Conclusion:

Abstract

In the course of this study, it has become increasingly clear that during the twenty years of the Puritan Revolution, Puritanism underwent radical metamorphoses. Or, to put it more accurately, it was during these years that Puritanism manifested its dynamic and heterogeneous nature. What began as a reform movement in religion grew, in a time of social crisis, into a theo-political ideology for the total reconstruction of church and state. As a consequence of this development, Puritanism became a compelling force in the English Civil War, which was now interpreted by the Puritan divines as a conflict between Christ and Antichrist. With the rise of more radical elements in the Parliamentary Army and among the Congregational churches, the Puritan vision of the Kingdom of Christ was no longer confined to its original theological framework: Christ as king of saints was proclaimed as king of nations as well. Indeed, to the true believers of the Fifth Monarchy, the millennium was already near at hand and it was the work of their generation to usher in the Lord’s kingdom here on earth.