Dr Paul Allen

Cherubim first appear in Genesis 3, when God places them east of the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life, and they continue to make appearances throughout the pages of Scripture. There were numerous representations of cherubim in the tabernacle and in the temple.  Cherubim were given varied descriptions and primarily signified God’s presence, serving as a visible reminder of the majesty and glory of the Almighty God who reigns on His throne and abides with His people. Read commentary from Iain Duguid, Jay Sklar, Gary Millar, and Thomas Schreiner, who trace the appearances of cherubim through the Bible and help us understand who these figures are. Cherubim in Genesis He drove out the man, and to the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. —Genesis 3:24 Adam and Eve’s sin has immediate and tragic consequences, as they are driven out of the garden. The entrance to the garden of E...

  There have been countless theories as to the identity of the angels to whom the letters in Revelation 2–3 appear to be addressed (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). These are the most commonly noted.     1.      A few have argued that the “angel” is the “pastor” of the church. Against this view are several points. First, it is contrary to the NT portrait of church structure. Nowhere in the NT is a single individual portrayed as exercising pastoral authority over a congregation. Rule by a plurality of elders is the standard NT perspective. Second, this view is historically anachronistic, for the existence of a single pastor/bishop was unknown until Ignatius (@ 110 a.d.). Third, the word “angel” is used some 60x in Revelation and always means a supernatural or spiritual being. Fourth, the word “angel” is nowhere else in the NT used to designate an ecclesiastical office. Fifth, we know from Acts 20 that the Ephesian church was ruled by a plurality of elders. ...

In Genesis 6:1–4, the reader encounters one of the most challenging passages in all of Scripture to interpret. Here’s the passage in the ESV. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Echoes from Genesis 1–3 People multiplying is an echo of Genesis 1. God made “man” (Gen 1:26–27), and then he commissioned his image-bearers to be fruitful and “multiply” (1:28). In 6:1, we read of this multiplication happening. The reference to God as “Spirit” in Genesis 6:3 reminds us of 1:2, the second verse in the Bible. There, th...

What the local church needs to know about angels, Satan, and demons is an intriguing question. In my experience, I have heard very little from the pulpit or in adult Sunday school on the topic. The question is intriguing because popular culture (movies and TV, for example) teems with treatments, often fanciful, on these themes, especially around Halloween. There are many aspects of the doctrine of angels, Satan, and demons worth making the local church aware of and here are only some of them.[1] The Bigger Canvas B. Philips, a noted Bible translator of the last century, wrote a small book which has proved very influential and is still in print, Your God is Too Small. The title is so instructive. He maintained that too many have a shrunken view of God. With debts to Philips, one could argue that your worldview is too small if it leaves out angels, Satan and demons.  This lack can be a problem at two levels: espoused and operational. At the espoused level, the believer never thinks a...