The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

VI. Summary of Early Church Teachings on Prophecies

The first period of prophetic interpretation in the early centuries, which had a marked effect on the beliefs and attitudes of the Christian church, is the keynote of this first volume of Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, for the setting and the development of the prophetic exposition of the period, and the changes which took place in succeeding centuries, are basic to an understanding of the medieval and later periods. PFF1 455.1

The second volume centers in the epoch of marked concern over the guiding principles of prophecy covering the Reformation and Post-Reformation Era. Then the great Protestant church movement was in formation, and was reforming the faith of its adherents from the departures and perversions that had become dominant in medieval times, when the Papacy was ascendant. The third period embraces the nineteenth century and onward, in connection with the great world-wide revival of the advent expectancy, based on the culmination of all Bible prophecy, which had been recognized through the centuries as in process of progressive fulfillment. This third period is portrayed in Volumes III and IV of this work. PFF1 455.2

The first half of Volume I is devoted to the first of three vital epochs. The accompanying tabular charts (pages 456-459), placed here midway in Volume I, systematically tabulate the prophetic interpretation of the early church. PFF1 455.3

The tenacity and general uniformity with which certain positions were held, up until the change of the early interpretation, after Jerome in the fifth century, is very apparent. There are certain obvious deductions to be drawn from the chart. PFF1 455.4

1. EARLY CHRISTIAN POSITIONS ON DANIEL

The eschatological interpretation of prophetic symbolism begins with Daniel himself, and therefore bears the unique credentials of inspiration—the first three of the series of four world empires being succinctly identified as Babylonian, Persian, and Greek, and the fourth, unnamed, as the most powerful of all. A tenfold division of empire follows the fourth kingdom, to be superseded by the “stone,” the everlasting kingdom of God; the four “beasts” being evidently the same four world powers; the ten horns of the fourth beast the ten kingdoms of the division; the Little Horn an arrogant, autocratic, persecuting power; and the saints possessing the kingdom forever, as the sequel. Also the seventy weeks are dated from the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince. These form the basic setting, or framework, into which all other features are to be fitted. PFF1 455.5

Picture 2: EARLY CHURCH PERIOD: LEADING POSITIONS OF PRINCIPAL EXPOSITORS OF Daniel (FOR REVELATION SEE NEXT OPENING)
The purpose of this tabular charting is fourfold: First, to summarize and bring before the eye in balanced form, in a single two-page spread, the principal prophetic expositions of the leading interpreters of Daniel for the first five centuries of the Christian Era, thus affording a reliable bird’s-eye view, or over-all picture. (The same is true with the Apocalypse, in the succeeding opening.) Second, to make possible the comparison of the exposition of any given interpreter with that of any or all others on a particular line or feature of prophecy. Third, to reveal the general progression, or development of interpretation, in all lines throughout the first of these three great epochs, when Bible prophecy was a vital factor in the hopes and expectations of men. And fourth, to enable the reader to summarize and evaluate for himself the evidence of the sources, and thus to draw his own personal conclusions, as well as to check them with sum-marizations and deductions made by this investigator.
This analytic form of tabulation makes possible an evaluation of the predominant prophetic exposition of the Christian church of the early centuries, along with a few outstanding Jewish expositors (antecedent and contemporary) as a background and for comparison. The chronological sequence of the expositors is followed as they appear in detail in the chapters. And the pagination of the full expositions, scattered through the preceding pages, is given in the fourth column for reference or further checking.
The abbreviations are simple: “B-P-G-R” means Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome; “P-G”-Persia, Greece; “Mess.”-Messiah: “Chr.”- Christian; “Ch.”-church; “Per.”-period; “Persec.”-persecuting. Other abbreviations in the charts are obvious enough to need no defining.
The range of exposition of these two leading books of prophecy, which we are tracing, is thus made possible. Take, for example, Daniel 2, where the meaning of the four symbolic metals-the head of gold, breast and arms of silver, waist and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron and clay-is tabulated, together with the meaning of the stone and the time of the smiting. The same is done with the four beast-kingdoms of Daniel 7-the identity of the four; the meaning of the ten horns, die uprooted tree, the Little Horn, the three and a half times, and finally the judgment scene and kingdom of God. So the various symbols, outline prophecies, and time periods, and the related prophetic symbols of Paul and Peter, are here listed, together with the positions held by these expositors on the advent and the related resurrection.
Reading horizontally, the major expositions of each writer listed can be followed through, and a comprehensive grasp of his essential teachings on prophecy obtained at a glance. And his views can easily be compared with those who precede or follow after. This provides a convenient basis for comparative study.
Then, by following down the vertical columns, a summary of evidence on any given point can quickly be had, and trends, developments, or retrogressions can be traced with ease. This cumulative evidence becomes both impressive and highly significant, as is also the case with the identical four world powers symbolized by the great colossus of Daniel 2, and die paralleling four beast-kingdoms of Daniel 7, or the meaning of the ten horns, the seventy weeks of Daniel 9, the specific view on the second advent, the resurrection which is inseparably related to the advent, and the identity of the Man of Sin widi Antichrist.
Page 458

Picture 3: EARLY CHURCH PERIOD: LEADING POSITIONS OF PRINCIPAL EXPOSITORS ON REVELATION (FOR Daniel SEE PRECEDING OPENING)
Page 458

The elemental principles of prophetic interpretation as laid down in the book of Daniel were transmitted by the pre-Christian Jewish interpreters into the Christian Era and church. Confirmed by the teachings of Christ, and especially by the apostles Paul and John, they became the foundation principles of prophetic exposition among Christians. For example, the four world powers of prophecy, beginning with Babylon; the year-day principle, as first applied to the seventy weeks; the term “king” for kingdom; and a “time” standing for a year-upon these simple elementals the Christian church began to build her own expanding system of interpretation: PFF1 458.1

(1) In this there was virtual uniformity of belief regarding the identity of the four prophetic world powers of Daniel 2 and 7 -as Babylon, Persia, Grecia, and Rome. Unmistakably started by the prophet Daniel himself, this interpretation has persisted first among Jewish writers, and then through a series of the leading scholars of Christian antiquity, who are spread over these five early centuries. PFF1 458.2

(2) There was in evidence at the time of the barbarian invasions a belief that the feet and toes of the image of Daniel 2, and the corresponding ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, represented the division of the fourth world power (Rome). Its breakup, as accomplished in the fourth and fifth centuries, was recognized and recorded as fulfilling at that very time. PFF1 458.3

(3) It was generally expected that Antichrist would emerge in the wake of the Roman Empire, which had retarded his appearance. PFF1 459.1

(4) The climax of all the grand lines of prophecy was considered as involving the judgment, the second advent, and the establishment of the kingdom of God by divine interposition, at the end of the age. PFF1 459.2

(5) The Little Horn of Daniel 7 was associated with the coming Antichrist, though as yet unidentified, but to follow the breakup of Rome. PFF1 459.3

(6) It was the consensus of opinion that pagan Rome likewise constituted Paul’s “hindering,” or restraining, power, which had retarded the appearance of Antichrist, variantly called the Man of Sin, Mystery of Iniquity, and Son of Perdition. PFF1 459.4

(7) Universal, of course, was the identification of the Persian ram and Grecian he-goat of Daniel 8, which Daniel expressly expounded; and Alexander the Great was considered the Macedonian goat’s notable first horn. PFF1 459.5

(8) The seventy weeks were understood as 490 years, on the year-day principle, from Persia unto the Messiah, or thereabouts, and pertaining particularly to the Jews. PFF1 459.6

(9) All other “time prophecies” were as yet restricted to literal time—the time, times, and a half, or 1260 days, and the 1290, 1335, and the 2300 days. PFF1 459.7

(10) The glorious coming of Christ was the ardent hope and expectation of the church, to be accompanied by a literal resurrection at the advent. PFF1 459.8

(11) Contemporary recognition and concerted emphasis upon the progressive current fulfillments of prophecy was evident. For example: When Rome was ruling as the fourth and last of the world powers of prophecy, men in the east and west, and north and south, recognized and proclaimed just where they were in the divine outline of the centuries. And then, as the predicted division of the empire actually took place, men again sensed where they were in the. fulfilling prophecy, and left their record. And now, in the fifth century, they awaited with deepest concern the next great step—the appearance of Antichrist, whoever he might be. And they believed that the dread reign of Antichrist would be terminated, and the end of earthly kingdoms accomplished, by the second advent of Christ, with the establishment of His kingdom following. PFF1 460.1

2. OBSERVATIONS ON EARLY POSITIONS ON THE APOCALYPSE

As the general distribution and gradual recognition of the canonicity of the Apocalypse occupied a period of four or five centuries, the study and understanding of its prophetic symbols was inevitably slow and gradual in this early period. Tertullian (c. 240) pioneered the way, with his exposition of the woman of Revelation 12 as the church, the man child as Christ, the dragon as Rome, and the Beast of Revelation 13 as the coming Antichrist. Then comes Victorinus (c. 304) enunciating what was later to become the key principle of repetition—that the trumpets, vials, and so on, repeat in time—covering the same period in successive sweeps to the end of the age. He likewise held the same positions as Tertullian on the woman, the child, the dragon, and the beast. PFF1 460.2

The book of Revelation was less systematically covered, in the way of specific interpretation, than was Daniel, but in this early church period the following points were enunciated: PFF1 460.3

(1) The seven churches are conceived of as representing the church universal, or as seven classes of Christians. PFF1 460.4

(2) The seals span the Christian Era, the first being Christ and the early church, the last the judgment and the eternal rest. PFF1 461.1

(3) The principle of repetition was recognized by Victorinus, but the exposition of the trumpets and vials was not specific. PFF1 461.2

(4) The Two Witnesses were generally regarded as individuals—Enoch and Elijah, or Elijah and Jeremiah. The three and one-half days of the Witnesses were interpreted as years. PFF1 461.3

(5) The woman of Revelation 12 was quite generally recognized as the church, the man-child as Christ, the dragon as Rome. PFF1 461.4

(6) The three and one-half times, or 42 months, were generally taken as literal years, although Methodius took the 1260 days as mystic, preceding the new dispensation. PFF1 461.5

(7) The symbol most fully agreed upon was the first beast of Revelation 13 as the future Antichrist, although Hippolytus understood it as the Roman Empire; the second beast was defined as either the Antichrist or the false prophet, and the number 666 was given the numerical value of a name such as Lateinos or Teitan. PFF1 461.6

(8) A personal Antichrist was expected to rule three and a half years, identified variously as a Jew, an apostate, a son of Satan. PFF1 461.7

(9) The woman Babylon in Revelation 17 was identified as Rome; the ten horns of the beast were ten kingdoms. PFF1 461.8

(10) Most of the earlier writers placed the millennium at the second advent, bounded by the two resurrections, although Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome were antimillenarian. PFF1 461.9

The belief in a literal resurrection of the body was firmly fixed; only Origen hinted of a spiritual application in addition to the literal one. PFF1 461.10

(11) The New Jerusalem was applied generally to the eternal state, or the millennium. PFF1 461.11

3. DISSENTING OPINIONS

There were only a few sharply conflicting and discordant voices. Origen, the allegorizing Neo-platonic philosopher of the Alexandrian school, hinted at a spiritualized first resurrection long before Augustine, and allegorized the Scriptures to such a degree as to invalidate any literal or historical fulfillment of prophecy. And next, Porphyry, the sophist, and a few followers, sought to counter Christianity and to overthrow the prophetic stronghold of the church by denying the prophetic character of the book of Daniel. He contended that it was only a history written afterward, in the time of the Maccabees, but simulating prophecy with intent to deceive; and he limited the third world power to Alexander’s personal rule of Macedonia, with the fourth power as his Ptolemaic and Seleucid successors, and the Little Horn as Antiochus Epiphanes. PFF1 461.12

A revolutionary element was Eusebius’ later concept—after the profession of Christianity by Constantine, the cessation of persecution, and the elevation and enrichment of the church—which held that the kingdom must mean the church, being established on earth by political preferment as well as spiritual means, and with consequent obligation to bring the nations into submission to the Christian faith. PFF1 462.1

As millennialism soon became a thorny and highly debated issue, because of the excesses of the chiliastic concept, revulsion against extreme views led to the first great departures from the early premillennial view—the rejection of the Apocalypse, by some, for a time. Indeed, some of the “chiliasts” had reasonable and restrained ideas of the Biblical millennium, but the name came to have the connotation of extravagance and materialism, because of the exaggerated elements brought in from non-Christian sources. Some of the antimillenarians could have accepted the idea of a thousand-year reign of Christ following the second advent if it had not been for the Jewish and pagan notions which were involved. As it was, all millennialism was discredited. On the other hand, the non-Christian ideas of Antichrist, some of which were just as grotesque as the extreme chiliastic notions, continued in the church for many centuries. PFF1 462.2

4. CONCLUSION

We should bear in mind that our knowledge of the early church literature is not complete. Where the writing of one prominent leader has been preserved there were doubtless many others whose writings have not survived the centuries. And further, that where one conspicuous teacher wrote out his convictions, there were probably scores—or perchance hundreds of lesser lights—who only expounded orally, following the essential teaching of these outstanding leaders of thought in their day, whose expositions we have traced. But we may judge the attitude of the majority by the leaders whose works we have. And we should remember the remarkable spread, both geographically and in language—as well as the character—of these prophetic interpreters. Always there have been numerous competent witnesses to contemporary prophetic fulfillment—God never leaving Himself to the testimony of a single witness, no matter how illustrious he might be. PFF1 462.3

The general picture of the grand prophetic outline, as conceived by the early church writers, is therefore this: In Daniel they found just four world powers, beginning with Babylon and ending with Rome; then Rome’s breakup; next the emergence of Antichrist, and finally the destruction of Antichrist by Christ at His second advent, with the accompanying judgment scenes, the literal resurrection of the saints, and the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom. While prophetic interpretation in the early centuries was of necessity centered chiefly in the book of Daniel, this much, however, became clear on the Revelation: The woman was definitely the symbol of the church; the dragon was clearly connected with Rome; and the Beast was either Rome or the Antichrist, soon to come: the outline prophecies extended to the second advent, although the picture was not filled out. So much of the Apocalypse was obviously future in their day that men did not at first expect or attempt to understand many of its portions with any assurance, until it should first “come to pass,” or be fulfilled historically. Fuller understanding and exposition was to come in later centuries. Further, the common term “Antichrist” was generally recognized as embracing the triple exploits of the Little Horn of Daniel 7, Paul’s Man of Sin of Second Thessalonians, and John’s Beast of Revelation 13. That, to the early church, was obviously the divine plan of the ages. That was their outline and philosophy of history. Around that progressive program all plans and expectations centered. Upon certain details there was difference of opinion, but upon this main outline of the ages there was remarkable unanimity. PFF1 463.1

However, Origen’s allegorization of the prophecies, and then Eusebius’ materializing of the kingdom-of-God concept, though denied and fought by the majority at the time, nevertheless began to burrow from within, and in time won out. In the chapter following comes the third step in the great departure in prophetic interpretation, under Tichonius and Augustine, which completely revolutionized the thinking of men on the first resurrection and the millennium. The revolutionary Augustinian philosophy of the thousand years, as the reign of the church in the present age, soon swept over the Roman Catholic Church and dominated the view of Christendom for a thousand years to come-until at last abandoned by the Protestants, but then only when the Reformation was well along. PFF1 464.1