The Reformation of Prophecy illuminates the significant shifts in the Protestant reformers' engagement with the prophet and biblical prophecy-shifts from advancing the priesthood of all believers to strengthening Protestant clerical identity and authority to operating as a site of polemical-confessional exchange concerning right interpretations of Scripture.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Although astrology was viewed with suspicion by the medieval church, it became a major area of inquiry for the renowned cardinal and scholar Pierre d'Ailly, whose astrological and apocalyptic writings had a significant influence on Christopher Columbus. D'Ailly's writings on the stars, the focus of this book, clearly illustrate the complex relationships among astrology, science, and Christian thinking in the late Middle Ages. Through an examination of his letters, sermons, and philosophical, astrological, and theological treatises, Laura Ackerman Smoller reveals astrology's appeal as a scientific means to interpret history and prophecy, and not merely as a magical way to forecast and manipulate one's own fate. At the same time, she shows how d'Ailly dealt with delicate problems--such as free will and God's omnipotence--in elevating astrology to a compelling, but not always consistent, "natural theology." The French cardinal's most intriguing prediction was for the advent of Antichrist in 1789, one that stemmed from his deep concern over the Great Schism (1378-1414). Smoller maintains that the division in the church led d'Ailly to fear the imminence of the apocalypse, and that he eventually turned to astrology to quell his apocalyptic fears, thereby gaining confidence that a church council could heal the Schism. In elucidating the place of astrology in medieval society, this book also affords a personal glimpse of a man facing a profound crisis. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

For more than five decades, John Hayes's scholarship has had a decisive influence on scholars and students in the field of Hebrew Bible study. This collection of ten essays, written between 1968 and 1995, displays his remarkable and thought-provoking elucidation of Israelite history, prophecy, and law. These essays make significant contributions that challenge the mainstream scholarship establishment with their daring interpretations and explanations, along with their bold, innovative theories. The way in which Hayes approaches the study of seminal figures, biblical texts, and historical reconstructions, combined with his analysis of specific methods, will have lasting implications for contemporary scholarship. He argues that biblical texts must be understood as being embedded within the particular historical, social, cultural, and political matrices from which they emerged. Whether exploring the social formation of early Israel, the final years of Samaria, or the social concept ofcovenant, he demonstrates a textually focussed and exegetically based approach. Hayes's essays provide valuable insights that help contextualise developments within mid- to late-twentieth-century interpretation, thereby granting scholars glimpsesof key moments in the evolution of particular methods, trends, and models that have given shape to current research approaches. Familiarity with Hayes's writings thus allows contemporary interpreters to envisage new avenues and perspectives in critical discussion of the Hebrew Bible.

A guide for students and pastors to interpret and communicate the messages of the prophetic books well Preaching from a prophetic text can be daunting because it can be difficult to place these prophecies in their proper historical setting. The prophets used different literary genres and they often wrote using metaphorical poetry that is unfamiliar to the modern reader. This handbook offers an organized method of approaching a prophecy and preparing a persuasive, biblically based sermon that will draw modern application from the theological principle embedded in the prophetic text.