Yes, he believed there would be a rebuilt temple, BUT soon after the fall of the Roman Empire, because as I have shown, he said that the empire "then ruling over the earth", the Roman Empire, would be divided into 10 kingdoms, among which his expected Antichrist would arise, and we cannot escape this. Please re-read chapter 26, section one.I have shown that Iraneus taught that the future antichrist would indeed sit in and desecrate a temple of God at Jerusalem. A real temple, not an allegorical temple.
If you can show that there was a temple of God in Jerusalem in 538 AD that was desecrated, I'm all ears.
And if you would be so kind to show a quote of Irenaus stating that the 4th beast with ten kings was the Roman Empire, I'm all ears.
Even a casual surface reading of scripture tell us that the 10 horns (10 kings) of the beast are 10 kings that have power with the beast for 1 hour. (Revelation 17:12)
Indicating that all 10 kings have this power at the same time, not just 1 of them as if there was succession of them over several years in which all the others were past tense.
Not to mention that is these 10 horns (10 kings) together that hate the whore (Mystery Babylon) and desecrate her (Revelation 17:16), not just 1 of a succession of 10.
Likewise, in Daniel, the statue with the feet of 10 toes is not destroyed until the stone smashes the feet with the 10 toes. Indicating that both feet are presently in power when the smashing takes place (Daniel 2:42-44).
And there is the added indication that the 4th beast of Daniel is said to be "different" from the other 3.
The first 3 are given descriptions of known earthly animals (lion, bear, leopard).
But the 4th is not given any description of a known earthly animal.
Why?
This 4th beast is so much more fierce than any earthly kingdom. And rightly so, as the 4th beast (the beast of Revelation) will be empowered with signs and wonders that are non-earthly. The Roman Army did not exhibit those kinds of signs and wonders. They were an earthly army with earthly power as the rest were.
While the Roman army certainly had control of and even devastated Jerusalem, they did not do it with the sort of powers that that the beast of Revelation speaks of. They did it by regular old earthly power. In other words, there was really nothing "different" to speak of with the Roman Army than any other army earthly army.
No, there was something really really different about this 4th beast.
Everything needs to line up. And it's not lining up with the Roman Army theory.
The world has not yet seen an army that demonstrated the miraculous signs and wonders that the 4th beast does.
But it will.
The "hour" of Revelation is the Greek word from which we get "era", which is exactly what history reveals - the simultaneous reign of the little horn and the other kingdoms which became Europe for 1260 years.
The diverseness of the 4th beast is clearly seen in that the Roman Empire absorbed the various gods of those it conquered, which resulted in such a pantheon of dietys which can hardly be numbered today. However, the "little horn" is said to be diverse from the other ten horns, in that the Papacy was a Religio/Political kingdom, which it is again today.
Again, Irenaeus taught that Rome would fall and be divided into ten kingdoms among which the Antichrist would arise back then, not in the future, as I have shown from his very own writings.