There are promising signs that millennial studies is now being recognized by the wider academic community as a profitable pursuit that merits serious scholarly attention. More than ever before, the horizons of academic engagement with millennial ideologies and their historical and cultural ramifications are being expanded over a multiplicity of disciplinary perspectives. Historians, theologians, literary critics and social scientists have all been able to establish a compelling unanimity in attesting to the vital historical significance and critical contemporary relevance of millennial thought. Thanks to such interdisciplinary efforts, millennial hope is now identified as a vital aspect of the human condition and as a dynamic force that has motivated diverse world-historical individuals from Zoroaster and Francis of Assisi to Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong. Contributors to the volume are Jennie Chapman, Andrew Crome, Eugene V. Gallagher, Crawford Gribben, Robert Glenn Howard, Andrew Pierce, Joshua Searle, Timothy C.F. Stunt and Kenneth G.C. Newport. Richard Landes writes a Preface.

This first volume of a two volume edition contains letters written between 1727 and 1756 by the famous hymn writer, poet, and co-founder of Methodism, Charles Wesley (1707-1788), Volume 2 will contain letters written between 1757 and 1788. The edition brings together texts which are located in libraries and archives from across the globe and here presents them as a complete collection for the first time - many of the letters have never been previously published. The appended notes help the reader locate the letters in their proper historical and literary context and provide full information regarding the location of the original source and, where possible, something of its provenance.
These texts provide an intimate glimpse into the world of early Methodism and Charles' own struggles and triumphs as a central figure within it. They collectively document the story of Charles Wesley's early experiences as he sought to find his own place in Methodism and, of key importance for Charles, Methodism's place in the wider purposes of God. Here are letters of a theological kind, letters that reflect on his experiences as an itinerant preacher, letters that show something of his rather unsettled personality and letters that relate to his own personal and domestic circumstances. Here we see something of the inner workings of a nascent religious group. These are not sanitised accounts written by those looking back, but first-hand accounts written from the heart of a lived experience.
While this book will naturally appeal to those who have a specialist interest in the early history of Methodism, for others there is much to be gained from the picture it gives of the wider eighteenth-century world in which Charles and his co-religionists worked and lived.

This book is about the various ways in which the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) has been interpreted over the past 300 years. It examines in detail Methodist, Baptist, Anglican, and Catholic uses of Revelation from 1600 to 1800, and then American Millerism and Seventh-day Adventist uses from 1800 to David Koresh and the "Waco Disaster." The book argues that, far from being a random sequence of bizarre statements, millennial schemes (including the setting of dates for Christ's second coming) are more often characterized by internally consistent interpretations of scripture.

For centuries, the apocalypse has been a recurrent theme within art, literature, music, and - more recently - cinema. Within the context of contemporary popular culture, its influence may be felt in areas as diverse as extreme metal music, disaster movies, anime and manga, Science Fiction dystopianism and the Left Behind series of novels. The aim of this collection of essays is to examine the influence of apocalyptic texts on popular cultural products, focusing on the timelessness and malleability of their themes to audiences. Chapters focus on the influence of such texts within the areas of film, music, literature, the internet, art, and science and technology.

For centuries, the apocalypse has been a recurrent theme within art, literature, music, and - more recently - cinema. Within the context of contemporary popular culture, its influence may be felt in areas as diverse as extreme metal music, disaster movies, anime and manga, Science Fiction dystopianism and the Left Behind series of novels. The aim of this collection of essays is to examine the influence of apocalyptic texts on popular cultural products, focusing on the timelessness and malleability of their themes to audiences. Chapters focus on the influence of such texts within the areas of film, music, literature, the internet, art, and science and technology.

This book is about the various ways in which the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) has been interpreted over the last 300 years. It examines in detail Methodist, Baptist, English Anglican and Roman Catholic uses of Revelation from 1600 to 1800, and then American Millerism and Seventh-day Adventist uses from 1800 on. The book argues that, far from being a random sequence of bizarre statements, millennial schemes (including the setting of dates for the second coming of Christ) are more often characterized by complex and internally consistent interpretations of scripture. As an example, the work of David Koresh is examined at length. Koresh, styled by some the 'Wacko from Waco', clearly had views which some would find odd. However, his interpretation of scripture did not lack system or context, and to see him in that light is to begin to understand why his message had appeal.

This book brings to publication for the first time all of the famous hymn-writer Charles Wesley's sermon material. All but three of the twenty-three texts here presented have been reconstructed from manuscript sources. The book includes four substantial introductory chapters which place Charles Wesley's preaching in the context of early Methodism and the eighteenth century more generally. Annotations on the texts themselves are substantially text-critical and include discussion of Charles's use of Byrom's shorthand, the script in which a significant portion of the material is written. Other notes include an attempt to trace Charles's use of sources, specifically the Bible, the Homilies, and the Book of Common Prayer.

What were the beliefs of the Branch Davidians? This is the first full scholarly account of their history. Kenneth G. C. Newport argues that, far from being an act of unfathomable religious insanity, the calamitous fire at Waco in 1993 was the culmination of a long theological and historical tradition that goes back many decades. The Branch Davidians under David Koresh were an eschatologically confident community that had long expected that the American government, whom they identified as the Lamb-like Beast of the book of Revelation, would one day arrive to seek to destroy God's remnant people. The end result, the fire, must be seen in this context.

The first critical and complete edition of Charles Wesley's manuscript journal in two volumes.
While remaining firmly committed to the Church of England, Charles Wesley shared in the founding of Methodism, a religious movement that has had far-reaching social and religious influence worldwide. These volumes of Charles Wesley's manuscript journal is the first complete edition. Included are all transcribed shorthand passages, words that Charles underlined, other forms of emphasis or peculiarities in Charles's script, word that Charles struck out. Any uncertain reading or transcription is indicated in the footnotes. In addition there is an annotated index of persons, places, and sermon texts in Volume II. Volume I is Wesley's manuscript journal from 1736 to 1741. Volume II is Wesley's manuscript journal from 1743 to 1756.

This second volume of a two volume edition contains letters written between 1757 and 1788, along with some undated letters, by the famous hymn writer, poet, and co-founder of Methodism, Charles Wesley (1707-1788). The edition brings together texts which are located in libraries and archives from across the globe and here presents them in transcribed form for the first time - many of the letters have never been previously published. The appended notes help the reader locate the letters in their proper historical and literary context and provide full information regarding the location of the original source and, where possible, something of its provenance. These texts provide an intimate glimpse into the world of early Methodism and Charles's own struggles and triumphs as a central figure within it. They collectively document the story of Charles Wesley's experiences later in his life as a leader of the Methodist movement and, of key importance for Charles, Methodism's place in the wider purposes of God. Here are letters of a theological kind, letters that reflect on his experiences as an itinerant preacher, letters that show something of his rather unsettled personality and letters that relate to his own personal and domestic, circumstances. Here we see something of the inner workings of a nascent religious group. These are not sanitised accounts written by those looking back, but first-hand accounts written from the heart of a lived experience. While this book will naturally appeal to those who have a specialist interest in the early history of Methodism, for others there is much to be gained from the picture it gives of the wider eighteenth-century world in which Charles and his co-religionists worked and lived.

The first critical and complete edition of Charles Wesley's manuscript journal in two volumes.
While remaining firmly committed to the Church of England, Charles Wesley shared in the founding of Methodism, a religious movement that has had far-reaching social and religious influence worldwide. These volumes of Charles Wesley's manuscript journal is the first complete edition. Included are all transcribed shorthand passages, words that Charles underlined, other forms of emphasis or peculiarities in Charles's script, word that Charles struck out. Any uncertain reading or transcription is indicated in the footnotes. In addition there is an annotated index of persons, places, and sermon texts in Volume II. Volume I is Wesley's manuscript journal from 1736 to 1741. Volume II is Wesley's manuscript journal from 1743 to 1756.

John Wesley claimed to be a "man of one book" the Bible. He was clear in his mind what the Bible meant and taught. Donald Bullen carefully explores the biblical hermeneutic of John Wesley. Using the insights of ReaderResponse Criticism we may comprehend better Wesley's understanding and interpretation of the Bible. The socalled "Quadrilateral" rooted in American Methodism gives further insight into Wesley's use of tradition experience reason Scripture and their interrelation.

Jesus' promise that "the end" draws near has spawned an expectation of that grand event across various religious groups. This volume examines the abiding social issues that surround the continued presence of apocalyptic anticipation by setting them in historical, present-day, and future manifestations. Approaching this fervent expectation from a broad perspective, Gribben and Newport explore the contemporary movements with insightful analysis that provokes discussion and even self-reflection.