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Ox, Lion, Eagle, Man

Last updated on: May 10, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

In Ezekiel and Revelation, the cherubim-living creatures are ox, lion, eagle, and man. If they represent the whole of living creation as worshipers, why are there no fish? Why two land creatures – ox and lion? Isn’t that discriminatory? Why not ox, crab, eagle, man? Other biblical lists of creatures, after all, include sea creatures: There are clean and unclean land animals, birds, swarmers, and sea-creatures (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14). Why didn’t sea creatures merit inclusion in the cherubim? Where... Read more

Ceaseless worship

Last updated on: May 10, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

When John enters heaven, he stumbles into a worship service. Four living creatures offer praise “day and night without cease” (anapausis), like the saints in 7:15 (like the temple servants in Leviticus 8:35; 1 Chronicles 9:33). The Lord exacts ceaseless day-and-night worship later on in the book: Those who worship the beast and his image, who are sealed with his seal, are tormented forever (14:9-12). The Lord pours a libation of wrath over them, and their smoke rises like a... Read more

Ceaseless worship

Last updated on: May 10, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

When John enters heaven, he stumbles into a worship service. Four living creatures offer praise “day and night without cease” (anapausis), like the saints in 7:15 (like the temple servants in Leviticus 8:35; 1 Chronicles 9:33). The Lord exacts ceaseless day-and-night worship later on in the book: Those who worship the beast and his image, who are sealed with his seal, are tormented forever (14:9-12). The Lord pours a libation of wrath over them, and their smoke rises like a... Read more

Kuyper’s Common Grace

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Common grace has played a large role in Calvinist thinking about culture. For some, it is this general grace of God – His restraint of sin, His gifts of cultural skill to believers and unbelievers – that makes common culture possible. Special grace and special revelation are for the church; outside, common grace and general revelation rules. The great Dutch statesman and theologian Abraham Kuyper is largely responsible for the prominence of this notion in Reformed worldview thinking, but as... Read more

Fire or Tears

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

There are ten uses of “eye” in Revelation, nine of them in the plural (the exception is 1:7). The uses of the plural fall into several categories: 1) The eyes of Jesus are flames of fire (1:14; 2:18; 19:12) or the seven Spirits (5:6), which are flames (4:5). 2) The angel of the church in Laodicea is charged to buy ointment to anoint his blind eyes (3:18). Anointed eyes brighten, become fiery. 3) Two verses speak of the cherubim guardians... Read more

Fire or Tears

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

There are ten uses of “eye” in Revelation, nine of them in the plural (the exception is 1:7). The uses of the plural fall into several categories: 1) The eyes of Jesus are flames of fire (1:14; 2:18; 19:12) or the seven Spirits (5:6), which are flames (4:5). 2) The angel of the church in Laodicea is charged to buy ointment to anoint his blind eyes (3:18). Anointed eyes brighten, become fiery. 3) Two verses speak of the cherubim guardians... Read more

Sprouting Wings

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

God created winged-things (Genesis 1:21; kanaf), and they were preserved in the ark (Genesis 7:14). But there aren’t many references to winged-things in the first book of the Bible. At the Exodus, Yahweh sprouts eagle wings and carries Israel from Egypt (Exodus 19:4, the first use of pterux in the LXX; cf. Exodus 32:11), and then it seems everyone has wings. We met cherubim outside Eden, but only after the Exodus do we discover that they have wings (Exodus 25:20;... Read more

Who Is Worthy?

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

John sees a book at the right side of the enthroned Father, and a “strong angel” asks, “Who is worthy to take the book and open it by breaking its seals?” The Father Himself is worthy (4:11) to receive all glory, honor, and power. Yet no one mentions Him as a suitable candidate. He is worthy, but He is not the one to open the book. The book is a book of future history, a book that unleashes the end... Read more

Godziller

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Watch the trailer and tell me that Godzilla hasn’t become Godziller. Now I have proof. One “Dr. M” observes that he’s tripled in size since he was first sited in a movie theater near you: “In 1954 Godzilla was a mere 50 meters (164 ft). In the newest movie, Godzilla is estimated to be 150 meters (492 ft). For comparison the Empire State Building in New York City stands at 381 meters (1250 ft).” And Dr. M is worried that it will... Read more

Solving the Piketty Problem

Last updated on: May 9, 2014 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Alex Tabarrok has as solution to the problem of capital accumulation that Thomas Piketty identifies as the driver of inequality (Capital in the Twenty-First Century): Change the birthrate of the rich: Increasing fertility rates would do the trick: “If every wealthy family has 4 children, wealth per person doesn’t increase and so inequality does not increase. . . . If the wealthy consume about 20% of their capital income (still a very high savings rate) and have just 3 children then again... Read more

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