development of the Shield of the Trinity diagram). Theory of the three ages The mystical basis of his teaching is his doctrine of the "eternal gospel", founded on an interpretation of Revelation 14:6 (Rev 14:6, "Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people." NRSV translation.). His theories can be considered millenarian; he believed that history, by analogy with the Trinity, was divided into three fundamental epochs: The Age of the Father, corresponding to the Old Testament, characterized by obedience of mankind to the Rules of God; The Age of the Son, between the advent of Christ and 1260, represented by the New Testament, when Man became the son of God; The Age of the Holy Spirit, impending, a contemplative utopia. The Kingdom of the Holy Spirit, a new dispensation of universal love, would proceed from the Gospel of Christ, but transcend the letter of it. In this new Age the ecclesiastical organization would be replaced and the Order of the Just would rule the Church. This Order of the Just was later identified with the Franciscan order by his follower Gerardo of Borgo San Donnino. Joachim's idea of the Age of the Holy Spirit would also later greatly influence the Cult of the Holy Spirit which would in later centuries have considerable impact in Portugal and its colonies, and would suffer severe persecution by the Portuguese Inquisition. According to Joachim, only in this third age will it be possible to truly understand the words of God in their deepest meanings, and not merely literally. In this period, instead of the parousia (second Advent of Christ), a new epoch of peace and concord would begin; also, a new religious "order" of spiritual men will arise, thus making the present hierarchy of the Church almost unnecessary. Joachim distinguished between the "reign of justice" or "of law" in an imperfect society, and the "reign of freedom" in a perfect society. Joachim saw that a pope will be the Antichrist and that Rome represents Babylon. Condemnation Joachim's theories were refuted by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica (written 1265-1274). In contrast, Dante Alighieri situated Joachim in the Paradiso of his Divine Comedy (composed c. 1320). Among the Spirituals, the stricter branch of the Franciscans, a Joachite group arose, many of whom saw Antichrist