The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism (1998 Collins), edited volume

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The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism: 1. The Origins of Apocalypticism in Judaism and Christianity (1998) is a volume edited by John J. Collins.

Abstract

"As we approach 2000-2001, the year that will mark the beginning of a new millennium, interest in the meaning of historical transitions is already on the rise. Fervent expectations abound, both positive ones that hope for the emergence of a more perfect form of earthly society, and negative ones that fear the end of the world, either the Armageddon depicted in the Bible or more secular versions of final destruction. Apocalypticism, broadly defined as the belief that God has revealed the imminent end of the ongoing struggle between good and evil throughout history, has been a major element in the three monotheistic Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Over the past 30 years, extensive scholarship has been devoted to the study of apocalypticism, not only of its origins in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity, but also of the history of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic apocalypticism over the succeeding twenty centuries. The contemporary role of apocalyptic thought, both in America and in the world at large, has also been a subject of intense research. With the contribution of 42 internationally renowned scholars, The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism provides a state-of-the-art survey of apocalypticism's role in Western history, from its origins down to the eve of the third millennium."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in New York, NY: Continuum, 1998. Part one of a Three Volume Encyclopedia dealing with apocalypticism from antiquity to the present.