Peter J. Leithart

“Longinus” describes the sublime as “the echo of a great soul” (de Sublimitate, 9.2)). The sublime can be expressed in silence or in speech, and it can be found the terrible, awe-inspiring acts of the gods.But Longinus worries that Homeric accounts of the gods “if they . . . . Continue Reading »

The first of several of essays on Shakespeare is up at the Colson Center Worldview Journalthis . . . . Continue Reading »

Jesus promises to make the overcomers in Philadelphia “pillars in the temple of My God” (Revelation 3:12).Yahweh was the original pillar. He led Israel to Sinai in a pillar of cloud, and then His cloudy pillar filled the tabernacle. Yahweh is the pillar in His own house, the load-bearing . . . . Continue Reading »

Those who keep (tereo) Jesus’ words will be kept (tereo) from the hour that is coming (Revelation 3:10).It’s a global hour, coming on the whole oikoumene. And it will test the ones who dwell on the earth (ge). Is that simply saying the same thing twice: The hour of testing will come on . . . . Continue Reading »

Diaspora Jews “stood aside virtually completely” from the Jewish war of 66-70, writes Mary Smallwood in her Jews Under Roman Rule(356). By that, she means that Diaspora Jews didn’t send men or material to help their brothers in Judea,She admits that “Possibly rather more help . . . . Continue Reading »

God has no needs. He is independent of His creation, perfectly blissful before He created it.But that’s not the same thing as saying that neediness is in no way a feature of the life of God. God doesn’t need anything outside Himself, but God does need God.Unless we’re thinking . . . . Continue Reading »

Jesus has a triple title in both the letter to Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) and the one to Laodicea (3:14-22).To the Philadelphians, He is holy, true, the one-with-keys. To the Laodiceans, He is the Amen, the martyr, the beginning-of-creation.Those traids suggest the Trinity, perhaps in detail. . . . . Continue Reading »

When the father welcomes the prodigal back, he instructs his slaves to bring a robe, a ring, and sandals to adorn his son, and to slaughter a fatted calf for a celebrated (Luke 15:22-23).This in response to the son’s confession, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no . . . . Continue Reading »

Herodotus thought it a silly story: “how Herakles came to Egypt and was taken away by the Egyptians to be sacrificed to Zeus , with all due pomp and the sacrificial wreath upon his head; and how he quietly submitted until the moment came for the beginning of the actual . . . . Continue Reading »

Jesus evaluates and assesses the angels of the churches of Asian Minor (Revelation 2-3). On what basis? What does He know about them?Mainly, He knows their works (erga), as He repeatedly says: “I know your works” (2:2); “I know your works” (2:19); “I know your . . . . Continue Reading »