The ''Book of Nepos'' is a lost 3rd century Christian text written by an Egyptian bishop Nepos of Arsinoe, which advocated for a strictly

literal Literal may refer to: * Interpretation of legal concepts: ** Strict constructionism ** The plain meaning rule The plain meaning rule, also known as the literal rule, is one of three rules of statutory construction traditionally applied by ...

interpretation of the Bible against

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

readings. This included especially a literal reading of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

, a minority position at the time. The ''Book of Nepos'' no longer exists, and is known only indirectly through

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

, who quoted a work by

Pope Dionysius of Alexandria Dionysius the Great ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξανδρείας) was the 14th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from 28 December 248 until his death on 22 March 264. Most information known about him comes from his large surviving correspo ...

criticizing Nepos. Nepos was a strict literalist (believing the entire

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

is true in a literal sense). His text, also known as the ''Refutation of the Allegorisers'' (or ''Refutation of the Allegorists'') was aimed at refuting the arguments of those who held that certain sections of the Bible were mere

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

. In particular, the text is aimed at discrediting the then dominant position that the

book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

should be interpreted allegorically rather than literally. Amongst the teachings in the text is the belief that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

would come to earth and physically reign as monarch for 1000 years during an age of righteous delight. This belief was regarded as fairly orthodox in the early church (e.g. it was held by

Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the de ...

, and

Justin Martyr Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...

), however, the later church came to view Revelation as more allegorical. The dispute with Nepos, as found in

is in fact, the first instance of

premillennialism Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, a literal thousand-year golden age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a literal interpretat ...

ever being refuted. Pope Dionysius felt moved to write a text (''On the Promises'') against it, although he regarded Nepos highly and attempted to criticize the doctrine without insulting Nepos personally. The ''Book of Nepos'' was so popular within the villages around Alexandria that Dionysius went there in person to refute it. In deference to Nepos and the prior orthodoxy of strict literalism, he did so politely, entering a respectful dialogue with those from the village and contesting each of the arguments they took from the ''Book of Nepos'' in turn. The refutation Dionysius offered was based on the notion that John was not the author of the Book of Revelation, popularly attributed to him. It was based on stylistic differences between the Gospels and epistles thought to be of John. Eusebius himself described the interpretation of Nepos as advocating that the Divine Scriptures be "understood in a more Jewish manner." The followers of Nepos were called Nepotians.

References

{{Authority control 3rd-century Christian texts Biblical commentaries Book of Revelation Books about hermeneutics Egyptian books Lost books Lost religious texts