St. Irenaeus of Lyons: On the Apostolic Preaching | Early Christian Theology Book for Biblical Studies | Second Century Church Father Writings | ... Faith and Scripture (Popular Patristics)

“[Jesus] gloriously accomplished our salvation and fulfilled the promise made to the patriarchs…recapitulating these [types] in Himself, in order to obtain life for us, “the Word of God became flesh”…in order to undo death and vivify man.” -Irenaeus, On the Apostolic PreachingWho was Irenaeus?Irenaeus was basically the Luke Skywalker of the Early Church: Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, Polycarp was a disciple of John, and John was a disciple of Jesus.He is fantastic. Irenaeus will make the Old Testament more exciting than the New Testament. By proxy, the New Testament will become even more exciting than it was before, and the never-ending feedback loop will keep growing until you die—and see the real thing.The Angry God of the Old Testament?“Why is the God of the Old Testament so angry?” We’ve probably heard that question asked, and it was the first controversy in the 2nd century of the Church. Is the God of the Old Testament different than the God of the New Testament? No.Types & ShadowsWhat is so significant about the flawed Patriarchs? Adam eats the forbidden fruit, Noah gets drunk, Abraham lies, Moses kills a man, David kills a man and sleeps with his wife, and the Prophets weren’t perfect either (see Jonah).“Prefiguring” the Messiah “Anointed One”Yet, according to Irenaeus, all of the Patriarch “prefigure” the coming Messiah. The word Messiah means “anointed one”, and many of the Patriarch’s were referred to as messiahs “anointed ones”.A Tale of Two TreesThe Old Testament is a Tale of Two Trees. The first tree brought the curse, through the sin of the first Adam; the second tree bore the curse, through the righteousness of the second Adam; the first Adam was the first created son of God who was man, the second Adam was the second begotten Son of God who became man. Through the fruit of the first tree, the first Adam became naked, and through the fruitlessness of the second tree, the second Adam was naked. The first Adam lost Life and was kicked out of the Garden, the second Adam gained Life and was resurrected in a new Garden.Recapitulation!One of the most exciting words Irenaeus introduces is recapitulation!Recapitulation is when Christ “redo’s in order to undo”.In essence, “He who knew no sin, became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.”The Old Testament: A Portrait of JesusIf Jesus had a portrait it would be Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Moses, David, Joseph, Adam, all crammed into one canvas, called the Old Testament. Even more so, the Tabernacle, the Passover, the ceremonies, and every minute detail is a prefigured image of the Messiah.Nothing is unessential, no ceremonial cleansing, no bread of presence, no Jewish holiday, no minor skirmish, no lamp-stand, no sacrificial law, no minor character is unimportant in this massive portrait of the Christ.He is the Tabernacle; He is the Passover Lamb; He is the Son of God; He is the King; He is the true Prophet; He is the Temple; He is the true Manna; He is the Law; He is Isaac’s Ram; He is the Second Adam; He is the true Moses; He is the true David; He is the true Daniel; He is the true Priest; He is the true Aaron; He is the true Solomon; He is the true Suffering Job.

Learned a lot from the book.

Here's precisely how the Apostles preached the gospel FROM the Old Testament.. and with tie-ins to the NT. Because this is a very early church father (Irenaeus), we don't get an "interpretation" from some "scholar", but the actual interpretation of the ancient unified church of Christ (not the denomination -- the real one). This is precisely why "sola scriptura" is the single most dangerous doctrine in the Christian world, for without the interpretation of the actual church itself, false doctrines are brought forth while the truth is unwittingly set aside. We clearly see the ancient unified church never taught anything like a "sinner's prayer" or somehow receiving the Holy Spirit outside of being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (by His authority) into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We see the Holy Eucharist, the divine liturgy (not a Roman mass), and all of the things that the true church of Christ (hard to find these days) actually did -- and WHY they did it -- all bolstered by Holy Scripture correctly interpreted.

St. Irenaeus's text is a treasure for a Christian of any denomination or tradition. The core of this teaching is an Old Testament-based argument for what we'd call New Testament theology. If anyone wants to find Christ in the Old Testament, this is THE text.Why three stars? This particular binding is one of the worst quality books I have ever seen, the brand new book arrived rippled and unevenly put together, the text itself is a clearly pixely scan of an earlier edition, printed in such a way that the ink bleads into the paper, like a cheap inkjet.The text is excellent, but this was an exhausting read, simply due to the horrible quality of the text. Cheap airport novels come in a higher quality binding. For the price paid I'd expect better.

Here's a snippet from my book review:In my initial reading of On the Apostolic Preaching, I must admit that I was quite pleased with the content of this Demonstration. If one were to be searching for a book that would re-energize his/her faith, then this book would meet that agenda. In my opinion, Irenaeus was successful in his endeavor to demonstrate the preaching of the truth and strengthen our faith. I affirm that statement in that while reading this, I developed a new zeal toward the Triune God and a sure appreciation for the authority of the Scripture.What I enjoyed most about this reading is that rather than make this a personal statement about “Truth”, Irenaeus states the facts of the “Truth” according to the Scripture, which validates the authenticity of this “Truth.” Although this would appear as an academic read, it came across as more of a conversational literature because it engages the readers in understanding their biblical faith. I would seek to end this review as Irenaeus ended his letter in praise declaring, “Glory to the All-Holy Trinity and on Divinity: Father and Son and all-provident Holy Spirit, forever, Amen” (101).

St. Irenaeus of Lyons' Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching is deeply interesting and one of the first accounts of the Christian we have that has been passed down in such a summary form (his Against Heresies is a systematic work of equal beauty). The thing that may surprise us is that St. Irenaeus does not quote the Apostolic Writings in his account here. Rather he draws together the Old Testament Scripture as though a tapestry and weaves together, out of these disparate looking threads, a coherent account of the Christian Faith.This book is a true pleasure to read and anyone interested in how Christianity came to appropriate or read the Old Testament will be rewarded by the purchase of this amazing little book

The pages are turned 90 degrees and cut in half. It looks like a terrible scan job. Don't waste your money on this product as I did.