"The theme of revealed heavenly mysteries was a commonplace in Judaism, from which it passed on to Christianity. Markus Bockmuehl outlines how this theme developed, by showing where ideas of revelation and mystery coalesce. . . . An interesting and very thorough study."--Journal of Biblical Literature"A thoughtful and illuminating study of a subject which, rather surprisingly in the light of its centrality to the question of Christian origins, has not hitherto been investigated in detail. Whereas both 'revelation' and 'mystery' have been studied separately in the context of early Jewish and Christian literature, Bockmuehl's original contribution is to examine the interconnectedness of the two ideas."--Journal of Jewish Studies"This book is an excellent contribution to biblical scholarship. It synthesizes the light that a biblically based mystery sheds on revelation and revelation sheds on mystery. . . . Bockmuehl treats admirably many difficult passages and scholarly disputes. . . . He develops the progress of biblical understanding regarding revelation and mystery, carefully balancing analysis with synthesis--a talent that is somewhat rare of late." --Journal of Ecumenical Studies"A most useful study. . . . Bockmuehl has brought together material from an enormously wide range of primary and secondary literature, for which we are greatly in his debt." --Journal of Theological Studies"For single authors like Philo, Josephus, and especially Paul, Bockmuehl's studies significantly add to the discussion." --Religious Studies Review"Bockmuehl examines the concepts of revelation and mystery, not as distinct entities, but in their theological interplay: the revelation of heavenly mysteries. . . . This book's breadth and depth will repay the attentive reader." --Journal for the Study of the New Testament

Drawing on a wide array of sources, this anthology sets out to analyze the concepts of mystery and secrecy that occur in the ritual and rhetoric of antique Mediterranean religion, with an emphasis on Gnosticism, Christianity, and Paganism.

In general, theological terms this study examines the interplay of early Christian understandings of history, revelation, and identity. The book explores this interaction through detailed analysis of appeals to "mystery" in the Pauline letter collection and then the discourse of previously hidden but newly revealed mysteries in various second-century thinkers. T.J. Lang argues that the historical coordination of the concealed/revealed binary ("the mystery previously hidden but presently revealed") enabled these early Christian authors to ground Christian claims - particularly key ecclesial, hermeneutical, and christological claims - in Israel's history and in the eternal design of God while at the same time accounting for their revelatory newness. This particular Christian conception of time gives birth to a new and totalizing historical consciousness, and one that has significant implications for the construction of Christian identity, particularly vis-à-vis Judaism.

This fascinating study reconstructs the tradition of the Legend of the True Cross in text and image, from its tentative beginnings in 4th-century Jerusalem to the culminating expression of its multi-layered cosmic content in 14th and 15th-century monumental cycles in Germany and Italy.

A vibrant and growing field of discussion in contemporary New Testament studies is the question of 'apocalyptic' thought in Paul. What is often lacking in this discussion, however, is a close comparison of Paul's would-be apocalyptic theology with the Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature of his time, and the worldview that literature expresses. This book addresses that challenge. Covering four key theological themes (epistemology, eschatology, cosmology and soteriology), J. P. Davies places Paul 'among the apocalypses' in order to evaluate recent attempts at outlining an 'apocalyptic' approach to his letters. While affirming much of what those approaches have argued, and agreeing that 'apocalyptic' is a crucial category for an understanding of the apostle, Davies also raises some important questions about the dichotomies which lie at the heart of the 'apocalyptic Paul' movement.

Brings together a wide range of papers written with a single vision. Greek tragedy, the New Testament, representations of the inner self, Greek and Indian philosophy, Wagner: these seemingly disparate phenomena are analysed with special attention to the shaping influence of ritual and of money.