Judged for Hell

Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ κατακρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐφ' οἶς ἀμαρτάνουσι, προλαμβάνοντες ἀποκρούνται τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ψῆφον, καθάπερ καὶ Παῦλος φησιν· Εἰ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς ἐκρίνομεν, οὐκ ἄν ἐκρινόμεθα· οὕτως οἱ νοσοῦντες ἀμετανόντα, καὶ ἁμαρτάνοντες, μὴ καταγινώσκοντες δὲ ὧν ἐπληρμμέλησαν, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σφοδρότητος ἐπισπῶνται τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τιμωρίαν ἑαυτοῖς. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ οὗτοι ἢ τὰ ἀλλότρια ἀρπάζοντες, ἢ τὰ οἰκεῖα μάτην καὶ εἰκῆ δαπανῶντες, ἄπερ εἰς πένητας ἀναλίσκειν ἐχρῆν, εἰς τάφους, καὶ σκώληκας, καὶ σῆτας δαπανῶσι, καὶ οὐ μετανοοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῶν γεγενημένων, ἀλλὰ ἀνίατα μένουσι νοσοῦντες, ἄκουσον τί γίνεται λοιπόν. Τί δὴ οὖν γίνεται; Τιμωρίᾳ τῇ παρὰ τού Θεοῦ δίδονται· διὸ ἐπήγαγεν· Ὡς πρόβατα ἐν ᾅδῃ ἔθεντο· θάνατος ποιμανεῖ αὐτους· οὐ τὸ ἥμερον ἐνταῦθα διὰ ὀνόματος τῶν προβάτων δηλῶν (τί γὰρ ἐκείνων ἀγριώτερον γένοιτ' ἂν, τῶν παρορώτων μὲν γυμνὰ σώματα μενήτων, καὶ γαστέπας τηκομένας λιμῷ, καλλωπιζόντων δὲ οἴκους φθπρᾷ, καὶ σκώληκι, καὶ σητί), ἀλλὰ τὸ εὔκολον αὐτῶν τῆς ἀπωλείας, τὴν ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς πανωλεθρίαν, τὸ εὐχείρωτον τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀσθενέστερον ἀνθρώπου κακίᾳ συζῶντος. Ὅπερ καὶ οὖτοι πείονται· καὶ οὕτω καρακοπήσονται, οὕτως ἀπολοῦνται ἄρδην, καὶ εἰς τὸν ᾅδην ἀπελεύσονται ῥᾳδίως, εὐκόλως, συντόμως, ἀπονητὶ, ὡσανεὶ πρόβατα κατακοπτόμενα. Τοῦτο θάνατος, μᾶλλον δὲ πρᾶγμα θανάτου πολὺ χαλεπώτερον. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν τοιαύτην τελευτὴν ἀθάνατος αὐτοὺς διαδέξεται θάνατοςμ διὰ τοῦτο οὐδαμοῦ εἰς κόλπους Ἀβραὰμ, οὐδὲ εἰς ἄλλο χωρίον φαίνονται ἀπιόντες, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, τὸ τῆς τιμωρίας, τὸ τῆς κολάσεως, τὸ τῆς πανωλεθρίας ὄνομα. Καὶ ἡ ἐνταῦθα αὐτῶν τελευτὴ εὐτελὴς, καὶ εὐκαταφρόνητος, καὶ ἡμῖν ἔθος λέγειν περὶ τῶν εὐκόλως ἀπολλυμένων· Ὡς πρόβατον ὁ δεῖνα ἐσφάγη. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὡς ἄλογα ἔζων, καὶ ὡς ἄλογα ἀπόλλυνται, οὐκ ἔχοντες περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδα χρηστήν· καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ κακῷ· Θάνατος ποιμανεῖ αὐτούς. Ἐνταῦθα μοι τὸν θάνατον δοκεῖ λέγειν, τὴν ἀπώλειαν τὴν ἐκεῖ, τὴν τιμωρίαν, καθάπερ καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ φησι· Ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα, αὔτη ἀπολεῖται· οὐ τὴν τοῦ εἰναι ἀναίρεσιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τιμωρίαν παραδηλῶν. Καὶ ἐπιμένει τῇ μεταφορᾷ τῆς λέξεως. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπε πρόβατα, ἔδειξεν αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν ποιμένα. Τίς δὲ οὖτος; Ὁ σκώληξ ὁ ἰοβόλος, τὸ σκότος τὸ ἀτελεύτητον, τὰ δεσμὰ τὰ ἄλυτα, ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. Ὅρα τοίνυν αὐτοὺς πάντοθεν κολαζομένους. Ἐν τῇ ζωῇ, ὅτι πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἐνεποδίσθησαν, ὅτι κακίας ἔγένοντο δοῦλοι, καὶ αἰχμάλωτοι, καὶ περιττὸν ἐπόνησαν πόνον καὶ καταγέλαστον· ἐν τῇ τελευτῇ, ὅτι ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἀπώλοντο· ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῷ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν, ὅτι διαπαντὸς ὑπὸ τῆς ἀπωλείας κατέχονται. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον ΜΗ' Ψαλμον

For judging themselves they sin, thinking that beforehand they can ward off the judgement of God, but as Paul says, 'If we judge ourselves we are not thereby judged.' 1Thus sick with impenitence, and sinning, not recognising with what they are filled, they demand punishment of grave weight from God. They who seize on goods which are not theirs, or expend their wealth on vain things rather than giving to the poor, they are consumed by their tombs and worms and grubs, and not repenting the things that they have done, but remaining in their sickness without cure, let it be heard what comes next. What then will it be? They shall be given punishment by God, and so it is written below: ' Like sheep in hell they are placed and death will shepherd them.' 2 But by this name of sheep is not signified meekness, (for they are of more wild nature who have despised the naked bodies and the empty stomachs of the poor but decorate their dwellings of corruption, worms and grubs) but it is because their destruction is easy and sudden their exit. How easy to take them that lurked to take from others. Nothing is as feeble as the man who has passed his life in wickedness. But even to these it shall come forth, even thus they shall fall, thus their foundations shall perish and so easily they shall reach hell, so briefly, so quickly, without delay, like sheep slain. This is death, this truly is the death most bitter. After such a death these whom immortal death had taken into hell shall therefore never in the lap of Abraham, nor in any other place, be seen to be placed. Here then is punishment, here is torment, here utter exile is the name. And this is the death of those most vile and contemptible and there they must remain. Thus even we are accustomed to say of those who easily perish: 'He was slain like a sheep.' Because like beasts they lived and as beasts they perished, not having happy hope for the future, for on account of evil: Death shall shepherd them.2 Here to me death seems to say that destruction is there, and torment, as even elsewhere it is said, 'The soul which sins dies,' 3 that is, that here is not signified natural extinction but punishment. It stands as a metaphor: when he speaks of sheep, he indicates the shepherd. What is this? Poisonous worms, darkness without end, chains never to be unbound, gnashing of teeth. See those punished on every side. In life, because virtue was an impediment to them, because they were slaves of vice and possessions, because they took up worthless and ridiculous labour, in death, because their end was vulgar and disgraceful, in the time following their passing, they shall ever be held in destruction.   Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 48 1 1 Cor 11.31 2 Ps 48.15  3 Ez 18.20