Hints on the possible "Whore of Babylon", page 1

Interesting this link between Tryptamines and supernatural phenomena. In Brazil I knew about a small cult that claimed you had out of body experiences with Ayahuasca ("Cha de Sao Daime") which is similar to Tryptamines in it's chemistry (it is a Tryptamine actually). They were going to get Goverment regulation (primarily due to all the tourists having bad trips and then returning home altered). May I suggest you read a little on Terence Mckenna twitch? I heard he is an expert on the correlations between these and other drugs and spiritual ideologies. You might be interested in knowing that sorcery and drug use is many times lumped together in the bible (ie: the Greek "Pharmacos" is often used to denote witchcraft). I obviously don't believe the bible authors were stoned though

Spam, that would be incorrect. You see, Revelations is just an indepth study of former prophecy (particularly Daniel's 70 weeks). It fill's in on what we didn't know, and fleshes out the senario a bit more. So it wasn't really written as a scared reactionary anti-Roman piece to be honest. Many would disagree with me though, but I'm a Pre-Millennialist.

Eusebius' Ecclesiastical history, 3:39 records Papias' (140AD) testimony that John the apostle taught him that Jesus would literally come back in the flesh and reign for 1000 years.
Justin Martyr (165AD) was a disciple of Polycarp. Polycarp worked with John the Apostle in ministry for over 20 years. Justin states in his Dialogue chapters 32 & 110 that their would be a literal 7 year tribulation, and chapter 81 there will be a literal 1000 year reign of Christ.
Irenaeus (177AD), who also studied under Polycarp and talked with John when he was young, teaches in his 'Against Heresies' 5:25-30 a literal tribulation and 1000 year reign of Christ. He goes on to say in 5:35 that Christians who try to allegorize these things are immature Christians.
Tertullian (202AD) taught in his 'Against Marcion' 3.5 that the 1000 year reign of Christ is real.

In Eusebius' Ecclesiastical history (325AD) states in 7.25 the Gnostic Cerinthus started teaching not only is the 1000 years literal but it would be for gratifying the sensual appetites like, food, drink, sex, ect. This perverse teaching lead some early Christians to reject the book of Revelation and others to accept it but view the 1000 years as symbolic.
In Ecclesiastical history 7.24 we learn when allegorical interpretation became the normal style of interpretation Nepos, a bishop in Egypt, around 295 AD, wrote a book entitled "Refutation of the Allegorists" In which he interpreted the millennium as literal. This led some to think he was trying to revive the old teaching of Cerinthus. This caused more Christians to begin to hold to the millennium among other things as allegorical. Others began to avoid the issue all together.
Dionysius, in his "Promises," also mentions Nepos and Millennialism. ECF 6.81
Victorinus commentary on Revelation chapter 22 also mentions Cerinthus.

Eusebius (325AD) and Augustine (597AD) taught the Millennium was not literal. But remember at the council of Nicea, instead of taking the position that Jesus was homousos or heterousos, Eusebius tried to make a compromise stating Jesus was neither, which of course did not work. This shows his tendency toward avoiding the controversy. Augustan taught what would later be called Calvinism. All the first and second century fathers taught it was a Gnostic perversion to say man is not given a choice in salvation.

Cerinth (a gnostic) was the main force which had many people hold the book as allegorical or a piece of apocrypha at best. Thanks to him many people were turned off by a literal interpretation of Revelations (due to his perverse teaching on sensual apetites being fullfilled by the second coming of Christ).

[edit on 27-1-2006 by Nakash]