The contributions in this volume are focused on the historical origins religious provenance
and social function of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature including so-called
'Gnostic' writings. Although it is disputed whether there was a genre of 'apocalyptic
literature ' it is obvious that numerous texts from ancient Judaism early Christianity and
other religious milieus share a specific view of history and the world to come. Many of these
writings are presented in form of a heavenly (divine) revelation mediated through an
otherworldly figure (like an angel) to an elected human being who discloses this revelation to
his recipients in written form. In different strands of early Judaism ancient Christianity as
well as in Gnosticism Manichaeism and Islam apocalyptic writings played an important role
from early on and were produced also in later centuries. One of the most characteristic
features of these texts is their specific interpretation of history based on the knowledge
about the upper divine realm and the world to come. Against this background the volume deals
with a wide range of apocalyptic texts from different periods and various religious
backgrounds.
