Another instance of apostolic tradition that contradicts contemporary Roman Catholic belief is purported to have been given by Papias: “Papias, who is now mentioned by us, affirms that he received the sayings of the apostles from those who accompanied them, and he moreover asserts that he heard in person Aristion and the presbyter John. Accordingly he mentions them frequently by name, and in his writings gives their traditions. . . . The same person, moreover, has set down other things as coming to him from unwritten tradition, amongst these some strange parables and instructions of the Savior, and some other things of a more fabulous nature. Amongst these he says that there will be a millennium after the resurrection from the dead, when the personal reign of Christ will be established on this earth” (Fragments of Papias: From The Exposition Of The Oracles Of The Lord, VI:10-13). The “apostolic tradition” expressed here is decidedly premillennial—contra the Roman Catholic church which hols to an amillennial eschatology. (Eric D. Svendsen, Evangelical Answers: A Critique of Current Roman Catholic Apologists [Lindenhurst, N.Y.: Reformation Press, 1999], 212 n. 130)
