The New Jerusalem and Greco-Roman City Founding: Revelation 19–21

Revelation 19–21 exhibits typical characteristics of city founding in antiquity. Avian flight fills the skies, the city’s measurements are demarcated, and the heavenly city descending from God all align with the cultural expectation that the New Jerusalem is a newly founded city. Just as ancient narratives were often concerned with the origins of their city, so is the account in Revelation. In this article, I posit that these city-founding narratives help illuminate and frame the depiction of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 19–21. By highlighting these shared elements, Greco-Roman city-founding myths are prioritized as a helpful interpretive aid when brought into conversation with the Revelation account.