"[To grasp this subject] one needs a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach by a variety of expert hands such as have been brought together in this book. Here one has the whole argument, from the inter-Testamental and earliest Christian periods through medieval and early modern times up to the complex overlaps with the New Age, or Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism, or Judaising movements like the Seventh-Day Adventists and the Peruvian 'Israelites.'" -from the Foreword by David Martin "Students with a serious interest in the manifestations of millennialism, and those concerned with the origins and motivations embraced by revolutionary ideologies will find this book an indispensable resource; . . . for laymen it offers a truly fascinating read." -Bryan R. Wilson This timely book examines the impact of Christian millenarian ideas in a comparative and historical perspective with a special emphasis on contemporary religious movements inspired by such ideas. The contributors are Andrew Bradstock, Eugene Gallagher, Malcolm B. Hamilton, Massimo Introvigne, Orestis Lindermeyer, Kenneth Newport, Susan J. Palmer, Mark Patterson, Martyn Percy, Margaret Poloma, Stanley E. Porter, Ian Reader, Damian Thompson, Andrew Walker, Diane Watt, and Michael York.
STEPHEN HUNT is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Reading, England.
Foreword Introduction Part I. Sociological Aspects Sociological Dimensions of Christian Millenarianism/ Malcolm B. Hamilton Whose Time is it Anyway? Evangelicals, the Millennium and Millenarianism/ Martyn Percy Europe as Antichrist: North American Pre-Millenarianism/ Orestis Lindermayer The Rise, Fall, and Return of Post-Millenarianism/ Stephen Hunt Part II. Historical Dimensions Millenarian thought in the First-Century Church/ Stanley E. Porter Millenarianism in the Reformation and English Revolution/ Andrew Bradstock Medieval Millenarianism and Prophecy/ Diane Watt "Our Unspeakable Comfort": Irving, Albury, and the Origins of the Pretribulation Rapture/ Mark Patterson and Andrew Walker Part III. Global Movements The Revolutionary Dimension of Millenarianism: The Case of the T'aiping Rebellion/ Stephen Hunt The Heavenly Millennium of Seventh-Day Adventism/ Kenneth Newport En Route to the Marian Kingdom: Catholic Apocalypticism and the Army of Mary/ Massimo Introvigne The Millenarianism of the Pentecostal Movement/ Margaret Poloma A Peruvian Messiah and the Retreat from the Apocalyse/ Damian Thompson Part IV. Syncretic and Cultist Forms "All I am is Religion": David Koresh's Christian Millenarianism/ Eugene Gallagher Peace, Persecution and Preparations for Yahshua's Return: The Case of the Messianic Communities' Twelve Tribes/ Susan J. Palmer New Age Millenarianism and its Christian Influences/ Michael York Violent Millenarianism with a Christian Touch: Syncretic Themes in the Millennial Perspective of Aum Shinrikyo/ Ian Reader Index
