“And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, "There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be." For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption.”
and there is also this nicely footnoted article:
thanks, great article.
I have dealt with Thomas Ice ans Pseudo Ephraim before. Let me just say that Ice is very dishonest in his citations. I will get back with you on this,, but He and Grant Jeffreys are just plain liars and deceitful on this issue. I am busy right now.but I can respond further if you wish. At any rate, I would not cite either Ice or Jeffreys as honest scholars in this debate.
It is interesting that you quote Irenaeus as it is quite clear from AGAINST HERESIES that MANY in the early chuch were NOT chiliast (although he was). That is, they did NOT believe in an earthly millenium. In fact, part of his writing here in the work you cited was directed to believers who clearly did NOT believe in a millenium. They believed that dead believers would go to heaven and a subsequent return to an earthly millennial kingdom would be a step back from the glories of the beatific vision. Irenaeus asserted that they would not share in the millenium, but that their souls would remain in Hades unitl Christ returns except for the martyrs. So, although Irenaeus (and probably Papias, whom Irenaeus cites) were chiliast, it is also clear that MANY early Christians simply were not.
Whatever they were, they were NOT advocates of a premillineal "rapture" and a reconstitution of the nation of Israel and the other loopy stuff you find in dispensational writings.