• Irenaus and Papias Believed in the Millennial Kingdom Dispensation View

    There is a false claim that dispensational doctrine was never taught in the early church.

    There are many concepts of dispensational doctrine in the most ancient non-scriptural documents of the church. Several of them are referred to in the following statements by Irenaeus, who wrote shortly before the year 200, and is the most ancient Christian who wrote any significant amount about end time prophecy and whose writings have been preserved.

    Irenaeus said:

    “The Lord also spoke as follows to those who did not believe in Him: ‘I have come in my Father’s name, and ye have not received Me: when another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive,’ calling Antichrist ‘the other,’ because he is alienated from the Lord. This is also the unjust judge, whom the Lord mentioned as one ‘who feared not God, neither regarded man,’ to whom the widow fled in her forgetfulness of God,—that is, the earthly Jerusalem,—to be avenged of her adversary. Which also he shall do in the time of his kingdom: he shall remove his kingdom into that [city], and shall sit in the temple of God, leading astray those who worship him, as if he were Christ.” (Against Heresies, by Irenaeus, book V, chapter XXV, section 4)

    “Moreover, he (the apostle) has also pointed out this which I have shown in many ways, that the temple in Jerusalem was made by the direction of the true God. For the apostle himself, speaking in his own person, distinctly called it the temple of God. Now I have shown in the third book, that no one is termed God by the apostles when speaking for themselves, except Him who truly is God, the Father of our Lord, by whose directions the temple which is at Jerusalem was constructed for those purposes which I have already mentioned; in which [temple] the enemy shall sit, endeavouring to show himself as Christ, as the Lord also declares: ‘But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which has been spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains; and he who is upon the house-top, let him not come down to take anything out of his house: for there shall then be great hardship, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be.’” (Against Heresies, by Irenaeus, book V, chapter XXV, section 2)

    “And then he points out the time that his tyranny shall last, during which the saints shall be put to flight, they who offer a pure sacrifice unto God: ‘And in the midst of the week,’ he says, ‘the sacrifice and the libation shall be taken away, and the abomination of desolation [shall be brought] into the temple: even unto the consummation of the time shall the desolation be complete.’ Now three years and six months constitute the half-week.” (Against Heresies, by Irenaeus, book V, chapter XXV, section 4)

    In this series of statements, we notice that in the first of them Irenaeus clearly says that the Antichrist “shall remove his kingdom into” [“the earthly Jerusalem”] “and shall sit in the temple of God, leading astray those who worship him, as if he were Christ.” In the second he insists that “the temple which is at Jerusalem” is the place “in which [temple] the enemy shall sit, endeavouring to show himself as Christ.” And then he quotes Daniel 9:27, “‘And in the midst of the week,’ he says, ‘the sacrifice and the libation shall be taken away.’” Now Christian worship does not include a libation. So we see that the worship Irenaeus is referring to is Jewish worship in the temple in “the earthly Jerusalem.” We also notice that in the last of these statements he very clearly refers to Daniel’s seventieth week as the week in which the Antichrist will come.

    Thus we see in these statements of Irenaeus each of the following concepts:

    1. That in the future there will again be a temple in Jerusalem.
    2. That Jewish worship will be resumed in this future temple.
    3. That this future temple will be “the temple of God.”
    4. That this future Jewish temple is where the Antichrist will sit as God.
    5. And that Daniel’s seventieth week remains to be fulfilled in the future.

    Each of these concepts is unquestionably an element of Dispensationalism.

    Irenaeus also wrote of the evil of the nations generally, and then said, "And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, 'There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be. 'For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption'" (Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter XXIX, section 2.)

    We need to notice the following elements in this short statement:

    First, the church will be "suddenly caught up."

    Second, after the church is "Suddenly caught up," "There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be." Lest anyone claim that this is not specifically stated to be after “the church is "suddenly caught up," please note that the grammatical construction (when) -- (one event takes place) -- (another event takes place) has two possible meanings. It either means that the two events will take place at the same time or it means that the second event will take place after the first event. But in this case the first event is clearly instantaneous and the second event will obviously consume a significant period of time. So it is unreasonable to argue that the writer’s intention was anything other than to state that this “tribulation” would take place after the church is “suddenly caught up.”

    Third, this period of tribulation is specifically called "the last contest of the righteous." and it explicitly says of these righteous in this particular contest, "in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption." This statement can allow for a partial rapture, that is, first rapture according to readiness and not just because one is born-again: "when they overcome." All believers overcome just not all at the same time.

    So this statement clearly teaches that the rapture will occur before the great tribulation.

    In the fourth century Eusebius wrote his famous “Church History.” There he said of Papias:

    “For he appears to have been of very limited understanding, as one can see from his discourses. But it was due to him that so many of the Church Fathers after him adopted a like opinion, urging in their own support the antiquity of the man; as for instance Irenæus and any one else that may have proclaimed similar views.” (The Church History, by Eusebius, book III, chapter XXXIX, section 13.)

    So we clearly see that according to Eusebius, Irenaeus and “many of the Church Fathers after him adopted a like opinion” (to that of Papias.) Since we have only a few fragments of the writings of Papias, and we have nothing from these “many” other early writers, the only evidence we have of this entire genre is what Irenaeus said. So it is fair to surmise that the dispensational concepts espoused by Irenaeus are representative of the doctrine of “many” other of the earliest Christian writers.

    In addition to these critically important very early comments, we have absolute proof that the claim that the church had always taught the doctrine of the post tribulation rapture before a few hundred years ago is completely incorrect. This proof is found also in a document, whose age and author is unknown, but which is known to have been in Church libraries before the year 800. Based on events referred to in this document as impending, various scholars have estimated its date from as early as 373 to as late as 627. One ancient manuscript says this document was written by Isadore of Sevelle, while three others say its author was Ephraem the Syrian. All four of these were written in Latin, but there are also Greek and Syraic manuscripts of this same document. The existence of at least six ancient manuscripts, in at least three languages, is strong evidence that this document was widely circulated. As scholars do not believe the unknown author could have been the famous Ephraem the Syrian, (who is also known as Ephraem of Nisbis) they call this unknown author Pseudo-Ephraem. This document says,

    “Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms all the world? Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time. Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: ‘Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!’ For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.” (“On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World,” author unknown but called Pseudo-Ephraem, section 2.)

    “And by Isaiah He speaks thus concerning another Israel: ‘In that day shall there be a third Israel among the Assyrians and the Egyptians, blessed in the land which the Lord of Sabaoth hath blessed, saying, blessed shall my people in Egypt and in Assyria be, and Israel mine inheritance. Since then God blesses this people, and calls them Israel, and declares them to be His inheritance, how is it that you repent not of the deception you practise on yourselves, as if you alone were the Israel, and of execrating the people whom God has blessed? For when He speaks to Jerusalem and its environs, He thus added: ‘And I will beget men upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall inherit you, and you shall be a possession for them; and you shall be no longer bereaved of them.’ ” (Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, chapter CXXIII).

    Justin Martyr was a premillennialist (dispensationalist, otherwise known as chiliasm-the term the early church fathers used). Praise the Lord!