2 Thes. 2:3ff.; Rev. 13:5ff.) coming to power over the entire world; the ‘abomination of desolation’ (Dn. 9:27; Mt. 24:15) in the middle of the period, when he demands universal worship of himself; and the ‘Great Tribulation’ (Mt. 24:16ff.) in the last half of the period, when he persecutes the saints. This movement was called ‘chiliasm’ in the early church,3 and disappeared after the work of Augustine and the rise of the historical interpretation of prophecy. It did not reappear until the early