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2. Therefore, such people should recognize the true number of the name and embrace it, so as not to be counted among the false prophets. But those who know the correct number revealed in Scripture, that is, 666, let them first acknowledge that the kingdom will be divided between the ten, and secondly, when these kings reign and begin to prosper and spread their kingdom, and he who has the above-mentioned number in his name suddenly appears snatching away their kingdom and bringing fear upon them, let them acknowledge that this one is truly the abomination of desolation. This is what the Apostle says: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thess 5:3). Jeremiah predicted not only the suddenness of his coming but also the tribe from which he would come: The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein (Jer 8:16). Thats why this tribe is not listed in Revelation among the saved (Rev 7:58).
3. Therefore, it is more accurate and safe to wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy rather than suppose and predict possible names, for there may be many names containing the above number, and yet this question will remain unresolved. For if there are many names matching this number, which of them will be the name of the Antichrist who is to come? I say this not because of the lack of names containing the number of his name but for the sake of the fear of God and the love of truth, for the name Evanphas (ΕΥΑΝΘΑΣ) has the required number, and yet I do not claim anything about him with certainty. Also, the name Latiner (ΛΑΤEΙΝΟΣ) has the number 666, and the last kingdom may very well bear this name: for now the Latins do reign, yet I do not wish to boast about it. But of all the proposed names Titan seem the most appropriate if we write down the first syllable using the two Greek vowels E and I (TEITAN). It contains the above-mentioned number and consists of six letters, each syllable with three letters. It is an ancient and uncommon name none of our kings were called Titan, and none of the idols openly worshiped by the Greeks and barbarians bears such a name. Yet it is honored as divine by many, so that the Sun is called Titan by the current rulers [Massuette cites Cicero and Ovid as evidence that the Sun was called Titan], and also it contains some hint of revenge and the avenger, just like he (the Antichrist) will pass himself off as the one who avenges the oppressed. Besides, it is an ancient, reasonable, and a royal name befitting a tyrant. Therefore, since the name Teitan has so much in its favor, the one to come (the Antichrist) might very well be called Teitan. However, I do not dare to conclusively say that it is so, knowing full well that if it was necessary to openly proclaim his name at this time, it would have been announced by that very person who had received the revelation. For revelation was granted not long before our time, almost in our age, closer to the end of the reign of Domitian.
4. He states the number of the name (of the Antichrist) so that we would be vigilant when he comes, knowing who he is; the Apostle didnt reveal his name because it is too disgraceful to be proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been proclaimed by Him, then perhaps the Antichrist would have endured for a long time. And now, since he was and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition (Rev 17:8), as if he had never existed, his name was not declared since the name of the non-existent should not be declared. When the Antichrist has laid the world bare, having reigned for three and a half years, and has sat down in the temple of Jerusalem, then the Lord will come down from heaven in the clouds in the glory of the Father and will cast him and his subjects into the lake of fire, while the righteous will receive the Kingdom, that is, peace, the holy seventh day. He will restore the promised inheritance to Abraham, the Kingdom, in which, according to the word of the Lord, many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven (Mt 8:11).
Chapter 31. The preservation of our bodies is sealed by the resurrection and ascension of Christ; the souls of the saints are waiting for the time when their full glory will be revealed.
1. But some who say that they are believers violate the established order of the exaltation of the righteous and, by holding on to heretical teachings, do not know how to prepare themselves for the incorruptibility. For heretics, degrading the creation of God and not recognizing the salvation of their flesh by despising the promise of God and putting themselves above God in their thoughts, say that they will ascend above the heavens and above Demierge immediately after death and will go to the Mother or Father of their own invention. They reject the resurrection of the whole person and thus completely deny it in any way they can. But it isnt surprising since they do not know the order of the resurrection. But He was in the place of the dead for three days, even as the prophet says about him: The Lord remembered His dead saints who had rested in the land of their burial, and came down to them to raise them and save them [See 3, 20, 4]. Just as the Lord Himself said: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whales belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Mt 12:40). And the Apostle: Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? (Eph 4:9). David also says in his prophecy about Him: And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell (Ps 86:13 [Ps 85:13 rus]). After His resurrection on the third day, the Lord said to Mary, who first saw Him and fell prostrate before Him: Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God (Jn 20:17).
2. So, if the Lord has fulfilled the law of the dead, that is, to be the firstborn among the dead, and remained in the lower parts of the earth until the third day, and then, having risen in the flesh in such a way that He even showed the wounds from the nails to the disciples, ascended to the Father, how can they say without shame that the lower parts of the earth just mean the world around us and that the inner man, after leaving the body behind, will go up to a heavenly place? For when the Lord walked in the valley of the shadow of death (Ps 23:4 [Ps 22:4 rus]), where were the souls of the dead? He then rose from the dead in His flesh and ascended to heaven: it is clear that the souls of His disciples, for whom He gave up His life, will go to the invisible place appointed to them by God and will remain there until the day of the resurrection awaiting His coming, and then, having received their new bodies and having attained to the full resurrection, that is, the bodily resurrection, even as the Lord has risen, they will come into the presence of God. The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master (Lk 6:40). Therefore, just as our Teacher did not immediately depart or ascend (to heaven), but, having lingered until the time of His resurrection appointed by the Father as was also prefigured in Jonah rose from the dead and ascended after three days, so must we wait for the God-appointed time of our resurrection as predicted by the prophets. And, having been raised, we shall ascend to heaven if the Lord finds us worthy of it [The following five chapters are omitted in some copies of the codes of Irenaeus. Feuardent was the first one to publish these chapters from the code of Vossius. He explained that this omission might be attributed to the medieval copyists rejection of the doctrine on the Millenial Kingdom of Christ which the codes contained. Harvey published citations from these chapters, which were preserved in Syrian and Armenian manuscripts. Fragments of these chapters can be found in Eusebius and Sacra Paralella by John of Damascus.].