They believed the earth that arrived at Christ's appearing would be perfect. There would be no wicked on it. There would therefore be no sin or death on it. It was more akin to modern-day Amil.
Irenaeus submits:
The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead; when also the creation, having been renovated and set free, shall fructify with an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the fertility of the earth: as the elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: “The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand dusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me. In like manner [the Lord declared] that ... all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 33:3).
Here, Irenaeus quotes Papias. But we can see that this earth imagined wasn’t one that contained wickedness and the wicked, but perfection and fruitfulness. Irenaeus believes “creation” will be “renovated and set free” at the resurrection of the just, whereupon the glorified righteous will then reign over the perfected earth that “shall fructify with an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the fertility of the earth.” He backs his belief up with a quote from Papias.
Irenaeus millennium is completely different to that envisioned by modern-day Premillennialists. Whilst he believed in a millennial period after the coming of Christ he saw a perfect incorruptible transitionary period that would simply be porch-way for the redeemed (alone) into the eternal state. This would be a time totally free of the wicked, wickedness and corruption: “the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead; when also the creation, having been renovated and set free.” He enlarges:
That the whole creation shall, according to God’s will, obtain a vast increase, that it may bring forth and sustain fruits such [as we have mentioned], Isaiah declares: “And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every prominent hill, water running everywhere in that day, when many shall perish, when walls shall fall. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, seven times that of the day, when He shall heal the anguish of His people, and do away with the pain of His stroke.” Now “the pain of the stroke” means that inflicted at the beginning upon disobedient man in Adam, that is, death; which [stroke] the Lord will heal when He raises us from the dead, and restores the inheritance of the fathers (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 34:2).
Irenaeus does not see any more death after the second coming. With the glorification of believers and their population of the millennial earth, death is terminated. This early Chiliast expands:
For then there shall in truth be a common joy consummated to all those who believe unto life, and in each individual shall be confirmed the mystery of the Resurrection, and the hope of incorruption, and the commencement of the eternal kingdom, when God shall have destroyed death and the devil. For that human nature and flesh which has risen again from the dead shall die no more; but after it had been changed to incorruption, and made like to spirit, when the heaven was opened, [our Lord] full of glory offered it (the flesh) to the Father (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment L).
It is necessary to tell them respecting those things, that it behoves the righteous first to receive the promise of the inheritance which God promised to the fathers, and to reign in it, when they rise again to behold God in this creation which is renovated, and that the judgment should take place afterwards. For it is just that in that very creation in which they toiled or were afflicted, being proved in every way by suffering, they should receive the reward of their suffering; and that in the creation in which they were slain because of their love to God, in that they should be revived again; and that in the creation in which they endured servitude, in that they should reign. For God is rich in all things, and all things are His. It is fitting, therefore, that the creation itself, being restored to its primeval condition, should without restraint be under the dominion of the righteous; and the apostle has made this plain in the Epistle to the Romans, when he thus speaks: “For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature has been subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; since the creature itself shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God” (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 32:1).
Irenaeus testifies to the curse being lifted in a future millennium. The earth, in his opinion, will be returned to its pre-fall state. This coincides with the glorification of the just. For him: “the pain of the stroke” … the Lord will heal when He raises us from the dead, and restores the inheritance of the fathers.” He contends: “the [earthly] kingdom … is the commencement of incorruption.” Speaking of the “the resurrection of the just” he submits: “they rise again to behold God in this creation which is renovated.” The earth, the writer anticipates, is only for the righteous. He affirms: “It is fitting, therefore, that the creation itself, being restored to its primeval condition, should without restraint be under the dominion of the righteous.” There is no allowance, as modern-day Premil argue, for the curse, the wicked wickedness, or Satan to blight the new earth. This thousand-year era is depicted as the Sabbath reign of Christ and the righteous.
Irenaeus also advocated that it is fitting that the resurrected saints would reign in the same world where they had labored and suffered bodily. Where they once endured pain and bondage, they would enjoy freedom and authority. Man and creation are portrayed as being in perfect sync. The one notable aspect of early Chiliasm, which distinguishes it from modern Premillennialism, is its view of a future millennial earth. The early Chiliasts expected a perfect regenerated earth free of sin, sinners, Satan and the curse. Modern-day Premillennialism locates all of this on its future millennial earth.
This would be a it was only just that they be raised bodily and given rewards in the same world in which they had suffered. , on this A theme first expressed most explicitly and most forcefully by Irenaeus was that since the saints
Irenaeus states:
The Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man (Antichrist ) and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that “many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 32:1).
The picture being portrayed here is that of a perfect environment consisting perfected beings being at total rest. This is a picture of millennial bliss.
Irenaeus adds:
These are [to take place] in the times of the kingdom, that is, upon the seventh day, which has been sanctified, in which God rested from all the works which He created, which is the true Sabbath of the righteous, which they shall not be engaged in any earthly occupation; but shall have a table at hand prepared for them by God, supplying them with all sorts of dishes. (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 33:2).
The millennial earth is depicted as heaven on earth. It is devoid of any form of corruption or rebellion. There is no allowance made for the wicked. It is the abode of the righteous alone who are depicted as enjoying the bliss and rest of paradise before the fall.
Irenaeus elaborates on the early Chiliast expectation in a future millennium:
For as it is God truly who raises up man, so also does man truly rise from the dead, and not allegorically … and shall go forwards and flourish in the times of the kingdom, in order that he may be capable of receiving the glory of the Father (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 35:2).
When this [present] fashion [of things] passes away, and man has been renewed, and flourishes in an incorruptible state, so as to preclude the possibility of becoming old, [then] there shall be the new heaven and the new earth, in which the new man shall remain [continually], always holding fresh converse with God. And since (or, that) these things shall ever continue without end (Against Heresies Book V, Chapter 36:1).
Irenaeus concludes:
In the end of time He shall come to do away with all evil, and to reconcile all things, in order that there may be an end of all impurities (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, XXXIX).
Tertullian:
Previous to Christ's coming, our prayers are directed towards the end of this world, to the passing away thereof at the great day of the Lord— of His wrath and vengeance— the last day, which is hidden (from all), and known to none but the Father, although announced beforehand by signs and wonders, and the dissolution of the elements, and the conflicts of nations (On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Chapter XXII).
What a spectacle is that fast-approaching advent of our Lord, now owned by all, now highly exalted, now a triumphant One! What that exultation of the angelic hosts! What the glory of the rising saints! What the kingdom of the just thereafter! What the city New Jerusalem! Yes, and there are other sights: that last day of judgment, with its everlasting issues; that day unlooked for by the nations, the theme of their derision, when the world hoary with age, and all its many products, shall be consumed in one great flame! (De Spectaculis, Chapter XXX).
Where exactly are the saints said to be during the Chiliast millennium? Tertullian locates them in the New Jerusalem in Against Marcion Book III, Chapter XXV:
We do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem, let down from heaven … We say that this city has been provided by God for receiving the saints on their resurrection, and refreshing them with the abundance of all really spiritual blessings, as a recompense for those which in the world we have either despised or lost; since it is both just and God-worthy that His servants should have their joy in the place where they have also suffered affliction for His name’s sake.
Tertullian tells us that “the saints on their resurrection” will possess “the divinely-built city of Jerusalem” which is said to be “let down from heaven” unto “the earth” at Christ’s Coming, “only in another state of existence.” The writer then suggests that the redeemed that are alive when Jesus comes experience “a sudden change, to become qualified to join the rising saints.” Tertullian describes our current corrupt bodies as “the garment of the flesh” which must (of necessity) be “put off” at the Second Coming.
Like Irenaeus, Tertullian seems to see the return of man to this current earth in its perfected form in his new glorified body as a sign of ultimate victory over sin. The redeemed are therefore suitably rewarded for their sufferings in this life. Where they suffered loss, they now experience gain. Where they suffered “affliction” they now experience “joy.” This anticipated millennial earth is represented as a vindication of the saints.
Hippolytus briefly states:
The righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom, who indeed are at present detained in Hades (Fragments of Hippolytus 1).
He does not seem to go into detail on the matter of discipline in a future millennial kingdom. Like his view on Hades for the dead in Christ, he seems to anticipate a state and an age that is full of rewards for the righteous and full of rest.
