Van Oort, Johannes (Hans)2012-05-232012-05-232012-05-04Van Oort, J., 2012, ‘The end is now: Augustine on History and Eschatology’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 68(1), Art. #1188, 7 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/hts.v68i1.11880259--9422 (Print)2072-8050 (Online)10.4102/hts.v68i1.1188http://hdl.handle.net/2263/18851This article dealt with the church father Augustine’s view on history and eschatology. After analysing the relevant material (especially his City of God and the correspondence with a certain Hesyschius) it was concluded that, firstly, Augustine was no historian in the usual sense of the word; secondly, his concept of historia sacra was the heuristic foundation for his idea of history; thirdly, the present is not to be described in the terms of historia sacra, which implies that he took great care when pointing out any instances of ‘God’s hand in history’; fourthly, the end times have already started, with the advent of Jesus Christ; fifthly, because of the uniqueness of Christ’s coming, it runs counter to any cyclical worldview; sixthly, identifying any exact moment of the end of times is humanly impossible and seventhly, there is no room for any ‘chiliastic’ expectation.en© 2012. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo -- Criticism and interpretationHistory -- PhilosophyEschatology -- PhilosophyArticle