Jesus' statements about the future provoked conflict among his own people and reprisal from the Romans; they remain controversial even today. Some readers of the New Testament study Jesus' words for specific predictions, searching for a road map to the future. Others transform Jesus' words into spiritual truths with little current relevance. This book challenges the reader to understand the historical realities that Jesus addressed. How did his message interpret Israel's hope in the midst of the ominous events of his time? How did his declaration of God's reign redefine the meaning of the present and the future of humanity and the world? Important passages concerning the future are examined in close connection to their real life contexts. Special attention is given to the book of Revelation.

"It was a happy day for the common reader when Cambridge launched its series on 'Understanding Jesus Today.' If the first four titles are a true indication it is time to cheer. These handy 5 1/8" x 7 1/8", neatly, securely, and colorfully bound books are an invitation to 'take up and read.'...All who seek to know more about the Way, the Truth, and the Light in Jesus will applaud this series of handy and handsome little books on a big subject." Congregational Journal

"Written for the layperson, these short works are packed with useful and illuminating background for understanding the life and times of Jesus. Readers will have their horizons broadened by evidence provided through extrabiblical sources such as Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Library, the Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the Jewish historian Josephus, and Roman historians such as Suetonius and Dio Cassius to mention but a few...a valuable resource...stimulating and helpful." James D. Hernando, Advance

"...this series has the extraordinary value of bringing to the layperson the critical and contemporary issues of the study of Jesus. Understandable and inviting, the volumes contain excellent study questions, charts, indices and notes." Duncan Ferguson, Presbyterian Survey