The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls 50 years ago revealed Jewish apocalypticism that was before unknown. The scrolls chronicled life in an apocalyptic community, whose members believed that the end of the world was nearing. When the end did not occur, the community then believed they were already living the afterlife.

John J. Collins explores the issue of apocalypticism in the Scrolls within a Jewish context and how the notions of the "end", Messianic expectation and eternal life affected the Dead Sea sect. This is the first and most up-to-date study of the Dead Sea community since the scrolls were discovered.