Joachimites

thumb|Joachim of Fiore The Joachimites, also known as Joachites, a millenarian group, arose from the Franciscans in the thirteenth century. They based their ideas on the prior works of Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135 – 1202), though rejecting the Church of their day more strongly than he had. Joachimite beliefs were condemned by the Fourth Council of the Lateran and Joachimite interpretations became popular during the Protestant Reformation, and even influenced some Protestant interpretations. He also divided history into three ages: the ages of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

== Beliefs of Joachim == Joachim of Fiore believed in a historicist interpretation of eschatology, and mysticism. Joachim's works divide history into three ages. The first age was of the Father. The age of the Father was the age of the Old Covenant. The second age was of the Son and therefore the world of Christianity. The third and final age would be that of the Holy Spirit. In this new age an "Eternal Gospel" would be revealed as "fulfilling" and replacing the organized church. After that society would be realigned on an egalitarian and utopian monastic base. The first age is said to have been of forty-two generations. The second age would also be of 42 generations. Joachim seemed to suggest the Christian era would end in 1260 with the coming of the Anti-Christ. After that, a utopian age would arrive. Joachim believed that the end could come at any moment, believing in the New Testament emphasis on the imminence of the end.