Apocalypse. Millennium. Chiliasm and Chillegorism - Valeriy Sterkh 4 стр.


(81)  Isaiah speaks of this millennial Kingdom in this way: For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people. And the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpents meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD (Is 65:1725). I continued  from the words for as the days of a tree are the days of my people we gather that this is a mystical prefiguration of the Millennium. For Adam was told: For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen 2:17), but we know that when he died he was not yet a thousand. We also know the utterance: The day of the Lord is like a thousand years (Ps 90:4 [Ps 89:5 rus]; 2 Pet 3:8). In addition, we have someone named John, one of the Apostles of Christ, who in the book of Revelation predicted that believers in Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years [Rev 20:6], and after that there would be a universal, that is, eternal resurrection of all the dead, and then the judgment would come even as the Lord had said: They neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven like unto the children of Gods resurrection (Lk 20:3536).

(82)  We still have the prophetic gifts which point to the fact that we received something that had already existed in your people. Just as there were false prophets among the holy prophets, so now we have many false teachers whom we should beware according to the command of our Lord. So we are prepared for everything, knowing that He told us in advance what would happen after His resurrection from the dead and ascension. He said that they would kill us and hate us for His name and that many false prophets and false Christs would come under His name and deceive many (Mt 10:2122; 24:5,9,11,24). It is being fulfilled because many, under His name, are spreading godless, blasphemous, and unholy doctrines. They have taught and still teach what the evil one, the Devil, has put in their minds. We try to convince such people, as well as you, that they should reject the falsehood, being fully convinced that anyone who can speak the truth and does not do so will be condemned by God, even as God Himself testified through Ezekiel: I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. If a wicked man sins, and thou givest him not warning, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezek 3:1719). Therefore we try to reason with you in accordance with Scripture out of fear, not out of lust for money, fame or pleasure: no one can blame us for anything like that, nor do we want to live in the same way as the leaders of your people whom God rebuked saying: Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards (Is 1:23). But even if you know such people among us, you do not blaspheme Christ or the Scriptures, nor distort them on their account (Conversation with Triphon the Jew, 8082).

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 13:1518), 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. Thats 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 2:12). 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 dont 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, theres 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). Thats why this tribe is not listed in Revelation among the saved (Rev 7:58).

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 didnt 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 isnt 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 whales 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.].

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