REALM OF RESEARCH: Landmarks in Prophetic Interpretation—No. 4

Joachim died in 1202. In 1208 Francis of Assisi built a small hut in Portiuncula, from which such mighty streams of light should go forth as would change the spiritual outlook of generations to come. Francis lived that life of the initatio Christi of which Joachim had spoken. He formed a brotherhood of the like- minded—later it degenerated into an order— which seemed to be a direct fulfillment of what Joachim had envisaged. No wonder, then, that the followers of Francis, when coming in con tact with Joachim's teaching saw in Francis the prophesied DUX.

It would be extremely interesting to study how these two strains of thought met and united; how they were influential in creating the movement of the Franciscan Spirituals, which centered around such interesting figures as John of Parma, Gerardino of Borgo San Donnino, and later around Peter John of Olivi, Ubertino of Casale, and Arnold of Villanova; and how these ideas influenced even Petrarch and Dante, but that would lead us too far afield.

It is noteworthy, however, that soon after Joachim's death writings of a nature similar to his began to appear, and that all of them accepted this new approach to history. One of the first of these writings is the commentary on the Apocalypse by Alexander the Minorite. Alexander, a Minorite of northern Germany, died in 1271. For a long time historians were not sure to whom this commentary on the Apocalypse was to be attributed. One copy of it is found in the library of the Vatican, under God. Lat. 3819 fol. xo-ijia. However, it is not under Alexander's name but under Joachim's name. The page headings are given as, "Joachim super Apocalypsim." Nevertheless, it is evident from the content that it could not have

been written by Joachim, for it refers to events which happened after the latter's death. Another copy has been found in the city library of Chalons-sur-Marne. It is registered there under number 68, in Catalogue general des Mscr., Departments 3, p. 28. The first few leaves have been lost; therefore, we find ourselves thrown into the middle of the text. On folio 6ic the commentary ends with the re mark: "Explicit postilla Joachim super Apocalipsim." Compared with the Vatican Manu script, it shows that the two are practically identical.1

Moreover, two other copies have come to light and are in the possession of the State Li brary of Wolfenbuettel. One is labeled Anon- ymi commentarius expositio apocalypsim Johannis, and is dated A.D. 1235; and the other, with the same content, is Expositio vel inter- pretatio literalis super apocalypsim fratris layci de ordine winorum A.D. MCCCCXXXXI1I (i443).2 Prausnitz, after going into great de tail, conies to the conclusion that this commentary was written by -a monk of the monastery of Stade in northern Germany, because the abbot of that monastery gives witness to it in his Chronicon, and there is no reason for disbelieving this statement.8 It is generally accepted that this commentary was written between the years 1235 and 1248.

Having no access to the Latin Mss., I follow Grundmann, who declares that our monk accepted the principles elucidated by Joachim, and makes a great effort to understand the great outlines of history in the light of prophecy, which are at the base of history's bewildering mass of events. God, in His foreknowledge, has laid before us the great drama of history in a mysterious and allegorical form in His Book, and especially in the Apocalypse. Therefore, understanding the meaning of the Bible involves at the same time understanding the meaning of history. Alexander finds in the Bible the history of the world presaged, or his study of world history convinced him that the events in history are in harmony with the prophetic word of the Bible.4

Development Under the Spirituals

From now on we can trace the same tendency not only in the writings of the Joachitnites, where we of course expect them, or in the writings of the Franciscan Spirituals, but even among their opponents, the orthodox Francis cans, who remained within the church. In this connection I would mention only one outstanding figure, Peter Aureoli, famous professor at the university of Paris and later archbishop of Aix, the favorite of Pope John XXII. While Peter John Olivi is the exponent of the radical spiritual group among the Franciscans, and Arnold of Villanova the exponent of the lay movement among the Spirituals, Peter Aureoli is the stanch defender of the Catholic hierarchy among the Franciscans. He wields his powerful pen against the Spirituals whenever he has an opportunity.

But, despite his opposition to the Spirituals and the Joachimites, he has drunk deeply from the fountain of the new learning, and in his commentary on the Apocalypse he follows completely in the footsteps of Joachim. That, of course, means not in accepting the three-ages theory of Joachim, which he definitely rejects, but in accepting the historical method of interpretation. He even goes one step further and limits the Apocalypse to the time between the first and the second advents of Jesus Christ. The Apocalypse presents to him a complete ex position of the development of the holy Catholic Church. And more methodically even than Olivi, he points to definite personalities and events in the history of the church.5

For instance, he sees in the seven angels of the seven churches definite personalities—the first angel represents Timotheus, the second Polycarp, the third the bishop Carpus, the fourth Irenaeus. Under Jezebel he understands the montanistic prophetesses Prisca and Maxi- milla. The fifth angel represents Melito of Sardes; the sixth, Quadratus of Philadelphia; and the seventh, Samgar, bishop of Laodicea.6

The angel with the open book is, according to the Spirituals, the bringer of spiritual comprehension of divine things; but, according to Aureoli, it is the Emperor Justinian, who in his laws ordained the keeping of the commandments of God, and the open book is the Codex lustin'ianus, which has become the basis of law and order in the Christian imperium.7

The angel of Revelation 14:6 is not the evangelism aeternum of the Spirituals, but Bonifa- cius, the archbishop of Mainz, who was sent by Pope Gregory to Thuringia and Frisia in order to convert the heathen. The eternal gospel is here the preaching of the correct Catholic faith among- the pagans.8 The angel who has the key to the bottomless pit is Pope Calixtus II. Under him the concordat of Worms in 1122 is signed, which act brings the reconciliation between emperor and pope, between ecclesia and imperium. Henry V submits to his defeat in the age-old struggle of investiture, and Calixtus binds with the key of Hades the terrible dragon, which is the Roman Empire. Now the church has gained the victory, and is free.9

We may not agree with the theories of Joachim or Alexander or Aureoli, but we have to recognize the great contribution which Joachim made in bringing history again into its own in the interpretation of prophecy. Christian eschatology thereby received a new meaning. The great significance of Christian eschatology is to understand the final goal of all human history. Only in understanding this—in taking this position of faith in the coming kingdom and the divinely superintended end of all things on earth—does history, with all its puzzling and contradictory events, become comprehensible and full of meaning. For the fact that the church became history conscious, and that she developed a new philosophy of history, we have to thank Joachim.