This study reconstructs the apocalyptic eschatology in Matthew's gospel so that we may understand Matthew's time and his concerns. Apocalyptic eschatology can be broadly defined as a comprehensive world view which emphasises the final judgement and its aftermath within a dualistic and deterministic framework. This distinctive and often vengeful vision of reality was vigorously adopted by Matthew and dominates his gospel. Sociological analysis of apocalypticism in Judaism and early Christianity has shown that such a world view was adopted by minority or sectarian groups which were undergoing great crises, and Dr Sim looks at the social setting of the Matthean community which reveals that after the first Jewish war against Rome it came into conflict with the Jewish and Gentile worlds and the larger Christian church. Dr Sim offers for the first time in English an extended and comprehensive discussion of Matthew's eschatological outlook which interprets his gospel in the light of contemporary literature which shares the same view.

Part I. Apocalyptic Eschatology and Apocalypticism: 1. The major characteristics of apocalyptic eschatology; 2. The social setting of apocalypticism and the function of apocalyptic eschatology; Summary of Part I; Part II. Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew: 3. Dualism and determinism in Matthew; 4. Eschatological woes and the coming of the Son of Man; 5. The judgement in Matthew; 6. The fate of the wicked and the fate of the righteous in Matthew; 7. The imminence of the end in Matthew; Summary of Part II; Part III. The Social Setting of the Matthean Community and the Function of Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew: 8. The social setting of the Matthean community; 9. The function of apocalyptic eschatology in the gospel of Matthew; Summary of Part III; Conclusions.