John Chrysostom on the final state of the lost
Eternal conscious punishment
bound hand and foot alike, is carried into outer darkness, to undergo eternal and endless wailing and gnashing of teeth.
THE POSITION
Endless and conscious, and preached as a pastoral instrument rather than stated as a doctrine. The guest without the wedding garment is bound and carried out to "eternal and endless wailing and gnashing of teeth"; those who refuse the invitation are received by "the unquenchable fire." Expounding Hebrews he sets the loss of the heavenly rest alongside "being delivered to an everlasting hell, and to undying punishment and vengeance."
11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
20 OTHERS HOLD THIS
See all 23 figures on the final state of the lost →ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Archbishop of Constantinople and the most prolific preacher of the patristic era — the largest surviving body of Greek expository preaching is his. This entry rests on the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers translations of his homilies on Romans, 1 Corinthians, John, Hebrews and 2 Thessalonians, together with the Instructions to Catechumens.
Cite this page
"John Chrysostom on the final state of the lost", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/chrysostom/final-state (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/chrysostom/final-state).