Just wanted to apologize for my "going to hell to preach the gospel" thread. I really don't know what's after this life except for NDE testimonies I've seen. But really we should want to enter into rest instead with the Lord and be in his presence and serve him as the Angels do. So I changed my mind and that is what I would like if God allows it.
Thought I'd just "sneak" this in here.
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many of the early Church Fathers did believe in a literal hell, understood as a place of eternal punishment for the wicked. Their writings reflect a belief in the reality of hell, often described as a place of eternal fire and torment for those who reject God and fail to repent. Below are some key quotes from prominent Church Fathers that demonstrate this belief:
1. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35–107 AD)
Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote about the eternal consequences of unrepentant sin:
"Corrupters of families will not inherit the kingdom of God. If they who do these things according to the flesh suffer death, how much more if a man corrupt by wicked doctrine the faith of God for which Jesus Christ was crucified? Such a man, being defiled, shall go into the unquenchable fire, and so also shall he who listens to him."
—Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 16
Ignatius refers to the "unquenchable fire," emphasizing the eternal punishment awaiting those who spread false doctrines and lead others into sin.
2. Justin Martyr (c. 100–165 AD)
Justin Martyr, one of the most well-known apologists of the early Church, described hell as a place of eternal suffering:
"We believe that those who live wickedly and do not repent will be punished in everlasting fire. This is what we have learned from Christ and what we teach."
—First Apology, Chapter 18
Justin affirms the teaching of Jesus regarding eternal punishment for the wicked, reflecting the early Church's acceptance of the doctrine of hell.
3. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD)
Irenaeus, a key figure in combating heresies, affirmed the belief in hell as a place of eternal torment for the unrepentant:
"The penalty increases for those who do not believe the Word of God and despise His coming... they shall be cast into eternal fire."
—Against Heresies, Book 4, Chapter 28:2
Irenaeus points to eternal fire as the consequence of rejecting God's Word and Christ's coming, reinforcing the idea of hell as eternal.
4. Tertullian (c. 155–240 AD)
Tertullian, often regarded as the father of Latin Christianity, wrote extensively on the nature of hell and eternal punishment:
"After the present age is ended, He will judge His worshipers. Those who have done good will be assigned to eternal life; those who have done evil to everlasting fire."
—Apology, Chapter 48
Tertullian here echoes the teaching of eternal fire for the wicked, a recurring theme in his works.
In another of his writings, Tertullian vividly describes hell:
"That last and eternal judgment, which God is to administer through Jesus Christ... shall send them away from His presence to that very eternal fire, which He has prepared for the devil and his angels."
—On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Chapter 35
5. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 AD)
Clement also discussed the reality of punishment for the wicked:
"All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked. However, it is for the sake of punishment, that the fire that does not go out awaits them."
—Fragment from a work on the soul
Clement, while nuanced in some of his views, acknowledges the existence of an eternal fire meant for punishing the wicked.
6. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD)
Perhaps one of the most influential Church Fathers, Augustine explicitly defended the doctrine of eternal punishment:
"The penalty of the damned will be endless. It is not temporal, but eternal. What the scriptures call eternal is to be taken as everlasting, just as the eternal life of the saints will be everlasting, so too the eternal punishment of the wicked will have no end."
—The City of God, Book 21, Chapter 23
Augustine presents the idea of parallel eternal fates for the righteous and the wicked, emphasizing the endless nature of both heaven and hell.
J.