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dogmatically construed. Though the various elements were quite well understood, their
interrelation was not yet clearly seen. At first it seemed as if eschatology was in a fair way to
become the center of the construction of Christian doctrine, for in the first two centuries
Chiliasm was rather prominent, though not as prominent as some would have us believe. As it
turned out, however, eschatology was not developed in this period.
2. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE FIFTH CENTURY TO THE REFORMATION.
Under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit the attention of the Church was directed from the future to the present, and
Chiliasm was gradually forgotten. Especially under the influence of Origen and Augustine, anti-
chiliastic views became dominant in the Church. But though these were regarded as orthodox,
they were not thought through and systematically developed. There was a general belief in a
life after death, in the return of the Lord, in the resurrection of the dead, in the final judgment,
and in a kingdom of glory, but very little reflection on the manner of these. The thought of a
material and temporal kingdom made way for that of eternal life and the future salvation. In
course of time the Church was placed in the center of attention, and the hierarchical Church
was identified with the Kingdom of God. The idea gained ground that outside of this Church
there was no salvation, and that the Church determined the proper pedagogical training for the
future. A great deal of attention was paid to the intermediate state, and particularly to the
doctrine of purgatory. In connection with this the mediation of the Church was brought to the
foreground, the doctrine of the mass, of prayers for the dead, and of indulgences. As a protest
against this ecclesiasticism, Chiliasm again made its appearance in several sects This was in part
a reaction of a pietistic nature against the externalism and worldliness of the Church.
3. FROM THE REFORMATION UP TO THE PRESENT DAY.
The thought of the Reformation
centered primarily about the idea of the application and appropriation of salvation, and sought
to develop eschatology mainly from this point of view. Many of the old Reformed theologians
treat it merely as an adjunct to soteriology, dealing with the glorification of believers.
Consequently, only a part of eschatology was studied and brought to further development. The
Reformation adopted what the early Church taught respecting the return of Christ, the
resurrection, the final judgment, and eternal life, and brushed aside the crass form of Chiliasm
which appeared in the Anabaptist sects. In its opposition to Rome, it also reflected a good deal
on the intermediate state and rejected the various tenets developed by the Roman Catholic
Church. It can hardly be said that the Churches of the Reformation did much for the
development of eschatology. In Pietism Chiliasm again made its appearance. The Rationalism of
the eighteenth century retained of eschatology merely the bare idea of a colourless
immortality, of the mere survival of the soul after death. Under the influence of the philosophy
of evolution with its idea of an endless progress, it became, if not obsolete, at least
obsolescent. Liberal theology entirely ignored the eschatological teachings of Jesus and placed