Augustine’s vision of the interpenetration of sacred and secular history profoundly influenced all future Christian eschatology, both Catholic and Protestant. He made the apocalyptic part of the everyday fabric of Christian life and belief, and to that extent reinforced eschatological awareness by embedding it in liturgy and preaching. But his approach also distanced Catholic thought from all literalist readings of prophecy, and especially from notions of an early millennium.

Premillennialism during the Cold War both encouraged missionary activity informed by biblical prophecy and aided McCarthyism and anticommunism by creating an evangelical identity that lauded patriotism and cultural bias. Paradoxically, this bias also hindered the success of missionary activity around the world.