Centrality of Jerusalem in the Earliest Christianity: A Case of Markan Apocalypse (Mark 13)
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| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. was referred to in the synoptic gospels. In this connection, the Small Apocalypse in Mark 13 represents a text of pivotal importance. Its analysis is primarily focused on the historical identifications of apocalyptic figures which appear in it and originate mostly in the Book of Daniel. These were undergoing gradual transformations and were actualized in different historical contexts, usually those of fatal threats to the Jerusalem temple (under Antiochus, Caligula, and Titus). Temple symbolizations, finally integrated into the structure of the Small Apocalypse, are coordinated by Jonathan Z. Smith’s dichotomy of locative and utopian aspects of religion, which shows a strong contrast between locative attachments to the Jerusalem temple, typical for the Zealots as well as for the priestly aristocracy, and the strictly utopian program of the Gospel of Mark. |
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