There is a new book out by W. Brian Shelton entitled Martyrdom from Exegesis in Hippolytus: An Early Church Presbyter’s Commentary on Daniel. It’s put out by Paternoster Press in their series “Studies in Christian History and Thought.” Since Hippolytus’ commentary is still in Greek and unavailable in English translation, Shelton’s book is the best means of ascertaining the contents of the commentary (unless you read patristic Greek).

I recommend the book for those interested in the subject of persecution and martyrdom in early Christianity, early Christian eschatology, patristic biblical commentaries, or the book of Daniel. It contains some interesting information. For example, Hippolytus’ Daniel commentary tells about a Christian leader in his day who prophesied that the Lord was coming soon, and consequently led his congregation out to the desert to wait for Jesus. People quit their jobs and went along. But when the leader’s prophecy did not come true, they were all humiliated, and returned to their former lives. Hippolytus says that Christians in persecution cannot always expect the Lord to intervene by His coming; it is God’s will for some to endure martyrdom.

Martyrdom from Exegesis is available for purchase from the publisher and Amazon.com.
For a full review of Martyrdom from Exegesis in Hippolytus, refer to the Book Review page.

Hippolytus of Rome’s Commentary on Daniel is a post from: Books and Articles on the Theology of Grace and Eschatology ~ Francis Gumerlock

These articles appeared in recent issues of Evangelical Quarterly. You can read both articles here: Predestination in the Century Before Gottschalk, Part 1 & Part 2

Have a great day. Frank

Predestination in the Century Before Gottschalk is a post from: Books and Articles on the Theology of Grace and Eschatology ~ Francis Gumerlock

For a background to the question, Revelation 20 says that Christ and His saints will reign for a thousand years. Some take a literal approach to the thousand years, but I see the thousand years as a figure of speech. Those who take a literal approach to the thousand years often claim that Christians who see the thousand years as a figure of speech are guilty of allegorizing Scripture. The literalists also claim that the reason many early Christian writers rejected a literal reading of the millennium was because they adopted an allegorical method of biblical interpretation. My presentation will show the inaccuracy of their claim. It will demonstrate that the early Christian writers applied the “analogy of faith,” not allegory, to the text of Revelation 20. Analogy of faith is that principle of interpretation which says that clearer passages in Scripture help to interpret more obscure passages.

Revelation 20 raises many questions. The passage speaks of Satan being bound for a thousand years. Was Satan bound by the first coming of Christ or does his binding await a future millennium? The passage mentions a first and a second resurrection. Are these two resurrections bodily resurrections, one of believers that takes place before the millennium and one of unbelievers that takes place after the millennium? Or is there one general bodily resurrection and the other resurrection a spiritual resurrection? Are the thousand years to be interpreted literally or as a figure of speech? To answer these questions, early Christian writers looked at passages in the Gospels and Paul’s epistles and gained insight. Many of them held that Satan was bound at the incarnation and death/resurrection of Christ, not in a future millennium, that the first resurrection is spiritual and the second bodily (no future millennium bounded by two bodily resurrections), and that the thousand years are a figure of speech showing completeness.

I hope you can make it to the presentation. The complete schedule is available on the seminary website ptsco.org. My plan is to turn the transcript into a chapter in a book I have been working on tentatively entitled Amillennialism and the Early Church. For more information on how early Christians interpreted the thousand years of Revelation 20, see the article on this site entitled “Millennialism and the Early Church Councils.”

Have a great day. Frank

The Thousand Years of Revelation 20 is a post from: Books and Articles on the Theology of Grace and Eschatology ~ Francis Gumerlock

St. Jerome’s Commentary on Matthew is a post from: Books and Articles on the Theology of Grace and Eschatology ~ Francis Gumerlock

I found much variety of interpretation on the seven seals by these biblical scholars of the middle ages. Some of them said that the opening of the seals corresponded to seven events in the life of Jesus which had been “sealed up” (concealed) in prophecies of the Old Testament. Others saw the seals as descriptions of life in the Church between the first and second comings of Christ. Still others viewed the seals as markers in a grand blueprint of history or as symbols of judgments associated with the Second Coming.

The Seven Seals includes translated texts from notables like Caesarius of Arles, who convened the Council of Orange in 529, Cassiodorus whose library at Viviarum preserved so many of the ancient texts we have today, Alcuin of York, the secretary and minister of education under the emperor Charlemagne, who is responsible for how we today write our upper and lower case letters, and Joachim of Fiore, the famous abbot from Calabria whom many regarded as a prophet in the time of the crusades.

If you are interested in how Revelation has been interpreted in the history of Christianity, The Seven Seals is a nice sampling of texts, heretofore unavailable in English translation, at a very reasonable price. For a link to the publisher/distributor, click here. I invite patristic, medieval, and biblical scholars to review it in academic journals; and I hope you enjoy it.

Frank

Seven Seals of the Apocalypse is a post from: Books and Articles on the Theology of Grace and Eschatology ~ Francis Gumerlock