For in as many years as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: "Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that he had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works" (Gen. 2:2) This is an account of the things formerly created, as it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year. (Book 5, Ch.28.3)
        And for this cause tribulation is necessary for those who are saved, that having been after a manner broken up, and rendered fine, and sprinkled by the patience of the Word of God, and set on fire [for purification], they may be filled for the royal banquet. (Book 5, Ch.28.4)
        And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, "There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be." (Matt.24:21) For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome, they are crowned with incorruption. (Book 5 Ch.29.1)
        (Speaking of the Antichrist and the # 666)…that man in whom is concentrated the whole apostasy of six thousand years, and unrighteousness, and wickedness, and false prophecy, and deception; for which things’ sake a cataclysm of fire shall also come [upon the earth].
        (Book 5 Ch.29.2)
        But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple of Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Matt.8:2) (Book 5, Ch.30.4)
        …resurrection of the just, and of the [earthly] kingdom which is the commencement of incorruption, by means of which kingdom those who shall be worthy are accustomed gradually to partake of the divine nature (capere Deum - or to gradually comprehend God) and it is necessary to tell them respecting those things, that it behooves the righteous first to receive the promise of the inheritance which God promised to the fathers, and to reign in it, when they rise again to behold God in this creation which is renovated and that the judgment should take place afterwards. For it is just that in that very creation in which they toiled or were afflicted, being proved in every way by suffering, they should receive the reward of their suffering; and that in the creation in which they were slain because of their love to God, in that they should be revived again; and that in the creation in which they endured servitude, in that they should reign. For God is rich in all things and all thing are His. It is fitting, therefore, that the creation itself, being restored to its primeval condition, should without restraint be under the dominion of the righteous; and the apostle has made this plain in the Epistle to the Romans, where he speaks thus: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits or the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:18-23) (Book 5, Ch.32.1)
        (After saying that the promise to Abraham still needs to be fulfilled - see Genesis 8:13-14, 17)
        Now God made promise of the earth to Abraham and his seed; yet neither Abraham nor his seed, that is, those who are justified by faith, do now receive inheritance in it; but they shall receive it at the resurrection of the just. For God is true and faithful; and on this account He said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matt.5:5) (Book 5, Ch.32.2)
        (In reference to Genesis 27:27 not being fulfilled) The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon rising from the dead…(Book 5, Ch.33.3)
        For all these and other words were unquestionably spoken in reference to the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of the Antichrist, and the destruction of all nations under his rule; in [the times of] which [resurrection] the righteous shall reign in the earth, waxing stronger by the might of the Lord: and through Him they shall become accustomed to partake in the glory of God the Father, and shall enjoy in the kingdom intercourse and communion with the holy angels, and union with spiritual beings and [with respect to] those whom the Lord shall find in the flesh, awaiting Him from heaven, and who have suffered tribulation, as well as escaped the hands of the Wicked One. For it is in reference to them that the prophet says, "And those that are left shall multiply upon the earth." (Book 5, Ch.35.1)
        Now all these things being such as they are, cannot be understood in reference to super-celestial matters; "For God", it is said, "will show to the whole earth that is under heaven thy glory." But in the times of the kingdom, the earth has been called (returned?) again by Christ [to its pristine condition], and Jerusalem rebuilt after the pattern of Jerusalem above…
        Irenaeus proceeds to quote the following Scriptures:
        Isaiah 49:16; Galatians 4:26; Revelation 21:2; Rev. 20:2; Rev. 20:12-14; Matthew 25:41; Rev. 20:15; Rev. 21:1-4; Is. 65:17-18; 1 Cor. 7:31; Matt. 26:35; Ez. 25:40; Rev. 21:5-6;
(Book 5, Ch.35.2)
In this last section of Against Heresies, Book 5 Irenaeus also quotes the following verses:
Is. 40:6 ff.; Is. 26:19; Ezekiel 37:12 ff.; Ez. 28:25, 26; Matt. 3:9; Jeremiah 23:6-7; Is. 58:14;
Luke 7:37-38; Rev. 20:6; Is. 7:2; Daniel 7:27; Dan. 7:13; Jer. 31:10 ff.; Is. 31:9 & 32:1;
Is. 54:11-14; Is. 65:18; Baruch 4:36 through chapter 5
From St. Justin Martyr’s "Dialogue with Trypho" (he quotes Daniel 7:9-28) then says:
But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare. (Chapter 80) (Ch.81 - after above-mentioned 1000 years comes the eternal resurrection and the judgment.)