Sabbath 6/10/33/120

Dear Friends,

This week in online services the question was raised regarding the position of Irenaeus, second bishop of what is now called Lyon in France, on the Antichrist and the mention of Dan in relation to that system by Irenaeus.  He was from Smyrna and was trained by Polycarp. He was a Unitarian teaching that the Father as the creator had nothing coeval with Himself. His works were largely against Gnostics and their influence on Christianity. His work against the Antichrist occurs in Book Five of Against Heresies. His identification of Antichrist in the last days is determined in chapter 30 as being directed as 666 and he deduces that the number 616 is a scribal error in that the number 10 was derived from a scribal error in the Greek. He does not canvas the possibility that the number also referred to the Sun cults. However, he distinctly demonstrates that the nations carrying the numerical value of this name (666) were the Latins from the Greek Lateinos, who were the Romans. He also points out that the name Teitan also numbers 666 and thus he points to the fact that the Titan system will also be that Antichrist system of the last days. This might not mean much to someone in the 21st century but it is very important and a student of Ancient Religions would know that Titan was another name for the Sun and Irenaeus suggests that Antichrist would bear this name.

The reality is that the Antichrist in the last days does indeed bear this title but perhaps not the name. It is clear from his writings that he alludes to the sequence that the Roman system is succeeded by another and final system derived from it adopting their Sun cult system. In the notes to the Anti-Nicene Fathers text of Irenaeus in Bk. 5, chapter XXX, 3.6 the translators make the comment: “Massuet here quotes Cicero and Ovid in proof of the Sun being termed Titan. The Titans waged war against the gods, to avenge themselves upon Saturn.” It is impossible that Irenaeus would have been unaware of this religious connotation and he was deliberately identifying the Antichrist system of the last days with the Roman system and the Sun cults. In other words, he expected the false religion of the Antichrist to be part of the Sun cults based from Rome and their system of worship on the day of the Sun or Sunday and the festivals of Easter, and later Christmas. Easter had only just been introduced to the Church in Rome and he was trying to stop Victor from creating the great Schism of the church which he failed to do. “Christmas” the festival of the Sun cults was not to enter Christianity until 475 CE, with the Dark Ice Age. The struggle of the last days was anticipated by the church at Smyrna and in Lyon as being a struggle between the Sunday worshipping system of the Antichrist which was based from Rome and the Sabbath–keeping system of the seventh day of the week, which was the true Church of God keeping the Sabbath. The seventh day was named by the pagans after the god Saturn, which was the enemy of the Titans who represent the fallen host.

Although certain as to the number of the name of Antichrist, yet we should come to no rash conclusions as to the name itself, because this number is capable of being fitted to many names. Reasons for this point being reserved by the Holy Spirit. Antichrist's reign and death.

1. Such, then, being the state of the case, and this number being found in all the most approved and ancient copies [of the Apocalypse], and those men who saw John face to face bearing their testimony [to it]; while reason also leads us to conclude that the number of the name of the beast, [if reckoned] according to the Greek mode of calculation by the [value of] the letters contained in it, will amount to six hundred and sixty and six; that is, the number of tens shall be equal to that of the hundreds, and the number of hundreds equal to that of the units (for that number which [expresses] the digit six being adhered to throughout, indicates the recapitulations of that apostasy, taken in its full extent, which occurred at the beginning, during the intermediate periods, and which shall take place at the end)—I do not know how it is that some have erred following the ordinary mode of speech, and have vitiated the middle number in the name, deducting the amount of fifty from it, so that instead of six decads they will have it that there is but one. [I am inclined to think that this occurred through the fault of the copyists, as is wont to happen, since numbers also are expressed by letters; so that the Greek letter which expresses the number sixty was easily expanded into the letter Iota of the Greeks.] Others then received this reading without examination; some in their simplicity, and upon their own responsibility, making use of this number expressing one decad; while some, in their inexperience, have ventured to seek out a name which should contain the erroneous and spurious number. Now, as regards those who have done this in simplicity, and without evil intent, we are at liberty to assume that pardon will be granted them by God. But as for those who, for the sake of vainglory, lay it down for certain that names containing the spurious number are to be accepted, and affirm that this name, hit upon by themselves, is that of him who is to come; such persons shall not come forth without loss, because they have led into error both themselves and those who confided in them. Now, in the first place, it is loss to wander from the truth, and to imagine that as being the case which is not; then again, as there shall be no light punishment [inflicted] upon him who either adds or subtracts anything from the Scripture, Revelation 22:19 under that such a person must necessarily fall. Moreover, another danger, by no means trifling, shall overtake those who falsely presume that they know the name of Antichrist. For if these men assume one [number], when this [Antichrist] shall come having another, they will be easily led away by him, as supposing him not to be the expected one, who must be guarded against.

2. These men, therefore, ought to learn [what really is the state of the case], and go back to the true number of the name, that they be not reckoned among false prophets. But, knowing the sure number declared by Scripture, that is, six hundred sixty and six, let them await, in the first place, the division of the kingdom into ten; then, in the next place, when these kings are reigning, and beginning to set their affairs in order, and advance their kingdom, [let them learn] to acknowledge that he who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those men of whom we have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid number, is truly the abomination of desolation. This, too, the apostle affirms: When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fullness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein. Jeremiah 8:16 This, too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved.

3. It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved. For if there are many names found possessing this number, it will be asked which among them shall the coming man bear. It is not through a want of names containing the number of that name that I say this, but on account of the fear of God, and zeal for the truth: for the name Evanthas (ΕΥΑΝΘΑΣ) contains the required number, but I make no allegation regarding it. Then also Lateinos (ΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ) has the number six hundred and sixty-six; and it is a very probable [solution], this being the name of the last kingdom [of the four seen by Daniel]. For the Latins are they who at present bear rule: I will not, however, make any boast over this [coincidence]. Teitan too, (ΤΕΙΤΑΝ, the first syllable being written with the two Greek vowels ε and ι, among all the names which are found among us, is rather worthy of credit. For it has in itself the predicted number, and is composed of six letters, each syllable containing three letters; and [the word itself] is ancient, and removed from ordinary use; for among our kings we find none bearing this name Titan, nor have any of the idols which are worshipped in public among the Greeks and barbarians this appellation. Among many persons, too, this name is accounted divine, so that even the sun is termed Titan by those who do now possess [the rule]. This word, too, contains a certain outward appearance of vengeance, and of one inflicting merited punishment because he (Antichrist) pretends that he vindicates the oppressed. And besides this, it is an ancient name, one worthy of credit, of royal dignity, and still further, a name belonging to a tyrant. Inasmuch, then, as this name Titan has so much to recommend it, there is a strong degree of probability, that from among the many [names suggested], we infer, that perchance he who is to come shall be called Titan. We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign.

4. But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: the name, however, is suppressed, because it is not worthy of being proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been declared by Him, he (Antichrist) might perhaps continue for a long period. But now as he was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and goes into perdition, Revelation 17:8 as one who has no existence; so neither has his name been declared, for the name of that which does not exist is not proclaimed. But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man 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. Matthew 8:11

We will examine the claims made regarding Irenaeus and the Antichrist’s supposed origin in Dan. The supposition is made because he refers to the text in Jeremiah 8:16 as we see above in s2 and he postulates that this is the tribe from which Antichrist shall come. He indicates using the text in 1Thessalonians 5:3 that the disaster of the Antichrist follows a declaration of peace and safety. Given our knowledge of the events of the last days and that we are living at that time we can see the final conflict as being instigated by the Trinitarian Church of the Sunday worshipping Sun cults and the object is to destroy the Sabbath-keeping churches of God. The reality and end objective is to eliminate all religious systems except this one final apostasy of the Antinomian Gnostic system.

Mainstream Christianity is unable to identify the system of the Antichrist because to do so would be to admit it is them. That is why they seek to grasp at the text in Jeremiah 8:16. All, even Irenaeus himself, ignore the more important text in Jeremiah 4:15ff. which identifies the declarations of the warning of the last days as coming from Dan/Ephraim. The fact is that Dan was the northern most tribe and the tribe that introduced idolatry to Israel. Thus it stands condemned in the eyes of the early Christian world. This unfortunate error, or oversight, of Irenaeus has contributed to continual error in Christianity right up until today. Irenaeus, however, correctly pinpoints the names and system of Antichrist here.

Book V Chapter 25

The fraud, pride, and tyrannical kingdom of Antichrist, as described by Daniel and Paul.

1. And not only by the particulars already mentioned, but also by means of the events which shall occur in the time of Antichrist is it shown that he, being an apostate and a robber, is anxious to be adored as God; and that, although a mere slave, he wishes himself to be proclaimed as a king. For he (Antichrist) being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, nor as a legitimate king, [i.e., one] in subjection to God, but an impious, unjust, and lawless one; as an apostate, iniquitous and murderous; as a robber, concentrating in himself [all] satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade [men] that he himself is God, raising up himself as the only idol, having in himself the multifarious errors of the other idols. This he does, in order that they who do [now] worship the devil by means of many abominations, may serve himself by this one idol, of whom the apostle thus speaks in the second Epistle to the Thessalonians: Unless there shall come a failing away first, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God. The apostle therefore clearly points out his apostasy, and that he is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped— that is, above every idol — for these are indeed so called by men, but are not [really] gods; and that he will endeavour in a tyrannical manner to set himself forth as God.

2. 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 you shall see the abomination of desolation, which has been spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that reads 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.

3. Daniel too, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, i.e., the ten last kings, among whom the kingdom of those men shall be partitioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come, declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them, and that three of the former shall be rooted up before his face. He says: And, behold, eyes were in this horn as the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, and his look was more stout than his fellows. I was looking, and this horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most high God, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom. Daniel 7:8, etc. Then, further on, in the interpretation of the vision, there was said to him: The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall excel all other kingdoms, and devour the whole earth, and tread it down, and cut it in pieces. And its ten horns are ten kings which shall arise; and after them shall arise another, who shall surpass in evil deeds all that were before him, and shall overthrow three kings; and he shall speak words against the most high God, and wear out the saints of the most high God, and shall purpose to change times and laws; and [everything] shall be given into his hand until a time of times and a half time, Daniel 7:23, etc. that is, for three years and six months, during which time, when he comes, he shall reign over the earth. Of whom also the Apostle Paul again, speaking in the second [Epistle] to the Thessalonians, and at the same time proclaiming the cause of his advent, thus says: And then shall the wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy by the presence of His coming; whose coming [i.e., the wicked one's] is after the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and portents of lies, and with all deceivableness of wickedness for those who perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And therefore God will send them the working of error, that they may believe a lie; that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but gave consent to iniquity, 2 Thessalonians 2:8

4. The Lord also spoke as follows to those who did not believe in Him: I have come in my Father's name, and you have not received Me: when another shall come in his own name, him you will receive, John 5:43 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, Luke 18:2, etc. 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. To this purpose Daniel says again: And he shall desolate the holy place; and sin has been given for a sacrifice, and righteousness been cast away in the earth, and he has been active (fecit), and gone on prosperously. Daniel 8:12 And the angel Gabriel, when explaining his vision, states with regard to this person: And towards the end of their kingdom a king of a most fierce countenance shall arise, one understanding [dark] questions, and exceedingly powerful, full of wonders; and he shall corrupt, direct, influence (faciet), and put strong men down, the holy people likewise; and his yoke shall be directed as a wreath [round their neck]; deceit shall be in his hand, and he shall be lifted up in his heart: he shall also ruin many by deceit, and lead many to perdition, bruising them in his hand like eggs. Daniel 8:23, etc. 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. Daniel 9:27 Now three years and six months constitute the half-week.

5. From all these passages are revealed to us, not merely the particulars of the apostasy, and [the doings] of him who concentrates in himself every satanic error, but also, that there is one and the same God the Father, who was declared by the prophets, but made manifest by Christ. For if what Daniel prophesied concerning the end has been confirmed by the Lord, when He said, When you shall see the abomination of desolation, which has been spoken of by Daniel the prophet Matthew 24:15 (and the angel Gabriel gave the interpretation of the visions to Daniel, and he is the archangel of the Creator (Demiurgi), who also proclaimed to Mary the visible coming and the incarnation of Christ), then one and the same God is most manifestly pointed out, who sent the prophets, and made promise of the Son, and called us into His knowledge.

We notice in this section the Unitarian structure of the theology outlined by Irenaeus. The development of the half week in this text relates to the Section after the fall of the Temple where the destruction of Judah continued for three and one half years after the fall of the Temple. That is covered in the paper War with Rome and the Fall of the Temple (No. 298).

The period of the problems in the Temple, and the lead up to the war, commenced with the period from 42 months before the cessation of the daily sacrifice and then the destruction of the Temple.

Irenaeus links this period to the fall of the Temple and not to the Messiah’s ministry forty years previously. He, however, sees the rest of this week of years being carried on to the period of the Antichrist in the last days. He thus sees the second half of the week as being a type/antitype. It is probable that he sees the week as being in addition to the 70 weeks of years and the first half of the week is the 3.5 years from 70 CE to 74 CE with the desolation of Judah. Thus the second half of this extra week is the 3.5 years under the Antichrist. This is the 42 months of Revelation and ending with the coming of the Messiah. Thus the 1263 days of the witnesses is the same period as the 42 months of the Antichrist.

The 1260 days and the 42 months are in this view the same period of time. This has nothing to do with the prophecy of Daniel 9:25 and the 70 weeks of years although many of the theologians have mistranslated the text to make it refer to Christ and his ministry and death, which it does not do. There are in fact two messiahs or anointed ones in that prophecy. The first anointed one was Nehemiah in the reign of Artaxerxes II and the second anointed one was James the brother of Christ bishop of Jerusalem who was killed in 63/4 CE. From that event the brethren knew they had to flee Jerusalem and Judea and they went to Pella. That aspect and the true period are covered in the paper
The Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013).

Next week we will deal with the next section regarding the final apostasy. We will see from this text and the next that the final apostasy is a conflict in which the Sunday worshipping Sun cults with their heresies of Christmas and Easter will try to eliminate the churches of God. They will fail and Christ will return to deal with the world and eliminate them.

Wade Cox
Coordinator General