End-of-days: The early church and the last days.
The early church believed they were living in the last times or the end-of-days. We find clear evidence of that in the writings of the disciples. And that literary evidence continued for the next two hundred years after the death and resurrection of Christ. (Then an allegorical theology crept into Christian thinking.) And that two-century-long belief in the return of Christ should bring us to an obvious conclusion. The end-of-days is longer than a generation. In fact, it’s more likely approximately two thousand years. Read what Irenaeus taught concerning the timing of the Lord’s return. Today, there is often talk of the “last generation” when Christ returns. But as we read in the scriptures, the disciples believed the last days had begun in their day. And yet, in AD 250, the most respected Christian scholars were still writing about and expecting the return of Christ. But they weren’t teaching an “At any moment return.” They referred to “signs” that the Lord and the prophets always directed the careful student to pay attention to.
Yes, the Lord said, “the generation that sees these things will not pass away until all things are finished.” But, when Jesus mentioned the generation, He had a different date in mind than in the first century.
Consider the following verses taken from New Testament passages.
Hebrews 1:2
But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
Peter Preaches to the Crowd in Acts 2
15These men are not drunk as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!
16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams…
1 John 2:18
Little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
Now consider the writings of Hippolytus, who wrote extensively on many subjects. As you’d expect, Bible prophecy was a major topic of his writing.
End-of-Days and the Antichrist
The book cover seen above portrays the idea of a mystery that today is still unsolved. There are many mysteries in the Bible. The mystery of the man of sin is just one of them. The Apostle Paul warned the church they should expect to encounter the man of sin at the end-of-days. That is in stark contrast to the teaching among most Bible prophecy teachers today.
The book contains an intriguing look at the biblical arguments of a prominent theologian of the early church fathers. His name was Hippolytus. You may not agree with his conclusions, but you will have to agree to this. He did believe the end-of-days were approaching. And he gave numerous scriptural references to support his claims. He believed in literal fulfillment as opposed to allegorical.
For instance, he believed in the following:
- The Antichrist will enter the Temple of God.
- A future and the literal Kingdom of God established on earth
- Ten nations will form a coalition against Israel. And he specifically named three of them.
- The restoration of Israel in the last days. At the time of his writing, approx. AD 200, Israeli Jews were dispersed and Jerusalem was destroyed.
- Two witnesses will arrive in Jerusalem to announce the soon return of Christ.
Hippolytus was one of the most prolific writers among the early church fathers. He believed the scriptures pointed to the mysterious character known as the Antichrist. This disciple believed the Bible sprinkled clues that would lead to the discovery of the Antichrist. But his identity, religion, and genealogy were different, according to his findings, from what most of today’s biblical scholars teach. I find it fascinating which scriptures Hippolytus used to support his ideas.
Do I agree with his conclusions? Some of them, but not all.
Get the book here and see how the early church used the Old Testament scriptures in their end-of-days studies.
The Church Fathers and Bible prophecy.
Quotes found below are taken from the book, “The End-Times by the Ancient Church Fathers.” Authored and compiled by Ken Johnson.
Barnabas, AD first century
“Therefore children, in six days, or in six thousand years, all the prophecies will be fulfilled.”
Irenaeus AD 180
“The Day of the Lord is as a thousand years. And in six days created things were completed. It is evident therefore, they will come to an end in the six thousandth year.”
Irenaeus and the tribulation
“There is a resurrection of the just that takes place after the destruction of the Antichrist and all nations under his rule. Many believers will make it through the tribulation and replenish the earth.”
The last verse makes it quite clear that Irenaeus believed the church would experience the terror of the tribulation.
I invite you to do your own study of the words and beliefs of the early church fathers. They made mistakes. There were errors in their doctrinal positions as they struggled with understanding the scriptures.
But in that, they are exactly like us today. So, let’s keep studying and as we do, let’s draw near to God in humility.
1 Peter 5:5
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.”
Let me know what you think.