Contrary to the apparent beliefs of some, I DO have a life outside of Cristian Forums. And sometimes that life requires me to do other things than respond to the latest attacks on what I posted.
I did not omit what Irenaeus said about the temple in Jerusalem, but explicitly quoted one of the places.
But we need to remember that the subject here is what Irenaeus taught, not whether or not he was right. And Irenaeus said nothing about the temple being rebuilt in unbelief. In fact the only thing he said about the building of that end time temple was:
“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)
In addition to what I posted earlier about the desecration of that temple, Irenaeus also 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)
“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)
So Irenaeus never even suggested the idea that the future temple would be built in rebellion and unbelief. Instead, he said it would actually be "the temple of God," and would be built "at His direction." That is, at God's direction.
But he did very clearly and plainly discuss the desecration of this future temple by "the Antichrist."
In this thread, I have clearly and fairly presented what Irenaeus taught, without offering any judgment on the accuracy of the reliability of his opinions. What I have posted is not based on tidbits I have gleaned from the writings of other people, but from my own detiled analysis of what this writer said. (I have also done such detailed alalises of numerous other ancient writers, devoting many years to this project.)
Unless otherwise stated, all the passages I have quoted in this thread are from the translation as given in Volume 1 of “The Early Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene Fathers,” edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, as found in its American edition edited by A. Cleveland Coxe, and as found online at
Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
