Apostle John's disciples' eschatology

[kendemyer]

IMPORTANT INITIAL INFORMATION

I recently discovered that it appears as if the Apostle John had 3 personal disciples: Papias, Polycarp, and Ignatius. So far, at least two of them appear to be futurist in their eschatology. Namely, Papias is definitely premillenialist and futurist (see: Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History (III, 39) ). Also I infered that Polycarp appears to be futurist.

I inferred that Polycarp was probably a futurist because Iranaeus was a disciple of Polycarp (Iranaeus lived AD. 120-202) and was definitely a premillenialist and futurist.

Here is a quote of Irenaeus:

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. 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. ... It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfillment 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. ... But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: ... 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." [irenaeus: Against Heresies, Book V, XXX]

Hippolytus (Hippolytus lived AD. 170-236)

who was a disciple of Iranaeus also appears to be a futurist as can be seen from the quote below:

"As these things, then, are in the future, and as the ten toes of the image are equivalent to (so many) democracies, and the ten horns of the fourth beast are distributed over ten kingdoms, let us look at the subject a little more closely, and consider these matters as in the clear light of a personal survey. The golden head of the image and the lioness denoted the Babylonians; the shoulders and arms of silver, and the bear, represented the Persians and Medes; the belly and thighs of brass, and the leopard, meant the Greeks, who held the sovereignty from Alexander

Edited August 30, 2004 by kendemyer

[ksalzar]

This is over my head but they have some very knowledgeable stuff Here you might want to check out.