This is the third volume produced from a series of conferences dedicated to End Time themes found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The “peoples” discussed encompass both some of the usual apocalyptic suspects as well as a few understudied groups. Nearly all of the eighteen essays (six in Germen, twelve in English) mention the mysterious Gog and Magog, the people(s) prophesied to participate in the final battles between good and evil. As the authors make clear, the answer to the question, “Who are, or will, they be?” has made them effective rhetorical pieces for various political, religious, and social efforts throughout the centuries.

While a student of apocalypticism may be intrigued by the in-depth and insightful analyses of commonly cited and lesser-known “peoples of the apocalypse,” the major strength of this work is its contributors’ frequent crossing of borders. Where other collections may have focused on only Christian, only Jewish, or only Muslim perspectives, this volume (and often the individual authors themselves) places these monotheisms in dialogue, showing contrasts and borrowings in how apocalyptic (and non-apocalyptic) peoples were understood. Moreover, essays regularly highlight connections and antagonisms between peoples with the same, similar, or different faith and the political use that could be made of such relationships when taken to their apocalyptic conclusions.

While the breadth of geography, religion, language, and era covered makes this work difficult to recommend for any one specialty beyond apocalyptic or interfaith studies, it succeeds in having a little bit throughout that most scholars interested in religion, politics, women and gender, art, manuscript transmission, or, most especially, communal identity should find of value. As is often the case for the best apocalyptic works (prophetic or scholarly), this book provokes questions and the desire to see connections in previously overlooked places.