Matthew 25:31-33, “31 When the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly
glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He
will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”
Revelation 20:11-15, “11 Then I saw a great white throne and
him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was
no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up
the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had
done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of
fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book
of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Everyone Will Either Eternally Blessed or Cursed
The
subject of judgment was one of the most popular teachings of Jesus, the first
disciples, and the early church.
Why? Because it focuses on the
destination of eternal souls, whether they go to heaven and bliss with Jesus or
they go to hell and the lake of fire with torment. Jesus spent more time describing hell than He
did describing heaven. Jesus talked more
about the second coming, than He did about the cross. And Peter, Paul, James, and Jude all mention
hell and punishment more than heaven and blessings because they did not want
anyone to miss God’s grace.
Therefore,
the early church fathers spoke extensively on the Judgment of God coming to
mankind by His Son Jesus Christ. They
wrote much on the subject of hell, the lake of fire, and the reward of the
righteous. Universal salvation was not
even hinted in their writings, but rather it was a sure thing that everything
living soul was going to give an account to God one day and either be rewarded
with pleasures for evermore in the presence of Jesus or be punished with
everlasting damnation in the lake of fire.[1] Here are just some of the quotes the fathers
left us on the subject of the soon and coming Judgment Day and heaven and hell.
Judgment Day
Irenaeus (180AD), Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 27, Verse 1, “Has the Word come for the ruin and for the
resurrection of many? For the ruin, certainly, of those who do not believe Him,
to whom also He has threatened a greater damnation in the judgment-day than
that of Sodom and Gomorrah; but for the resurrection of believers, and those
who do the will of His Father in heaven. If then the advent of the Son comes
indeed alike to all, but is for the purpose of judging, and separating the
believing from the unbelieving, since, as those who believe do His will
agreeably to their own choice, and as, [also] agreeably to their own choice,
the disobedient do not consent to His doctrine; it is manifest that His Father
has made all in a like condition, each person having a choice of his own, and a
free understanding; and that He has regard to all things, and exercises a
providence over all, “making His sun to rise upon the evil and on the good, and
sending rain upon the just and unjust”.
Tertullian (210AD), A Treatise on the Soul, Chapter 33, “Accordingly, God’s judgment will be more
full and complete, because it will be pronounced at the very last, in an
eternal irrevocable sentence, both of punishment and of consolation, (on men
whose) souls are not to transmigrate into beasts, but are to return into their
own proper bodies”.
Cyprian (250AD), Treatises of Cyprian, Chapter 4, Verse 23, “But if ye do not forgive, neither will
your Father which is in heaven forgive you your trespasses.” There remains no ground of excuse in the day
of judgment, when you will be judged according to your own sentence; and
whatever you have done, that you also will suffer”.
Heaven & Hell
Justin Martyr (160AD), First Apology, Chapter 28, “For among us the prince of the wicked spirits is called the
serpent, and Satan, and the devil, as you can learn by looking into our
writings. And that he would be sent into the fire with his host, and the men
who follow him, and would be punished for an endless duration, Christ
foretold”.
Tertullian (197AD), Ad Nationes, Book 1, Chapter 19, “Again, we affirm that a judgment has been ordained by God
according to the merits of every man. This you ascribe to Minos and
Rhadamanthus, while at the same time you reject Aristides, who was a
juster judge than either. By the award of the judgment, we say that the wicked
will have to spend an eternity in endless fire, the pious and innocent in a
region of bliss”.
Cyprian (250 AD), Epistles of Cyprian, Epistle 30, Verse 7, “…so it is written, “Whosoever shall deny
me before men, him will I also deny before my Father and before His angels.” For God, as He is merciful, so He exacts obedience
to His precepts, and indeed carefully exacts it; and as He invites to the
banquet, so the man that hath not a wedding garment He binds hands and feet,
and casts him out beyond the assembly of the saints. He has prepared heaven,
but He has also prepared hell. He has prepared places of refreshment, but He has also prepared
eternal punishment. He has prepared the light that none can approach unto, but
He has also prepared the vast and eternal gloom of perpetual night”.
Reflection
1. Did
Jesus talk about hell as well as heaven?
2. Describe
the doctrine of Judgment Day.
3. Give
proof that the church fathers believed in a literal heaven and hell.
4. Pray
that God will you use you to prepare people for Judgment Day.
Resources
1. "Hell’s Best Kept Secret," by Ray
Comfort.
[1]
Universal salvation is a modern heresy that teaches everyone is saved and goes
to heaven and denies hell, plus those who ascribe to such thoughts also believe
there is no “true” religion or “one way” to heaven.
