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This is the story of the great and final city of John’s Revelation. Plumbing the first three centuries of Christian literature, this careful narrative highlights the early significance of one of the most influential, evocative, and controversial images in Christian scripture. Chronicling how dozens of early writers, from Justin and Irenaeus to Origen and Methodius, and from the "Montanists" to Tertullian, Victorinus, and Lactantius, imagined and applied the coming New Jerusalem, the study demonstrates how the city, regardless of its myriad and often competing interpretations, always pointed to the highest possible union of God and humanity both here and now and in the age to come.
Price: $157.00
Pages: 546
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Vigiliae Christianae, Supplements
Publication Date:
20 February 2025
ISBN: 9789004549753
Format: Hardcover
"For the scholar interested in how the Apocalypse of John was received in the early church this is a splendid work. Betz’s work should be applauded for the rigor with which he treats each author. Prized scholarly volumes are supposed to launch further discussion, debate, and synthesis; for this, Betz’s volume should indeed be prized."
Josh Roach, Point Loma Nazarene University, in: Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, 9/2025
"Betz has presented the most thoroughgoing and insightful account of the early Christian reception of Revelation’s New Jerusalem figure to date."
Miriam de Cock, Dublin City University, in: Biblica, 106/4 (2025)
"Die Studie von Betz ist daher hoch willkommen. [...] Damit ist schon gesagt, dass sich Betz’ Studie vorzüglich zum Überblick über die Quellen des 2. bis beginnenden 4. Jhs. eignet. [...] Die Studie von Betz ist allen, die die Entwicklung der Vorstellung vom neuen Jerusalem und das millenarisch-chiliastische Denken von Papias bis Commodian und Laktanz verfolgen wollen, unbedingt zu empfehlen."
Martin Karrer, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal, in: Novum Testamentum, 68/3 (2026)
Josh Roach, Point Loma Nazarene University, in: Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, 9/2025
"Betz has presented the most thoroughgoing and insightful account of the early Christian reception of Revelation’s New Jerusalem figure to date."
Miriam de Cock, Dublin City University, in: Biblica, 106/4 (2025)
"Die Studie von Betz ist daher hoch willkommen. [...] Damit ist schon gesagt, dass sich Betz’ Studie vorzüglich zum Überblick über die Quellen des 2. bis beginnenden 4. Jhs. eignet. [...] Die Studie von Betz ist allen, die die Entwicklung der Vorstellung vom neuen Jerusalem und das millenarisch-chiliastische Denken von Papias bis Commodian und Laktanz verfolgen wollen, unbedingt zu empfehlen."
Martin Karrer, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal, in: Novum Testamentum, 68/3 (2026)
Nathan Betz, Ph.D. (KU Leuven), holds a DFG Eigene Stelle fellowship at the University of Regensburg. He publishes on early Christian history, theology, and biblical exegesis. A co-founder of the Revelation Reception Network, he also co-edited Revelation's New Jerusalem in Late Antiquity (Mohr Siebeck, 2023).