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1. History and meaning of the wordThe German noun  Innerlichkeit (roughly “inwardness”) is a w…

1. Western variants 1.1. Terminological historyThe term “philosophy of religion” is first att…

1. BackgroundThe Indo-European word behind  Latin  veritas, French  vérité, German  Wahrheit (English “truth”) meant “respect,” “assent,” “fidelity”; Greek  alḗtheia (literally “unconcealment”) was also important for the history of the term. The pragmatic questions concerning whether an assertion or message is true and what criteria we should use to assess and recognize its truth have been answered implicitly or explicity in every culture. The question of what truth is arises whenever a culture re…

1. Definition and originChiliasm, from Greek  chília (“thousand”) - also called millenialism (from Latin  millenium) - refers to the notion of a thousand years of bliss under the rule of Christ, who returns at the end of time (Messiah). According to Rev 20:1-7, before the general resurrection, the Last Judgment, and eternal salvation, the previously resurrected martyrs and confessors will reign on earth with Christ for a thousand years in a kingdom of peace (a Golden Age).Hans-Peter Großhans2. Historical and literary backgroundChiliasm is associated with apocalypticism and messianism. It emerged against the background of apocalyptic expectations in early Judaism, possibly influenced by Greek and Iranian ideas. The notion of a limited messianic age preceding universal salvation appears, for example, in 4 Ezra (7:28f.) and the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (29f.). The notion of a thousand-year messianic interim goes back to postexilic Judaism, where beginning in the 2nd c…