Thank you very much for that kind introduction and I would like to take the opportunity to

thank the organizers again for inviting me and I have been looking very much forward

to this exchange of ideas.

So the prophetical books of the Bible, most prominently the books of Ezekiel and Daniel

and the revelation to John are often characterized in expressive terms.

Ezekiel for instance, which narrates the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and Israel's exile,

a political and religious turning point in the history of the chosen people, is well

known for its dark and enigmatic visions.

The book of Daniel with its explicit criticism of political power is exegetical dynamite,

as John Collins put it, and throughout the Middle Ages it provided a model description

of overthrowing rulership and the end of an empire.

New Testament's book of revelation revealed a future in disturbing visions that encompass

a variety of tribulations, wars, and natural disasters the community of believers would

have to endure before judgment day.

And those who would be saved would then find justice and salvation in the heavenly city

of Jerusalem, while those who were not mentioned in the book of life would be thrown into a

fiery pit.

And in the picture in the background you can see a variety of medieval eschatological images,

such as the angels and the rain of blood from revelation.

In the course of the Middle Ages, these three prophetical books provided central models

for the perception of the world, for the interpretation of social political changes, and for the way

individuals could confront their own salvation.

Thus, reflections on the present and future developments of the Christian community were

situated in an ongoing dialogue with the text of the Bible.

Interpretations of the approaching end in the prophetical texts could be interpreted

with a view towards specific events or persons, such as the apocalyptic peoples of Gog and

Magog, the city of Babylon, or Antichrist.

In the exegetical works of the second and third centuries, interpretations were mainly

directed against Rome and its rulers, as the Christian persecutions could be seen as precursors

of Antichrist.

However, in the fourth century we can observe a change in apocalyptic narratives.

In the increasingly Christianized world of late antiquity, different notions of eschatology

had found their way into late Roman society.

Hand in hand with deliberations about the future of the Christian community, apocalyptic

interpretations were integrated into the political discourse of late Roman era, in which the

end of the empire became an increasingly plausible scenario.

The earlier anti-Roman, anti-apocalyptic interpretations, which antagonized the empire and its rulers,

were reappraised in late antique discussions about the empire's stability and in its perception

of its enemies.

Already at the beginning of the fourth century, in the seventh book of his Divine Institutes,

the theologian Lactantius had engaged with various topics of apocalypse.

For his detailed descriptions and explanations of end time scenarios, he worked not only

with the biblical prophecies of the book of Daniel and Revelation, but also integrated

Roman myth and other prophetic traditions like the Sibylian Oracles, trying to resolve

the tension between the providence of God and the fact of Roman power.

During the great persecution of 303 to 313, Lactantius argued that although the Roman

Empire was Christianity's worst enemy, its end should not be desired, but feared, as

the end times would bring even more dreadful tribulations to the Christian community than

the Roman persecutions ever had.

Following this line of thought, the continuing existence of the empire was then no longer