Dr Paul Allen

Priest head-Assyria-IMG 0102 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) As the Westminster Confession states , “ God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass” (WCF, 3.1). Whenever you say something like that in a theological discussion, immediately the question is raised: How can God be the ultimate cause of whatsoever comes to pass—even actions and events that are evil and sinful, things which God Himself prescribes against—and yet not be rightly charged with unrighteousness? This is a good question. Perhaps the most common answer to that question is an appeal to the notion of divine “permission.” In other words, though God is ultimately in control, He doesn’t ordain evil; He merely allows it. But this solution is unsatisfactory, both theologically and biblically. After considering a number of passages that don’t shy away from attributing to God a very active role in the bringing about of evil events...

Detail of third window of the south wall with stained glass depicting Isaiah 40:11 He gathers the lambs in his arms. Created by Watson & Co, Youghal, in 1906. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The stories are as sad as any, and tragically too common. An effective, fruitful leader in the faith falls into some moral failure, disqualifying himself from leadership and devastating those who had followed them. Reactions will range from confusion to disbelief to fury. Some will wonder how sin could capture the heart of someone God has used so powerfully in the church. Some will look for all the dirty details, secretly glad to see another gifted leader go down. Some will withdraw and rebel in disgust and anger, not willing to trust or submit to leadership in the church again. Whatever else we feel and learn in the wake of the fall, we should see that the consequences of sin in leaders seep into the church, leading people astray — away from God and against him. All Are Swallowed Up ...

English: Zechariah of Israel was a king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel, and son of Jeroboam II. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel , and Jerusalem .” ( Zechariah 1:18-19 )   Immediately after seeing the horsemen that were sent to determine the state of the earth, Zechariah observes four “horns” amid the myrtle trees. Zechariah is told that they represent the authorities responsible for scattering the people of the two nations of Judah and Israel , destroying Jerusalem in the process as well.   The image of horns usually refers to empires in other passages of Scripture. The horns of the goats in Daniel 7 and 8 and the horns of the seven-headed dragon used in Revelation 13 and 17 are good examples. Zechariah may have understood this specific vision as a reference to N...

A 13th century book illustration produced in Baghdad by al-Wasiti showing a slave-market in the town of Zabid in Yemen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I. In the Old Testament a. Introduction Under the influence of Roman law , a slave is usually considered to be a person (male or female) owned by another, without rights, and—like any other form of personal property—to be used and disposed of in whatever way the owner may wish. In the ancient biblical East, however, slaves could and did acquire various rights before the law or by custom, and these included ownership (even of other slaves) and the power to conduct business while they were yet under their masters’ control. Slavery is attested from the earliest times throughout the ancient Near East, and owed its existence and perpetuation primarily to economic factors. b. Sources of slaves (i) By capture. Captives, especially prisoners of war, were commonly reduced to slavery (Gn. 14:21, claimed by the king of Sodom; Nu. 31:9; Dt. 20:1...

Prophet Micha (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Micah 5:1–6 “He shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God ” (v. 4a). The final prophecy we will examine in our brief study of the Old Testament teachings about the Messiah is Micah 5:1–6, a passage cited in part by Matthew  in 2:6 of his gospel. A more thorough reading of Micah’s word to Israel than we undertook when we looked at Matthew 2:6 will help us better grasp the significance of our Savior’s birthplace. As always, we begin with the original context of the prophecy in order to interpret the text rightly. Micah prophesied during the second half of the eighth century and the first decade of the seventh century B.C., a time of great moral decline in the history of Judah and Israel . The poor were oppressed and some priests were sexually promiscuous. Because of such debauchery, God sent Micah to prosecute the covenant, that is, to convict His people of...

The Theotokos of Vladimir, one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the Virgin Mary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 1:18–21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus , for he will save his people from their sins” (v. 21). Matthew wishes his Jewish audience to see — through the structure of his geneology — that Jesus is the Messiah. Beginning with Abraham ( Matt. 1:2), two of the three sets of fourteen generations in the list of ancestors find conclusions in David (v. 6) and the exile (v. 11). Of course, Abraham, David, and the deportation of Israel to Assyria and Babylon ( 2 Kings 17:7–23) are pivotal points in the story of God ’s people. David fulfilled, in shadowy form, the Abrahamic promises, but his sons lost the kingdom. Yet Yahweh pledged to send His servant, a greater son of David , to end Israel’s exile (Amos 9:11–15). The placement of Joseph’s family at the end of the third set of ...