniah, Chapter 2
So “while we have time, we work for the good of all.” As long as the Lord, who as God is longsuffering, allows it, let us practice repentance, offer supplication, tearfully utter the appeal, Do not remember sins of my youth and of my ignorance,” attaching ourselves to him through sanctification and sobriety. This in fact is the way for us to be sheltered on the day of wrath and wash away the stain of our sins before the Lord’s anger comes upon us; he will come, you see, the judge will come in due course from heaven, and render to everyone according to their work. 

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on Paul’s Epistles to the Romans, Homily III
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.”
And indeed even here this often takes place in famines and pestilences and wars: for each individually and all in common are punished. What will be the new thing then? That the chastisement will be greater, and common to all, and not by the same rules. For now what takes place is for correction; but then for vengeance. And this also St. Paul showed, when he said, “We are chastened now, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (1 Cor. xi. 32.) And now indeed to many such things usually seem to come not of the wrath from above, but of the malice of man. But then the punishment from God shall be manifest, when the Judge, sitting upon the fearful tribunal, shall command some to be dragged to the furnaces, and some to the outer darkness, and some to other inexorable and intolerable punishments. 

St. John Chrysostom – Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch, Homily V
To die basely, O man, is not to come to one’s end by a violent death, but to die in sin! Hear, at least, the prophet moralising on this very matter, and saying,“The death of sinners is evil.” He does not say that a violent death is evil; but what then? “The death of sinners is evil.” And justly so; for after the departure from this life, there is an intolerable punishment; undying vengeance, the envenomed worm; the fire unquenchable, the outer darkness, the chains indissoluble; the gnashing of teeth, the tribulation, and the anguish, and the eternal justice.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book IX
Paul will make clear where he says: For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord; and again, to them that have chosen to mortify worldly passions: For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with Him be manifested in glory. So—-for I will sum up the meaning of the Lord’s saying—-the lovers of the evil things in the world shall go down to Hades and be banished from the presence of Christ; howbeit there shall be with Him and dwell with Him for ever the lovers of virtue, they who have kept inviolate the earnest of the Spirit, and being with Him of a surety they shall also behold His Divine Beauty without all hindrance. For, he says, the Lord shall be thine eternal Light, and God thy glory. And it is also likely that this is what the Lord means to make manifest, when we hear Him saying: Yet a little while and the world beholdeth Me no more; but ye behold Me; because I live ye shall live also. Howbeit in no wise will He speak falsely in saying that the time intervening, before His Revelation as it were, is a little while. For to God Who always is, even what is a long time with us counts utterly for nothing; and the Psalmist will testify this when he says: For a thousand years in Thy sight, O Lord, are but as yesterday that is past, and a watch in the night.

Related Readings:

River of Fire Revisited

May We Hope for Universal Salvation?

http://classicalchristianity.com/category/heterodoxy/apokatastasis/

2 thoughts on “Scriptural and Patristic Quotes on Hell”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *