of the Millenium. For Adam was told: «For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die» (Gen 2:17), but we know that when he died he was not yet a thousand. We also know the utterance: «The day of the Lord is like a thousand years» (Ps 90:4 [Ps 89:5 rus]; 2 Pet 3:8). In addition, we have someone named John, one of the Apostles of Christ, who in the book of Revelation predicted that believers in Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years [Rev 20:6], and after that there would be a universal, that is, eternal resurrection of all the dead, and then the judgment would come even as the Lord had said: «They neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven like unto the children of God’s resurrection» (Lk 20:35—36).
(82) – We still have the prophetic gifts which point to the fact that we received something that had already existed in your people. Just as there were false prophets among the holy prophets, so now we have many false teachers whom we should beware according to the command of our Lord. So we are prepared for everything, knowing that He told us in advance what would happen after His resurrection from the dead and ascension. He said that they would kill us and hate us for His name and that many false prophets and false Christs would come under His name and deceive many (Mt 10:21—22; 24:5,9,11,24). It is being fulfilled because many, under His name, are spreading godless, blasphemous, and unholy doctrines. They have taught and still teach what the evil one, the Devil, has put in their minds. We try to convince such people, as well as you, that they should reject the falsehood, being fully convinced that anyone who can speak the truth and does not do so will be condemned by God, even as God Himself testified through Ezekiel: «I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. If a wicked man sins, and thou givest him not warning, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, thou hast delivered thy soul» (Ezek 3:17—19). Therefore we try to reason with you in accordance with Scripture out of fear, not out of lust for money, fame or pleasure: no one can blame us for anything like that, nor do we want to live in the same way as the leaders of your people whom God rebuked saying: «Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards» (Is 1:23). But even if you know such people among us, you do not blaspheme Christ or the Scriptures, nor distort them on their account» (Conversation with Triphon the Jew, 80—82).
St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130 – 202)
Excerpt from «Five Books Against Heresies» («Against Heresies»):
Book 5.
Chapter 28. On the distinction between the righteous and the wicked; on the future apostasy under Antichrist and the end of the world.
[…]
2. […] «For they will receive a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads so that no man might buy or sell, save he that has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name; and his number is six hundred threescore and six» (Rev 13:15—18), that is six times hundred, six times ten and six – to heal all the apostasy that happened during the six thousand years.
3. For just as the world was created in six days, so also it will last for just as many thousands of years. That’s why the book of Genesis says: «Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And in six days God finished all the works which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made» (Gen 2:1—2). And this saying refers to the past – how things were accomplished – and also it is a prophecy about the future. For the day of the Lord is like a thousand years, and just as the creation was accomplished in six days, so it is clear that it will end in the six thousandth year. […]
Chapter 30. Although the number of the name of the Antichrist is known, we should not make rash conclusions about this name because this number fits many names; concerning the kingdom and the doom of the Antichrist.
1. Considering all this and that this number (666) is present in all the best and ancient manuscripts (of Revelation), and John himself personally attested to this, and reason itself teaches us that the number of the name of the beast according to the Greek numeration through the letters contained therein adds up to six hundred and sixty-six, that is, it contains as many tens as hundreds and as many hundreds as units – for the repetition of number six symbolically points to the healing of all apostasy (of the Antichrist) that was at the beginning and in the middle and will be at the end of time – I don’t know how some, in their ignorance, fell into the delusion, distorting the average number of the name by subtracting from it fifty and positing one ten instead of six tens. I think this arose from the error of the scribes, as is usually the case, since the numbers are represented in Greek letters, and the Greek letter [xi], which stands for «sixty» [ξ], can easily be changed into the Greek letter «jot» [ι]. Then, others must have accepted it without consideration using the number ten blindly, while others, through their foolishness, dared even to look for a name containing this erroneous and incorrect number. To those who have done it without any evil intent, God will grant forgiveness, I am sure. As for those who, through their vanity, search for names based on erroneous numbers or ascribe to the future Antichrist a name that they have invented, these will not go unharmed for they have deceived themselves and those who put their trust in them. And the first harm is that they have deviated from the truth and have accepted something unreal as true. Such a person will certainly entail severe punishment, prepared for those who add or take away from the words of Scripture. Also, there’s another danger for those who falsely usurp the knowledge of the name of the Antichrist. For if they propose a name, and he comes under a different name, they will be easily deceived by him, (thinking) that there is no one to watch out for.
2. Therefore, such people should recognize the true number of the name and embrace it, so as not to be counted among the false prophets. But those who know the correct number revealed in Scripture, that is, 666, let them first acknowledge that the kingdom will be divided between the ten, and secondly, when these kings reign and begin to prosper and spread their kingdom, and he who has the above-mentioned number in his name suddenly appears snatching away their kingdom and bringing fear upon them, – let them acknowledge that this one is truly the abomination of desolation. This is what the Apostle says: «For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them» (1 Thess 5:3). Jeremiah predicted not only the suddenness of his coming but also the tribe from which he would come: «The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein» (Jer 8:16). That’s why this tribe is not listed in Revelation among the saved (Rev 7:5—8).
3. Therefore, it is more accurate and safe to wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy rather than suppose and predict possible names, for there may be many names containing the above number, and yet this question will remain unresolved. For if there are many names matching this number, which of them will be the name of the Antichrist who is to come? I say this not because of the lack of names containing the number of his name but for the sake of the fear of God and the love of truth, for the name Evanphas (ΕΥΑΝΘΑΣ) has the required number, and yet I do not claim anything about him with certainty. Also, the name Latiner (ΛΑΤEΙΝΟΣ) has the number 666, and the last kingdom may very well bear this name: for now the Latins do reign, yet I do not wish to boast about it. But of all the proposed names Titan seem the most appropriate – if we write down the first syllable using the two Greek vowels E and I (TEITAN). It contains the above-mentioned number and consists of six letters, each syllable with three letters. It is an ancient and uncommon name – none of our kings were called Titan, and none of the idols openly worshiped by the Greeks and barbarians bears such a name. Yet it is honored as divine by many, so that the Sun is called Titan by the current rulers [Massuette cites Cicero and Ovid as evidence
