This study is written from the perspective that early Christianity must be understood within the setting of the ancient Mediterranean world, without unduly emphasizing the Israelite-Jewish heritage of early Christians nor neglecting the dominant Greco-Roman culture within which both Judaism and early Christianity grew and changed. Its purpose is not only to present a reconstruction of the phenomenon of early Christian prophecy, but also to suggest new frameworks within which to understand the subject better. This is the most comprehensive and detailed study of the topic yet to appear. Earlier writers have been content to set New Testament prophecy in continuity with its Old Testament counterpart. Aune carves a fresh niche for his investigation by acquain ting the reader with prophecy in Greco-Roman culture as a milieu that cannot be ignored.
