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The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

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    VIII. Summary of Witness of Apostolic Fathers

    The voice of the Apostolic Fathers—the men who reputedly lived nearest to the apostles-testified to the expected premillennial second advent of Christ. “His appearing and his kingdom” are bound together. The future “parousia” is affirmed primarily of the second Person of the Godhead, never of the Spirit or of the Father, and never of providence or of death. For the Apostolic Fathers the appearing and the kingdom were obviously the supreme object of hope, and next to the cross the greatest motives in their witness. Here is their scattered twelvefold witness, gleaned from the several sources in this half century:PFF1 216.2

    1. The second advent the goal of expectation.PFF1 216.3

    2. The judgment connected with the advent.PFF1 216.4

    3. The resurrection of the righteous at the advent.PFF1 216.5

    4. Establishment of kingdom of God to follow the resurrection.PFF1 216.6

    5. Ten horn-kingdoms to succeed the then-present (Roman) fourth beast.PFF1 216.7

    6. A little horn to abase three of the ten horn-kingdoms.PFF1 217.1

    7. The Black One, or lawless one, yet to come.PFF1 217.2

    8. Days of great tribulation await the church.PFF1 217.3

    9. The seventh thousand years the millennial rest.PFF1 217.4

    10. The righteous to live in the world to come.PFF1 217.5

    11. Day of destruction to destroy evil one.PFF1 217.6

    12. Antichrist mentioned but not identified.PFF1 217.7

    There was difference as to how the saints would spend the thousand years. While cherishing the great truth of the advent, some early Christian writers held views that were tinctured with Jewish concepts. Chiliasm, insofar as it pictured the reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years following the second ad vent, was increasingly marred, as time progressed, by the fervid coloring of an Asiatic imagination and by fanatical extravagance. This was one of the early misconceptions that prepared the way for greater errors to follow later.PFF1 217.8

    Picture 1: COLISEUM, SCENE OF EARLY CHRISTIAN MARTYRDOMS
    Exterior of remains of immense Flavian amphitheater in Rome. Begun by Vespasian and finished by Titus in a.d. 80, it seated about 50,000 spectators. Unnumbered early Christians were slaughtered here for their faith (upper). Interrior, 515 by 610 feet, and about 160 feet in height below are the subterranean chambers which confined the ravenous beasts (lower).
    Page 217
    PFF1 217

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