Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts

Matthew 25:46

There are 34 footnotes for this reference.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 195, footnote 13 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria (HTML)

Exhortation to the Heathen (HTML)

Chapter IX.—“That Those Grievously Sin Who Despise or Neglect God’s Gracious Calling.” (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 960 (In-Text, Margin)

... God, who first were wrenched away from our sins, first severed from the devil. And now the more benevolent God is, the more impious men are; for He desires us from slaves to become sons, while they scorn to become sons. O the prodigious folly of being ashamed of the Lord! He offers freedom, you flee into bondage; He bestows salvation, you sink down into destruction; He confers everlasting life, you wait for punishment, and prefer the fire which the Lord “has prepared for the devil and his angels.”[Matthew 25:46] Wherefore the blessed apostle says: “I testify in the Lord, that ye walk no longer as the Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind; having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 74, footnote 5 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Tertullian: Part Fourth. (HTML)

On Modesty. (HTML)

Chapter I (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 706 (In-Text, Margin)

... own good things whose position is now sinking; it is the system of Christian modesty which is being shaken to its foundation—(Christian modesty), which derives its all from heaven; its nature, “through the laver of regeneration;” its discipline, through the instrumentality of preaching; its censorial rigour, through the judgments which each Testament exhibits; and is subject to a more constant external compulsion, arising from the apprehension or the desire of the eternal fire or kingdom.[Matthew 25:46]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 254, footnote 4 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Hippolytus. (HTML)

Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus. Containing Dubious and Spurious Pieces. (HTML)

A discourse by the most blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, on the end of the world, and on Antichrist, and on the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ. (HTML)
Section XLVIII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2015 (In-Text, Margin)

... acknowledged me as Lord, but ye kept not my words. Ye were marked with the seal of my cross, but ye deleted it by your hardness of heart. Ye obtained my baptism, but ye observed not my commandments. Ye subdued your body to virginity, but ye kept not mercy, but ye did not cast the hatred of your brother out of your souls. For not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but he that doeth my will. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.[Matthew 25:46]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 483, footnote 1 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

On Works and Alms. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3579 (In-Text, Margin)

... drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and ministered not unto Thee? And He shall answer them, Verily I say unto you, In so far as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting burning: but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:31-46] What more could Christ declare unto us? How more could He stimulate the works of our righteousness and mercy, than by saying that whatever is given to the needy and poor is given to Himself, and by saying that He is aggrieved unless the needy and ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 528, footnote 4 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. (HTML)
Book II. (HTML)
That He Himself is both Judge and King. (HTML)CCEL Footnote 4138 (In-Text, Margin)

... stranger, and ye received me not: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer and say, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and have not ministered unto Thee? And He shall answer unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it to one of the least of these, ye have not done it unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:31-46]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 532, footnote 5 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
Of the benefit of good works and mercy. (HTML)CCEL Footnote 4172 (In-Text, Margin)

... drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: I was naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer, and say, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? And He shall answer them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting burning: but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:31-46] Concerning this same matter in the Gospel according to Luke: “Sell your possessions, and give alms.” Also in the same place: “He who made that which is within, made that which is without also. But give alms, and, behold, all things are pure unto ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 212, footnote 12 (Image)

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

Archelaus. (HTML)

The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes. (HTML)

Chapter XXXVIII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1856 (In-Text, Margin)

... that sometimes he uses the interrogative style, and sometimes the deprecatory. But in the Gospel of our Saviour it is written that those who stand on the left hand of the King will say: “Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or naked, or a stranger, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?” Thus they will implore Him to be indulgent with them. But what reply is that righteous Judge and King represented as making to them? “Depart from me into everlasting fire, ye workers of iniquity.”[Matthew 25:46] He casts them into everlasting fire, although they cease not to direct their entreaties to Him. Do you see, then, O Manes, what manner of event that advent of the perfect King is destined to be? Do you not perceive that it will not be such a ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 471, footnote 16 (Image)

Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)

Book VII. Concerning the Christian Life, and the Eucharist, and the Initiation into Christ (HTML)

Sec. II.—On the Formation of the Character of Believers, and on Giving of Thanks to God (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3477 (In-Text, Margin)

... afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. “Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal,”[Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things “which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God hath prepared for them that love Him;” and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Since we are ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 111, footnote 3 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

The Diatessaron of Tatian. (HTML)

The Diatessaron. (HTML)

Section XLIII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3016 (In-Text, Margin)

... me to drink; and I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; and I was naked, and ye clothed me not; and I was sick, and imprisoned, [56] and ye visited me not. Then shall those also answer and say, Our Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or naked, or a stranger, or sick, or imprisoned, [57] and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, When ye did it not unto one of these little ones, ye did it not [58] unto me also.[Matthew 25:46] And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 213, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

Augustin passes to the second part of the work, in which the origin, progress, and destinies of the earthly and heavenly cities are discussed.—Speculations regarding the creation of the world. (HTML)

Whether All the Angels Were So Created in One Common State of Felicity, that Those Who Fell Were Not Aware that They Would Fall, and that Those Who Stood Received Assurance of Their Own Perseverance After the Ruin of the Fallen. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 474 (In-Text, Margin)

... blessedness, and do not know regarding themselves as much as we have been able to gather regarding them from the Holy Scriptures. For what catholic Christian does not know that no new devil will ever arise among the good angels, as he knows that this present devil will never again return into the fellowship of the good? For the truth in the gospel promises to the saints and the faithful that they will be equal to the angels of God; and it is also promised them that they will “go away into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] But if we are certain that we shall never lapse from eternal felicity, while they are not certain, then we shall not be their equals, but their superiors. But as the truth never deceives, and as we shall be their equals, they must be certain of ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 435, footnote 5 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

Of the last judgment, and the declarations regarding it in the Old and New Testaments. (HTML)

Of the New Heaven and the New Earth. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1388 (In-Text, Margin)

Having finished the prophecy of judgment, so far as the wicked are concerned, it remains that he speak also of the good. Having briefly explained the Lord’s words, “These will go away into everlasting punishment,” it remains that he explain the connected words, “but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] “And I saw,” he says, “a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away; and there is no more sea.” This will take place in the order which he has by anticipation declared in the words, “I saw One sitting on the throne, from whose face heaven and earth fled.” For as soon as those who are not written in the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 452, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

Of the eternal punishment of the wicked in hell, and of the various objections urged against it. (HTML)

Of the Order of the Discussion, Which Requires that We First Speak of the Eternal Punishment of the Lost in Company with the Devil, and Then of the Eternal Happiness of the Saints. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1495 (In-Text, Margin)

... unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment;” but sometimes also last, as, “The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things which offend, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of His Father;” and that, “These shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] And though we have not room to cite instances, any one who examines the prophets will find that they adopt now the one arrangement and now the other. My own reason for following the latter order I have given.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 469, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

Of the eternal punishment of the wicked in hell, and of the various objections urged against it. (HTML)

Against Those Who are of Opinion that the Punishment Neither of the Devil Nor of Wicked Men Shall Be Eternal. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1545 (In-Text, Margin)

... this is absurd, they who desire to be rid of eternal punishment ought to abstain from arguing against God, and rather, while yet there is opportunity, obey the divine commands. Then what a fond fancy is it to suppose that eternal punishment means long continued punishment, while eternal life means life without end, since Christ in the very same passage spoke of both in similar terms in one and the same sentence, “These shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal!”[Matthew 25:46] If both destinies are “eternal,” then we must either understand both as long-continued but at last terminating, or both as endless. For they are correlative,—on the one hand, punishment eternal, on the other hand, life eternal. And to say in one and ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 470, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

Of the eternal punishment of the wicked in hell, and of the various objections urged against it. (HTML)

Against Those Who Fancy that in the Judgment of God All the Accused Will Be Spared in Virtue of the Prayers of the Saints. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1549 (In-Text, Margin)

... which is to come, it could not be truly said, “They shall not be forgiven, neither in this world, neither in that which is to come.” But when the Judge of quick and dead has said, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” and to those on the other side, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels,” and “These shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life,”[Matthew 25:46] it were excessively presumptuous to say that the punishment of any of those whom God has said shall go away into eternal punishment shall not be eternal, and so bring either despair or doubt upon the corresponding promise of life eternal.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 471, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

Of the eternal punishment of the wicked in hell, and of the various objections urged against it. (HTML)

Against Those Who Fancy that in the Judgment of God All the Accused Will Be Spared in Virtue of the Prayers of the Saints. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1555 (In-Text, Margin)

As for those who find an empty threat rather than a truth in such passages as these: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire;” and “These shall go away into eternal punishment;”[Matthew 25:46] and “They shall be tormented for ever and ever;” and “Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched,” —such persons, I say, are most emphatically and abundantly refuted, not by me so much as by the divine Scripture itself. For the men of Nineveh repented in this life, and therefore their repentance was fruitful, inasmuch as they sowed in that field which the Lord meant to be sown in ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 3, page 197, footnote 8 (Image)

Augustine: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises

Doctrinal Treatises of St. Augustin (HTML)

On the Holy Trinity. (HTML)

He speaks of the true wisdom of man, viz. that by which he remembers, understands, and loves God; and shows that it is in this very thing that the mind of man is the image of God, although his mind, which is here renewed in the knowledge of God, will only then be made the perfect likeness of God in that image when there shall be a perfect sight of God. (HTML)
John is Rather to Be Understood of Our Perfect Likeness with the Trinity in Life Eternal. Wisdom is Perfected in Happiness. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 934 (In-Text, Margin)

... through a glass in an enigma. And we must understand it to be said on account of this perfection, that “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” For this gift will be given to us at that time, when it shall have been said, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” For then will the ungodly be taken away, so that he shall not see the glory of the Lord, when those on the left hand shall go into eternal punishment, while those on the right go into life eternal.[Matthew 25:46] But “this is eternal life,” as the Truth tells us; “to know Thee,” He says, “the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.”

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 3, page 260, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises

Doctrinal Treatises of St. Augustin (HTML)

The Enchiridion. (HTML)

It is Not Impossible that Some Believers May Pass Through a Purgatorial Fire in the Future Life. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1227 (In-Text, Margin)

... their sins be forgiven them. When I say “suitable,” I mean that they are not to be unfruitful in almsgiving; for Holy Scripture lays so much stress on this virtue, that our Lord tells us beforehand, that He will ascribe no merit to those on His right hand but that they abound in it, and no defect to those on His left hand but their want of it, when He shall say to the former, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom,” and to the latter, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.”[Matthew 25:31-46]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 3, page 273, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises

Doctrinal Treatises of St. Augustin (HTML)

The Enchiridion. (HTML)

There is No Ground in Scripture for the Opinion of Those Who Deny the Eternity of Future Punishments. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1306 (In-Text, Margin)

... 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.”[Matthew 25:46] But let them suppose, if the thought gives them pleasure, that the pains of the damned are, at certain intervals, in some degree assuaged. For even in this case the wrath of God, that is, their condemnation (for it is this, and not any disturbed ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 71, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)

Why Pelagius Does Not Speak in His Own Person. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 661 (In-Text, Margin)

... must either be precipitated into eternal death without sin, or, what is still more absurd, must have eternal life outside the kingdom of God; for the Lord, when foretelling what He should say to His people at last,—“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world,” —also clearly indicated what the kingdom was of which He was speaking, by concluding thus: “So these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] These opinions, then, and others which spring from the central error, I believe so worthy a man, and so good a Christian, does not at all accept, as being too perverse and repugnant to Christian truth. But it is quite possible that he may, by the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 98, footnote 19 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter. (HTML)

The Eternal Reward. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 878 (In-Text, Margin)

... commandments; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him” —in the form, no doubt, of God, wherein He is equal to the Father; not in the form of a servant, for in this He will display Himself even to the wicked also. Then, however, shall that come to pass which is written, “Let the ungodly man be taken away, that he see not the glory of the Lord.” Then also shall “the wicked go into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] Now this eternal life, as I have just mentioned, has been defined to be, that they may know the one true God. Accordingly John again says: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 110, footnote 8 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter. (HTML)

Mercy and Pity in the Judgment of God. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1061 (In-Text, Margin)

... crowns, therefore, with loving-kindness and tender mercy; but even so according to works. For he shall be separated to the right hand, to whom, it is said, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat.” There will, however, be also “judgment without mercy;” but it will be for him “that hath not showed mercy.” But “blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” of God. Then, as soon as those on the left hand shall have gone into eternal fire, the righteous, too, shall go into everlasting life,[Matthew 25:46] because He says: “This is life eternal, that they may know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” And with this knowledge, this vision, this contemplation, shall the desire of their soul be satisfied; for it shall be enough ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 187, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius. (HTML)

The Third Item in the Accusation; And Pelagius’ Answer. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1629 (In-Text, Margin)

... punishment, without excepting even those who hold Christ as their foundation, although “they build thereupon wood, hay, stubble,” concerning whom the apostle writes: “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he shall himself be saved, yet so as by fire.” When, however, Pelagius responded that “he had made his assertion in accordance with the Gospel, in which it is written concerning sinners, ‘These shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal,’”[Matthew 25:46] it was impossible for Christian judges to be dissatisfied with a sentence which is written in the Gospel, and was spoken by the Lord; especially as they knew not what there was in the words taken from Pelagius’ book which could so disturb the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 210, footnote 6 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius. (HTML)

The History Continued. Cœlestius Condemned at Carthage by Episcopal Judgment. Pelagius Acquitted by Bishops in Palestine, in Consequence of His Deceptive Answers; But Yet His Heresy Was Condemned by Them. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1769 (In-Text, Margin)

... Man, however, when sinning, is himself in fault, as being under the direction of his free will.” They approved, moreover, of his statement, that “in the day of judgment no forbearance will be shown to the ungodly and sinners, but they will be punished in everlasting fires;” because in his defence he said, “that he had made such an assertion in accordance with the gospel, in which it is written concerning sinners, ‘These shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.’”[Matthew 25:46] But he did not say, all sinners are reserved for eternal punishment, for then he would evidently have run counter to the apostle, who distinctly states that some of them will be saved, “yet so as by fire.” When also Pelagius said that “the kingdom ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 41, footnote 6 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. (HTML)

On the Latter Part of Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Contained in the Sixth and Seventh Chapters of Matthew. (HTML)

Chapter VI (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 291 (In-Text, Margin)

... and Catholic name still spreads?), so that it is said, “Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth,”—as if the meaning were, As the righteous do Thy will, in like manner let sinners also do it, so that they may be converted unto Thee; or in this sense, “Let Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth,” so that every one may get his own; which will take place at the last judgment, the righteous being requited with a reward, sinners with condemnation—when the sheep shall be separated from the goats.[Matthew 25:46]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 224, footnote 6 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)

Of Christ’s Subsequent Manifestations of Himself to the Disciples, and of the Question Whether a Thorough Harmony Can Be Established Between the Different Narratives When the Notices Given by the Four Several Evangelists, as Well as Those Presented by the Apostle Paul and in the Acts of the Apostles, are Compared Together. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1584 (In-Text, Margin)

... which does not involve His leaving us, although He has preceded us thither. That will be a revelation which may be spoken of as a true Galilee, when we shall be like Him; there shall we see Him as He is. Then, also, will there be for us the more blessed transmigration, from this world into that eternity, if we embrace His precepts so as to be counted worthy of being set apart on His right hand. For there, those on the left hand shall go away into eternal burning, but the righteous into life eternal.[Matthew 25:33-46] Hence they shall pass thither, and there, shall they see Him, as the wicked do not see Him. For the wicked shall be taken away, so that he shall not see the brightness of the Lord; and the unrighteousness shall not see the light. For He says, “And ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 371, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)

On the words of the Gospel, Matt. xix. 21,’Go, sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,’ etc. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2829 (In-Text, Margin)

... shall I keep?” “Thou shalt have treasure in heaven, where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth.” Against what an enduring future shalt thou keep it! “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And of how many days this kingdom is, the end of the passage shows. For after He had said of those on the left hand, “So these shall go away into everlasting burning;” of those on the right hand He saith, “but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] This is “consulting for the future.” A future which has no future beyond it. Those days without an end are called both “days,” and “a day.” For one when he was speaking of those days, saith, “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord for length of ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 487, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)

On the words of the Gospel, John v. 25,’Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God; and they that hear shall live,’ etc.; and on the words of the apostle, ‘things which eye saw not,’ etc., 1 Cor. ii. 9. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3792 (In-Text, Margin)

... which he believed not, is put to shame: being confounded is separated, being separated, is condemned. But whoso shall have believed, is put aside at the right hand, and shall stand with great confidence and joy among those to whom it shall be said, “Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which hath been prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” But the Lord made an end when He spake these words, thus, “These shall go into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] This is the life eternal which is promised us.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 7, page 131, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies

Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. (HTML)

Chapter V. 19–30. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 399 (In-Text, Margin)

... away. For to this end He had manifested Himself, that He might execute judgment. After the judgment, He shall go hence, will lead with Him the body of which He is the head, and deliver up the kingdom of God. Then will openly be seen that form of God which could not be seen by the wicked, to whose vision the form of a servant must be shown. He says also in another place on this wise: “These shall go away into everlasting burning” (speaking of certain on the left), “but the just into life eternal;”[Matthew 25:46] of which life He says in another place: “And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” Then will He be there manifested, “who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 7, page 143, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies

Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. (HTML)

Chapter V. 20–23. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 439 (In-Text, Margin)

... of a servant will be shown to servants: the form of God will be reserved for sons. Wherefore let the servants be made sons: let them who are on the right hand go into the eternal inheritance promised of old, which the martyrs, though not seeing, believed, for the promise of which they poured out their blood without hesitation; let them go thither and see there. When shall they go thither? Let the Lord Himself say: “So those shall go into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 7, page 414, footnote 10 (Image)

Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies

Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. (HTML)

Chapter XVII. 24–26. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1796 (In-Text, Margin)

... take place the judgment of the quick and the dead, and then shall the wicked be taken away that he may not behold the glory of the Lord; and what [glory], save that of His Godhead? For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God: and because the wicked are not pure in heart, therefore they shall not see. Then shall they go away into everlasting punishment; for so shall the wicked be taken away, that he may not behold the glory of the Lord: but the righteous shall go into life eternal.[Matthew 25:46] And what is life eternal? “That they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (ver. 3): not, indeed, as those knew Him, who although impure in heart, yet were able to see Him as He sat in judgment in His glorified ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 100, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm XXXVII (HTML)

Part 3 (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 914 (In-Text, Margin)

... is thy desert that hath been preserved, thy desert hath been made thy treasure. For consider what it is that thou art to receive. Receive—“the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” On the other hand, what shall be their sentence, who would not “lend”? “Go ye into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” And what is the kingdom which we receive called? Consider what follows: “And these shall go into everlasting burning; but the righteous into life eternal.”[Matthew 25:46] Make interest for this; purchase this. Give your money on usury to earn this. You have Christ throned in heaven, begging on earth. We have discovered in what way the righteous lendeth. “He is alway merciful, and lendeth.”

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 521, footnote 5 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm CV (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4791 (In-Text, Margin)

... evermore;” and this arises from the ambiguity of the Greek. But if we are to understand “alway” of this world and not of eternity, why, when he explaineth what covenant He was mindful of, doth he add, “The word that He made to a thousand generations”? Now this may be understood with a certain limitation; but he afterwards saith, “Even the covenant that He made with Abraham” (ver. 9): “and the oath that He sware unto Isaac; and appointed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting[Matthew 25:46] testament” (ver. 10). But if in this passage the Old Testament is to be understood, on account of the land of Canaan; for thus the language of the Psalm runneth, “saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan: the lot of your inheritance” (ver. ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 627, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm CXXXVI (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 5672 (In-Text, Margin)

... endureth for ever” (ver. 1). This Psalm contains the praise of God, and all its verses finish in the same way. Wherefore although many things are related here in praise of God, yet His mercy is most commended; for without this plain commendation, he, whom the Holy Spirit used to utter this Psalm, would have no verse be ended. Although after the judgment, by which at the end of the world the quick and the dead must be judged, the just being sent into life eternal, the unjust into everlasting fire,[Matthew 25:46] there will not afterwards be those, whom God will have mercy on, yet rightly may His future mercy be understood to be for ever, which He bestows on His saints and faithful ones, not because they will be miserable for ever, and therefore will need ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 141, footnote 6 (Image)

Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen

The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)

On the Words, And in One Holy Catholic Church, and in the Resurrection of the Flesh, and the Life Everlasting. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2325 (In-Text, Margin)

... believe; for with God all things are possible. And that this is possible, and that we may look for eternal life, Daniel declares, And of the many righteous shall they shine as the stars for ever and ever. And Paul says, And so shall we be ever with the Lord: for the being for ever with the Lord implies the life eternal. But most plainly of all the Saviour Himself says in the Gospel, And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal[Matthew 25:46].

Online Dictionary & Commentary of Early Church Beliefs