The Joachimites , also known as Joachites , a millenarian group, arose from the Franciscans in the thirteenth century. They based their ideas on the prior works of Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135 – 1202), though rejecting the Church of their day more strongly than he had. Joachimite beliefs were condemned by the Fourth Council of the Lateran and Joachimite interpretations became popular during the Protestant Reformation , and even influenced some Protestant interpretations. He also divided history into three ages: the ages of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
102-648: Joachim of Fiore believed in a historicist interpretation of eschatology , and mysticism . Joachim's works divide history into three ages. The first age was of the Father. The age of the Father was the age of the Old Covenant . The second age was of the Son and therefore the world of Christianity. The third and final age would be that of the Holy Spirit. In this new age an "Eternal Gospel" would be revealed as "fulfilling" and replacing
204-440: A pope , he also saw that Rome represented Babylon, Joachim associated the papacy as both an absolute evil and with angelic good. Joachim of Fiore also believed that Israel will join the church before the end times and be converted and that the eastern and western churches will unify as "one flock". Joachim believed in a futuristic millennial kingdom , as predicted in the book of Revelation, unlike people like Augustine who believed
306-642: A bed of nails, commissioning an attempted assassination, executions without trials, unjust excommunication , doubting the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist , and even burning it. Benno held that Gregory VII was "either a member of Antichrist, or Antichrist himself." Eberhard II von Truchsees, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1241, denounced Pope Gregory IX at the Council of Regensburg as "that man of perdition, whom they call Antichrist, who in his extravagant boasting says, I am God, I cannot err." He argued that
408-541: A certain category of persons, rather than an individual. Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
510-658: A forerunner of Antichrist". Jerome wrote: "Says the apostle [Paul in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians], 'Unless the Roman Empire should first be desolated, and antichrist proceed, Christ will not come.'" He also identifies the little horn of Daniel 7:8 and 7:24–25 which "He shall speak as if he were God." Some Franciscans had considered the Emperor Frederick II a positive Antichrist who would purify
612-460: A form of futurism (1590), and Luis de Alcazar a form of preterism, at the same period. The historicist approach has been used in attempts to predict the date of the end of the world . An example in post-Reformation Britain is in the works of Charles Wesley , who predicted that the end of the world would occur in 1794, based on his analysis of the Book of Revelation. Adam Clarke , whose commentary
714-637: A kind of person prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before the Second Coming . The term Antichrist (including one plural form) is found four times in the New Testament , solely in the First and Second Epistle of John . Antichrist is announced as one "who denies the Father and the Son." The similar term pseudokhristos or "false Christ"
816-505: A one-doctrine movement—the visual, literal, premillennial return of Jesus in the clouds of heaven. Miller was not alone in his interest in prophecies. There were three things that Miller determined about this text: Miller tied the vision to the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9 where a beginning is given. He concluded that the 70-weeks (or 70-7s or 490 days/years) were the first 490 years of
918-524: A perjurer against the Holy Roman Church, notorious throughout the whole Roman world for the basest of crimes, namely, Wilbert , plunderer of the holy church of Ravenna , Antichrist, and arch- heretic ." Cardinal Benno , on the opposite side of the Investiture Controversy , wrote long descriptions of abuses committed by Gregory VII, including necromancy , torture of a former friend upon
1020-801: A price for its sins and was conquered by the Assyrians, in the fifth seal the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and under the sixth seal the Jews suffered captivity in Babylon and in the seventh seal the Temple was rebuilt and the Jews had a time of peace until the Greeks came, which caused an end to the Old Covenant, and the era of the Father came to an end. The coming of Jesus resulted in the replacement of God's chosen people : he believed that
1122-654: Is also found in the Gospels . In Matthew ( chapter 24 ) and Mark ( chapter 13 ), Jesus alerts his disciples not to be deceived by the false prophets , who will claim themselves to be the Christ , performing "great signs and wonders ". Three other images often associated with Antichrist are the "little horn" in Daniel's final vision , the " man of sin " in Paul the Apostle 's Second Epistle to
SECTION 10
#17330928771261224-459: Is disputed. The Greek term antikhristos originates in 1 John. The similar term pseudokhristos ("False Messiah") is also first found in the New Testament , but never used by Josephus in his accounts of various false messiahs. The concept of an antikhristos is not found in Jewish writings in the period 500 BC–50 AD. However, Bernard McGinn conjectures that the concept may have been generated by
1326-421: Is interpreted as dealing with the Jewish nation from about the middle of the 5th century BCE until not long after the death of Jesus in the 1st century CE and so is not concerned with current or future history. Historicists consider Antiochus IV Epiphanes irrelevant to the fulfillment of the prophecy. The historicist view on the prophecy of seventy weeks, in Daniel 9, stretches from 457 BCE to 34 CE , and that
1428-576: Is killed by Jesus Christ at the end of his three-and-a-half-year reign, shortly after which the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will happen. Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 298–373) wrote that Arius of Alexandria is to be associated with the Antichrist, saying, "And ever since [the Council of Nicaea] has Arius's error been reckoned for a heresy more than ordinary, being known as Christ's foe, and harbinger of [the] Antichrist." As part of his prediction that
1530-457: Is often viewed negatively by Catholics . Historicism (Christianity) In Christian eschatology , historicism is a method of interpretation of biblical prophecies which associates symbols with historical persons, nations or events. The main primary texts of interest to Christian historicists include apocalyptic literature , such as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation . It sees
1632-477: Is persecuting the people of Christ and the saints of God with intolerable opposition, is confounding things human and divine, and is attempting things unutterable, execrable. Protestant Reformers , including John Wycliffe , Martin Luther , John Calvin , Thomas Cranmer , John Thomas , John Knox , Roger Williams , Cotton Mather , and John Wesley , as well as most Protestants of the 16th–18th centuries, felt that
1734-453: Is reigning, two very famous men, Elijah and Enoch, will go forth to announce the coming of the Lord. Antichrist will kill them and after three days they will be raised up by the Lord. Then there will be a great persecution, such as has not been before nor shall be thereafter. The Lord will shorten those days for the sake of the elect, and the Antichrist will be slain by the power of God through Michael
1836-592: Is said to 'confirm' the "covenant" between God and humankind by his death on the cross in the Spring (about Passover time) of 31 CE "in the midst of" the last seven years. According to the New Testament, at the moment of his death the 4 inch (10 cm) thick curtain between the Holy and Most Holy Places in the Temple ripped from top to bottom marking the end of the Temple's sacrificial system. The last week ends 3½ years after
1938-430: Is to say, the Antichrist, "the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or religion, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until
2040-517: The 2 Thessalonians passage about the " man of lawlessness " (or "lawless one"), saying: "Surely, if he is empty of charity and filled with vain knowledge and lifted up, he is Antichrist sitting in God's temple and showing himself as God." This incident is history's earliest record of anyone identifying a pope with the Antichrist (see Christian Historicism ). Pope Gregory VII (c. 1015 or 1029–1085), struggled against, in his own words, "a robber of temples,
2142-497: The Byzantine Emperor Maurice in A.D. 597, concerning the titles of bishops, "I say with confidence that whoever calls or desires to call himself 'universal priest' in self-exaltation of himself is a precursor of the Antichrist." By the end of the tenth century, Adso of Montier-en-Der , a Benedictine monk, compiled a biography of Antichrist based on a variety of exegetical and Sibylline sources; his account became one of
SECTION 20
#17330928771262244-748: The Counter-Reformation . This alternate view served to bolster the Catholic Church's position against attacks by Protestants, and is viewed as a Catholic defense against the Protestant Historicist view which identified the Roman Catholic Church as a persecuting apostasy and the Pope with the antichrist . One of the most influential aspects of the Protestant historicist paradigm was
2346-625: The Early Church had been led into the Great Apostasy by the Papacy and identified the Pope with the Antichrist . Luther declared that not just a pope from time to time was Antichrist, but the Papacy was Antichrist because they were "the representatives of an institution opposed to Christ". The Centuriators of Magdeburg , a group of Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg headed by Matthias Flacius , wrote
2448-671: The Fourth Council of the Lateran . Further, his admirers came to believe the beginning of this New Age would be ushered in by the coming of a virtuous Pope from the Franciscan order. They considered Celestine V (elected in 1294) to be this Pope. His resignation, and death in 1296 in the dungeons of the next Pope, was considered a sign of the coming of the Anti-Christ . Around this time, or somewhat before, they further decided Joachim's writings were
2550-598: The Katechon , the "one who now restrains" the coming of the Antichrist. The identity of this person, if it is a person, is mysterious and the subject of debate. Although the word "antichrist" (Greek antikhristos ) is used only in the Epistles of John, the similar word "pseudochrist" (Greek pseudokhristos , meaning "false messiah") is used by Jesus in the Gospels : For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even
2652-1075: The Lutherans , the Reformed Churches , the Presbyterians , the Baptists , the Anabaptists , and the Methodists contain references to the Pope as the Antichrist, including the Smalcald Articles , Article 4 (1537), the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope written by Philip Melanchthon (1537), the Westminster Confession , Article 25.6 (1646), and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith , Article 26.4. In 1754, John Wesley published his Explanatory Notes Upon
2754-562: The Number of the Beast from Revelation 13:18, to numerologically decode several possible names. Some names that he loosely proposed were "Teitan", "Evanthos", "Lateinos" ("Latin" or pertaining to the Roman Empire ). In his exegesis of Daniel 7:21, he stated that the ten horns of the beast will be the Roman Empire divided into ten kingdoms before the Antichrist's arrival. Additionally, he stated that
2856-399: The final "week" of the prophecy refers to the events of the ministry of Jesus . This was the view taught by Martin Luther, John Calvin and Sir Isaac Newton. Like others before them they equate the beginning of the 70 weeks "from the time the word goes out to rebuild and restore Jerusalem," of Daniel 9:25 with the decree by Artaxerxes I in 458/7 BCE which provided money for rebuilding
2958-509: The prophecies of Daniel as being fulfilled throughout history, extending from the past through the present to the future. It is sometimes called the continuous historical view. Commentators have also applied historicist methods to ancient Jewish history , to the Roman Empire , to Islam , to the Papacy , to the Modern era , and to the end time . The historicist method starts with Daniel 2 and works progressively through consecutive prophecies of
3060-691: The "first seal" of the Old Testament the Jews endured oppression by the Egyptians, in the "second seal" they battled against the Canaanites and established their royal power and priesthood in Jerusalem. During the third seal, the kingdom of the Hebrews was divided into many tribes, in the fourth seal Israel paid a price for its sins and was conquered by the Assyrians, in the fifth seal the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and under
3162-567: The "little horn" in Daniel 7 :8 and [[Daniel 8#Christian eschatological readings ]]:9 as the Papacy . Adam Clarke , writing in 1825, offered an alternative 1260-year period from 755 AD to 2015, based upon the Pope's elevation from being a subject of the Byzantine Empire to becoming the independent head of the Papal States by means of the Donation of Pepin . The prophecy of seventy weeks
Joachimites - Misplaced Pages Continue
3264-530: The "man of lawlessness" reflected his understanding, but was significantly amended by later revisers, including the King James Bible committee , which followed the Vulgate more closely. Rather than expecting a single antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Luther, John Calvin and other Protestant reformers saw the antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in
3366-452: The 12-volume Magdeburg Centuries to discredit the Catholic Church and lead other Christians to recognize the Pope as the Antichrist. So, rather than expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in the Papacy. Among
3468-610: The 2300 years. The 490 years were to begin with the command to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. The Bible records 4 decrees concerning Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. Traditional Protestant historicism interprets the four kingdoms in the Book of Daniel as Neo-Babylon , Medo-Persia (c. 550–330 BC), Greece under Alexander the Great , and the Roman Empire . followed by the birth of Jesus Christ (the Rock). Additionally, historicists view
3570-523: The 9th century). The 10th-century Catholic bishop Arnulf of Orléans was, according to Elliott, the first to apply the Man of Sin prophecy in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–9 to the papacy . Joachim of Floris gave the same interpretation in 1190, and the archbishop Eberhard II, Archbishop of Salzburg|Eberhard II , in 1240. Joachim of Fiore was an early historicist theologian. Joachimites divided history into three overlapping "stages" which each correspond to
3672-655: The Alps and the Pyrenees, between the Rhine and the Ocean, has been laid waste by hordes of Quadi , Vandals , Sarmatians , Alans , Gepids , Herules , Saxons , Burgundians , Alemanni , and—alas for the commonweal!—even Pannonians . In his Commentary on Daniel , Jerome noted, "Let us not follow the opinion of some commentators and suppose him to be either the Devil or some demon, but rather, one of
3774-474: The Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians, Christians would avoid deception. Jerome (c. 347–420) warned that those substituting false interpretations for the actual meaning of scripture belonged to the "synagogue of the Antichrist". "He that is not of Christ is of Antichrist", he wrote to Pope Damasus I . He believed that "the mystery of lawlessness" written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 was already in action when "every one chatters about his views." To Jerome,
3876-483: The Antichrist. Origen, using scriptural citations from Daniel , Paul, and the Gospels argued: Where is the absurdity, then, in holding that there exist among men, so to speak, two extremes—the one of virtue, and the other of its opposite; so that the perfection of virtue dwells in the man who realizes the ideal given in Jesus, from whom there flowed to the human race so great a conversion, and healing, and amelioration, while
3978-658: The Archangel on the Mount of Olives. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) wrote "it is uncertain in what temple [the Antichrist] shall sit, whether in that ruin of the temple which was built by Solomon, or in the Church." Gregory of Tours claimed that the antichrist would place his image to be worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem, he would assert himself to be Christ and would call for Christians to undergo circumcision. Pope Gregory I wrote to
4080-414: The Catholic Church because the Pope would be the Antichrist. Thus, he saw the papacy as both a force of good and evil. Protestant Reformers had a major interest in historicism, with a direct application to their struggle against the Papacy. Prominent leaders and scholars among them, including Martin Luther , John Calvin , Thomas Cranmer , John Knox , and Cotton Mather , identified the Roman Papacy as
4182-437: The Catholic Church from opulence, riches and clergy. Historicist interpretations of Book of Revelation usually included the identification of one or more of the following: The Protestant Reformers tended to hold the belief that the Antichrist power would be revealed so that everyone would comprehend and recognize that the Pope is the real, true Antichrist and not the vicar of Christ. Doctrinal works of literature published by
Joachimites - Misplaced Pages Continue
4284-452: The Catholic theory that there was a gap in prophetic fulfillment of prophecy proposed by Futurism, but dispensationalism claim it was an anti-Catholic position. The unprecedented upheaval of the French Revolution in the 1790s was one of several factors that turned the eyes of Bible students around the world to the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Coming to the Bible with a historicist scheme of interpretation, Bible scholars began to study
4386-405: The Eternal Gospel or the road to it. The fact that the movement also moved toward a more practical approach did have some influence. It was one of the first movements to be heavily geared toward the future as being made perfectible through human action. This action was largely to lead toward a great supernatural event, but had a great deal of real-world notions of progress. Ultimately, however, this
4488-415: The Hebrews erred by a denial of the trinity and due to that the Hebrews lost their priesthood and royal power, which was given to the gentiles. Joachim drew connections between the rise of Islam and errors of the Greek church, he especially criticized the Orthodox rejection of filioque as a heresy. According to Joachim, God promising Hezekiah in protection in the Old Testament paralleled God's protection of
4590-436: The Hebrews, he believed that the Hebrews were too "carnal" in observing the law and did not have the "inner sight" to see the "light of Jesus". Joachim also saw the story of Zachary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-7) in a similar way, he saw that Zachary signified the relates of the Jews and Elizabeth the "church of the Levites". Elizabeth's pregnancy revealed that the Synagogue would give birth to Jesus, Zachary did not originally believe
4692-401: The Jews were the elect people of God during the Old Testament, he believed that during the "first seal" of the Old Testament the Jews endured oppression by the Egyptians, in the "second seal" they battled against the Canaanites and established their royal power and priesthood in Jerusalem. During the third seal the kingdom of the Hebrews was divided into many tribes, in the fourth seal Israel paid
4794-418: The Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. The latter of these passages is also the primary scriptural source concerning
4896-426: The Millerites eventually organized the Seventh-day Adventist Church , which continues to maintain a historicist reading of biblical prophecy as essential to its eschatology . Millerites also formed other Adventist bodies, including the one that spawned the Watch Tower movement, better known as Jehovah's Witnesses, who hold to their own unique historicist interpretations of Bible prophecy. Prophetic commentaries in
4998-433: The New Testament , which is currently a Doctrinal Standard of the United Methodist Church . In his notes on the Book of Revelation (chapter 13), he commented: "The whole succession of Popes from Gregory VII are undoubtedly Antichrists. Yet this hinders not, but that the last Pope in this succession will be more eminently the Antichrist, the Man of Sin, adding to that of his predecessors a peculiar degree of wickedness from
5100-436: The New Testament emphasis on the imminence of the end. The main reason of Joachim was that history forms an image of its creator, and because the creator has three persons, history should be seen in three ages. Joachim also said that there were two great dispensations, which were the Old Testament and the New Testament. Joachim believed that the Jews were the elect people of God during the Old Testament, he believed that during
5202-416: The Prophecies of the Book of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John . It took a stance toward the papacy similar to that of the early Protestant reformers. He avoided predictions based on prophetic literature, taking the view that prophecy when it has been shown to be fulfilled will be proof that God's providence has been imminently active in the world. This work regarded much prophecy as already fulfilled in
SECTION 50
#17330928771265304-409: The Roman Empire was the restraining force written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7–8. The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the disintegration of the ten provinces of the Roman Empire into ten kingdoms were to make way for the Antichrist. By, "For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first," he [Paul] means indeed this present empire, "and the man of lawlessness is revealed"—that
5406-435: The Thessalonians , and the Beast of the Sea in the Book of Revelation. Antichrist is translated from the combination of two ancient Greek words ἀντί + Χριστός (anti + Christos). In Greek, Χριστός means "anointed one" and the word Christ derives from it. " Ἀντί " means not only anti in the sense of "against" and "opposite of", but also "in place of". Whether the New Testament contains an individual Antichrist
5508-402: The Tribulation refers to the centuries of persecution endured by the Church and point to the following in the rest of the New Testament which shows the "tribulation", that almost every reference applies to what true Christians go through, rather than what they escape from. This view is also called Classical Posttribulationism, an original theory of the Post-tribulation rapture view which holds
5610-439: The angel Gabriel's proclamation that Elizabeth would have a child and became mute, which represents the duality of Jewish priesthood. Joachim believed that such as Tobit and Zachary were pious people, but they were still deprived of their sight and likewise, the Hebrews erred by a denial of the trinity and due to that the Hebrews lost their priesthood and loyal power which was given to the gentiles. Joachim drew connections between
5712-465: The antichrist would be of the tribe of Dan, evoking Jeremiah 8:16. This would correlate to the Talmudic view of the Jewish Messiah coming from the tribe of Dan on his maternal line. However, his readings of the Antichrist were more in broader theological terms rather than within a historical context. The non-canonical Ascension of Isaiah presents a detailed exposition of the Antichrist as Belial and Nero . Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220 AD) held that
5814-408: The antichrist. The Centuriators of Magdeburg , a group of Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg headed by Matthias Flacius , wrote the 12-volume " Magdeburg Centuries " to discredit the papacy and identify the pope as the antichrist. The fifth round of talks in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue notes, In calling the pope the "antichrist," the early Lutherans stood in a tradition that reached back into
5916-420: The appearance of the good, for that reason are signs, and marvels, and lying miracles found to accompany evil, through the cooperation of its father the devil. Cyril of Jerusalem , in the mid-4th century, delivered his 15th catechetical lecture about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in which he also lectures about the Antichrist, who will reign as the ruler of the world for three and a half years, before he
6018-410: The beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet after him. And in speaking of "horns like a lamb," he means that he will make himself like the Son of God, and set himself forward as king. And the terms, "it spoke like a dragon," mean that he is a deceiver, and not truthful. Origen (185–254) refuted Celsus ' view of
6120-427: The best-known descriptions of Antichrist in the Middle Ages. De Antichristo libri undecim , published by Tomàs Maluenda in 1604, is considered the most complete treatise on the subject. Arnulf (bishop of Orléans) disagreed with the policies and morals of Pope John XV . He expressed his views while presiding over the Council of Reims in A.D. 991 . Arnulf accused John XV of being the Antichrist while also using
6222-401: The book—chapters 7 , 8 and 11 —resulting in a view of Daniel's prophecies very different from preterism and futurism . Almost all Protestant Reformers from the Reformation into the 19th century held historicist views. Historicists believe that prophetic interpretation reveals the entire course of history of the church from the writing of the Book of Daniel, some centuries before
SECTION 60
#17330928771266324-520: The close of the 1st century, to the end of time . Historicist interpretations have been criticized for inconsistencies, conjectures, and speculations and historicist readings of the Book of Revelation have been revised as new events occur and new figures emerge on the world scene. Historicism was the belief held by the majority of the Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther , John Calvin , Thomas Cranmer , and John Knox . The Catholic church tried to counter it with preterism and Futurism during
6426-479: The clouds ... for the righteous". Tertullian looking to the Antichrist wrote: "He is to sit in the temple of God, and boast himself as being god. In our view, he is Antichrist as taught us in both the ancient and the new prophecies; and especially by the Apostle John , who says that 'already many false-prophets are gone out into the world' as the fore-runners of Antichrist". Hippolytus of Rome in his Treatise on Christ and Antichrist wrote: "As Daniel also says (in
6528-647: The crucifixion (i.e., in 34 CE) when the gospel was redirected from only the Jews to all Gentile nations. Jehovah's Witnesses have a similar interpretation, but place the period from 455 BCE to 29 CE, with the final "week" being fulfilled by 36 CE. Some of the representative voices among exegetes of the last 150 years are E. W. Hengstenberg, J. N. Andrews , E. B. Pusey, J. Raska, J. Hontheim, Boutflower, Uriah Smith , and O. Gerhardt. Most historicists see Matthew 's reference to "great tribulation" ( Matthew 24:29 ) as parallel to Revelation 6:12–13, having an end when Christ returns. Some historicists believe that
6630-539: The early church usually interpreted individual passages rather than entire books. The earliest complete commentary on the Book of Revelation was carried out by Victorinus of Pettau , considered to be one of the earliest historicist commentators, around 300 AD. . Edward Bishop Elliott , a proponent of the historicist interpretation, wrote that it was modified and developed by the expositions of Andreas , Primasius (both 6th century), Bede (730 AD), Anspert , Arethas , Haimo of Auxerre , and Berengaudus (all of
6732-408: The elect. The second- or first-century book Odes of Solomon , written by an Essene convert to Christianity, makes mention of the Antichrist in figurative terms, where the redeemer overcomes the monstrous dragon. The only one of the late 1st-/early 2nd-century Apostolic Fathers to use the term is Polycarp (c. 69 – c. 155), who warned the Philippians that everyone who preached false doctrine
6834-402: The eleventh century. Not only dissidents and heretics but even saints had called the bishop of Rome the "antichrist" when they wished to castigate his abuse of power. William Tyndale , an English Protestant reformer, held that while the Roman Catholic realms of that age were the empire of Antichrist, any religious organization that distorted the doctrine of the Old and New Testaments also showed
6936-426: The final judgment. Instead, he advocated that the "little horn" was the Antichrist: We should therefore concur with the traditional interpretation of all the commentators of the Christian Church, that at the end of the world, when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall be ten kings who will partition the Roman world amongst themselves. Then an insignificant eleventh king will arise, who will overcome three of
7038-461: The first millennium of the Christian era. The 19th century was a significant watershed in the history of prophetic thought. While the historicist paradigm, together with its pre- or postmillennialism , the day-year principle , and the view of the papal antichrist, was dominant in English Protestant scholarship during much of the period from the Reformation to the middle of the 19th century (and continues to find expression in some groups today), it now
7140-441: The flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Consequently, attention for an individual Antichrist figure focuses on
7242-520: The frustration of Jews subject to often-capricious Seleucid or Roman rule , who found the nebulous Jewish idea of a Satan who is more of an opposing angel of God in the heavenly court insufficiently humanised and personalised to be a satisfactory incarnation of evil and threat. The five uses of the term "antichrist" or "antichrists" in the Johannine epistles do not clearly present a single latter-day individual Antichrist. The articles "the deceiver" or "the antichrist" are usually seen as marking out
7344-492: The human race, in whom Satan will wholly take up his residence in bodily form." Instead of rebuilding the Jewish Temple to reign from, Jerome thought the Antichrist sat in God's Temple inasmuch as he made "himself out to be like God." He refuted Porphyry 's idea that the "little horn" mentioned in Daniel chapter 7 was Antiochus IV Epiphanes by noting that the "little horn" is defeated by an eternal, universal ruler, right before
7446-514: The millennium was already present, Joachim saw it as a 1000-year future event that is not yet present. Joachim was a Trinitarian , Joachim used to doubt the doctrine of the Trinity, however later he had a vision of a psaltery with 10 strings, in a triangular form, which clarified the Trinity to him. Joachim also attacked the views of Peter Lombard concerning the Trinity, in his book "Psaltery of Ten Strings". In 1215 some of his ideas were condemned in
7548-450: The one who now restrains it is removed." What obstacles are there but the Roman state, the rebellion of which, by being scattered into the ten kingdoms, will introduce the Antichrist upon its own ruins? "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in
7650-454: The opposite extreme is in the man who embodies the notion of him that is named Antichrist?... one of these extremes, and the best of the two, should be styled the Son of God, on account of His pre-eminence; and the other, who is diametrically opposite, be termed the son of the wicked demon, and of Satan, and of the devil. And, in the next place, since evil is specially characterized by its diffusion, and attains its greatest height when it simulates
7752-483: The organized church. After that society would be realigned on an egalitarian and utopian monastic base. The first age is said to have been of forty-two generations. The second age would also be of 42 generations. Joachim seemed to suggest the Christian era would end in 1260 with the coming of the Anti-Christ . After that, a utopian age would arrive. Joachim believed that the end could come at any moment, Joachim believed in
7854-579: The others who interpreted the biblical prophecy historically there were many Church Fathers ; Justin Martyr wrote about the Antichrist: "He Whom Daniel foretells would have dominion for a time and times and a half, is even now at the door". Irenaeus wrote in Against Heresies about the coming of the Antichrist: "This Antichrist shall ... devastate all things ... But then, the Lord will come from Heaven on
7956-642: The papacy. Debated features of the Reformation historicist interpretations were the identification of; the antichrist (1 and 2 John); the Beasts of Revelation 13; the Man of Sin (or Man of Lawlessness) in 2 Thessalonians 2; the "Little horn" of Daniel 7 and 8 , and the Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17). Isaac Newton's religious views on the historicist approach are in the work published in 1733, after his death, Observations upon
8058-488: The persons of the Trinity. The first stage, of the Father, began with Adam , peaking with Abraham , and ending with Jesus. The second stage, of the Son, began with Uzziah , peaked with Zechariah , father of John the Baptist , and was ending around Joachim's time. The third stage, of the Holy Spirit, began with Benedict of Nursia , was peaking around Joachim's time, and would end with the end of history. Joachim believed that
8160-491: The position that the church has always been in the tribulation because, during its entire existence, it has always suffered persecution and trouble. They believe that the tribulation is not a literal future event. Historicists have also applied the Tribulation to the period known as "persecution of the saints" as related to Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 . Antichrist In Christian eschatology , Antichrist refers to
8262-597: The power restraining this mystery of lawlessness was the Roman Empire, but as it fell this restraining force was removed. He warned a noble woman of Gaul : He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth." "Woe unto them," he cries, "that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." ... Savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul. The whole country between
8364-403: The rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom
8466-654: The rise of Islam and errors of the Greek church, he especially criticized the Orthodox rejection of filioque as a heresy. According to Joachim, God promising Hezekiah protection in the Old Testament paralleled God's protection of the western Church under the Franks from the Islamic invasions, after the Byzantine empire was virtually destroyed. The rise of the Franks and their union with the papacy
8568-453: The second chapter of 2 Thessalonians . However, the term "antichrist" is never used in this passage: As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless
8670-402: The sixth seal the Jews suffered captivity in Babylon and in the seventh seal the Temple was rebuilt and the Jews had a time of peace until the Greeks came, which caused an end to the Old Covenant, and the era of the Father came to an end. The coming of Jesus resulted in the replacement of God's chosen people, Joachim believed that the blindness of Tobit (Tob 2:7-10) represented the blindness of
8772-441: The speculation that the Pope could be the antichrist. Martin Luther wrote this view, which was not novel, into the Smalcald Articles of 1537. It was then widely popularized in the 16th century, via sermons and drama, books and broadside publication. Jesuit commentators developed alternate approaches that would later become known as preterism and futurism, and applied them to apocalyptic literature; Francisco Ribera developed
8874-535: The temple and Jerusalem and allowed for restoration of a Jewish administration. It ends 3½ years after the crucifixion of Jesus . The appearance of "Messiah the Prince" at the end of the 69 weeks (483 years) is aligned with the baptism of Jesus in 27 CE, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar . The 'cutting off' of the "anointed one" refers to the crucifixion 3½ years after the end of the 483 years, bringing "atonement for iniquity" and "everlasting righteousness". Jesus
8976-434: The ten kingdoms that the Antichrist is involved with were the "Turks, Greeks, Egyptians, Africans, Spaniards, French, English, Germans, Sicilians, and Italians who now occupy the provinces of Rome." He held that the papacy was the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8: "A little horn has grown up" with "eyes and mouth speaking great things", which is reducing three of these kingdoms (i.e. Sicily, Italy, and Germany) to subserviency,
9078-531: The ten kings... after they have been slain, the seven other kings also will bow their necks to the victor. Circa 380, an apocalyptic pseudo-prophecy falsely attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl describes Constantine as victorious over Gog and Magog . Later on, it predicts: When the Roman empire shall have ceased, then the Antichrist will be openly revealed and will sit in the House of the Lord in Jerusalem. While he
9180-484: The time of "Israel", from Christ to Constantine: the time of "Egypt" which was from Constantine to Charles and to the time of "Babylon" which was to the time of Joachim from Charles. Joachim believed that he saw that the Latin church had clear indications of entering into the days of lamentations predicted by Jeremiah. Joachim saw that pope Leo IX aligned with King Josiah of Judah who reformed religious life in his kingdom, but
9282-408: The time prophecies. Of special interest to many was the 1260 prophetic day time prophecy of Daniel 7:25 . Many concluded that the end of the 1260-day prophecy initiated the "time of the end". Having to their satisfaction solved the 1260 days, it was only natural that they would turn their attention to unlocking the riddle of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 . William Miller 's movement was essentially
9384-508: The western Church under the Franks from the Islamic invasions. Joachim divided the history of the Church into three times: the time of "Israel", from Christ to Constantine , the time of "Egypt" from Constantine to Charles , and the time of "Babylon" from Charles to Joachim. Joachim believed that, just as the last kings in Judah could not protect themselves against Babylon, the Christian faith could not defend itself from Rome through reform within
9486-685: The words) 'I considered the Beast, and look! There were ten horns behind it—among which shall rise another (horn), an offshoot, and shall pluck up by the roots the three (that were) before it.' And under this, was signified none other than Antichrist." Athanasius of Alexandria clearly hold to the historical view in his many writings; in The Deposition of Arius , he wrote: "I addressed the letter to Arius and his fellows, exhorting them to renounce his impiety.... There have gone forth in this diocese at this time certain lawless men—enemies of Christ—teaching an apostasy which one may justly suspect and designate as
9588-466: The work of antichrist. In his treatise The Parable of the Wicked Mammon , he expressly rejected the established Church teaching that looked to the future for an antichrist to rise up, and he taught that antichrist is a present spiritual force that will be with us until the end of the age under different religious disguises from time to time. Tyndale's translation of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, concerning
9690-513: The working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing." Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 – c. 236) held that the Antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan and would rebuild the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in order to reign from it. He identified the Antichrist with the Beast out of the Earth from the book of Revelation. By
9792-435: The world would end before 400 CE, Martin of Tours (c. 336 - 397) wrote that "There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power." John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) warned against speculating about the Antichrist, saying, "Let us not therefore enquire into these things". He preached that by knowing Paul's description of
9894-511: Was a fascinating thing for Joachim, first the event showed that the power of the Byzantines had been destroyed, even though it wasn't completely destroyed, it also secondly inaugurated the "fifth seal", which in his interpretation was an era of peace and stability for the Western Church, which paralleled the protection given to Hezekiah. Joachim divided the history of the Church into three times:
9996-419: Was also generally opposed, as utopian revelations were deemed to be foolishness or even heresy . The Fraticelli were influenced by the teachings of Joachim. Joachim also possibly influenced the views of Dante . Joachimite interpretations influenced some Puritans in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in modern times some Protestants such as Jurgen Moltmann were influenced by Joachim's theology, however, he
10098-479: Was an antichrist. His use of the term Antichrist follows that of the New Testament in not identifying a single personal Antichrist, but a class of people. Irenaeus (2nd century AD – c. 202) wrote Against Heresies to refute the teachings of the Gnostics . In Book V of Against Heresies he addresses the figure of the Antichrist referring to him as the "recapitulation of apostasy and rebellion." He uses " 666 ",
10200-511: Was destroyed by Pharaoh, after the failure of Leo at the battle of Civitate Joachim declared that the Pope had erred by trusting in "material arms" rather than spiritual weapons. Joachim believed that efforts to reform the church were not enough to save the Roman Church, like the last kings in Judah could not protect themselves against Babylon. Joachim saw that the Antichrist would one day become
10302-476: Was not the only one. Arising in Great Britain and Scotland, William Kelly and other Plymouth Brethren became the leading exponents of dispensationalist premillennial eschatology. By 1826, literalist interpretation of prophecy took hold and dispensationalism saw the light of day. The dispensationalist interpretation differed from the historicist model of interpreting Daniel and Revelation in picking up
10404-534: Was published in 1831, proposed a possible date of 2015 for the end of the papal power. In 19th-century America, William Miller proposed that the end of the world would occur on October 22, 1844, based on a historicist model used with Daniel 8:14. Miller's historicist approach to the Book of Daniel spawned a national movement in the United States known as Millerism . After the Great Disappointment some of
#125874