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Of all the early Christian writers and philosophers who expanded the concept of heaven, the most important was Irenaeus (c. 130-200), a bishop, theologian, and opponent of heresies. He summed up the tradition of heaven as it was in his time: Paradise is the beginning, heaven the end. Humanity was created in paradise without flaw but fell through its own deliberate sin; humanity redeemed by Christ is in heaven without flaw. All the blessed in heaven will see Christ, the glory of the communion of saints, and the renovation of the world. They will dwell in their true home, where with Christ they enjoy eternal peace and comfort.

Hell plays only a minor part in the writing of the orthodox Christian writers. Early Christian apocalyptic literature, however, which was often unorthodox, greatly amplified and popularized the more vivid aspects of Matthew and Revelation.

For example, the "Apocalypse of Paul," a widely circulated (and roundly denounced) early fourth-century manuscript, describes the horrors reserved for the damned: "And I saw there a river of fire burning with heat, and in it was a multitude of men and women sunk up to the knees, and other men up to the navel; others also up to the lips and others up to the hair."

In this account, different types of sinners receive different punishments. "Pits exceeding deep" hold those who refused to trust God, while worms crawl out of the mouth and nostrils of an immoral deacon. The merciless are "clad in rags full of pitch and brimstone of fire, and there were dragons twined about their necks and shoulders and feet, and angels having horns of fire constrained them and smote them and closed up their nostrils."

Dante was almost certainly familiar with this work.

It was more common for early writers, more spiritual and poetic than theoretical, to describe heaven vividly. Ephraim (306-373), a monk in Syria, wrote:

"If you wish to climb to the top of a tree, its branches range themselves under your feet and invite you to rest in the midst of its bosom, in the green room of its branches, whose floor is strewn with flowers. Who has ever seen the joy at the heart of a tree, with fruits of every taste within reach of your hand? You can wash yourself with its dew and dry yourself with its leaves. A cloud of fruits is over your head and a carpet of flowers beneath your feet. You are anointed with the sap of the tree and inhale its perfume."

An anonymous "Vision of Paul" from the third or fourth century describes "the third heaven": "I looked at [the door] and saw that it was a golden gate and that there were two golden pillars before it and two golden tables above the pillars full of letters."

The "Passion of Perpetua" (203) records the visions of a young mother taken from her family and condemned to die because of her faith in Christ. She saw "a golden ladder of great size stretching up to heaven. … I saw a garden of immense extent, in the midst of which was sitting a white-haired man dressed as a shepherd; he was tall, and he was milking sheep. And he raised his head and looked at me and said, Welcome, child. And he called me and gave me a mouthful of cheese from the sheep he was milking; and I took it with my hands and ate of it, and all those who were standing about said, Amen."

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