Read the scholarly and well-reasoned article "Four Reasons the Early Church Did Not Believe “Hell”by Richard Murray here at Progressive Christian.
Here is a thought-provoking excerpt:
Well, the majority of the early Church believed that Hell was place where God would rescue, reform and reconcile all lost sinners back unto Himself. The process of Hell was intense, thorough, critical, painful, agonizing and anguishing. But, it was ultimately restorative as each and every sinner was led through and past their own Hellish valley of sin and death, and into a deep and heartfelt place of Godly repentance.
The early Church had a significantly different view of Hell than much of the Church does today. Hell’s purpose, for the majority of the Church fathers, was seen as purifying rather than punishing, restoring rather than torturing, healing rather than destroying. They believed Hell was “God’s crisis-management for lost souls.” Hell was for all those who did not authentically receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior during their earthly lives.
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