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Against Heresies: Book IV

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Against Heresies: Book IV

by Irenaeus

Chapters

1. Preface.
2. Chapter 1: The Lord Recognized Only One God and Father.
3. Chapter 2:—Evidence from the clear statements of Moses, and other Prophets, whose words are the words of Christ, that there is only one God, the creator of the world, whom Our Lord proclaimed, and whom He called His Father.
4. Chapter 3: Response to the Criticisms of the Gnostics. We should not assume that the true God can be altered or cease to exist just because the heavens, which are his throne, and the earth, his footstool, will eventually disappear.
5. Chapter 4: Response to Another Argument, Demonstrating that the Destruction of Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, did not Diminish God's Supreme Majesty and Power, as this Destruction was Enacted by the Most Wise Counsel
6. Chapter 5: The author revisits his previous argument and demonstrates that only one God was proclaimed by the law and prophets, whom Christ recognizes as His Father, and who, through His word, revealed Himself to humanity as one living God with Him in both covenants.
7. Chapter 6:—Interpretation of Christ's Words, "No one knows the Father except the Son," etc.; how these words are misconstrued by heretics. Evidence that the Father has always been known through the revelation of the Son and the Son's revelation.
8. Chapter 7: Summary of the Previous Argument, Demonstrating that Abraham, Through the Revelation of the Word, Knew the Father, and the Arrival of the Son of God. For this Reason, He Was Delighted to Witness the Day of Christ, When the Promises Made to Him Would Be Fulfilled.
9. Chapter 8: Futile Efforts of Marcion and His Followers, Who Exclude Abraham from the Salvation Provided by Christ, Who Delivered Not Only Abraham, But Also Abraham's Descendants, by Upholding Rather Than Abolishing the Law When He Healed on the Sabbath-day.
10. Chapter 9: There is only one author and one purpose for both agreements.
11. Chapter 10: The Old Testament Scriptures, Especially Those Written by Moses, Frequently Refer to the Son of God and Predict His Arrival and Sacrifice. Therefore, They Must Have Been Inspired by the Same God.
12. Chapter 11:—The ancient prophets and virtuous individuals anticipated the arrival of Christ and yearned to see and hear Him. The Holy Ghost revealed Him in the Scriptures, and He continuously enriched humanity without changing Himself.
13. Chapter 12: - It is evident that the author of both the old and new law was the same, as indicated by Christ's condemnation of traditions and customs that contradicted the former, while affirming its most important rules, and expressing that He was Himself.
14. Chapter 13: — Christ did not nullify the natural laws, but rather fulfilled and expanded them. He eliminated the burden and slavery of the old law, so that humanity, now liberated, might serve God with the faithful devotion appropriate for children.
15. Chapter 14: If God requires obedience from humans, if He created them, summoned them and placed them under laws, it was purely for the benefit of humans; not because God needed humans, but because He generously bestowed upon them His blessings in every possible way.
16. Chapter 15: Initially, God thought it was enough to engrave natural law, or the Ten Commandments, in the hearts of men; however, He later found it essential to control the desires of the Jews, who were misusing their freedom, through the restrictions of the Mosaic law.
17. Chapter 16: Perfect righteousness was neither bestowed through circumcision nor by any other legal rites. The Ten Commandments, however, were not negated by Christ, but always remain in effect: individuals were never liberated from its obligations.
18. Chapter 17: Evidence that God did not establish the Levitical order for His own benefit or because He needed such service; indeed, He requires nothing from humans.
19. Chapter 18: About sacrifices and offerings, and those who genuinely give them.
20. Chapter 19: Earthly Things Can Represent Heavenly Things, But the Latter Can't Represent Higher Unknown Entities; Nor Can We, Without Being Utterly Insane, Insist That God is Only Known to Us as the Representation of an Unknown Superior Being.
21. Chapter 20: The belief that one God shaped everything in the world through the Word and the Holy Spirit: and although He is invisible and beyond understanding in our current life, He isn't unknown; His actions reveal Him, and His Word.
22. Chapter 21: Abraham's faith was the same as ours; this faith was foreshadowed by the words and actions of the ancient patriarchs.
23. Chapter 22: Christ didn't come just for the people of one era, but for everyone who, living a righteous and godly life, had faith in Him; and also for those who will believe in the future.
24. Chapter 23: The patriarchs and prophets, by predicting the arrival of Christ, strengthened the path of future generations towards faith in Christ, thereby easing the work of the apostles, who reaped the fruits of their labor.
25. Chapter 24: The Conversion of Non-Jews was More Challenging than Converting Jews; Hence, the Apostles Who Tackled the Former Task Experienced More Difficulty Than Those Who Focused on the Latter.
26. Chapter 25: Both agreements were symbolized in Abraham, and in Tamar's effort; however, there was only one and the same God for each agreement.
27. Chapter 26: The Hidden Treasure in the Scriptures is Christ; The True Interpretation of the Scriptures is Only Found in the Church.
28. Chapter 27 - The wrongdoings of men in ancient times, which angered God, were, through His foresight, written down so that we could learn from them and not become arrogant. Thus, we should not assume there was another...
29. Chapter 28:—Those people show themselves as foolish who overemphasize Christ's mercy, yet say nothing about judgement, focusing solely on the New Testament's abundant grace; but, they forget about the higher level of perfection it requires.
30. Chapter 29: - Refuting the Arguments of the Marcionites, Who Tried to Prove God as the Author of Sin, Because He Blinded Pharaoh and His Servants.
31. Chapter 30: Refuting another argument made by the Marcionites, that God instructed the Hebrews to plunder the Egyptians.
32. Chapter 31:—We shouldn't quickly judge as sins, the actions of ancient people that the Scripture has not condemned, but should instead search for the symbolic representation of future events in them: this is exemplified in the incest acted upon by Lot.
33. Chapter 32: Confirmation from an Apostle-Trained Presbyter that One God Authored Both Testaments
34. Chapter 33: Whoever acknowledges that one God is the author of both Testaments, and carefully reads the Scriptures along with the elders of the Church, is a true spiritual student; and he will properly understand and interpret all that the prophet says.
35. Chapter 34: Evidence Against the Marcionites, that the Prophets Referred to Our Christ in All Their Predictions.
36. Chapter 35: A Rebuttal of Those Who Claim That the Prophets Made Some Predictions Under the Inspiration of the Supreme Being and Others from the Creator. Conflicts Among the Valentinians About These Same Predictions.
37. Chapter 36: The Prophets and the Son Were Sent by the Same Father
38. Chapter 37: People have free will and the ability to make choices. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that some people are naturally good and others are naturally bad.
39. Chapter 38: Why Man Was Not Made Perfect From the Beginning.
40. Chapter 39: Humans are gifted with the ability to discern between good and evil; thus, without coercion, they have the freedom to obey God's commandments through their own will and actions, thereby avoiding the punishments reserved for those who rebel.
41. Chapter 40: The Same God, the Father, Punishes the Wicked and Rewards the Chosen Ones.
42. Chapter 41: Those People who Don't Believe in God and Disobey are Devil's Angels and Sons, Not by Nature, but by Imitation. End of this Book and Purpose of the Next.
🎧 Against Heresies: Book IV
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See 1885 English translation

Chapter 41: Those People who Don't Believe in God and Disobey are Devil's Angels and Sons, Not by Nature, but by Imitation. End of this Book and Purpose of the Next.

SINCE THE LORD HAS SAID THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN ANGELS: specifically those of the devil, for whom eternal fire is prepared; and also, He states regarding the tares, "The tares are the children of the wicked one," it must be affirmed that He has attributed all who are part of the apostasy to him who is the leader of this transgression. But He made neither angels nor men this way by nature. For we do not find that the devil created anything at all, since he is himself a creature of God, like the other angels. For God made all things, as David also says regarding all things of this sort: "For He spoke the word, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created."

SINCE ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY GOD: and the devil has become the cause of apostasy for himself and others, Scripture justly calls those who remain in a state of apostasy "sons of the devil" and "angels of the wicked one." The word "son" has a twofold meaning: one is a son by nature because he was born a son; the other becomes a son, considered so despite the difference between being born and being made so. The first is indeed born from the person, but the second is made so by him, whether through creation or by learning his teachings. When someone is taught by another, he is called the son of his instructor, and the instructor is called his father. By nature, or by creation, we are all sons of God, because we have all been created by God. But with respect to obedience and doctrine, not all are sons of God; only those who believe in Him and do His will are. Those who do not believe and do not obey His will are sons and angels of the devil, because they do the works of the devil. This is declared in Isaiah: "I have begotten and brought up children, but they have rebelled against Me." And again, it says that these children are aliens: "Strange children have lied unto Me." By nature, they are His children, because they were created as such; but regarding their works, they are not His children.

JUST AS: among people, those children who disobey their fathers are disinherited but remain their children by nature, yet legally lose their inheritance; so it is with God—those who do not obey Him are disinherited by Him and cease to be His children.

Therefore, they cannot receive His inheritance, as David says, “Sinners are alienated from birth; their rage is like that of a serpent.” This is why the Lord called those He knew to be mere descendants of humans “a generation of vipers,” because like those creatures, they act subtly and harm others.

He warned, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Regarding Herod, He said, “Go and tell that fox,” referring to his wicked cunning and deceit. The prophet David said, “Man, placed in honor, is made like cattle.” Jeremiah said, “They have become like horses, frenzied after females; each neighs after his neighbor’s wife.” Isaiah, preaching in Judea and reasoning with Israel, called them “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah,” indicating their similarity to the Sodomites in wickedness and widespread sin, calling them by the same name because of their similar behavior.

Since they were not created by God to be this way and had the ability to act righteously, he advised them, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove evil from your souls before my eyes; cease from your sins.” Thus, having transgressed and sinned similarly, they received the same reproach as the Sodomites. Yet, when they convert, repent, and stop doing evil, they have the power to become the children of God and receive the inheritance of immortality given by Him.

For this reason, He called those who follow the devil and do his works “angels of the devil” and “children of the wicked one.” Yet all are created by the same God. When they believe, submit to God, and follow His teachings, they are the children of God; but when they fall away and transgress, they are attributed to the devil—the leader who first caused apostasy to himself and then to others.

SINCE THE WORDS OF THE LORD ARE NUMEROUS AND THEY ALL PROCLAIM ONE AND THE SAME FATHER: the Creator of this world, it is my duty, for their own sake, to refute by many arguments those who are caught in numerous errors, so that if by any means, when they are proven wrong by many proofs, they may be converted to the truth and saved. It is also necessary to include in this composition, following the words of the Lord, the teachings of Paul, to examine his opinion, explain the apostle, and clarify any passages that have been misinterpreted by heretics, who have completely misunderstood what Paul spoke, and to highlight the folly of their irrational opinions.

It is important to demonstrate from Paul, from whose writings they challenge us, that they are indeed speaking falsehoods, but that the apostle was a preacher of the truth, and that he taught everything in line with the preaching of the truth; meaning that it was one God the Father who spoke with Abraham, who gave the law, who sent the prophets beforehand, who in these last times sent His Son, and granted salvation to His own creation—that is, the substance of flesh.

Therefore, by arranging in another book the rest of the words of the Lord, which He taught concerning the Father not with parables, but with straightforward expressions, and by explaining the Epistles of the blessed apostle, I shall, with God’s help, provide you with the complete work of exposing and refuting knowledge falsely so-called; thus preparing both you and me in these five books to oppose all heretics.

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Against Heresies: Book IV

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