The nature and origin of Jewish mysticism is a controversial subject. This volume explores the subject by examining both the Hebrew and Aramaic tradition (Dead Sea Scrolls, 1 Enoch) and the Greek philosophical tradition (Philo) and also examines the Christian transformation of Jewish mysticism in Paul and Revelation. It provides for a nuanced treatment that differentiates different strands of thought that may be considered mystical. The Hebrew tradition is mythical in nature and concerned with various ways of being in the presence of God. The Greek tradition allows for a greater degree of unification and participation in the divine. The New Testament texts are generally closer to the Greek tradition, although Greek philosophy would have a huge effect on later Christian mysticism. The book is intended for scholars and advanced students of ancient Judaism and early Christianity.

Preliminary Material /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Two Essential Qualities of Jewish Apocalyptic /Ithamar Gruenwald -- The Mystical Elements in Apocalyptic /Ithamar Gruenwald -- The Attitude Towards the Merkavah Speculations in the Literature of the Tannaim and Amoraim /Ithamar Gruenwald -- The Hekhalot Literature /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Introduction /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Reʾuyot Yeḥezkel /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Hekhalot Zutreti /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Hekhalot Rabbati /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Merkavah Rabbah /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Maʻaseh Merkavah /Ithamar Gruenwald -- 'Hekhalot ' Fragments /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Seper Hekhalot (3 Enoch) /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Masekhet Hekhalot /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Shjʻur Qomah /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Physiognomy, Chiromancy and Metoposcopy /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Seper Ha-Razim /Ithamar Gruenwald -- Appendices /Saul Lieberman -- Indices /Ithamar Gruenwald.

Christians live in two overlapping ages: this present age and the age to come. By examining Revelation and other apocalyptic literature from the Gospels and the Old Testament, it can be argued that end-time events and the age to come have already begun. This understanding, however, can present many challenges. How do we explain this blending of present and future? How do the future resurrection of the body and the return of Christ impact pastoral care and sermon preparation now? C. Marvin Pate provides an accessible guide to the distinctive content, form, and function of apocalyptic literature. Key principles of interpretation specific to this genre are presented, as well as steps in communicating the theological messages of apocalyptic passages in the Bible. Pate's in-depth explanations offer a reliable introduction to this field of literature as well as new insights into the texts.

The attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, followed by similarly dreadful acts of terror, prompted a new interest in the field of the apocalyptic. There is a steady output of literature on the subject (also referred to as “the End Times.) This book analyzes this continuously published literature and opens up a new perspective on these views of the apocalypse. The thirteen essays in this volume focus on the dimensions, consequences and transformations of Apocalypticism. The authors explore the everyday relevance of the apocalyptic in contemporary society, culture, and politics, side by side with the various histories of apocalyptic ideas and movements. In particular, they seek to better understand the ways in which perceptions of the apocalypse diverge in the American, European, and Arab worlds. Leading experts in the field re-evaluate some of the traditional views on the apocalypse in light of recent political and cultural events, and, go beyond empirical facts to reconsider the potential of the apocalyptic. This last point is the focal point of the book.

Johannine Writings and Apocalyptic provides a wide-ranging and thorough annotated bibliography for John's Gospel, the Johannine letters, Revelation, and apocalyptic writings pertinent to these books. More inclusive than many other bibliographies, this volume provides reference to over 1300 individual entries, often including references to multiple works with a given description. Annotations are designed to provide guidance to a wide range of readers, from students wishing to gain entry to the subject to graduate students engaging in research to professors needing ready access to useful materials. The volume is topically organized and indexed for easy access.

The Armenian Apocalyptic Tradition: A Comparative Perspective comprises a collection of essays on apocalyptic literature in the Armenian tradition. This collection is unprecedented in its subject and scope and employs a comparative approach that situates the Armenian apocalyptic tradition within a broader context. The topics in this volume include the role of apocalyptic literature and apocalypticism in the conversion of the Armenians to Christianity, apocalyptic ideology and holy war, the significance of the Book of Daniel in Armenian thought, the reception of the Apocalypse of Ps.-Methodius in Armenian, the role of apocalyptic literature in political ideologies, and the expression of apocalypticism in the visual arts.

This book brings together the contributions of the foremost specialists on the relationship of the New Testament and Rabbinic Literature. They present the history of scholarship and deal with the main methodological issues, and analyze both legal and literary problems.

All you wanted to know about biblical prophecy from A to Z, the Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy is a comprehensive reference tool. It is targeted for those who truly desire to understand prophecy and the end-times. Starting with “Abomination of Desolation” and continuing through hundreds of articles until “Zionism,” this book provides helpful and interesting discussions of the entire range of biblical prophecy, all at your fingertips.This exhaustive work contains articles on a broad sweep of topics relevant to the study of biblical prophecy and eschatology. The articles are based on solid scholarship, yet are clear and accessible to the lay reader, illuminating even the most complicated issues. The dictionary also strives for a balanced presentation by laying out differing positions along with their strengths and weaknesses, while not pushing any specific theological or interpretive agenda other than a firm commitment to seeking to understand the Scriptures. This is a valuable tool you will refer to time and again.

The critical question of the relationship between Jesus and Paul has been well established in New Testament studies for over 150 years and it needs to be addressed with all the tools of historical criticism that scholarship has developed. So states GerrySchoberg at the beginning of this new and important work that does just that. By coupling comparative instances in the gospels and the works attributed to Paul, Schoberg invites the reader to enquire more profoundly than in past studies as to the nature of the relationship between Jesus and the most dramatic of Christian converts. At the heart of this study is not only the question of whether the New Testament truly gives a unified vision of the Christian movement, but also how the early followers of Jesus felt able to draw such insightful conclusions about him? Answering such questions through the study of Jesus and Paul offer an insight as to how one is to make theological sense of the many details experienced from day to day and thereby live a life inChrist.

Emil Schürer's Geschichte des judischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi, originally published in German between 1874 and 1909 and in English between 1885 and 1891, is a critical presentation of Jewish history, institutions, and literature from 175 B.C. to A.D. 135. It has rendered invaluable services to scholars for nearly a century. The present work offers a fresh translation and a revision of the entire subject-matter. The bibliographies have been rejuvenated and supplemented; the sources are presented according to the latest scholarly editions; and all the new archaeological, epigraphical, numismatic and literary evidence, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bar Kokhba documents, has been introduced into the survey. Account has also been taken of the progress in historical research, both in the classical and Jewish fields. This work reminds students of the profound debt owed to nineteenth-century learning, setting it within a wider framework of contemporary knowledge, and provides a foundation on which future historians of Judaism in the age of Jesus may build.