Dr Paul Allen

“For nearly 3000 years man has been searching for the lost Ark. It’s not something to be taken lightly. No one knows its secrets. It’s like nothing you’ve ever gone after before.”  So Dr. Marcus Brody warned Dr. Henry Jones, Jr., aka “Indiana.” That was in Raiders of the Lost Ark, probably the single best adventure movie ever made. But its success, and cultural influence, has indeed proved Brody right. Many do now take the most fearsome object in biblical history too lightly. How could they not? The legion of parodies practically assures it. (Although some, like this famous Simpsons one, are priceless.) The Ark in Reel, and Real, Life The Ark is now back in the news. Both cinematically, and in real life. It was 40 years ago this week that Raiders premiered. And now the fifth Indiana Jones movie has commenced filming. But much more importantly, blood has been shed, again, over Ark.  Earlier this year, a story surfaced that over 800 Ethiopian Christians had been killed protectin...

Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD (1 Sam. 6:19a). The Israelites’ joy over the return of the ark of the covenant is replaced by grief and fear when some of the people of Beth Shemesh take an improper liberty. The text indicates they “look into” the ark, perhaps out of a desire to see the tablets of the testimony, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the jar of manna that is kept within the ark (Heb. 9:4). However, the Hebrew grammar indicates that the people simply gaze at the ark. As strange as it may sound, doing so is improper. The ark usually sits concealed within the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, where it is seen only once a year by the high priest. Even during Israel’s wilderness wandering, the tabernacle furnishings were covered by the priests before the people began a march so that the Kohathites, the Levitical family assigned to carry the furnishings, would not see them (Num. 4:1–20). When the ark arrived in the f...

Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left (1 Sam. 6:12a). The Philistine leaders follow the suggestions of their priests to the letter. They place the ark of the covenant on a newly built cart, along with their “trespass offering” of golden rats and tumors, and hitch the cart to two never-before-yoked milk cows. Then they step back, leaving it up to God to take the ark by miraculous means if He wants it. Surprisingly, He does just that. The cows, which have never pulled a burden before, are able to work in tandem, and the cart begins to move forward smoothly. The cows could go in any direction, of course, but they make a beeline for the road to Beth Shemesh, a city of the tribe of Judah in southern Israel—the very city to which the Philistine priests had said the cart must go as proof that God was guiding it. The cows aren’t happy about this—their low...

“Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land” (1 Sam. 6:5). The ark of the covenant bounces around the cities of Philistia for seven months, bringing affliction wherever it goes. In Scripture, the number seven typically denotes completeness. In this case, it appears that, after seven months, God’s anger against both the Israelites and the Philistines is complete. The Philistine leaders finally realize what their people already have seen—the ark must go back to Israel. But sending it back is problematic. The Philistines are dealing with their enemy’s God—the return of the ark must be handled properly lest He is angered further. There is also the practical problem of transferring a national treasure during wartime. So the lords of the Philistines turn to their “priests and diviners” for guidance. These ...

English: Ananias restoring the sight of Saint Paul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel .” ( Philippians 1:17 )   Many Christians today decry the use of apologetics or evidences in Christian witnessing, feeling it is somehow dishonoring to the Lord or to the Scriptures to try to defend them.   But as our text indicates, the apostle Paul did not agree with this. The gospel does need defending, and he was set for its defense against the attacks of its adversaries. He also told his disciples that “in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace” ( Philippians 1:7 ).   The Greek word translated “defense” is  apologia , from which we derive our English word “apologetics.” It is a legal term, meaning the case made by a defense attorney on behalf of a defendant under attack by a prosecutor. Thus, the apostle is saying: “I am set to give an apologetic for the...

Reviewed version of Eastern Orthodoxy in Europe (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The author, Daniel Clendenin, writes to introduce Western Christians to the mysterious world of Eastern Orthodoxy . He describes his approach as “not uncritical, but … nonpolemical.” Translation? He takes a rather friendly view of Eastern Orthodoxy, lumping it together with Protestantism and Roman Catholicism as “three siblings of the same family.” Given that foundational caution, however, the book can be a helpful introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy. The first two chapters list reasons why Western Christians ought to study the Eastern church and provide a brief sketch of Eastern church history. The next four chapters are the heart of the book, each one focusing on a main area of Eastern theology and tradition that Western Christians often find to be strange. The first is the apophatic approach to knowing God , which derides logic and rational analysis and exalts unknowable mystery. The second is icons, ...

The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove, surrounded by angels, by Giaquinto, 1750s. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The fire is not a shapeless flame. It is not Abram’s lamp, nor the pillar of the desert, nor the coal of Isaiah, nor the infolding flame of Ezekiel. It is a tongue; yea, cloven tongues. On each brow grows a sheet of flame, parted into many tongues. Here was the symbol of the new dispensation. Christianity was to be a Tongue of Fire. It was a symbol of their “power,” the power whereby the new kingdom was to be built up; the power for which they had so long to tarry, and so eagerly to pray, when all other things were prepared; for which the whole arrangement of the world’s conversion was commanded to stand still. The appearance of this one symbol was the signal that former ones had waxed old, and were ready to vanish away. Altar and cherubim, sacrifice and incense, ephod and breastplate, Urim and Thummim —their work was done. Even of the most sacred emblem of all, that which wa...

In days of gladness and in times of war the blast of the trumpet was a familiar sound in Israel. It was the voice of Jehovah, and the commands that the Lord gave by means of the trumpets were given on the ground of redemption. As Israel was His redeemed people, He claimed their obedience. The trumpets, as emblematic of the voice of God, were to be blown only by the priests, v. 8, men who had been cleansed and commissioned, Num. 8:6–15. These men were to make known the Lord’s will to the people. As Israel was dependent on the sound of the trumpet, so we are dependent as His people on the teaching of His word. Conviction in the use of the trumpet is necessary as it must not give an uncertain sound, 1 Cor. 14:8. They were used for the gathering of Israel, v. 3, and God still calls His people together, Heb. 10:25; Matt. 18:20. They were used when the people journeyed, v. 2, and we are not to settle down in this scene. We are but passing through. They were to be blown in days of gladnes...

we looked at the significance of John’s use of the word “dwelt” in John  1:14 . I argued that by using the peculiar word for  to pitch a tent , John was calling our attention to the Tabernacle of Israel , where God condescended to reveal Himself to Israel for worship and communion. The climax of the story of the Tabernacle comes in Exodus 40:34–38, where Yahweh ’s glory fills the Tabernacle, signifying that He will dwell—that He will take up residence—with His people. That scene sheds light on the relationship between the two phrases in John  1:14 : “and [He] dwelt among us,” fits perfectly with “and we saw His glory.” There is an inseparable connection between the (a) dwelling place of God, and (b) His glory that fills that place. The  dwelling  of God is inseparable from the  glory  of God. The Journey of the Glory of Yahweh in the Tabernacle And so the glory of Yahweh was with Israel in the tabernacle—a cloud by day and a fire by n...