The New Jerusalem: Wealth, Ancient Building Projects and Revelation 21–22
Scholarly interpretations of the descent and description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22 have tended to evaluate the city against biblical and extra-canonical descriptions of the Jerusalem Temple, apocalyptic accounts of heaven and ancient utopian literature in general. While some have note...
| Published in: | New Testament studies |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[2020]
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| In: |
New Testament studies
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Heavenly Jerusalem
/ Bible. Offenbarung des Johannes 21-22
/ Roman Empire
/ Architecture
/ Luxury
/ Church fathers
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament HH Archaeology KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity |
| Further subjects: | B
imperial architecture
B Rome B Luxury B New Jerusalem B Revelation B Bible. Offenbarung des Johannes 21-22 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Scholarly interpretations of the descent and description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22 have tended to evaluate the city against biblical and extra-canonical descriptions of the Jerusalem Temple, apocalyptic accounts of heaven and ancient utopian literature in general. While some have noted the ways in which the New Jerusalem parallels the description of Babylon elsewhere in the Apocalypse, no one has yet considered the ways in which the New Jerusalem mimics, mirrors and adapts the excesses of elite Roman architecture and decor. The argument of this article is that when viewed against the backdrop of literary and archaeological evidence for upper-class living space, the luxury of the New Jerusalem is domesticated and functions to democratise access to wealth in the coming epoch. The ways in which Revelation's New Jerusalem rehearses the conventions of morally problematic displays of luxury can partially explain later patristic discomfort with literalist readings of this passage. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-8145 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: New Testament studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0028688520000053 |