Dr Paul Allen

  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.     2.      Some suggest that the

Paul thought of prophecy at Corinth as something different than the prophecy we see, in Revelation or in many parts of the Old Testament . There, a divine authority of actual words is claimed by or on behalf of the prophets. But the prophecy we find in 1 Corinthians only gives a kind of divine authority of general content. The prophet could err, could misinterpret, and could be questioned or challenged at any point. The prophecy must be judged. The prophecy is of,  a minor kind of “divine” authority, but it certainly was not absolute. In the NT , the counterpart of the OT prophets are the apostles - not the NT prophets. Those who are viewed as divinely authoritative messengers in the NT are most often called not “prophets” but “apostles.” This is significant because if the NT apostles are frequently seen as the counterparts to the OT prophets, then NT prophets might often be something quite different.  If this position is accepted, then changes must be made in the thinking

He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth  (Micah 5:4). If there is any book in the Old Testament that confounds the higher critics, it is the book of Micah. This is because Micah clearly predicted concrete future events that actually came to pass, and no one is able to maintain that Micah lived after the events he predicted. For instance, Micah 3:12 stated that “Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.” When was this statement written? All the evidence supports Micah’s own claim to have made these statements over a century before the destruction of Jerusalem ( Micah 1:1). A liberal critic, however, might insist that Micah simply made a lucky guess. Or, he might maintain that a later writer inserted Micah 3:12 into the text, after Jerusalem h

When Jesus ascended to the Father, “he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). The passive voice of the first verb (“he was lifted up”) describes divine action: it was God who took Jesus back into heaven, to sit at his right hand (2:33).  The cloud is not the “vehicle” that transported Jesus into heaven because God’s dwelling place is not “up there.” The cloud signals to the apostles that Jesus has just left them permanently—not as he left them during the last forty days, only to appear again for further instruction and fellowship. The reference to the cloud, which was real enough, provides a clear demarcation between earth and heaven.  It emphasizes that Jesus is in heaven, the place where God dwells, sovereign and independent of the control of human beings.1 Jesus’ departure for heaven must not be misunderstood in terms of Jesus now being absent from earth. Luke’s narrative in the book of Acts demonstrates that the heavenly Jesus Christ continues

The image of the great harlot who is “Babylon the Great” symbolizes the prevailing economic and religious institutions that are in alliance with the political and social systems throughout history. John is concerned that an unfaithful segment of the church may participate in the economic, social, and religious institutions of contemporary society (Rev. 2:14–15, 20–24; 3:2–4; 17–18). And he knows that Jews may participate in the persecution of Christians (Rev. 2:9–10; 3:9). Thus, “Babylon the Great” includes hostile Jews and apostate Christians. But the main concern is to warn the churches not to participate in the idolatry of the economic and religious institutions of the empire. Thus, interpretations of the harlot in terms of the Roman Catholic Church alone miss John’s point. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church today is neither economic nor wielded through political institutions worldwide. Sectors of Protestant churches have become apostate both economically and morally. For

Jesus , Paul, and other New Testament writers unanimously assume, and assert, that believers experience distress, suffering, persecution, and martyrdom. The vision of Revelation 7 promises the spiritual protection of the faith of Jesus’ followers, but not physical protection from suffering.  The “ great tribulation ” that Jesus prophesies in Matthew 24:21 describes the horrific events of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem , a prophecy that was fulfilled in the events of A.D. 66–70. The “great tribulation” of Revelation 7:14 is not a particular period of history in which suffering becomes unbearable, but a description of the end times as a time of trouble during which many of Jesus’ followers are tested and purified as martyrs.  This does not mean that all believers will suffer extreme distress or that all believers will be persecuted, or that all believers will die as martyrs. It means, however, that suffering and persecution should not come as a surprise, and that i

The role of the Holy Spirit is to use our arguments to convince the unbeliever of the truth of Christianity . When one presents reasons for his faith, one is not working apart from or against the Holy Spirit. To return to a point mentioned earlier: it is unbalanced and unscriptural to simply preach the gospel if the unbeliever has questions or objections. First, it’s unbalanced because it assumes the Holy Spirit works only through preaching. But he can work through rational argumentation, too. We should appeal to the head as well as to the heart. If an unbeliever objects that the Bible is unreliable because it is a translation of a translation of a translation, the answer is not to tell him to get right with God . The answer is to explain that we have excellent manuscripts of the Bible in the original Greek and Hebrew languages —and then tell him to get right with God! But second, it’s unscriptural to refuse to reason with an unbeliever. Look at Paul. It was Paul’s standard proced

English: The Earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence, as in Genesis 6:5: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."; “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” ( Genesis 6:5-6 ) These two verses, describing the incurable wickedness of the antediluvian world which finally brought on the global Flood , contain the first two of over a thousand occurrences of the word “heart” in the Bible . Note the contrast: man’s heart was evil; God’s heart was grieved. Both the Hebrew and Greek languages treated the heart as the center of a person’s being, the seat of all feelings and thoughts, and we do the same in English. The writers knew that the heart was a physi

‎Overlaid with pure gold, the table was first created to be used in the Tabernacle to hold the Bread of the Presence , also referred to as the Showbread. An important piece of furniture recreated for use in Solomon’s temple and again for the second temple , the Table of the Showbread may have been one of the Jewish treasures lost to the Romans during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD .  BREAD OF THE PRESENCE (לחם הפנים, lchm hpnym). Twelve loaves of bread arranged in two stacks of six on the Table of the Showbread. The Table of the Showbread was located in the holy place of the tabernacle and temple. Near Yahweh ’s presence. Biblical Relevance The bread of the presence accompanied the “table of the presence” (שׁלחן הפנים, shlchn hpnym; Num 4:7), which were located in the holy place of Israel ’s central sanctuary (1 Sam 21:1–6; 1 Kgs 7:48; 1 Chr 9:32; 2 Chr 2:4; Neh 10:33). The Table of the Showbread appeared behind the veil above the mercy seat (Exod 25:22). The tabl

The Christmas season is filled with excitement and joy—and busyness. Retail stores have lengthened the season because successful sales and happy shoppers are critical for the economic success of many. In the church, the Advent season lasts four weeks.  This is a time to remember God’s coming to us and to wait in hopes of His coming again. We must be careful lest our hectic schedules filled with shopping, parties, and other special events leave no time for the purpose of Advent. Advent is not about us filling our time full but rather about taking time to remember how God fills time full: “In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son” (Gal. 4:4). Christmas is important not for economic reasons, but because Jesus ’ birth reveals that the fullness of time has arrived. What does “the fullness of time” mean? Long before Jesus’ birth God was preparing the way. The two genealogies of Jesus recorded in the gospels make us travel back in time either to the beginning of the human rac

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow , and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” ( Daniel 7:9 ) This vision bring us to the close of the times of the Gentiles. When the fourth beast with the ten horns and the little horn, the last thing spoken of this world empire, is in full swing, then the end comes. It is a great judgment scene which is here before us.  The great mass knows nothing whatever about this age coming to an end. It will go on indefinitely, so they believe, and its future is world progress, better times and the triumph of the Christian civilization. But others concede that a judgment must come and they think of the judgment here as the universal judgment , the great white throne judgment . This judgment is not the last judgment at all. It is a judgment which pre

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Those who ignore Revelation deprive themselves of a rich treasure of divine truth. Revelation takes a high view of God ’s inspired Word. It claims divine inspiration for itself (1:2), and it has been estimated that 278 of its 404 verses allude to the inspired Old Testament Scriptures. Revelation reveals God the Father in all His glory and majesty, describing Him as holy (4:8), true (6:10), omnipotent (4:11), wise (7:12), sovereign (4:11), and eternal (4:10). Revelation details the depths of man’s depravity. Despite experiencing the final outpouring of God’s devastating wrath and judgment on sinful mankind, people will nevertheless harden their hearts (like Pharaoh before them; 1 Sam. 6:6) and refuse to repent (9:20–21; 16:9, 11).  Scripture contains no clearer summation of the doctrine of redemption than that of Revelation 1:5 , which declares that “Jesus Christ … loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.” The