The Second Coming Of Christ Jesus And The Millennium

The second coming of Christ Jesus is clearly taught in the canonical, as
well as in the apocryphal, books of the New Testament. Paul teaches, or
is made to teach it,[233:1] in the following words:

"If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we
say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent
them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."[233:2]

He further tells the Thessalonians to "abstain from all appearance of
evil," and to "be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ."[233:3]

James,[233:4] in his epistle to the brethren, tells them not to be in
too great a hurry for the coming of their Lord, but to "be patient" and
wait for the "coming of the Lord," as the "husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruit of the earth." But still he assures them that "the coming
of the Lord draweth nigh."[233:5]

Peter, in his first epistle, tells his brethren that "the end of all
things is at hand,"[233:6] and that when the "chief shepherd" does
appear, they "shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not
away."[233:7]

John, in his first epistle, tells the Christian community to "abide in
him" (Christ), so that, "when he shall appear, we may have confidence,
and not be ashamed before him."[234:1]

He further says:

"Behold, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be, but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he
is."[234:2]

According to the writer of the book of "The Acts," when Jesus ascended
into heaven, the Apostles stood looking up towards heaven, where he
had gone, and while thus engaged: "behold, two men stood by them
(dressed) in white apparel," who said unto them:

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This
same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye have seen him go (up) into
heaven."[234:3]

The one great object which the writer of the book of Revelations wished
to present to view, was "the second coming of Christ." This writer,
who seems to have been anxious for that time, which was "surely" to come
"quickly;" ends his book by saying: "Even so, come Lord Jesus."[234:4]

The two men, dressed in white apparel, who had told the Apostles that
Jesus should "come again," were not the only persons whom they looked to
for authority. He himself (according to the Gospel) had told them so:

"The Son of man shall come (again) in the glory of his Father
with his angels."

And, as if to impress upon their minds that his second coming should not
be at a distant day, he further said:

"Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which
shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming
in his kingdom."[234:5]

This, surely, is very explicit, but it is not the only time he speaks of
his second advent. When foretelling the destruction of the temple, his
disciples came unto him, saying:

"Tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the
sign of thy coming?"[234:6]

His answer to this is very plain:

"Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till
all these things be fulfilled (i. e, the destruction of the
temple and his second coming), but of that day and hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father
only."[234:7]

In the second Epistle attributed to Peter, which was written after
that generation had passed away,[235:1] there had begun to be some
impatience manifest among the believers, on account of the long delay
of Christ Jesus' second coming. "Where is the promise of his coming?"
say they, "for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation."[235:2] In attempting to
smoothe over matters, this writer says: "There shall come in the last
days scoffers, saying: 'Where is the promise of his coming?'" to which
he replies by telling them that they were ignorant of all the ways of
the Lord, and that: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day." He further says: "The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise;" and that "the day of the Lord will come."
This coming is to be "as a thief in the night," that is, when they least
expect it.[235:3]

No wonder there should have been scoffers--as this writer calls
them--the generation which was not to have passed away before his
coming, had passed away; all those who stood there had been dead many
years; the sun had not yet been darkened; the stars were still in the
heavens, and the moon still continued to reflect light. None of the
predictions had yet been fulfilled.

Some of the early Christian Fathers have tried to account for the words
of Jesus, where he says: "Verily I say unto you, there be some standing
here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming
in his kingdom," by saying that he referred to John only, and that
that Apostle was not dead, but sleeping. This fictitious story is
related by Saint Augustin, "from the report," as he says, "of credible
persons," and is to the effect that:

"At Ephesus, where St. John the Apostle lay buried, he was not
believed to be dead, but to be sleeping only in the grave,
which he had provided for himself till our Saviour's second
coming: in proof of which, they affirm, that the earth, under
which he lay, was seen to heave up and down perpetually, in
conformity to the motion of his body, in the act of
breathing."[235:4]

This story clearly illustrates the stupid credulity and superstition of
the primitive age of the church, and the faculty of imposing any
fictions upon the people, which their leaders saw fit to inculcate.

The doctrine of the millennium designates a certain period in the
history of the world, lasting for a long, indefinite space (vaguely a
thousand years, as the word "millennium" implies) during which the
kingdom of Christ Jesus will be visibly established on the earth. The
idea undoubtedly originated proximately in the Messianic expectation of
the Jews (as Jesus did not sit on the throne of David and become an
earthly ruler, it must be that he is coming again for this purpose),
but more remotely in the Pagan doctrine of the final triumph of the
several "Christs" over their adversaries.

In the first century of the Church, millenarianism was a whispered
belief, to which the book of Daniel, and more particularly the
predictions of the Apocalypse[236:1] gave an apostolical authority,
but, when the church imbibed Paganism, their belief on this subject
lent it a more vivid coloring and imagery.

The unanimity which the early Christian teachers exhibit in regard to
millenarianism, proves how strongly it had laid hold of the
imagination of the Church, to which, in this early stage, immortality
and future rewards were to a great extent things of this world as yet.
Not only did Cerinthus, but even the orthodox doctors--such as Papias
(Bishop of Hierapolis), Irenaeus, Justin Martyr and others--delighted
themselves with dreams of the glory and magnificence of the millennial
kingdom. Papias, in his collection of traditional sayings of Christ
Jesus, indulges in the most monstrous representations of the re-building
of Jerusalem, and the colossal vines and grapes of the millennial reign.

According to the general opinion, the millennium was to be preceded by
great calamities, after which the Messiah, Christ Jesus, would appear,
and would bind Satan for a thousand years, annihilate the godless
heathen, or make them slaves of the believers, overturn the Roman
empire, from the ruins of which a new order of things would spring
forth, in which "the dead in Christ" would rise, and along with the
surviving saints enjoy an incomparable felicity in the city of the "New
Jerusalem." Finally, all nations would bend their knee to him, and
acknowledge him only to be the Christ--his religion would reign
supreme. This is the "Golden Age" of the future, which all nations of
antiquity believed in and looked forward to.

We will first turn to India, and shall there find that the Hindoos
believed their "Saviour," or "Preserver" Vishnu, who appeared in
mortal form as Crishna, is to come again in the latter days. Their
sacred books declare that in the last days, when the fixed stars have
all apparently returned to the point whence they started, at the
beginning of all things, in the month Scorpio, Vishnu will appear
among mortals, in the form of an armed warrior, riding a winged white
horse.[236:2] In one hand he will carry a scimitar, "blazing like a
comet," to destroy all the impure who shall then dwell on the face of
the earth. In the other hand he will carry a large shining ring, to
signify that the great circle of Yugas (ages) is completed, and that
the end has come. At his approach the sun and moon will be darkened,
the earth will tremble, and the stars fall from the firmament.[237:1]

The Buddhists believe that Buddha has repeatedly assumed a human form
to facilitate the reunion of men with his own universal soul, so they
believe that "in the latter days" he will come again. Their sacred
books predict this coming, and relate that his mission will be to
restore the world to order and happiness.[237:2] This is exactly the
Christian idea of the millennium.

The Chinese also believe that "in the latter days" there is to be a
millennium upon earth. Their five sacred volumes are full of
prophesies concerning this "Golden Age of the Future." It is the
universal belief among them that a "Divine Man" will establish himself
on earth, and everywhere restore peace and happiness.[237:3]

The ancient Persians believed that in the last days, there would be a
millennium on earth, when the religion of Zoroaster would be accepted by
all mankind. The Parsees of to-day, who are the remnants of the once
mighty Persians, have a tradition that a holy personage is waiting in a
region called Kanguedez, for a summons from the Ized Serosch, who in the
last days will bring him to Persia, to restore the ancient dominion of
that country, and spread the religion of Zoroaster over the whole
earth.[237:4]

The Rev. Joseph B. Gross, in his "Heathen Religion,"[237:5] speaking of
the belief of the ancient Persians in the millennium, says:

"The dead would be raised,[237:6] and he who has made all
things, cause the earth and the sea to return again the
remains of the departed.[237:7] Then Ormuzd shall clothe them
with flesh and blood, while they that live at the time of the
resurrection, must die in order to likewise participate in its
advantage.

"Before this momentous event takes place, three illustrious
prophets shall appear, who will announce their presence by the
performance of miracles.

"During this period of its existence, and till its final
removal, the earth will be afflicted with pestilence,
tempests, war, famine, and various other baneful
calamities."[237:8]

"After the resurrection, every one will be apprised of the
good or evil which he may have done, and the righteous and the
wicked will be separated from each other.[238:1] Those of the
latter whose offenses have not yet been expiated, will be cast
into hell during the term of three days and three
nights,[238:2] in the presence of an assembled world, in order
to be purified in the burning stream of liquid ore.[238:3]
After this, they enjoy endless felicity in the society of the
blessed, and the pernicious empire of Ahriman (the devil), is
fairly exterminated.[238:4] Even this lying spirit will be
under the necessity to avail himself of this fiery ordeal, and
made to rejoice in its expurgating and cleansing efficacy.
Nay, hell itself is purged of its mephitic impurities, and
washed clean in the flames of a universal regeneration.[238:5]

"The earth is now the habitation of bliss, all nature glows in
light; and the equitable and benignant laws of Ormuzd reign
supremely through the illimitable universe.[238:6] Finally,
after the resurrection, mankind will recognize each other
again; wants, cares, and passions will cease;[238:7] and
everything in the paradisian and all-embracing empire of
light, shall rebound to the praise of the benificent
God."[238:8]

The disciples of Bacchus expected his second advent. They hoped he
would assume at some future day the government of the universe, and that
he would restore to man his primary felicity.[238:9]

The Esthonian from the time of the German invasion lived a life of
bondage under a foreign yoke, and the iron of his slavery entered into
his soul. He told how the ancient hero Kalewipoeg sits in the realms of
shadows, waiting until his country is in its extremity of distress, when
he will return to earth to avenge the injuries of the Esths, and
elevate the poor crushed people into a mighty power.[238:10]

The suffering Celt has his Brian Boroihme, or Arthur, who will come
again, the first to inaugurate a Fenian millennium, the second to
regenerate Wales. Olger Dansk waits till the time arrives when he is to
start from sleep to the assistance of the Dane against the hated
Prussian. The Messiah is to come and restore the kingdom of the Jews.
Charlemagne was the Messiah of mediaeval Teutondom. He it was who founded
the great German empire, and shed over it the blaze of Christian truth,
and now he sleeps in the Kyffhauserberg, waiting till German heresy has
reached its climax and Germany is wasted through internal conflicts, to
rush to earth once more, and revive the great empire and restore the
Catholic faith.[239:1]

The ancient Scandinavians believed that in the "latter days" great
calamities would befall mankind. The earth would tremble, and the stars
fall from heaven. After which, the great serpent would be chained, and
the religion of Odin would reign supreme.[239:2]

The disciples of Quetzalcoatle, the Mexican Saviour, expected his
second advent. Before he departed this life, he told the inhabitants of
Cholula that he would return again to govern them.[239:3] This
remarkable tradition was so deeply cherished in their hearts, says Mr.
Prescott in his "Conquest of Mexico," that "the Mexicans looked
confidently to the return of their benevolent deity."[239:4]

So implicitly was this believed by the subjects, that when the Spaniards
appeared on the coast, they were joyfully hailed as the returning god
and his companions. Montezuma's messengers reported to the Inca that "it
was Quetzalcoatle who was coming, bringing his temples (ships) with
him." All throughout New Spain they expected the reappearance of this
"Son of the Great God" into the world, who would renew all
things.[239:5]

Acosta alludes to this, in his "History of the Indies," as follows:

"In the beginning of the year 1518, they (the Mexicans),
discovered a fleet at sea, in the which was the Marques del
Valle, Don Fernando Cortez, with his companions, a news which
much troubled Montezuma, and conferring with his council, they
all said, that without doubt, their great and ancient lord
Quetzalcoatle was come, who had said that he would return from
the East, whither he had gone."[239:6]

The doctrine of the millennium and the second advent of Christ Jesus,
has been a very important one in the Christian church. The ancient
Christians were animated by a contempt for their present existence, and
by a just confidence of immortality, of which the doubtful and imperfect
faith of modern ages cannot give us any adequate notion. In the
primitive church, the influence of truth was powerfully strengthened by
an opinion, which, however much it may deserve respect for its
usefulness and antiquity, has not been found agreeable to experience.
It was universally believed, that the end of the world and the kingdom
of heaven were at hand.[240:1] The near approach of this wonderful
event had been predicted, as we have seen, by the Apostles; the
tradition of it was preserved by their earliest disciples, and those who
believed that the discourses attributed to Jesus were really uttered
by him, were obliged to expect the second and glorious coming of the
"Son of Man" in the clouds, before that generation was totally
extinguished which had beheld his humble condition upon earth, and
which might still witness the calamities of the Jews under Vespasian or
Hadrian. The revolution of seventeen centuries has instructed us not to
press too closely the mysterious language of prophecy and revelation;
but as long as this error was permitted to subsist in the church, it was
productive of the most salutary effects on the faith and practice of
Christians, who lived in the awful expectation of that moment when the
globe itself and all the various races of mankind, should tremble at
the appearance of their divine judge. This expectation was
countenanced--as we have seen--by the twenty-fourth chapter of St.
Matthew, and by the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. Erasmus
(one of the most vigorous promoters of the Reformation) removes the
difficulty by the help of allegory and metaphor; and the learned
Grotius (a learned theologian of the 16th century) ventures to
insinuate, that, for wise purposes, the pious deception was permitted
to take place.

The ancient and popular doctrine of the millennium was intimately
connected with the second coming of Christ Jesus. As the works of the
creation had been fixed in six days, their duration in the present
state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet
Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years.[240:2] By the same analogy it
was inferred, that this long period of labor and contention, which had
now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a
thousand years, and that Christ Jesus, with the triumphant band of the
saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who had been miraculously
revived, would reign upon earth until the time appointed for the last
and general resurrection. So pleasing was this hope to the mind of the
believers, that the "New Jerusalem," the seat of this blissful kingdom,
was quickly adorned with all the gayest colors of the imagination. A
felicity consisting only of pure and spiritual pleasure would have been
too refined for its inhabitants, who were still supposed to possess
their human nature and senses. A "Garden of Eden," with the amusements
of the pastoral life, was no longer suited to the advanced state of
society which prevailed under the Roman empire. A city was therefore
erected of gold and precious stones, and a supernatural plenty of corn
and wine was bestowed on the adjacent territory; in the free enjoyment
of whose spontaneous productions, the happy and benevolent people were
never to be restrained by any jealous laws of exclusive property. Most
of these pictures were borrowed from a misrepresentation of Isaiah,
Daniel, and the Apocalypse. One of the grossest images may be found in
Irenaeus (l. v.) the disciple of Papias, who had seen the Apostle St.
John. Though it might not be universally received, it appears to have
been the reigning sentiment of the orthodox believers; and it seems so
well adapted to the desires and apprehensions of mankind, that it must
have contributed in a very considerable degree to the progress of the
Christian faith. But when the edifice of the church was almost
completed, the temporary support was laid aside. The doctrine of Christ
Jesus' reign upon earth was at first treated as a profound allegory,
was considered by degrees as a doubtful and useless opinion, and was
at length rejected as the absurd invention of heresy and fanaticism. But
although this doctrine had been "laid aside," and "rejected," it was
again resurrected, and is alive and rife at the present day, even among
those who stand as the leaders of the orthodox faith.

The expectation of the "last day" in the year 1000 A. D., reinvested the
doctrine with a transitory importance; but it lost all credit again when
the hopes so keenly excited by the crusades faded away before the
stern reality of Saracenic success, and the predictions of the
"Everlasting Gospel," a work of Joachim de Floris, a Franciscan abbot,
remained unfulfilled.[241:1]

At the period of the Reformation, millenarianism once more experienced
a partial revival, because it was not a difficult matter to apply some
of its symbolism to the papacy. The Pope, for example, was
Antichrist--a belief still adhered to by some extreme Protestants. Yet
the doctrine was not adopted by the great body of the reformers, but by
some fanatical sects, such as the Anabaptists, and by the Theosophists
of the seventeenth century.

During the civil and religious wars in France and England, when great
excitement prevailed, it was also prominent. The "Fifth Monarchy Men" of
Cromwell's time were millenarians of the most exaggerated and dangerous
sort. Their peculiar tenet was that the millennium had come, and that
they were the saints who were to inherit the earth. The excesses of
the French Roman Catholic Mystics and Quietists terminated in
chiliastic[242:1] views. Among the Protestants it was during the
"Thirty Years' War" that the most enthusiastic and learned chiliasts
flourished. The awful suffering and wide-spread desolation of that time
led pious hearts to solace themselves with the hope of a peaceful and
glorious future. Since then the penchant which has sprung up for
expounding the prophetical books of the Bible, and particularly the
Apocalypse, with a view to present events, has given the doctrine a
faint semi-theological life, very different, however, from the earnest
faith of the first Christians.

Among the foremost chiliastic teachers of modern centuries are to be
mentioned Ezechiel Meth, Paul Felgenhauer, Bishop Comenius, Professor
Jurien, Seraris, Poiret, J. Mede; while Thomas Burnet and William
Whiston endeavored to give chiliasm a geological foundation, but without
finding much favor. Latterly, especially since the rise and extension of
missionary enterprise, the opinion has obtained a wide currency, that
after the conversion of the whole world to Christianity, a blissful and
glorious era will ensue; but not much stress--except by extreme
literalists--is now laid on the nature or duration of this far-off
felicity.

Great eagerness, and not a little ingenuity have been exhibited by many
persons in fixing a date for the commencement of the millennium. The
celebrated theologian, Johann Albrecht Bengel, who, in the eighteenth
century, revived an earnest interest in the subject amongst orthodox
Protestants, asserted from a study of the prophecies that the millennium
would begin in 1836. This date was long popular. Swedenborg held that
the last judgment took place in 1757, and that the new church, or
"Church of the New Jerusalem," as his followers designate
themselves--in other words, the millennial era--then began.

In America, considerable agitation was excited by the preaching of one
William Miller, who fixed the second advent of Christ Jesus about 1843.
Of late years, the most noted English millenarian was Dr. John Cumming,
who placed the end of the present dispensation in 1866 or 1867; but as
that time passed without any millennial symptoms, he modified his
original views considerably, before he died, and conjectured that the
beginning of the millennium would not differ so much after all from the
years immediately preceding it, as people commonly suppose.

FOOTNOTES:

[233:1] We say "is made to teach it," for the probability is that Paul
never wrote this passage. The authority of both the Letters to the
Thessalonians, attributed to Paul, is undoubtedly spurious. (See The
Bible of To-Day, pp. 211, 212.)

[233:2] I. Thessalonians, iv. 14-17.

[233:3] Ibid. v. 22, 23.

[233:4] We say "James," but, it is probable that we have, in this
epistle of James, another pseudonymous writing which appeared after the
time that James must have lived. (See The Bible of To-Day, p. 225.)

[233:5] James, v. 7, 8.

[233:6] I. Peter, iv. 7.

[233:7] I. Peter, v. 7. This Epistle is not authentic. (See The Bible of
To-Day, pp. 226, 227, 228.)

[234:1] I. John, ii. 26. This epistle is not authentic. (See Ibid. p.
231.)

[234:2] I. John, v. 2.

[234:3] Acts, i. 10, 11.

[234:4] Rev. xxii. 20.

[234:5] Matt. xvi. 27, 28.

[234:6] Ibid. xxiv. 3.

[234:7] Ibid. xxiv. 34-36.

[235:1] Towards the close of the second century. (See Bible of To-Day.)

[235:2] II. Peter, iii. 4.

[235:3] II. Peter, iii. 8-10.

[235:4] See Middleton's Works, vol. i. p. 188.

[236:1] Chapters xx. and xxi. in particular.

[236:2] The Christian Saviour, as well as the Hindoo Saviour, will
appear "in the latter days" among mortals "in the form of an armed
warrior, riding a white horse." St. John sees this in his vision,
and prophecies it in his "Revelation" thus: "And I saw, and behold a
white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was
given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (Rev. vi.
2.)

[237:1] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 75. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp.
497-503. See also, Williams: Hinduism, p. 108.

[237:2] Prog. Relig. Ideas, i. 247, and Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 48.

[237:3] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 209.

[237:4] See Ibid. p. 279. The Angel-Messiah, p. 287, and chap. xiii.
this work.

[237:5] Pp. 122, 123.

[237:6] "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." (Rev.
xx. 12.)

[237:7] "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it." (Rev. xx.
13.)

[237:8] "And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars." "Nation shall
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places." (Matt. xxiv. 6,
7.)

[238:1] "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from
the goats." (Matt. xxv. 32, 33.)

[238:2] "He descended into hell, the third day he rose (again) from the
dead." (Apostles' Creed.)

[238:3] Purgatory--a place in which souls are supposed by the papists to
be purged by fire from carnal impurities, before they are received into
heaven.

[238:4] "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." (Rev. xx. 2.)

[238:5] "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. xx.
14.)

[238:6] "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first earth,
and the first heaven were passed away." (Rev. xxi. 1.)

[238:7] "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev. xxi. 1.)

[238:8] "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in
heaven, saying, 'Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power,
unto the Lord, our God.'" (Rev. xix. 1.) "For the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth." (Rev. xix. 6.)

[238:9] Dupuis: Orig. Relig. Belief.

[238:10] Baring-Gould: Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. p. 407.

[239:1] Baring-Gould: Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. p. 407.

[239:2] See Mallet's Northern Antiquities.

[239:3] Humboldt: Amer. Res., vol. i. p. 91.

[239:4] Prescott: Con. of Mexico, vol. i. p. 60.

[239:5] Fergusson: Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 87. Squire: Serpent
Symbol, p. 187.

[239:6] Acosta: Hist. Indies, vol. ii. p. 513.

[240:1] Over all the Higher Asia there seems to have been diffused an
immemorial tradition relative to a second grand convulsion of nature,
and the final dissolution of the earth by the terrible agency of FIRE,
as the first is said to have been by that of WATER. It was taught by the
Hindoos, the Egyptians, Plato, Pythagoras, Zoroaster, the Stoics, and
others, and was afterwards adopted by the Christians. (II. Peter, iii.
9. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp. 498-500.)

[240:2] "And God made, in six days, the works of his hands, . . . the
meaning of it is this; that in six thousand years the Lord will bring
all things to an end." (Barnabas. Apoc. c. xiii.)

[241:1] After the devotees and followers of the new gospel had in vain
expected the Holy One who was to come, they at last pitched upon St.
Francis as having been the expected one, and, of course, the most
surprising and absurd miracles were said to have been performed by him.
Some of the fanatics who believed in this man, maintained that St.
Francis was "wholly and entirely transformed into the person of
Christ"--Totum Christo configuratum. Some of them maintained that the
gospel of Joachim was expressly preferred to the gospel of Christ.
(Mosheim: Hist. Cent., xiii. pt. ii. sects. xxxiv. and xxxvi.
Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 695.)

[242:1] Chiliasm--the thousand years when Satan is bound.

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The Second Coming Of Christ Jesus And The Millennium