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Early Christian writings from the second and third centuries of the Christian era indicate that Christians expected both the persecutions to worsen and the 'tribulation' to take place in the near future. However, some Christians during this period may have anticipated later generations by regarding the severe persecutions they were already suffering under the Roman rulers Nero, Decius and Diocletian as the prophesied tribulation. Cyprian (c. AD 200/10-258), Bishop of Carthage, for example, believed the persecutions of his time were in fact prophesied by Christ. (172:1) From this time on, the prophecies of the Bible appeared to be fulfilled and, therefore, they began to receive less attention from the mainstream, or orthodox, Bible expositors. This point has been noted by the historian Shirley Jackson Case: (172:2) During the fourth century Christianity made such rapid progress that it became the legal religion of the Roman Empire, thus making it possible for Augustine in the first quarter of the fifth century to write his famous treatise describing the church as the city of God on earth. The millennium was now no longer a desideratum; it was already a realization. Working from this point of view, Augustine lays the ghost of millennialism so effectively that for centuries thereafter the subject is practically ignored. (The Millennial Hope 179)
(172:3)
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