From book cover: `Seven-headed beasts and dragons, blook-red moons and falling stars, earthquakes and trembling heavens. How are we to understand these signs? Should our interpretations of the Old Testament prophets and the book of Revelation be literal? Are there alternatives to time charts and fanciful speculation? How can we be faithful to what the original authors meant and what God intended? Joel Green grapples with these crucial issues, opening up to readers the world of the Old Testament prophets, the intertestamental period and the early Christian church. Simply and clearly he explains the similarities and differences between prophecy and apocalyptic, and provides concrete help for understanding symbols and the ways prophecy is fulfilled. Green gives special attention to prophecy in relation to Jesus and summarizes the insights the prophets give us into God`s overall purpose.`