PAUL'S HEAVENLY JERUSALEM AND EARTHLY JERUSALEM POLITICS

Abstract

In Galatians 4:25-26 Paul draws a distinction between two covenants, as well as between "the present Jerusalem" and "Jerusalem above.” Scholars have debated whether the earthly Jerusalem refers to conventional Judaism or the apostles' community. Heavenly Jerusalem is usually associated with the New Jerusalem and Jewish apocalypticism.

The present article suggests that Paul's critical reference to the present Jerusalem should be understood in light of what "Jerusalem" represents to the readers of Galatians. In chapters 1-2 Jerusalem is associated several times with the leadership and the center of the Jesus movement, headed by "the Pillars." Members of the community in Jerusalem are the addressees of Paul's collection to "the saints" in Jerusalem. This leadership may be related to the "Judaizers" Paul is debating throughout these epistles. Thus, when Paul introduces the "Jerusalem above" as a superior alternative to "the present Jerusalem," he is expressing resistance to Peter and James.

Although Paul does not explain what the "Jerusalem above" is, the context suggests that it should not be viewed solely as an eschatological New Jerusalem. Paul offers his readers a spiritual and current experience that is neither controlled nor possessed by the apostles in Jerusalem. Its nature should be understood in accordance with other Pauline assertions about spirituality and heaven. There are differences between the "Jerusalem above" and New Jerusalem texts (including the New Jerusalem Scroll from Qumran, 2 Bar and 4 Ezra), and there are likely also differences from the beliefs held by the Jerusalem community at that time.

Thus, Paul's spiritualism was developed in response to the dominance of the apostles' leadership in Jerusalem and as an alternative to some of their doctrines. To convince the Galatians, Paul needed to formulate an alternative perspective on the significance of what "Jerusalem" means to the believer.