‘He Saw Heaven Opened’: Heavenly Temple and Universal Mission in Luke-Acts

Moore, Nicholas J.

doi:10.1017/s0028688521000205

‘He Saw Heaven Opened’: Heavenly Temple and Universal Mission in Luke-Acts

Moore, Nicholas J.

Authors

Nicholas J. Moore

Abstract

Numerous scholars have argued that in Luke-Acts the location of sacred space or divine presence passes from the Jerusalem temple to Jesus, Christian believers, or both; in Acts, this transfer is understood as integral to the universal mission. The present article argues that such studies overlook the important motif of heaven as temple, which plays a role in Jesus’ trial and crucifixion and the Stephen and Cornelius episodes. Using Edward Soja's spatial theory, previous studies’ binary categorisation of temple space is critiqued. The heavenly temple disrupts and reconstitutes understandings of sacred space, and thus undergirds the universal spread of the Way.

Citation

Moore, N. J. (2022). ‘He Saw Heaven Opened’: Heavenly Temple and Universal Mission in Luke-Acts. New Testament Studies, 68(1), 38-51. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0028688521000205

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 17, 2021
Online Publication Date	Dec 9, 2021
Publication Date	2022-01
Deposit Date	Dec 16, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Dec 16, 2021
Journal	New Testament Studies
Print ISSN	0028-6885
Electronic ISSN	1469-8145
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	68
Issue	1
Pages	38-51
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/s0028688521000205

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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press