St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo (in present-day Algeria) died on this date in 430 CE. Augustine's moderate views toward the interpretation of Revelation became the European standard for nearly 800 years, until Crusaders and end-times millennialists like Joachim of Fiore gathered popular followings in the high middle ages.
Augustine argued against what he called a "carnal", or literal, interpretation of Revelation - as well as against many predictions he cited that the world would end on or around 500 CE. Augustine was an "amillennialist", meaning he did not accept an apocalyptic scheme where, after a Tribulation, Christ would return to reign bodily over Earth for 1000 years. For Augustine, the Book of Revelation was to be read as an allegory of the struggle for salvation within the human soul.
