One of the most striking
features in the eschatology of the post-apostolic age is the prominent
millennialism, or the belief in a visible reign of Christ on earth with the saints
for a thousand years, followed by the general resurrection and judgment. Two or
three terms are used in this connection. Chiliasm is from the Greek chilia
ete, "a thousand years" in Revelation 20:2, 3. Millenarianism,
or millennialism, comes from the Latin mille anni.
Premillenarians or premillennialists hold to the belief that Christ will appear
again before the millennium. This paper will examine millennialism in
the early church, particularly during the ante-nicene period.
Three themes were developed in patristic apocalyptic
thought. First, the antichrist, which was already present in the Revelation,
was stimulated by early development of Christology. Early ideas of the
antichrist based on Revelation 13 and 17 were fundamentally anti-Roman, often
identifying the antichrist with Nero redivivus, the resurrected
persecutor. Other traditions pictured the antichrist as a false Messiah, and
the doubling could find support in Revelation 13, with the vision of the two
beasts. A second theme, speculation about the duration of the world, developed
by the second century. Several writings show an interest in the scheme of seven
1000-year periods (the "cosmic week" theme). This was closely
connected to the third theme, the thousand-year kingdom of Revelation 20.
Two distinct, opposing views of scriptural interpretation
developed with regard to such matters as eschatology. Millennial views were
based on a very literalistic approach, often arising in times of crisis or
persecution, or as a reaction to secularism, Greek philosophy, or Gnostic
speculation. On the other extreme were the allegorists, who tended to
spiritualize everything in scripture. They rejected the literalistic,
millennial interpretations of Old Testament prophecy and of the book of
Revelation. Eusebius, for example, was a spiritualist who testified to the
prevalence of the literalistic, millennial view (Ecclesiastical History
3:39).
Early Christian chiliasm was
also influenced strongly by Jewish messianism developed in Jewish apocalyptic
literature, such as 1 Enoch, 2 Esdras, and 2 Baruch. This Jewish influence is
apparent in the understanding of Christ's Parousia in the light of Jewish
apocalyptic and the conception of the messianic kingdom in carnal terms. The
concepts were based on a literal interpretation of certain Old Testament
prophecies and an overestimation of the importance of the Jewish people and the
city of Jerusalem. In addition, early Christian millennialists based their beliefs
upon certain promises of Christ, but especially upon a literalistic
interpretation of the Book of Revelation (Danielou 377f).
Ebionites. The
early Ebionites, in their particular form of messianism, emphasized the very
material character of the expected Messianic kingdom. Jerome alludes to this
type of millenarianism when he writes, "The Jews and the Ebionites, heirs
of the Jewish error, who have then the name of the 'poor' through humility,
understand all the delights of the thousand years in a literal sense"
(Danielou 379).
Cerinthus.
Cerinthus, active around AD 100, was a Gnostic leader of Jewish Christian
background. He was generally thought by later writers to have preached the
coming of a literal millennial kingdom in which its members would enjoy
luxurious and sensual living (Eusebius, EH 3.28). Gaius of Rome, who was
one of the first to question the authenticity of the Book of Revelation, did so
mainly because of the chiliasts such as Cerinthus. Gaius wrote of him: "He
declares that after the Resurrection the Kingdom of Christ will be on earth and
that carnal humanity will dwell in Jerusalem, once more enslaved to lusts and
pleasures. And in his enmity towards the Scriptures of God, and his anxiety to
lead men astray, he foretells a period of a thousand years given up to wedding
feasts" (Eusebius, EH 3.28). Dionysius of Alexandria reported that
Cerinthus taught the doctrine. Again quoting from Eusebius' history: "that
Christ's Kingdom would be on earth; and the things he lusted after himself,
being the slave of the body and sensual through and through, filled the heaven
of his dreams--unlimited indulgence in gluttony and lechery at banquets,
drinking-bouts, and wedding-feasts..." (3.28). The notoriety Cerinthus
earned with such views is illustrated by the story reported by Irenaeus
"on the authority of Polycarp that one day John the apostle went into a
bath-house to take a bath, but when he found Cerinthus was inside he lept from
the spot and ran from the door, as he could not endure to be under the same
roof. He urged his companions to do the same, calling out: 'Let us get out of
here, for fear the place falls in, now that Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth,
is inside'" (Eusebius, EH 3.28). Cerinthus' millennial teachings
led some in third century Egypt to attribute the Book of Revelation to him
instead of John.
Epistle of Barnabas. Among the so-called Apostolic Fathers, the
apocryphal Epistle of Barnabas was perhaps the first to teach expressly a
millennial reign of Christ on earth. The author conceived of the Old Testament
history of creation as a type of the six ages of labor for the world, each
lasting a thousand years, followed by a millennium of rest. He wrote,
"that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for
the day with Him signifieth a thousand years. . ." He taught there would
then be a millennial sabbath on earth when the saints shall rest, followed by
an eighth and eternal day in a new world, typified by the Lord's Day (15).
After Barnabas the notion of a universal week of 7000 years was common,
with the last "day" being a thousand years--the millennial period
(St. Clair 77).
Papias. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia in the
early second century, was believed to have been a pupil of John and a companion
of Polycarp. Irenaeus, whose own millennial expectations were inspired by
Papias, claimed that Papias' writings contained a vivid description of a
millennial kingdom, in which the risen saints would enjoy the vastly increased
bounty of the earth (Against Heresies 5.33.3-4). According to Eusebius,
Papias left five volumes entitled, The Sayings of the Lord Explained.
Papias' millenarian teachings were reported by Eusebius in these words:
"He says that after the resurrection of the dead there will be a period of
a thousand years, when Christ's kingdom will be set up on this earth in
material form." Eusebius found Papias' millenarianism proof of his
"very small intelligence," and added that "it is partly due to
him that the great majority of churchmen after him took the same view, relying
on his early date; e.g. Irenaeus and several others, who clearly held the same
opinion" (EH 3.39.13).
Early Christian theologians
attempted to answer the attacks leveled against Christianity by paganism,
Gnosticism, and Judaism. The clash with paganism and Judaism forced them to set
forth the bases of Christian doctrine more thoroughly. The Gnostic tendency to
interpret Christian eschatology as the myth of the soul's upward ascent and
return to God had to be answered. As the theologians dealt with these
challenges, millenarianism came to find increasing support among Christian
teachers (Kelly 465).
Justin
Martyr. We can observe these
tendencies among the apologists, among whom Justin Martyr was one of the most
important. He composed his two Apologies and his Dialogue with Trypho
between AD 155 and 165. He argued against the Roman and Hellenized Jewish
worlds, respectively, for the moral uprightness of Christians and for the truth
of the gospel. He appeals in both cases to the fulfillment of Biblical
Messianic prophecy. He frequently emphasized the coming judgment and reward in
terms of Jewish apocalyptic language. Justin's emphasis is on the punishments
and rewards of divine judgment, but he conceives of the divine reward for the
faithful as proceeding in two stages. First, after the manifestation of the man
of sin who speaks blasphemies and rules for three and a half years, the saints
will possess the land that was formerly Canaan but is now the millennial
kingdom where Christ rules in a renewed Jerusalem. This will be followed by the
final judgment and retribution of Christ, though in some passages Justin speaks
of an eternal possession of the land of Israel by the saints following the
resurrection. Justin argues in his Dialogues that as Joshua in leading
Israel in the possession and distribution of the land of Canaan was a type of
Christ, so shall that land again be given to the saints as an eternal
possession (113). He thus sets forth his explanation of millennial kingdom:
But
I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that
there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which
will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah
and others declare. (80)
Justin applies "the new
heaven and new earth" of Isaiah 65:17f to the millennium. He argues that
the expression "'according to the days of the tree [of life]' . . .
obscurely predicts a thousand years" (81). He continues:
And
further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the
apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that
those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and
that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and
judgment of all men would likewise take place." (81)
After the millennium the
world will be annihilated, or transformed (Schaff II, 617).
Irenaeus. By
the middle of the second century AD, the church was challenged by the Gnostic
views of God, the world and human salvation. Early Christian writers called
polemicists sought to answer these challenges, especially as they affected
eschatology.
Irenaeus of Lyons, the most important Christian writer of
the period, emphasized the unity of God as both creator and savior and Christ
as the eternal Word become flesh. He believed in the dual nature of man and the
continuity of all human history as it moves toward its God-appointed goal of
reunion of humanity with God. For Irenaeus, salvation means the culmination of
a growth-process toward immortal and incorruptible life. Irenaeus reacts
strongly against the Gnostic teaching that the flesh is intrinsically evil and
that only the soul would enjoy salvation. Against this he affirms that the
entire man, body and soul, must be affected by salvation. He summarizes this
salvation-history in Book IV of Against Heresies (AD 180): "It was
necessary that the human person should in the first instance be created; and
having been created, should receive growth; and having received growth, should
be strengthened; and having been strengthened, should abound; and having
abounded, should recover [from sin]; and having recovered, should be glorified;
and being glorified, should see his Lord" (4.38.3).
The end of Book V contains a mass of traditional material
that makes these chapters what Danielou calls "the most important source
of information on Asiatic millenarianism" (386). Ireneaus defends the
millenarian hope taught by Papias, as well as giving a detailed account of the
antichrist, who will rage for three and a half years (5.33.3-4). He teaches
that Christ will appear to bind Satan and set up His millennial kingdom
following the destruction of the Roman empire. He argues for human resurrection
in two stages: an earthly millennial inheritance followed by the final
judgment. Irenaeus subscribes to the seven-day theory of history, declaring
that the Messianic promises are to take place "in the times of the
kingdom, that is, upon the seventh day, . . . which is the true Sabbath of the
righteous" (5.33.2). He continues:
The
predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the
kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead;
when also the creation, having been renovated and set free, shall fructify with
an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the
fertility of the earth." (5.33.3)
Irenaeus (on the authority
of Papias) even put into the mouth of Jesus Himself a description--most
certainly apocryphal--of the luxuriant fertility of that period:
The
days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches,
and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand
shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one
of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give
five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold
of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me;
bless the Lord through me." In like manner [the Lord declared] that a
grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have
ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds of clear, pure,
fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would
produce in similar proportions; and that all animals feeding [only] on the
productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious
among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man. (5.33.3)
Irenaeus establishes his
teachings on the testimonies of Papias, John the apostle, and the Old Testament
prophets, including Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel. He uses Isaiah 4:6f,
for example, where the prophet speaks of the time when the wolf and the lamb
shall feed together. Irenaeus insists that such descriptions should be
interpreted literally and not allegorically.
Now
all these things being such as they are, cannot be understood in reference to
supercelestial matters; "for God," it is said, "will show to the
whole earth that is under heaven thy glory." But in the times of the
kingdom, the earth has been called again by Christ [to its pristine condition],
and Jerusalem rebuilt after the pattern of the Jerusalem above, of which the
prophet Isaiah says, "Behold, I have depicted thy walls upon my hands, and
thou art always in my sight." (5.35.2)
The purpose of the
millennial kingdom, for Ireneaus, is to allow sufficient time upon a renewed
earth to become gradually accustomed to "partaking with the divine
nature." At the end of the thousand-year period of preparation and
following a temporary liberation of Satan, Irenaeus says, final judgment and
retribution will come. He sees this in terms of Revelation 20 and 21.
In the early third century
Christian writers seem to have been influenced by a growing sense of alienation
from an increasingly hostile world. There was increased popular expectation of
the end of the world.
Tertullian was a Carthaginian lawyer (c. 160-c. 220) who
left the Catholic church to join the sect of the Montanists in about 207. He
drew on the eschatological and millenarian views of Justin and Irenaeus, but
added his own Montanist perspective.
At
present, too, it would be superfluous for this reason, that our inquiry relates
to what is promised in heaven, not on earth. But we do confess that a kingdom
is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state
of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand
years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem." (Against Marcion
3.25)
"This," he claims,
"both Ezekiel had knowledge of and the Apostle John beheld" (Against
Marcion 3.25). For Tertullian, the end of the world is above all a time
when God will settle accounts with the wicked. He does not emphasize the
millennial aspect of the end, but he does argue that neutral eyewitnesses have
recently observed something like a city, suspended in sky over Judea. He argues
against the critics of the millennial hope that the rewards of the restored
earthly Jerusalem are simply the recompense for those lost in this world. The
righteous will rise at various times during the millennium, depending on their
merit. At the end of the thousand years, the world will be destroyed in a final
judgment. The final kingdom in heaven will be a very different, spiritual order
from the earthly millennium (Against Marcion 3.24).
The Montanists tended to run with their millennial
doctrines into fanaticism, which brought millennial theories into greater
discredit. They stressed the imminent return of Christ, the more so especially
as they felt that the worldliness in the Catholic church was increasing.
Several synods in Asia Minor consequently condemned chiliasm (Schaff II,
424-425, 618). It fell under heavy criticism from theologians like Origen.
Origen. Origen (c. 185-c. 254) commented on the book of
Revelation very little, but when he did, his interest lay more on the
Christology of the book than on its eschatology. He opposed millenarianism
primarily on the basis of its literal method of interpreting scripture. Adopting
an allegorical approach to scripture, Origen scorned those millenarians who, in
his opinion, "refusing the labour of thinking, and adopting a superficial
view of the letter of the law, and yielding rather in some measure to the
indulgence of their own desires and lusts," interpreted the scriptural
prophecies of the new Jerusalem "in a Jewish sense," understanding
them to refer to an extended period of idealized earthly existence (De
Principiis 2.11.2). Against this Origen quoted 1 Corinthians 15:44, that
"flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." His principle of
interpreting scripture according to the spirit and not the flesh in reality was
based on neo-Platonic philosophy. A Greek dualism of "above and
below" replaced the New Testament contrast between this world and the
world to come (Bietenhard 21). Origen conceived of a realized eschatology; the
process of fulfillment has already begun, but is not complete. God's kingdom is
already a reality for those who obey his word, but it cannot reach its full
realization until the knowledge and virtue of God has become perfected in each
individual (De Principiis 25.1-2). Origen taught that all human souls
will ultimately be saved.
Nepos of Arsinoe.
The millenarian hope apparently remained strong in the Alexandrian world during
the third and fourth centuries, despite Origen's criticism. An Egyptian bishop
named Nepos, who was a contemporary of Origen, wrote a tract Against the
Allegorists. Nepos attacked allegorical exegesis and defended the traditional,
literal interpretation of the thousand year reign of Revelation 20 and 21. His
followers had formed a schismatic group that differed from the official church
in this point.
Dionysius of Alexandria. Nepos was answered by Dionysius of Alexandria (d. 264/5) in two
pamphlets directed against his millennial teachings. Dionysius' first book was
directed against an overly materialistic conception of the kingdom of God; the
second argued that John was the author of the Revelation as justification for
finding a deeper, spiritual meaning behind the thousand year reign of
Revelation 20 and 21 (Eusebius, EH 7.24.1-3; 25.2-5).
Methodius of Olympus. One of the most outspoken critics of Origen was Methodius of Olympus,
who probably lived in Asia Minor in the late third or early fourth century, and
died a martyr in 311. One of Methodius' main concerns was to argue for a
material--not a spiritual--resurrection of the body. He occasionally linked
this idea with the millennial hope. He interpreted the Jewish Feast of
Tabernacles as a type of "the seventh millennium of creation," when
the righteous will celebrate a thousand year feast for the Lord. In his Banquet
of the Ten Virgins he writes,
. .
. whereas these things, being like air and phantom shadows, foretell the
resurrection and the putting up of our tabernacle that had fallen upon the
earth, which at length, in the seventh thousand of years, resuming again
immortal, we shall celebrate the great feast of true tabernacles in the new and
indissoluble creation . . . (9.1)
At the end of this
"Sabbath" of a thousand years the faithful will then be transformed
into a heavenly existence. Methodius argued that just as the first Paradise of
human history was a chosen spot on earth and not in heaven, so too the end of
the world will be an existence in a restored and renewed world (Symposium
9.1-5; On the Resurrection 1.47.3; 1.55.1).
Revival of Millennial Speculation
Interest in apocalyptic
speculation seems to have revived in the Western Church during the last years
of the third century and the decade of violent persecution (303-13). Such hopes
were prompted by renewed attempts by the secular authorities to crush the
church, as well as by political and social turmoil. The sufferings of the
church seemed to resemble the woes traditionally predicted for the people of
God at the end of time.
Victorinus' Commentary on Revelation. The popularity of the Book of Revelation in the West
is illustrated by Victorinus, a martyr in the persecution of Diocletian in
about 304. He may have come from Asia Minor where the apocalyptic hope of
Papias and Irenaeus may have been an influence on his thinking. Of his many
commentaries, the only extant one was on the Book of Revelation. He interprets
it in a mostly allegorical way, perhaps showing the influence of Origen. Still,
Jerome classes Victorinus among the chiliasts, but one of the more acceptable
chiliasts. On chapters 20 and 21, he takes literally the promise of a
"first resurrection," in which the righteous will rise and rule with
Christ for a thousand years, followed by a "second resurrection" when
all the dead will rise to be judged. His descriptions of the millennium are
moderate and subdued compared with Papias and Irenaeus, and he interprets
various details of the new Jerusalem of Revelation 21 allegorically (Daley 66).
He warns against an overly materialist interpretation of the millennial hope,
though his concept is clearly a literal one.
Lactantius. Lactantius was an African who died after 317. He
had been a court appointed professor in Diocletian's Asian capital of
Nicomedia, but was forced to resign after his conversion and the beginning of
persecution. He wrote a large apologetic work, The Divine Teachings. He
theorizes that history will end after the world has completed 6000 years. After
a period of worldwide violence, the rule of Rome will end, and a succession of
tyrants will end with the appearance of antichrist. After three and a half
years of his persecuting rule, Christ will appear victoriously to usher in an
era of peace for God's people, and the righteous dead will arise--the first
resurrection. He declares, "And again, since God, having finished His
works, rested the seventh day and blessed it, at the end of the six thousandth
year all wickedness will be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign
for a thousand years" (7.14). During this thousand-year reign of bliss and
prosperity, unrighteousness will be destroyed; the saints will never die, but
"during those thousand years shall produce an infinite multitude, and
their offspring shall be holy" (7.24). Satan will be chained in prison
"that he may contrive no evil against the people of God" (7.24), but
will be freed to lead a final, fruitless assault against God's people. Satan's
final defeat will be followed by seven more years of peace for the saints, then
by the complete transformation of the natural order and the second and final
resurrection of all (7.14-27).
In the fourth and fifth
centuries, in both the East and West, theologians not only showed little direct
interest in eschatological themes generally, but they reacted against
apocalypticism specifically. One of the main factors responsible for this
reaction was the conversion of the Emperor Constantine to Christianity. The end
of persecution and the sudden imperial patronage available to the church
suddenly made it feel more secure and the "signs of the times" far
less threatening. The hope for the imminent return of Christ to establish an
earthly kingdom were prominent as long as Christians were a persecuted
minority, but once Christianity became the established religion of the Roman
Empire during the fourth century, millenarian yearning declined. Now the
destinies of Christianity and Rome seemed to have been providentially united,
and many Christians even felt that any expectation of the downfall of Rome was
disloyal to the empire as well as to God. Theologians increasingly viewed millenarianism
as an outmoded reading of the Scriptures. They now interpreted the Book of
Revelation not so much as a prophecy of the last events of history, as an
allegory of the conflict between good and evil in the church. The Arian
controversy, which focused attention upon questions of Christology, also
resulted in a de-emphasis of eschatological themes.
Eusebius of Caesarea. In the East, Eusebius of Caesarea (263-339), the court theologian of
Constantine, led the way in the rejection of millenarian ideas. Like Origen, he
held to an allegorical interpretation of Revelation and came to doubt its
authenticity (EH 3.24.18-25.4). Eusebius linked the destinies of Rome
and the Church. In the rule of Constantine, God's chosen servant, Eusebius sees
the church, having come through the cleansing chastisement of the Great
Persecution, as a foretaste of the eternal kingdom (EH 8.1; Life of
Constantine 1.24-33). His "realized eschatology" emphasized
present salvation within the political order, and made him contemptuous of the
millennial ideas of men like Papias, as already noted (EH 3.39.13;
7.24.1).
Jerome. In the
West, Jerome (347-420) rejected millenarian
literalism and preferred to take the details
of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 as allegorical references to the church
(Daley 102).
Augustine of Hippo. The most important and influential opponent of millennialism was
Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Early in his career, Augustine held to a mild
form of millennialism. Later writings, especially after 410 and the sacking of
Rome by Alaric, break decisively with both the Eusebian theology of history
linking the destinies of Rome and the Church, and the millennial tradition.
Augustine argued that there was no essential relation between God's plan of
salvation and the destinies of secular kingdoms. He shaped a new attitude
toward apocalyptic literature. Rather than viewing them as information on
current events, he saw them as referring to the struggle between good and evil
in the souls of men. He believed in the antichrist, but refused to speculate on
the time of his coming or of the end of the world (City of God 18:52-53;
20:7, 19, 30). He declared, "Obviously, then it is a waste of effort for
us to attempt counting the precise number of years which this world has yet to
go, since we know from the mouth of Truth that it is none of our business"
(18:53).
Tyconius' Hermeneutics. Augustine was probably influenced by the Donatist scholar Tyconius (c.
330-390) for his hermeneutical theory. Tyconius is best remembered for two
works, the Book of Rules, the first manual of Biblical hermeneutics in
the Latin west, and for his commentary on the Book of Revelation. The Book
of Rules sets forth an elaborate theory about seven "mystical
rules" of interpretation found throughout scripture, and focuses attention
upon the interpretation of Biblical promises. He argues that these prophecies,
whether addressed to a remote past or to the "last days", are
fulfilled "spiritually" in the church. In his commentary on
Revelation, which has been regarded as "the most influential Commentary
on Revelation in the early Medieval period" (McGinn 27), Tyconius likewise
opposes the literal interpretation of such passages as the thousand-year reign
(Rev. 20:1-5). The "first resurrection" is already experienced
spiritually in the church. He believed in the imminent approach of the
antichrist, but interpreted the symbols as signifying the constant struggle
between the forces of good and evil in the church. Tyconius' influence upon
Augustine and the middle ages can be seen in Augustine's inclusion of the
"seven rules" in the third book of On Christian Doctrine.
J. N. D. Kelly suggested
that Augustine achieved a balance between the extreme literalism of the
chiliasts and the excessive allegorism of the Origenists (481-482). Augustine
was prepared to interpret figuratively such things as the millennium, yet to
accept in a generally literal sense Christ's second coming and final judgment.
Furthermore, from Augustine to the late middle ages, church doctrine generally
played down the historical significance of the last things. After the advent of
Christ, the promise of salvation had no connection with historical progress.
"The church was the institutionalized means of salvation, and no essential
changes would take place in the present order until the Second Coming"
(Barnes 20). For Augustine and the entire medieval tradition, the church itself
represented Christ's reign on earth. The millennium of Revelation 20 was
interpreted figuratively as the whole period between the first and second
advents of Christ. Medieval theologians emphasized those aspects of judgment
that applied to the individual soul, rather than history as a whole. The second
coming of Christ would be sudden and unexpected, followed by the final
judgment.
Augustine. The City of God. Ed. Vernon J.
Bourke. Garden City, N.Y.: Image Books, Doubleday, 1958.
Bietenhard, Hans. "The Millennial Hope in the
Early Church." Trans. G. W. Bromiley. The Scottish Journal of Theology
VI (March 1953):12-30.
Daley, Brian E. The Hope of the Early Church: A
Handbook of Patristic Eschatology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1991.
Danielou, Jean. Theology of Jewish Christianity.
Trans. & ed. John A. Baker. London: Darton, Longman & Todd;
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1964.
Eusebius. The History of the Church from Christ to
Constantine. Trans. G. A. Williamson. New York: Penguin Books, 1965;
reprinted 1984.
Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines.
Revised Edition. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978.
Kromminga, D. H. The Millennium in the Church:
Studies in the History of Christian Chiliasm. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1945.
McGinn, Bernard. Visions of the End: Apocalyptic
Traditions of the Middle Ages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.
St. Clair, Michael J. Millenarian
Movements in Historical Context. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992.
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church.
Volume II. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1910; Reprinted 1970.
The Apostolic Fathers. Ed. J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer. Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1988 reprint of 1891 edition.
The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 10
Volumes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951; reprinted 1987.
The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. First Series. Ed. Philip Schaff. 14 Volumes. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956.
The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series. Ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. 14
Volumes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1952.