This study examines the occurrences of wisdom and apocalypticism in Q, and then draws conclusions from the latter about the historical Jesus. Important questions are addressed: Did Q think of Jesus as a wisdom teacher, an apocalyptic prophet, or both? If Q associated both wisdom and apocalypticism with Jesus, what was the interrelationship between these two? Did either enjoy preference, or were they equally important to the person and message of Jesus? A concerted effort is made to let Q speak for itself. If the latter were possible, how would Q and the people behind it respond to the Renewed and Third Quests for the historical Jesus? This question basically sums up the research gap, which is to provide the Sayings Gospel with an opportunity to respond to these reconstructions of Jesus. Hence, there are two levels to the present work. The first level focuses on Q in order to determine the roles of both wisdom and apocalypticism in Q. This exercise constitutes the focal point and bulk of the study, leading to the central theory: The Q people remembered and described Jesus as a sage who made use of apocalyptic eschatology to motivate and support his moral message. The acceptance or rejection of this theory will naturally have an impact on our understanding of the historical Jesus, which represents the second level of inquiry. The second level focuses on the historical Jesus, and our understanding of him, given the results obtained in this investigation of Q. The high regard for Q and the propensity to regard Q as a stratified document places this study squarely in the camp of the Renewed Quest. However, there are two aspects of the study that have affinities with the Third Quest as well. The first is the inclination to question the noneschatological image of Jesus proffered by the Renewed Quest. The second is the synchronic manner in which the study approaches Q. By preferring to ask how Q remembered and described Jesus, Q is approached in a manner reminiscent of the Third Quest’s historical method. The research gap is addressed in a systematic way. Chapter one provides a focused overview of historical Jesus research from Reimarus to the present – an endeavour that naturally leads in to a discussion of the dissertation’s research gap, focal point and central theory. In chapter two, Q is considered in its entirety, including its documentary status, its stratification, its genre, its ethnic colouring and its eschatology. Chapter three zooms in on Q’s apocalyptic-judgment and Son-of- Man sayings specifically. An exegetical examination of these logia concentrates particularly on the focal point: the interrelationship between wisdom and apocalypticism in Q. Chapter four zooms in further on a single Q saying: Q 6:37-38. The purpose remains to determine the relationship between wisdom and apocalypticism in Q. The study moves in a centripetal direction, from historical-Jesus research in general (chapter 1), to the Q document (chapter 2), to the Son-of-Man and apocalyptic-judgment logia within Q (chapter 3), to one specific logion about judgment (chapter 4). Chapter five pulls everything together by (1) assessing the central theory, (2) responding to both the Third and Renewed Quests, (3) suggesting ways to reconcile these two currents, (4) commenting on the relevance of Jesus’ wisdom and morality for today, and (5) highlighting avenues for further study. The central theory is ultimately confirmed, albeit with an important qualification: Apocalyptic eschatology also formed an integral part of the sapiential message of Q’s Jesus. In response to the Renewed Quest, it is found that apocalyptic eschatology can not and should not be divorced from the message of Q’s Jesus. In response to the Third Quest, it is found that Q’s Jesus was primarily a sage, and that his apocalyptic eschatology was not imminent in nature. Regarding the wisdom and morality of Q’s Jesus, it is found that the essence of his message remains valid. This is particularly true of the way in which he used apocalyptic eschatology to motivate and buttress his moral message. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

Apocalypticism is the belief in an impending large-scale catastrophic event that would threaten the survival of the human race. Despite the high level of apocalypticism among American adults, there has been little empirical research conducted to determine whether this proclivity is socially consequential. Conspiracism, a related factor, is widely studied empirically and is associated with many negative societal effects. Though research suggests a possible correlation between these variables, empirical research has not examined whether apocalypticism is a robust predictor of conspiracism. I hypothesize and test whether apocalypticism is predictive of belief in conspiracy theories using data from the 2018 Chapman Survey of American Fears, a nationally representative sample of American adults. From this data a multi-item conspiracism index was created and analyzed in relation with a measure of belief in apocalypticism. Regression analyses show that apocalyptic belief is the strongest predictor of conspiracism within the model, surpassing sociodemographic, political and religious characteristics. These results demonstrate that apocalypticism is an important factor to consider when studying conspiracism, and suggests that future researchers should further investigate apocalypticism using a variety of social scientific methods.

This work is a study of the concept of progress in Bukhara between approximately 1860 and 1920. It is based on unpublished and published sources from this period. The study suggests that not only the technological and social developments that took place on a global scale between 1860 and 1920 affected the conceptualization of progress in Bukhara, but that globalized narratives on progress did so as well. Cosmographical concepts and explanations that previously were more common were notably absent in what during the 1910s became a discourse on progress, but the concept of progress still had an important eschatological dimension and was closely related to apocalypticism. Chapter One presents the context of the study. The second chapter discusses the theoretical framework and the analytical concepts. The next chapter continues by outlining the political, economic and cultural conditions in Bukhara during this period as well as providing a short historiographical discussion. The fourth chapter discusses the concept of geography and how it affected metaphorical constructions of time. Chapter Five is a study of how Bukharan travellers conceived of novelties. The following chapter discusses the direction of discontinuity and its eschatological implications. Chapter Seven studies how knowledge was temporalized and affected by a shift in the direction of discontinuity. Chapter Eight discusses the lexeme taraqqī, in which the concept of progress later was embedded, as well as various synchronic and diachronic orders. Chapter Nine discusses the eschatological and apocalyptic discourse in Bukhara during the 1910s. The last chapter contains general conclusions in the form of a discussion of the operational environment of progress in Bukhara between approximately 1860 and 1920.

The Naqshbandi-Haqqaniyya are one of the most well known and researched tariqas in the West. Until May 2014 the leader of the tariqa was Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani (1922-1914) who somewhat unusually among modern Sunni Sufi shaykhs taught consistently that the world is in its last days and approaching a global apocalyptic change. It is these apocalyptic teachings, primarily articulated by Shaykh Nazim, that are the focus of this thesis. While an element of Shaykh Nazim’s teachings that has been noted by a number of scholars, there has been little in the way of comprehensive research on the apocalyptic teachings past the year 2000 or on how Shaykh Nazim’s apocalypse compares to those found either in wider Islamic thought or other religious traditions. By utilising sources produced until Shaykh Nazim’s death in 2014 this thesis thus aims to make a distinct contribution to the knowledge by identifying what characterises the apocalypticism of Shaykh Nazim and the Naqshbandi-Haqqaniyya, how this compares to other Muslim apocalypses, whether its form can be accounted for, and how murids in one branch of the tariqa interpret teachings in the post-millennial period. This thesis argues that it is important we come to a better understanding of Shaykh Nazim’s apocalypse not just to further our understanding the Naqshbandiyya, but to address an imbalance in contemporary apocalyptic studies on how Islamic apocalyptic belief is presented. The thesis presents a new phenomenological dimensional approach to apocalyptic belief which forms the structure of the investigation. It begins by outlining broad trends in Islamic apocalyptic thought in order to provide a comparative base for the rest of the work. This is followed by an examination of where Shaykh Nazim’s apocalypse converges and diverges from these broad trends. The following chapters seek to account for the distinctive form of Shaykh Nazim’s apocalypse by discussing firstly whether they might be presented to appeal to Westerners, whether they might be seen as a way of addressing modernity, and if they act as a theodicy. These chapters are then followed by a discussion on authorities used to legitimise the apocalyptic teachings and how they are interpreted by a small group of murids in the Glastonbury branch of the tariqa. This thesis concludes by arguing Shaykh Nazim’s apocalypse is distinctive in many respects, particularly in regards his absolute millenarian vision. Ultimately this millenarian vision is made necessary by a need to cleanse the world of satanic influence in a way not possible by reform. It also argues the apocalyptic teachings remained an important part of Shaykh Nazim’s teachings post the millennium and that there are a number of strategies employed by murids to make sense of living in the end of times. It argues future research should monitor changes in apocalyptic emphasis given the new leadership of the tariqa and wider attention be paid to apocalyptic belief in Islam in general.

In the mid 1990's, Aarhus University's Per Bilde detailed a new hypothesis of how Judaism, Christianity and Gnosticism were connected. Bilde suggested that Christianity acted as a catalyst, propelling Jewish Apocalypticism into Gnosticism. This dissertation applies the epistle of Jude to Per Bilde's theory. Although Bilde is not the first to posit Judaism as a factor in the emergence of Gnosticism, his theory is unique in attempting to frame that connection in terms of a religious continuum. Jewish Apocalypticism, early Christianity, and Gnosticism represent three stages in a continual religio-historical development in which Gnosticism became the logical conclusion. I propose that Bilde is essentially correct and that the epistle of Jude is written evidence that the author of the epistle experiences the phenomena. The author of Jude (from this point on referred to as Jude) sits in the middle of Bilde's progression and may be the most perceptive of New Testament writers in responding to the crisis. He looks behind to see the Jewish association with the Christ followers and seeks to maintain it. He looks forward to what he perceives as a shift from early orthodoxy and battles that shift. My thesis is to use the text of the epistle of Jude to uncover its historical situation. I posit that it portrays an early church leader grounded in Jewish Apocalypticism and facing the beginnings of a new "heretical" movement. This is a thesis of connections, and the work lies in using the epistle of Jude to illustrate those connections. This study is significant in two respects. First, it will clarify background issues of Jude. Earlier scrutiny of Jude focused on its unique aspects, such as Jude's use of the non-canonical texts of 1 Enoch and the Testament of Moses. More recent scholarship has centered on the literary and rhetorical analysis of the text. I will concentrate on using the text of Jude within the context of this theory in order to determine a clearer view of the historical setting in which Jude wrote. Second, this work will further the theory of connections between Jewish Apocalypticism, early Christianity, and Gnosticism. Although much work has been done to validate the connections between Judaism and Gnosticism, less has been done specifically with regard to Jewish Apocalypticism and even less with Per Bilde's theory of the critical middle role of early Christianity. And no one has used Jude in this particular discussion. / Religion

O principal objeto desta pesquisa consiste em analisar a influência exercida pela religião no contexto da sociedade judaica do período do segundo templo (516 A.E.C. 70 E.C.), mais especificamente avaliar se o ímpeto revolucionário que promovera a primeira Grande Guerra Judaica contra o domínio romano dependia de uma forma característica de profetismo, a saber, a apocalíptica. A conexão que o apocalipticismo possuía com o ambiente do primeiro século se deveu em virtude das diversas crises sociais e políticas que impuseram um ritmo dinâmico para as estruturas nacionais, porquanto concomitante às vicissitudes que emergiam ocorria certa adequação traumática de novos elementos relativos ao fenômeno religioso, cujas formas de expressão procuravam resgatar os antigos postulados, valores e promessas da Lei de Moisés e dos profetas clássicos, tornando-os válidos para situações contemporâneas. Desse modo os cativeiros e diásporas experimentados por tantos períodos passavam a favorecer o intercâmbio ideológico que perfez as peculiaridades e aspectos formadores dos movimentos apocalípticos, o que demonstrava um nível de dependência pelo qual movimentos religiosos judaicos se espelhavam em culturas vizinhas, em um diálogo paradoxal que combinava resistência cultural e assimilação de linguagem. Os resultados fornecidos nessa dissertação permitem afirmar que a hipótese que restringe toda a responsabilidade pelas ações coletivas ao fanatismo religioso de uma alegada sociedade primitiva é comprometida em sua validade, pois tal conclusão deve ser considerada reducionista por não atentar para a complexidade que acompanhou, historicamente, todo o estabelecimento da sociedade judaica daquele período. Assim, recomenda-se que haja abordagens mais críticas e que, não obstante, se coloquem no mesmo grau de dificuldade requerido pelo objeto, a partir de uma atitude que integre os indicadores sociais com o fator religioso. Portanto, é pautado nessa perspectiva englobante que a apocalíptica judaica foi estudada neste trabalho, como fator potencialmente relevante dentro do estado de insurreição da Palestina do primeiro século. / The central object of this research consists of evaluate the influence exerted by religion in the context of Jewish society of second temple period (516 BCE 70 CE), more particularly assessing if the revolutionary impetus which promoted the first Great Jewish War against the Roman dominion depended of a characteristic prophetism, that is, the apocalyptic. The connection that apocaliptycism had with first century setting was due to the various social and political crises that imposed a dynamic ritm to national structures, inasmuch as concurrently with the changes which emerged occurred a certain traumatic adequacy of new elements related to religious phenomenon, whose forms of expression intended to rescue ancient postulates, values, and promises of Moses Law and classical prophets, making it valid for contemporary situations. Thereby, the captivities and Diasporas suffered during many periods started to favor the ideological exchange which made up the traits and aspects that composed the apocalyptic movements, what demonstrated a dependency level by which Jewish religious movements mirrored in neighboring cultures, through a paradoxal dialogue that blended cultural resistance and language assimilation. The results furnished in this dissertation allow one to state that the hypothesis which attributed to the religious fanaticism all responsibility for collective actions of a so called primitive society is impaired in its validity, for such a conclusion must be considered reductionist because it does not realize the intricacy which historically accompanied the entire establishment of Jewish society of that period. Therefore, it is suggested the adoption of more critic approaches capable to place themselves in the same difficulty level required by the object, from an attitude that integrates the social indicators with the religious factor. Thus, is based on this encompassing perspective that Jewish apocalyptic was studied in this essay, as a factor potentially relevant inside the insurrectionist state of first century Palestine.

O principal objeto desta pesquisa consiste em analisar a influência exercida pela religião no contexto da sociedade judaica do período do segundo templo (516 A.E.C. 70 E.C.), mais especificamente avaliar se o ímpeto revolucionário que promovera a primeira Grande Guerra Judaica contra o domínio romano dependia de uma forma característica de profetismo, a saber, a apocalíptica. A conexão que o apocalipticismo possuía com o ambiente do primeiro século se deveu em virtude das diversas crises sociais e políticas que impuseram um ritmo dinâmico para as estruturas nacionais, porquanto concomitante às vicissitudes que emergiam ocorria certa adequação traumática de novos elementos relativos ao fenômeno religioso, cujas formas de expressão procuravam resgatar os antigos postulados, valores e promessas da Lei de Moisés e dos profetas clássicos, tornando-os válidos para situações contemporâneas. Desse modo os cativeiros e diásporas experimentados por tantos períodos passavam a favorecer o intercâmbio ideológico que perfez as peculiaridades e aspectos formadores dos movimentos apocalípticos, o que demonstrava um nível de dependência pelo qual movimentos religiosos judaicos se espelhavam em culturas vizinhas, em um diálogo paradoxal que combinava resistência cultural e assimilação de linguagem. Os resultados fornecidos nessa dissertação permitem afirmar que a hipótese que restringe toda a responsabilidade pelas ações coletivas ao fanatismo religioso de uma alegada sociedade primitiva é comprometida em sua validade, pois tal conclusão deve ser considerada reducionista por não atentar para a complexidade que acompanhou, historicamente, todo o estabelecimento da sociedade judaica daquele período. Assim, recomenda-se que haja abordagens mais críticas e que, não obstante, se coloquem no mesmo grau de dificuldade requerido pelo objeto, a partir de uma atitude que integre os indicadores sociais com o fator religioso. Portanto, é pautado nessa perspectiva englobante que a apocalíptica judaica foi estudada neste trabalho, como fator potencialmente relevante dentro do estado de insurreição da Palestina do primeiro século. / The central object of this research consists of evaluate the influence exerted by religion in the context of Jewish society of second temple period (516 BCE 70 CE), more particularly assessing if the revolutionary impetus which promoted the first Great Jewish War against the Roman dominion depended of a characteristic prophetism, that is, the apocalyptic. The connection that apocaliptycism had with first century setting was due to the various social and political crises that imposed a dynamic ritm to national structures, inasmuch as concurrently with the changes which emerged occurred a certain traumatic adequacy of new elements related to religious phenomenon, whose forms of expression intended to rescue ancient postulates, values, and promises of Moses Law and classical prophets, making it valid for contemporary situations. Thereby, the captivities and Diasporas suffered during many periods started to favor the ideological exchange which made up the traits and aspects that composed the apocalyptic movements, what demonstrated a dependency level by which Jewish religious movements mirrored in neighboring cultures, through a paradoxal dialogue that blended cultural resistance and language assimilation. The results furnished in this dissertation allow one to state that the hypothesis which attributed to the religious fanaticism all responsibility for collective actions of a so called primitive society is impaired in its validity, for such a conclusion must be considered reductionist because it does not realize the intricacy which historically accompanied the entire establishment of Jewish society of that period. Therefore, it is suggested the adoption of more critic approaches capable to place themselves in the same difficulty level required by the object, from an attitude that integrates the social indicators with the religious factor. Thus, is based on this encompassing perspective that Jewish apocalyptic was studied in this essay, as a factor potentially relevant inside the insurrectionist state of first century Palestine.

The present report applies Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory to the study of ancient Judaean apocalypticism in its historical, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Its central thesis is that each Judaean apocalyptic discourse is waged against the dominant ideology of its society and its perceived sustainers and beneficiaries. The particular focus in this report is Flavian ideology—the dominant ideology of the Roman Empire in the last three decades of the first century CE—and its subversion by the apocalyptic discourse of the late-first century CE text Fourth Ezra. After the Romans quashed a revolt in the province of Judaea and sacked the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE, the soon-to-be Roman emperor Vespasian, and his sons Titus and Domitian, initiated and maintained an empire-wide discourse proclaiming Iudaea capta (‘Judaea captured’). By means of coins, monuments, statues, literary propaganda, and the institution of a new Judaean tax, the Flavian emperors magnified their successful suppression of this provincial revolt in order to legitimate their dynasty. This discourse, which quickly became misrecognized in society and persisted long after the tenure of the Flavian dynasty, marked all Judaeans throughout the empire as foreign rebels and barbarians. The author of Fourth Ezra challenged Flavian ideology, and the Iudaea capta discourse in particular, by “revealing”—that is, persuading his audience to believe—that Rome’s victory over Judaea is part of the divine plan, the glory of Rome is fleeting, and the righteous ones who keep God’s Law will still have an opportunity for redemption. A focus of the present analysis is the figure of a lamenting woman employed by both discourses. Whereas the Flavian discourse used a dejected Judaean woman to represent Judaea after the Roman victory, Fourth Ezra’s apocalyptic discourse reveals a similar figure of a lamenting Judaean woman to be Mother Zion, and has her transform into the new, eschatological Jerusalem. When these two discourses are viewed together, regardless of direct influence or dependence, it is clear that the apocalyptic discourse subverts Flavian ideology. In the process, the author of Fourth Ezra recycles power by simultaneously delegitimating the Flavian emperors and legitimating his own social circle of sage-leaders. / text

This dissertation explores the utopian and dystopian tones of apocalypticism in medieval secular literature and how literary authors treated the end of time. Beginning with two different representational models of medieval apocalyptic, notably those of St Augustine of Hippo and of Joachim of Fiore, this study examines to what extent selected literary texts adhered to or deviated from those models. Those texts include Marie de France's Espurgatoire seint Patriz, William Langland's Piers Plowman, Geoffrey Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale, and Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'arthur. This dissertation reveals that several texts subscribed to an expectation of cosmic and personal annihilation, in the Augustinian representation, or of global transformation in the Joachist version. Nearly all of the texts agree in their bleak outlook regarding the end of time, suggesting a climate of fear predominated in the Middle Ages. While the projected Christian eschatological timeline should have fostered hope for the saved, what it produced was often terrors of eternity and emptiness.

The thesis focuses on the eschatology of the New Testament writings, especially on those it's elements, in which the early church found it's hope. A question of transformation of Christian expectations due to the delayed parousia is questioned here; as well as related question of invariant gospel's elements on one hand and a set of it's historical origins on the other. A development of an early church hope is mapped through the compilation of author's thoughts linked to the Scripture and critically evaluated assertions taken up from other sources. Due to a significant depth of the theme, answers to some of it's sub­questions relies on the prevailing consensus, however, in those cases the author adds his own comment. The theme is described in a way of biblical texts or groups of biblical texts analysis. After an Old Testament introduction, there is an explanation of significant Jesus days' sociocultural phenomena, apocalypticism and several non biblical sources, after that the theme goes on with analyzing the Pauline texts. An influence of...