Early Church · 180

Against Heresies: Book Five

Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130-202)

Book 5 of Against Heresies is the climactic conclusion of Irenaeus's five-volume refutation of Gnosticism, written around 180 AD. It defends the resurrection of the body against those who dismissed the flesh as incapable of salvation, arguing from Scripture, the Eucharist, and the Incarnation that God redeems the whole person. The book then turns to eschatology: the coming of Antichrist, the number 666, the millennial reign of the saints on a renewed earth, and the final state in which God is all in all. It stands as the earliest systematic treatment of bodily resurrection and Christian hope in the face of dualist denial.

4 hrs total · 36 chapters