… the revelation of John contains a religious interpretation of the content of history, and not only as a struggle between anti-Christianity and Christianity, darkness and light, but also as historical accomplishments, namely chiliasm, which is thereby included in the general eschatological prophecy as its part, precisely containing the precondition of the end, but having to be accomplished on the ground. History receives in it a metahistorical meaning, an eschatological goal, but still on this side of the end.

History receives in it [in chiliasm] a metahistorical meaning, an eschatological goal, but still on this side of the end. This is a potentially positive religious interpretation of history. Its individual goals and values ​​are no longer determined by the force of fact, but by internal religious fulfillment, they acquire a divine-human significance, are included in the work of Christ's reign on earth. This accession is not final, which will come only after the end of the age and spread to the ages of ages, but it is a necessary accomplishment of the earthly process. Chiliasm is the guiding immanently transcendent goal of history, its justification, and at the same time its symbol. In itself, chiliasm is not a goal as one of the historical goals, it is the super-goal of all goals. Moreover, its advent is not a matter of human will and energy, but of the Divine-human, of Christ. However, Christ comes to His humanity, whose life is the preceding precondition of this thousand-year His reign on earth.

In the idea of chiliasm, humanity opens up the possibility of historical piety and overcoming anti-historical nihilism under the pretext of asceticism.

… Chiliasm does not introduce anything new in the force of fact in this respect, but it contains within itself a religious revelation in history.

The Apocalypse contains the revelation of Christ's reign not only behind history, but also through history, and this precedes His Second Coming into the world. No matter how dogmatically we understand this advent, or rather, the advents of Christ in history in relation to the Parousia, it is undeniable that they are included in His Parousia as a path to it, its precondition. And therefore, longing for this advent and its joyful meeting, we specifically include in this general feeling not only parousia, but also chiliasm, not separating them into two different comings, but only into two images of the common sojourn of Christ in the world in their inseparability. This prayer refers to all his images, all of them are embraced by this prayer: “yes, come, Lord Jesus.” This is not only a prayer for Parousia, which may seem even to us unbearable and incomprehensible in its boldness, but also for chiliastic advents or approaches to the world in human history on the paths to Parousia before it. Thus understood, the prayer: “Yes, come!” ceases to be a terrible and overwhelming task for us, from which we instinctively seek to hide in pious fright by oblivion or reinterpretation, but receives internal persuasiveness and interpretation, by analogy with the prayer to the Holy Spirit, Who, by the inspiration of the Church, we pray boldly: “come and dwell in us.” We are confirmed in this prayer by the fact that the Holy Spirit descended into the world at Pentecost as “another Comforter.” But the Apocalypse confirms us in a new way that Christ also did not completely leave the world in His Ascension, but abides and acts in it, coming into it, although in a different way than in the Parousia, which is the full and final return of the Lord in the flesh and in His glory.

Such is the significance of the Apocalypse with its teaching on chiliasm in the general oeconomy of our prayer life. … In this sense, decadent prayer must be forever and finally overcome: de mora finis; it is forbidden to us by Revelation. In this sense, Christianity, predominantly ascetic-eschatological, must also accommodate the apocalyptic-chiliastic, become Joannism in its entirety.

There is a difference between chiliasm and Parousia, primarily in the fact that Parousia is unknown in terms of times and seasons, “like a thief in the night” or “a bridegroom at midnight”, and in this sense one must always expect it. The Millennium Kingdom of Christ on earth is coming in time. Although no terms or dates are given regarding it, it is nevertheless included in a certain context of events or epochs, which are symbolically depicted in Revelation. Thus a double expectation or a double spiritual orientation is established: the end of the world and the Parousia on the one hand, and its transformation through the Millennium Kingdom of Christ still within its own limits.

The prayer of Revelation “come” remains unheeded to this day. However, it must be heard, and once heard, it must become not only the subject of special prayerful attention, but also a new spiritual orientation. It is nothing more and nothing less than a new (and at the same time, original) sense of life, which must be revived in Christianity, and this must be a spiritual and prayerful revolution in the life of the Church, not external, but internal. We are held back from the path to it by impotence, timidity and inertia, which are taken as fidelity to tradition, but it is this latter that is in need of renewal. Here, in a special sense, the Word of God is applicable to the Church and about the Church: “Behold, I make all things new.” It is not we who create, but God in us, in Christ by the Holy Spirit, but not apart from us. But this voice, once heard, cannot be forgotten, and this call, sounded in the souls, should not remain unanswered. A new era is approaching in the life of the Church. What this means in the light of the present and the future, we do not know. However, we must learn to think and feel eschatologically.