Copyright © 2026 Michael A. Brown
A Detailed Summary of the Eschatology of Irenaeus
Irenaeus
lived from 120/140 – c202 AD and eventually became bishop of Lyons. In his youth, he was a disciple of Polycarp,
bishop of Smyrna (who was himself a disciple of the apostle John), and he
gained much of his early understanding of the Christian faith from him.
Among
the Early Fathers, Irenaeus stands out as one whose legacy included, among
other things, an in-depth and detailed exposition of what will take place in
the end-times. When we make a careful
study of his seminal work Against Heresies, we can discern the outline
of eschatological events as he understood them, supported by copious references
to the Scriptures. To the objective
believer, it becomes clear that Irenaeus’ eschatology bears the hallmarks of
what today we call ‘dispensational premillennialism.’ This is demonstrated, for example, by the
facts that he distinguished between the different
dispensations in God’s purposes (i.10.1,3; iii.17.4; iv.9.3; iv.11.3; iv.15.2;
iv.21.3; iv.23.1; iv.25.1; iv.33.1; iv.36.5; v.20.1); that he distinguished
(along with other Early Fathers) between Judaism and Christianity, and
therefore between (generally unbelieving) national Israel and God’s purposes
for the Jewish people in the end-times, on the one hand, and the (mainly Gentile) Church of Christ, on
the other (iv.7.4; iv.9.1; iv.18.4; iv.21.3; cf. iv.14.3; iv.15.2; iv.16.5;
iv.32.1-2);[1]
that he taught a ‘catching away’ (i.e. rapture) of believers as an event
distinct from the Second Advent of Christ; and that he believed in a literal,
earthly millennial reign of Christ.
Irenaeus’
premillennial beliefs were consistent with the general structure of Jewish
eschatological belief which developed in the Old Testament writings and then on
through the intertestamental period into the first century AD, viewed through
the lens of Jesus as the redeeming Jewish Messiah and the new covenant in
him. His teaching about the rapture is
consistent with that of some other Early Fathers who, unless we are to simply
live in denial of the plain statements that they made, also held to this belief. His conviction was that his detailed
exposition of end-times events was the truth of what the Scriptures teach
(v.35.2). The reader can easily see from the summary
below that what is taught in this book is consistent with Irenaeus’ beliefs.
Regarding the notation of references used herein to Irenaeus’ work, the reference v.25.2, for example, means book 5 (of Against Heresies and using lower-case Roman numerals), chapter 25, section 2.
Against Heresies:
Book V
·
The source of Irenaeus’ beliefs
o
Apart from his own study of the
Scriptures, Irenaeus traced his eschatological beliefs back to the teachings of
Jesus, which the apostle John then passed on to his own disciples, such as
Papias and Polycarp. Irenaeus was a
disciple of Polycarp. He says that Jesus
taught John about, for example, the restoration of creation in a future earthly
millennial reign. John then passed this
and other teachings on to ‘the elders’, i.e. those who were his own disciples
(iv.27.1; v.5.1; v.30.1; v.33.3-4; v.36.1,2).
·
His hermeneutic
o
Irenaeus therefore held to a
literal understanding of prophetic/eschatological scriptures, and he opposed
allegorical interpretations (iii.12.11; v.35.1-2). So, for example, there would a literal
resurrection of the bodies of believers, and the millennial reign of Christ
would be a literal earthly reign.
·
The regathering of the Jews to their ancient homeland in the
end-times
o Irenaeus taught that the Jews would be gathered from the nations
back to their ancient homeland in the end-times, in fulfilment of OT prophecy
and in preparation for the coming millennial kingdom (iv.4.1, v.34.1). God would judge the surrounding nations for
the dishonour and hostility they have demonstrated towards the Jewish people
(v.34.1).
That God works to fulfil this purpose, therefore distinguishes
between the believing worldwide (and mainly Gentile) body of Christ as we know
it today, and the Jewish people of (presently generally unbelieving) national
Israel. He is working out his redemptive
purposes for Jews and Gentiles in and through both of these entities in the
end-times.
·
Antichrist
o
Along with other Church
Fathers, Irenaeus believed that the rider on the white horse of Revelation 6:2
represents the victorious Jesus, rather than the rise of Antichrist (iv.21.3).[2]
o
Antichrist will arise in the
midst of a kingdom having ten parts, so having ten kings. This kingdom will already be established
before Antichrist arises (v.25.3; v.30.2).
The ten kings will be disunited (v.26.1). Three of these kings will be uprooted before
a ‘little horn’ which will arise in their midst (v.25.3). So Antichrist will be the eighth king
(v.26.1). These kings will give their
kingdom to the beast, and they will destroy Babylon with fire and lay her waste
(v.26.1). They will themselves be destroyed
at the coming of the Lord (v.26.1).
o
His kingdom will be the fourth
kingdom of Daniel’s vision in ch.7 and the ten-toed kingdom of Daniel ch.2
(v.25.3; v.26.1).
o
Antichrist will arise from the
tribe of Dan (v.30.2). This implies that
he will have a Jewish heritage.
o
He will be the first beast of
Revelation ch.13 (various refs.).
o
His number is 666 (not 616),
but his actual name is unknown. There is
no point trying to guess what his name is, since, in gematria, the number 666
can clearly apply to many people (ii.24-25; v.29.2; v.28.2; v.30.1,3). Irenaeus thought that the name LATEINOS might
be a probable solution, since the Roman kingdom was the last of the four
kingdoms seen by Daniel in ch.7, or perhaps TEITAN (v.30.3). Rather than playing guessing games, he
encouraged believers to wait and watch for the signs of Scripture being
fulfilled in the world, and they would correctly discern what was happening and
could then live and respond accordingly (v.30.2,4).
o
Antichrist will move the hub
of his rule to Jerusalem, and he will reign from there (v.25.4).
o
He will reign for 3½ years
(the second half of the ‘week’ of years of Daniel 9:27) (v.25.3-4; v.28.2;
v.30.4). So the ‘seventieth week’ of
Daniel 9:27 is fulfilled as the future 7-year tribulation period.
o
He will lead a great and
delusional apostasy, sitting in the temple of God and exalting himself above
all that is called God (iii.6.5; iv.29.1; v.25.2,4; v.28.2; v.30.4).
o
He will be accompanied by the
False Prophet (v.28.2). This man will
perform wonders through the power of Satan, as demons and apostate spirits will
be at his service (v.28.2; cf. iii.7.2).
o
When Antichrist sits in the
temple, this is the abomination of desolation prophesied by both Daniel and
Jesus (v.25.2,4,5; v.30.2). This will
take place half-way through the seven-year period (v.25.4).
Being that Irenaeus lived and wrote well after 70/135 AD (when the
temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans and thereafter ceased to exist,
and the city was emptied of Jews, cf. iv.4.1, iv.12.4, iv.33.12), his belief in
a literal end-times temple in Jerusalem where Antichrist will sit necessarily
implies that he believed that the temple (what we today refer to as the ‘third
temple’) must be rebuilt at some stage before the reign of Antichrist
begins. Evidently therefore, after the
Jews have been gathered back to their ancient homeland, becoming national
Israel once again, they will at some stage re-build their temple before the
reign of Antichrist, and will re-establish the sacrificial system (v.25.4).
o
People will worship Antichrist
as if he were Christ (v.25.4; v.28.2).
o
The whole human apostasy of
6,000 years is gathered up and concentrated in Antichrist (v.29.2).
o
At the end of the 3½ years,
Jesus will return in the clouds in the glory of his Father, and he will send
this man and his followers into the lake of fire (v.30.4).
o
So Antichrist’s fate will be
in the eternal furnace of fire (v.29.2).
·
The tribulation,
the Church and the rapture
o
The tribulation
The tribulation will come upon this world
during the reign of Antichrist, due to its apostasy from God (v.28.4;
v.29.1). The judgements which will fall
on the world will be the same as those which fell on Egypt prior to the exodus
(iv.30.4, cf. Rev. 16:1-21). At the end,
of the tribulation, Jesus will return again to earth in the glory of his Father
(v.30.4).
o
The Church
It
seems clear from Irenaeus’ words in v.29.1 that he taught a pre-tribulation
rapture: ‘…when in the end the Church
shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There
shall be tribulation…” However,
it also seems at first sight that in v.26.1 there is an
opposite and contradictory view, vis. that the Church will go through
the tribulation: ‘And they shall… put the Church to flight…’ This seeming contradiction can well cause
confusion in believers’ minds when they read Irenaeus’ work.
To
understand what Irenaeus taught about ‘the Church’ in the end-times, we need to
understand the different ways in which he uses this term. His generic definition of the church is as
the seed of Abraham (v.34.1; v.32.2). So
the Church therefore includes both Gentile believers and Jewish believers in
Christ as Messiah. But this also means
that ‘national Israel’ (i.e. unbelieving ethnic Jews) is left as another entity
which is also related to God’s end-times purposes, because God has not cast off
and rejected his ancient covenant people.
They have experienced a hardening in part, but God will reveal himself
to them in the end-times (cf. Rom. ch.11).
As we would expect, in his writing Irenaeus used the Greek word ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) to describe ‘the Church.’
However, we should also understand that whenever he wanted to quote from
the Old Testament, like the apostle Paul he used the Greek Septuagint (LXX)
version to do this. This uses the same
word ἐκκλησία in many places to describe the assembling of the people of Israel
(e.g. Deut. 4:10, 23:3; Judg. 20:2; 1 Sam. 17:47; 1 Chr. 29:1; 2 Chr. 6:3; Ps.
22:22/21:23 LXX; Ps. 89:5/88:6 LXX; Ez. 10:8).
This word simply refers to an assembly of people gathered together for
whatever purpose. Irenaeus was therefore
conditioned by his use of the Septuagint to use ἐκκλησία to
describe the Jewish community of Israel.
He even explicitly refers to ‘the two synagogues –
that is, the two churches,’ i.e. Israel and the new
covenant Church in Christ (iv.31.1-2). We can also see this in Luke’s writing when
he similarly used the word ἐκκλησία to describe
the community of God’s ancient people in the wilderness. When he reported Stephen’s speech before the
Sanhedrin, he wrote: ‘This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness…’
(Acts 7:38 AV), referring to Israel.
In
his writing, Irenaeus therefore used the term ‘church’ in two distinct senses
in referring to what we today call ‘the church’ (i.e. the mainly Gentile bride
of Christ which will be raptured before the tribulation begins) and ‘the
tribulation saints’ (i.e. those who become believers during the tribulation and
who are mostly Jews). Whereas today we
use these two different terms to distinguish clearly between these two groups,
Irenaeus did not. He simply used the
same word ‘church’ to describe both (because they both believe in Jesus). It is this that gives rise to the potential
for confusion in the minds of modern-day believers when they read Irenaeus’
work. He referred to ‘the Church’
(i.e. the present mainly Gentile bride of Christ) being raptured before the
tribulation begins (v.29.1), and to ‘the Church’ (i.e. Jews who have become
believers in Jesus as Messiah and who are offering pure sacrifices in the
temple, but who will be put to flight by Antichrist) going through the
tribulation (v.26.1).
o
The rapture
§ Irenaeus distinguished between the ‘translation’ (i.e. rapture) of
believers and the ‘resurrection of the just.’
The former is a ‘sudden catching up’ (v.5.1; v.29.1), whereas the latter
is an actual physical resurrection (see below).
§ The
physical ‘translations’ of Enoch and Elijah are prophetic of the future
‘catching away’ or ‘translation’ of believers.
Those who are raptured will remain in heaven ‘until the consummation of
all things, as a prelude to immortality.’ (v.5.1). This was affirmed to Irenaeus by ‘the elders
who were disciples of the apostles’ (v.5.1), so by men such as Papias, Ignatius
and Polycarp. These words of v.5.1 and
those of v.29.1 taken together therefore indicate that there will be a rapture
of believers before the tribulation begins, and that this therefore is separate
from and prior to the Second Advent.
This was taught by those who were disciples of the apostles
(v.5.1). So ‘the Church’ (i.e. the
present mainly Gentile body of Christ) will be suddenly caught up from the
future time of tribulation before it begins.
§ Other
believers will go through the tribulation, ‘the last contest of the righteous’
(v.29.1), being refined and fitted for the kingdom banquet which will follow
the Second Advent of Christ (v.28.4).
They (‘the Church,’ ‘the saints’) will be put to flight during the
tribulation (v.25.4; v.26.1). These are
believers who will be offering a pure sacrifice to God in the temple in
Jerusalem (v.25.4), which is clearly referring to Jewish believers (and who
must therefore have come to faith in Jesus as Messiah at some point prior to
the reign of Antichrist). Irenaeus’ use
of the word ‘saints’ in v.25.4 recalls its use by Daniel who used it to refer
to Jewish believers. John also used it
in the book of Revelation. The
tribulation will a time of Antichrist’s wrath against righteous Jewish
believers who are going through it (v.29.2), but they can prove themselves to
be overcomers (v.29.1). So these Jewish
believers will suffer through the tribulation, but some will survive, having
escaped from the hands of Antichrist (v.35.1).
They will avoid Antichrist, having been aware of who he is (v.30.4), and
they will still be physically alive and awaiting the return of Jesus their
Messiah from heaven, when he comes (v.35.1).
·
The Second Advent of Christ
o
Believers wait expectantly for
the return of Christ, ‘the advent of the Lord.’ (v.20.1).
o
Jesus will come from heaven in
the clouds, in the glory of his Father, at the end of the period of tribulation
(iv.33.1; v.30.4).
o
When he comes, there will be believers
physically alive on earth who have survived the tribulation, awaiting the
return of Jesus their Messiah (v.35.1).
o
Jesus will consign Antichrist
and his followers to the lake of fire (v.30.4).
o
He will commence his
millennial reign, ‘the hallowed seventh day’ (v.30.4).
·
The
resurrection of the just
o The souls of deceased believers will reside and remain in heaven
until the appointed time of their resurrection, at which time their bodies will
be raised literally and physically (v.31.2).
o The resurrection of believers will be literal and physical
(v.7.1-2; v.13.1,3-4; v.15.1; v.31.1; v.33.1; v.34.2; v.36.3). This is known as the ‘first resurrection’
(v.34.2; Rev. 20:4-5), and Irenaeus called it ‘the resurrection of the just’
(v.32.2, v.33.2, v.34.1, v.35.1, v.36.3; cf. Luke 14:14) and ‘the salvation of
the complete man, that is, of the soul and the body’ (v.20.1).
o It will take place ‘after the coming of Antichrist, and
the destruction of all nations under his rule’, and therefore after the end of
the tribulation at the Second Advent of Christ (v.35.1).
o The Old Testament patriarchs and believers, as well as those who
were martyred during the tribulation period, will be raised to rule and reign
with Christ during his millennial reign, as a fulfilment of their promised
covenant inheritance (v.32.2;
v.33.3; v.34.1-3; Rev. 20:4-5).
o Irenaeus did not discuss the resurrection of the dead in Christ
which will take place immediately prior to the rapture before the beginning of
the tribulation. Howbeit, this is a
specific and clear teaching of Scripture, and is an event distinct from the
‘resurrection of the just’ at the Second Coming of Christ (1 Thess.
4:16-17). It is the first part of the
‘first resurrection,’ which is a generic term referring to the resurrection of
believers.
·
The millennial reign of Christ
o
Irenaeus held to a chiliastic view of
redemptive history (v.28.3, cf. v.23.2).
§ The
apostasy of the earth will last for 6,000 years (v.28.3).
§ There
will be a literal, physical, earthly reign of Christ the Messiah after he
returns on the clouds in glory (iv.33.1; v.30.4; v.35.2). This millennial kingdom is the hallowed
seventh day of rest (v.30.4; v.33.2). It
will therefore last for 1,000 years.
o
This is the fulfilment of the promise of
the inheritance which God gave to the patriarchs (v.30.4; v.32.1,2).
o
Believers who are still alive on earth
when Christ returns will multiply, and they will live under the rule of the
saints (v.35.1).
o
Creation will be under the
dominion of the righteous (v.32.1). The
righteous will rule and reign with Christ (v.35.1), and they will enjoy communion with the holy
angels (v.35.1).
o
There will be a feast in this
millennial kingdom of God (iv.16.1; v.34.3).
o
Jerusalem will be restored and
rebuilt (v.35.1,2).
o
The earth will be restored and
returned to its pristine condition (v.32.1; v.33.4; v.35.2). It will become abundant in fruitfulness
(v.33.3).
o
The animals will be in
subjection to humans and will revert to the food originally intended by God
(v.33.4).
o
The physical longevity of the
righteous during the prediluvian age is an earnest of the future longevity of
the millennial age (v.5.2; v.36.1,2).
·
The general resurrection and the final judgement
o
The general resurrection will happen after
the earthly millennial reign of Christ, and it will be followed by the final
judgement (v.32.1; v.35.2).
o
Satan, Antichrist and all the unrepentant
wicked will be sent to Gehenna, the eternal furnace (or lake) of fire. This will be an eternal and never-ending fate
(iv.40.1-2; v.26.2; v.27.1-2; v.28.1; v.29.2; v.35.2).
·
The new creation
o
After the final judgement, there will be a
new heaven and a new earth (v.35.2; v.36.1).
o
The New Jerusalem will descend to the new
earth and believers will dwell in this city of God (v.35.2).
o
There will be gradations in eternity as to
what individual believers are allotted, according to their rank (v.36.1,2).
[1]
Irenaeus’ distinguishing between Christianity and unbelieving Judaism is
similar to that found in the writings of other Early Fathers. For example, see Ignatius’ Epistle to the
Magnesians, ch.10; his Epistle to the Philadelphians, ch.6; and, the
Epistle of Barnabas.
[2] In fact, this was the overwhelming viewpoint among the Church Fathers regarding Revelation 6:2.
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