Using methods from literary criticism, social history, and social theory, Elijah in Upper Egypt makes a fresh contribution to our understanding of early Egyptian Christianity by describing the genesis and meaning of the Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah. This document, an extended prophecy of the end-times that enjoyed wide circulation in late antiquity, reflects a type of Christianity rarely discussed in scholarly literature- one that was rural, semi-literate, ascetically oriented, and fanatically millennialist.
In addition to the detailed analysis of the symbols and literary forms in the text of The Apocalypse of Elijah, this book explores Egyptian literature, the formation of the Antichrist tradition, martyrdom and apocalypticism, and Elijah pseudepigraphy in general. A fresh translation of the text is included.