No, Irenaeus did not expound on a spiritual temple. He was a plain writer and where he did not think something was literal but symbol, he explains it. In Against Heresies, "temple" is "temple" period. Just as antichrist is a literal world leader yet to come for him and not "spiritual." There is nothing mystic about his writings, as he quotes heavily from Scriptures.
As you can see, that verse is most definitely not talking about the body as the temple. It used the same Greek word that was used to describe the temple in Jerusalem that Jesus taught in.
Another example of shifting hermeneutics. We both know our Lord spoke very clearly and literally and also used simile and parable to explain a truth. When Jesus tells us about the Temple in Matthew 24 and Paul in 2 Thes. 2 it is literal and not figurative. Irenaeus would know the local recent history. I am sure as in our days today there was talk of building another temple. I am sure he was under the same impression since that was a goal of the Jewish rebellion in ca. 132AD which failed. So there is no indication Irenaeus is "spiritualizing" 'Temple' in Against Heresies. He is quite clear what he opines on is yet future.
As stated earlier...Even if Irenaeus believed Revelation was written before 70 AD does it make a difference of 20 or so years for a document to be deemed ancient? The same use of "ancient" can mean the oldest known copies of a document. The importance of his writings is he was convinced the prophecies of Matthew 24, Paul and Revelation were yet future to his time.
>>>>As stated earlier...Even if Irenaeus believed Revelation was written before 70 AD does it make a difference of 20 or so years for a document to be deemed ancient? The same use of “ancient” can mean the oldest known copies of a document. The importance of his writings is he was convinced the prophecies of Matthew 24, Paul and Revelation were yet future to his time.<<<<
I’ll agree that Irenaeus did not understand the scriptures. He was far removed from the time period (a century or more,) and he did not have the benefit of any Christian writings from after the destruction: from after 70AD; to assist in his interpretation.
Philip