Topicality of studying eschatological thinking as a factor in the historical process and phenomenon of historical consciousness
The authors discuss whether eschatology can be the object of historical research. If so, what are the main areas of the study and how productive are they? This paper is focused on answering these questions. In the study of eschatolog-ical thinking it is very important for the researcher to avoid estimation of the adequacy, credibility, absurdity and general inferiority of the studied ideas. This principle is not easy to follow, as it has been shown that eschatological motives and constructs implicitly exist in any historical consciousness. Whatever the nature of the primary eschatological impulse is (encryption, metaphor, vision), in the end, the eschatological doctrine of social motivation is relevant to a historical moment. Mental causes of religious teachings are of great interest to us because the most important outcome of any investigation should be determination of the causal mechanisms or processes underlying historical events. Axiological motivation is often determined by the fact that different eschatological constructions constantly meet opposite estimation of the same historical events and phenomena. For example, as eschatological images assessment of the Roman statehood transformed into diametrically opposite values in its apocalyptic role of "Rome - the Great Whore" that should pay for all their crimes to "Rome - katechon" holding the world order from apocalypse. In modern historical-ideological concepts such transformations coexist in the estimates of North American statehood. Eschatological thinking has a multilevel problem-oriented structure. The elements of this structure work on cultural, civilizational, social, individual spiritual and subconscious levels. Universal mechanisms of eschato-logical thinking started to form in primitive cultures, and continued to grow in modern culture. Therefore, it is not only permissible but necessary to seek these mechanisms in non-religious spheres, too. Historical consciousness has some stimuli to accumulation and transformation of religious evidence. The problem field of historical research is to analyze the cultural and historical destinations of such accumulation and transformation. The relevance of this analysis is determined by the increasing influence of eschatological thinking in all areas of life: from literary to political movements. Scientific relevance of the research is due to the relatively small number of attempts done in the field of interdisciplinary study of relationship and continuity of historical consciousness and theology.