15
glorification and the eternal state.
19
Here Tertullian speaks of the resurrection of saints
tied to "their deserts" or rewards.
Irenaeus spoke of hundred fold rewards to be enjoyed during the kingdom to
occur on the seventh "day", i.e. the Sabbath millennium.
20
These are considered to be a
reimbursement to the saints for their righteous deeds in the name of God. In reading
Irenaeus at this point, one may be reminded of Christs saying to Peter
Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when
the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29
And every one that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for
my names sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
(Matthew 19:28-29, italics mine)
Chiliasm a Restoration of Nature
Again Irenaeus speaks of the conditions during the earthly kingdom, writing that
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 twig ten thousand shoots...In like
manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand
ears...and 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.
21
19
David W. Bercott, Ed. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. (Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 237.
20
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus Against Heresies. Vol.1, 562.
21
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus Against Heresies. Vol.1, 563.