Chapter 2 Apocalypticism, Chiliasm, and Cultural Progress: Jerusalem in Early Modern Storyworlds

Abstract

This chapter deals with the early modern transformation of the Jerusalem code in the Christian storyworld of “salvation history,” and the consequences it had in configuring human behavior on the pilgrimage towards the heavenly Jerusalem. The transformation became visible primarily in the outlook on the future, i.e. on the time span between the (respective) Now and the Second Advent of Christ. It implied a change from traditional apocalypticism to chiliasm (Greek root) or millenarianism, respectively millennialism (Latin root). The inner logic of salvation history inferred that this change deeply influenced the understanding of the present situation and its fatalities or potentialities. Moreover, it modified the view of the past as a basis of what happens now and will happen in the future.