Abstract

This paper discusses the contours of apocalyptic speculation in the late Second Temple era, from the Great Jewish Revolt (66-73 CE) to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 CE). This era represents the final chapter of apocalypticism in the Second Temple period and the last time in classical antiquity when Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings exhibit a relatively close homogeneity. The first section of this paper surveys the "corpus" of apocalyptic writings of the late Second Temple era. The second section proposes methodological guidelines by which these writings may be evaluated in their totality, as expressions of a common cultural environment, rather than as individual texts. The third and final section considers some of the main features of late Second Temple apocalypticism in view of the New Testament writings of the era.