Peter J. Leithart

Locusts come from the smoke that comes from the pit, and these locusts are granted authority like the authority of scorpions. Revelation 9:3 includes a chiasm that reinforces this connection: A. Locusts to the eart B. And was given to them authority B’. As have authority A’. The . . . . Continue Reading »

When the fallen angel opens the pit, the smoke that comes out is like the smoke of a great furnace (Revelation 9:2; Gr. kapnos kaminou megales ). Only two passages in the LXX use a similar phrase. Sinai smokes with the smoke of a furnace (Exodus 19:18), and according to Job Leviathan breathes out . . . . Continue Reading »

With the fifth trumpet, the fallen star opens the pit with a key that has been given to him. From the pit comes ascending smoke like a great furnace (Revelation 9:1-2). The smoke ascending from the pit reminds us of the smoke ascending from the sacrifices of the altar, the smoke of incense and . . . . Continue Reading »

The seven trumpets of Revelation 8-11 link up at most points with the days of creation. As James Jordan has pointed out, the very structure of the trumpet section nods vigorously toward Genesis 1; the sequence of seven is divided into a 4 + 3 pattern, with four quick judgments and then three longer . . . . Continue Reading »

With the second trumpet, a burning mountain is thrown into the city, turning a third of it to blood and killing a third of the sea creatures (Revelation 8:8-9). A mountain tossed into the sea is a neat picture of Israel, the holy mountain, being absorbed into the Gentile world. But that . . . . Continue Reading »

Beale points out that the incense of prayer offered up on the altar in Revelation 8:1-5 links back to the prayers of the saints under the altar in 6:9 (the fifth seal). Those souls were praying for vindication, and were told to wait until the full number of martyrs were added. By the time we get to . . . . Continue Reading »

Twice in the Song of Songs, the lover delightedly enumerates the beauty of the bride. In Revelation 9:7-10, we have a macabre variation on this style in the description of the locorpions or scorpusts that arise from the abyss. John lists seven features: heads, faces, hair, teeth, breastplates, . . . . Continue Reading »

Jay Sexton opens his The Monroe Doctrine: Empire and Nation in Nineteenth-Century America by noting the “ambiguous and paradoxical” character of President Monroe’s 1823 message to Congress, the document that served as the basis for Monroe’s famous document: “The . . . . Continue Reading »

Click here for more information on the conference. Click image to view full size. . . . . Continue Reading »

Apocalyptic, sociologists of religion often claim, is the genre of comfort for marginal minorities. Or, more cynically (Engels) it is the revenge fantasy of the oppressed. Despite all appearances, when the veil is pulled back, it turns out that the oppressed are on the winning team. In a 1992 . . . . Continue Reading »