The end is now: Augustine on History and Eschatology

This article dealt with the church father Augustine’s view on history and eschatology. After analysing the relevant material (especially his <em>City of God</em> and the correspondence with a certain Hesyschius) it was concluded that, firstly, Augustine was no historian in the usual sense of the word; secondly, his concept of <em>historia sacra</em> was the heuristic foundation for his idea of history; thirdly, the present is not to be described in the terms of <em>historia sacra</em>, which implies that he took great care when pointing out any instances of ‘God’s hand in history’; fourthly, the end times have already started, with the advent of Jesus Christ; fifthly, because of the uniqueness of Christ’s coming, it runs counter to any cyclical worldview; sixthly, identifying any exact moment of the end of times is humanly impossible and seventhly, there is no room for any ‘chiliastic’ expectation