Apocalypse. Millennium. Chiliasm and Chillegorism

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130 – 202)

Excerpt from “Five Books Against Heresies” (“Against Heresies”):

Book 5.

Chapter 28. On the distinction between the righteous and the wicked; on the future apostasy under Antichrist and the end of the world.

[…]

2. […] “For they will receive a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads so that no man might buy or sell, save he that has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name; and his number is six hundred threescore and six” (Rev 13:15—18), that is six times hundred, six times ten and six – to heal all the apostasy that happened during the six thousand years.

3. For just as the world was created in six days, so also it will last for just as many thousands of years. That’s why the book of Genesis says: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And in six days God finished all the works which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made” (Gen 2:1—2). And this saying refers to the past – how things were accomplished – and also it is a prophecy about the future. For the day of the Lord is like a thousand years, and just as the creation was accomplished in six days, so it is clear that it will end in the six thousandth year. […]

Chapter 30. Although the number of the name of the Antichrist is known, we should not make rash conclusions about this name because this number fits many names; concerning the kingdom and the doom of the Antichrist.

1. Considering all this and that this number (666) is present in all the best and ancient manuscripts (of Revelation), and John himself personally attested to this, and reason itself teaches us that the number of the name of the beast according to the Greek numeration through the letters contained therein adds up to six hundred and sixty-six, that is, it contains as many tens as hundreds and as many hundreds as units – for the repetition of number six symbolically points to the healing of all apostasy (of the Antichrist) that was at the beginning and in the middle and will be at the end of time – I don’t know how some, in their ignorance, fell into the delusion, distorting the average number of the name by subtracting from it fifty and positing one ten instead of six tens. I think this arose from the error of the scribes, as is usually the case, since the numbers are represented in Greek letters, and the Greek letter [xi], which stands for “sixty” [ξ], can easily be changed into the Greek letter “jot” [ι]. Then, others must have accepted it without consideration using the number ten blindly, while others, through their foolishness, dared even to look for a name containing this erroneous and incorrect number. To those who have done it without any evil intent, God will grant forgiveness, I am sure. As for those who, through their vanity, search for names based on erroneous numbers or ascribe to the future Antichrist a name that they have invented, these will not go unharmed for they have deceived themselves and those who put their trust in them. And the first harm is that they have deviated from the truth and have accepted something unreal as true. Such a person will certainly entail severe punishment, prepared for those who add or take away from the words of Scripture. Also, there’s another danger for those who falsely usurp the knowledge of the name of the Antichrist. For if they propose a name, and he comes under a different name, they will be easily deceived by him, (thinking) that there is no one to watch out for.

2. Therefore, such people should recognize the true number of the name and embrace it, so as not to be counted among the false prophets. But those who know the correct number revealed in Scripture, that is, 666, let them first acknowledge that the kingdom will be divided between the ten, and secondly, when these kings reign and begin to prosper and spread their kingdom, and he who has the above-mentioned number in his name suddenly appears snatching away their kingdom and bringing fear upon them, – let them acknowledge that this one is truly the abomination of desolation. This is what the Apostle says: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them” (1 Thess 5:3). Jeremiah predicted not only the suddenness of his coming but also the tribe from which he would come: “The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein” (Jer 8:16). That’s why this tribe is not listed in Revelation among the saved (Rev 7:5—8).

3. Therefore, it is more accurate and safe to wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy rather than suppose and predict possible names, for there may be many names containing the above number, and yet this question will remain unresolved. For if there are many names matching this number, which of them will be the name of the Antichrist who is to come? I say this not because of the lack of names containing the number of his name but for the sake of the fear of God and the love of truth, for the name Evanphas (ΕΥΑΝΘΑΣ) has the required number, and yet I do not claim anything about him with certainty. Also, the name Latiner (ΛΑΤEΙΝΟΣ) has the number 666, and the last kingdom may very well bear this name: for now the Latins do reign, yet I do not wish to boast about it. But of all the proposed names Titan seem the most appropriate – if we write down the first syllable using the two Greek vowels E and I (TEITAN). It contains the above-mentioned number and consists of six letters, each syllable with three letters. It is an ancient and uncommon name – none of our kings were called Titan, and none of the idols openly worshiped by the Greeks and barbarians bears such a name. Yet it is honored as divine by many, so that the Sun is called Titan by the current rulers [Massuette cites Cicero and Ovid as evidence that the Sun was called Titan], and also it contains some hint of revenge and the avenger, just like he (the Antichrist) will pass himself off as the one who avenges the oppressed. Besides, it is an ancient, reasonable, and a royal name befitting a tyrant. Therefore, since the name “Teitan” has so much in its favor, the one to come (the Antichrist) might very well be called Teitan. However, I do not dare to conclusively say that it is so, knowing full well that if it was necessary to openly proclaim his name at this time, it would have been announced by that very person who had received the revelation. For revelation was granted not long before our time, almost in our age, closer to the end of the reign of Domitian.

4. He states the number of the name (of the Antichrist) so that we would be vigilant when he comes, knowing who he is; the Apostle didn’t reveal his name because it is too disgraceful to be proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been proclaimed by Him, then perhaps the Antichrist would have endured for a long time. And now, since “he was and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition” (Rev 17:8), as if he had never existed, his name was not declared since the name of the non-existent should not be declared. When the Antichrist has laid the world bare, having reigned for three and a half years, and has sat down in the temple of Jerusalem, then the Lord will come down from heaven in the clouds in the glory of the Father and will cast him and his subjects into the lake of fire, while the righteous will receive the Kingdom, that is, peace, the holy seventh day. He will restore the promised inheritance to Abraham, the Kingdom, in which, according to the word of the Lord, “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 8:11).

Chapter 31. The preservation of our bodies is sealed by the resurrection and ascension of Christ; the souls of the saints are waiting for the time when their full glory will be revealed.

1. But some who say that they are believers violate the established order of the exaltation of the righteous and, by holding on to heretical teachings, do not know how to prepare themselves for the incorruptibility. For heretics, degrading the creation of God and not recognizing the salvation of their flesh by despising the promise of God and putting themselves above God in their thoughts, say that they will ascend above the heavens and above Demierge immediately after death and will go to the Mother or Father of their own invention. They reject the resurrection of the whole person and thus completely deny it in any way they can. But it isn’t surprising since they do not know the order of the resurrection. But He was in the place of the dead for three days, even as the prophet says about him: “The Lord remembered His dead saints who had rested in the land of their burial, and came down to them to raise them and save them” [See 3, 20, 4]. Just as the Lord Himself said: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt 12:40). And the Apostle: “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?” (Eph 4:9). David also says in his prophecy about Him: “And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Ps 86:13 [Ps 85:13 rus]). After His resurrection on the third day, the Lord said to Mary, who first saw Him and fell prostrate before Him: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (Jn 20:17).

2. So, if the Lord has fulfilled the law of the dead, that is, to be the firstborn among the dead, and remained in the lower parts of the earth until the third day, and then, having risen in the flesh in such a way that He even showed the wounds from the nails to the disciples, ascended to the Father, how can they say without shame that “the lower parts of the earth” just mean the world around us and that the inner man, after leaving the body behind, will go up to a heavenly place? For when the Lord “walked in the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4 [Ps 22:4 rus]), where were the souls of the dead? He then rose from the dead in His flesh and ascended to heaven: it is clear that the souls of His disciples, for whom He gave up His life, will go to the invisible place appointed to them by God and will remain there until the day of the resurrection awaiting His coming, and then, having received their new bodies and having attained to the full resurrection, that is, the bodily resurrection, even as the Lord has risen, they will come into the presence of God. “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Lk 6:40). Therefore, just as our Teacher did not immediately depart or ascend (to heaven), but, having lingered until the time of His resurrection appointed by the Father – as was also prefigured in Jonah – rose from the dead and ascended after three days, so must we wait for the God-appointed time of our resurrection as predicted by the prophets. And, having been raised, we shall ascend to heaven if the Lord finds us worthy of it” [The following five chapters are omitted in some copies of the codes of Irenaeus. Feuardent was the first one to publish these chapters from the code of Vossius. He explained that this omission might be attributed to the medieval copyists’ rejection of the doctrine on the Millenial Kingdom of Christ which the codes contained. Harvey published citations from these chapters, which were preserved in Syrian and Armenian manuscripts. Fragments of these chapters can be found in Eusebius and “Sacra Paralella” by John of Damascus.].

Chapter 32. The saints will receive rewards for their labors in the same flesh in which they suffered here on earth.

1. Because some are carried away in their thoughts by heretical teachings and do not know the commandments of God nor the mystery of the resurrection of the righteous and the Kingdom, which is the beginning of our incorruptibility and through which those who are worthy gradually get used to abiding in God, it must be said that the righteous must first, having been raised to see God face to face, receive in the new creation the promised inheritance prepared by God for our forefathers, and reign in it, and then the judgment will come. For it is only just that they should reap the fruit of their suffering in the same creation in which they fought the good fight of faith or were subjected to sorrows, having been tested in every way, and that they should be brought back to life in the same creation, in which they were put to death for the love of God, and that they should reign in the same creation, in which they were brought to slavery. For God is rich in all things, and everything belongs to him. It is also necessary that the creation itself, restored to its primitive state, should freely serve the righteous. And this was shown by the Apostle in the Epistle to Romans: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom 8:19—21).

2. So also the promise of God to Abraham stands true. For He said: “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever” And also: “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Gen 13:14—15, 17). However, Abraham did not receive even a single inch of the promised land but was always a stranger and an alien in it. And after the death of his wife Sarah, when the Hittites had offered to give him a place for her burial without any payment, he refused but bought a place for her burial with four hundred silver didrachma from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham was hoping for the fulfillment of the promise of God and did not want it to look like he was receiving from man what God had promised him as a gift. For God had said to him: “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen 15:18). So, since God had promised him the land as an inheritance, and he did not receive it while on earth, it must mean that he and his seed – those who fear God and believe unto Him – should receive it in the resurrection of the righteous. For his seed is the Church which receives adoption by God through the Lord Jesus Christ, even as John the Baptist says: “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Lk 3:8). The Apostle also says in the Epistle to Galatians: “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Gal 4:28). And he also clearly indicates in the same letter that those who believe in Christ receive Him through the promise to Abraham: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal 3:16). And again confirming the same he said: “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Gal 3:6—9). So, believers will be blessed with faithful Abraham, and they are his sons. Since God had promised Abraham and his seed the land as an inheritance, but neither Abraham nor his seed (those justified by faith) received their inheritance by this time, they will receive it in the resurrection of the righteous. For God is faithful and just; that’s why He said: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:5).

Chapter 33. The testimony about the same based on the promises of Christ the Savior and the blessing of Jacob according to the interpretation of Papias and the elders.

1. Therefore, before His suffering, (Christ) gave thanks, held the cup, drank from it and gave to His disciples, saying: “Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Mt 26:27—29). Thus, He Himself will renew the inheritance of the land and will restore the mystery of the glory of the sons of God, even as David says: “Thou renewest the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30 [Ps 103:30 rus]). He promised to drink of the fruit of the vine with His disciples to foreshadow both the coming inheritance of the land in which the new wine will be drunk and the bodily resurrection of His disciples. For it is the new resurrection body that will receive the cup. And He cannot represent Himself as partaking of the fruit of the vine if He is above heaven together with His own; those who are with Him cannot be without flesh, for it is the flesh, not the spirit, that can partake of the fruit of the vine.

2. For this reason, the Lord says: “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Lk 14:12—14). And also: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Mt 19:29; Lk 18:29—30). For what is the hundredfold return received in this age for feeding the poor? It takes place in the times of the Kingdom, that is, on the seventh holy day in which God rested from all his work, which is the true Sabbath of the righteous when they do nothing earthly but partake of the feast prepared by God – with all kinds of “fat things” to eat.

3. The blessing that Isaac pronounced over his younger son has the same connotation: “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed”. The field is the world. That’s why he added: “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee” (Gen 27:27—29). If anyone does not interpret this in relation to the promised Kingdom, they will surely fall into contradiction and inconsistency, just as the Jews did when they got entangled in all kinds of inconsistencies. For not only wasn’t Jacob served by any nation – he served his uncle Laban in Syria for twenty years even after receiving the blessing and leaving his home. And not only didn’t he become his brother’s lord but bowed down to Esau, his brother, upon his return from Mesopotamia to his father’s house – and offered him many gifts. Besides, how could he inherit plenty of corn and wine if he had to move to Egypt because of the famine in the land of his dwelling? And after that, he had to submit himself to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So, the above-mentioned blessing undoubtedly looks forward to the times of the Kingdom when the righteous will reign, having been risen from the dead, when the renewed and liberated creation will bear plenty of fruit and produce every kind of food from the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth. So even the elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, said that they had heard from him the Lord’s teaching about those times: “The days will come when vineards will produce ten thousand vines, each vine will have 10 thousand branches, each branch 10 thousand twigs, each twig 10 thousand clusters, and each cluster 10 thousand berries. And each squeezed berry will produce twenty-five metretes of wine. And when one of the saints reaches out for a cluster, the other one will cry out: ‘I am the best one, take me and bless the Lord through me’ Similarly, a wheat grain will produce 10 thousand ears, and each ear will have 10 thousand grains, and each grain will yield 10 pounds of pure flour; and other fruit trees, seeds and herbs will be fruitful in the same manner, and all the animals eating the food of the earth will live in peace with each other and complete submission to man” [These words of the elders have been preserved in the Armenian translation – an excerpt was found in an Armenian manuscript of the 12th century and published by Jean Baptiste Pitra (Specil Solesm. 1852); Harvey reprinted it in his own publication.].

4. Papias [of Hierapolis], a disciple of John [the Evangelist] and a friend of Polycarp [of Smyrna], a man of old, testifies to the same in writing in his fourth book, for he has written five books [Under the title: “Compendium of the Lord’s Sayings”. Eusebius, Ch. Hist. III, 39.]. He added the following: This is a trustworthy saying. When Judas the traitor did not believe this and asked how the Lord would create such an abundance of growth, the Lord said: “Those who reach those times will see it”. Isaiah also speaks about these times saying: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” (Is 11:6—9). And then again: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD” (Is 65:25). I know that some refer this to barbarians from various nations and various occupations, who, having come to faith, will unite with the righteous. But, although it is now (so) about some people who come to the one faith from various tribes, nevertheless, whatever is stated concerning the animals, will come to pass after the resurrection of the righteous, as it says: “For God is rich in all things”. And it is proper that with the renewal of creation all animals should obey and submit to man, returning to their original, God-given foods, that is, to the green herbs – even as they were (initially) obedient to Adam. The prophecy about the lion eating straw points to a future time, not the present. There will be an abundance of food of high nutritional value; for if a lion can feed on straw, how much more nutrition will be found in wheat itself since lions will be getting enough by having just straw?

Chapter 34. The testimonies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel in favor of the opinion on the earthly Kingdom of the saints and a parable of the vigilant servants.

1. Isaiah clearly indicated that there would be incredible joy at the resurrection of the righteous: “Thy dead shall live, those who are in their graves shall rise, and those who are on earth shall rejoice” (Is 26:19). Ezekiel says the same thing: “I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves when I bring My people out of their tombs and put my spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I am LORD” (Ezek 37:12—14). And also: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; I shall gather the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God” (Ezek 28:25—26). As mentioned above, the Church is the seed of Abraham. Therefore Jeremiah lets us know that the One who in the Old Testament gathers all those who are saved from every nation, will in the New Testament raise Abraham’s children out of stones: “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, the LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel (out of the land of Egypt; but, the LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country), and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land” (Jer 23:7—8). [The words in brackets must have been mistakenly omitted by scribes while copying Irenaeus’s works.]