For over two thousand years, groups have arisen who have expected a deliverer to come and rescue them from a corrupt and chaotic world, and usher in a time of peace and stability. Groups of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and to a lesser extent Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, as well as people practising indigenous tribal religions have taken up this theme. With the approach of the year 2000, millennial fever is on the increase. People are excited, and sometimes afraid of change. Expectations that the dawn of the third millennium will be a time of social and spiritual upheaval, of natural disasters and even of the end of the world, are rife in many quarters. The contributors to this book explore the theme of the Coming Deliverer in different religious traditions, using insights drawn from religious studies, theology and anthropology. The authors of The Coming Deliverer brings together in one volume a wealth of scholarship and explore in clear, accessible language this fascinating, timely and ubiquitous theme.
