Millenarian Movements

The terms millenarianism or millennialism are used by scholars to refer to movements expecting an imminent transition to a collective salvation (i.e., a condition of permanent well-being enjoyed by a group), which may be believed to be earthly and/or heavenly. Millenarians believe that the transition to the collective salvation will occur as the result of the intervention of a divine or superhuman agent, perhaps using human assistance. Many millenarians expect the transition to occur via a cataclysmic destruction of the current order so that the “millennial kingdom” can be created—this pattern can be termed catastrophic millennialism. Other millenarians have a strong belief in “progress” and therefore believe that humans working under divine or superhuman guidance can create the millennial kingdom—this pattern can be termed progressive ...