It is clear that there was a wider variety of Jewish beliefs concerning Messianic and eschatological matters than was often allowed for a few years ago. The view of Schweitzer that the scene was dominated by the hope of a transcendent Messiah descending in glory from the sky, the point of departure for his whole argument, is now seen to be quite unsound. I perhaps should have made it plainer in my original writing that I was attempting to face the challenge which Schweitzer gave by his notable book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus; the way in which I set out my material would have been seen more clearly had it been considered against the background of Schweitzer's book . . . --from the Preface to the Third Edition CONTENTS Part 1: The Parousia in Jewish Literature Extant in the Time of Jesus Part 2: The Parousia in the Teaching of Jesus Part 3: The Parousia in the Early Church Part 4: The Parousia in Jewish Writings of the Christian Era