The reader must understand is a more forceful translation of the words usually rendered let the reader understand in Mark 13:14. Translated this way, this volume’s title stresses the importance of eschatology for Bible readers and theologians. Eschatology, the study of the last things, is central to New Testament studies and, indeed, is not without importance for the Old Testament. The Bible’s eschatology and its place in Christian theology must therefore be taken very seriously. The essays in this volume, most of which were presented at the Tyndale Fellowship Triennial Conference 1997, offer new and important ideas and analysis. They cover five main areas–biblical theology, Old Testament, New Testament, Christian doctrine, and practical theology–and significant contributions are made in each area