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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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