Dr Paul Allen

Photo credit: Randall Price A New Cave, an Old Controversy: Dramatic New Discovery in Israel will Re-Ignite Debates By Craig A. Evans . The last Dead Sea Scrolls cave, linked to the ruins on the marl shelf at the mouth of Wadi Qumran , was discovered in 1956, bringing the total number of caves to eleven — eleven caves containing the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, ceramic jars, and a number of other artifacts. For sixty years archaeologists and looters have been searching for a twelfth cave. Would another one ever be found? Most didn’t think so. This is what makes the announcement from Hebrew University so astounding: A twelfth cave has been discovered! Playing in the dirt One of the Operation Scroll volunteers was archaeologist Randall Price, who today serves on the faculty of Liberty University . One of the briefly examined caves in 1993 — cave 53 — caught his attention.  Last year Price received permission to excavate that cave. Last month (January 2017) he, Oren G...

The Jordan River (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But [do not] . . . enter Gilgal . . . For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity.” ( Amos 5:5 ) Gilgal was the place of new beginnings. Twelve memorial stones from the Jordan were set up at Gilgal after the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River ( Joshua 4:3 ). The nation was circumcised there in preparation for their possession of the Land ( Joshua 5:5 ). The Passover was celebrated ( Joshua 5:10 ), and the miraculous manna ceased ( Joshua 5:12 ). The victorious campaign in the hill country of Judea extending to Kadesh-barnea and Gaza was conducted from Gilgal ( Joshua 10:15 ). The great battle at the waters of Merom was conducted from Gilgal ( Joshua 10:43 , 11:5). Saul was crowned Israel ’s first king at Gilgal ( 1 Samuel 11:15 ). Yet, the activity at Gilgal began to obscure the Word of God. Saul compromised and sacrificed at Gilgal to try to gain God’s blessing. His desire for political favor resulted in direct disobedience t...

Sign and diagram in Jordan of the Dead Sea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Scripture often speaks of the entire creation awaiting the final act of redemption. To destroy something completely and to replace it with something utterly new is not an act of redemption. To redeem something is to save that which is in imminent danger of being lost. The renovation may be radical. It may involve a violent conflagration of purging, but the purifying act ultimately redeems rather than annihilates. The new heaven and the new earth will be purified. There will be no room for evil in the new order. A hint of the quality of the new heaven and new earth is found in the somewhat cryptic words, "Also there was no more sea" (Rev. 21:1). For people who have a love for the seashore and all that it represents in terms of beauty and recreation, it may seem strange to contemplate a new earth without any sea. But to the ancient Jew , it was a different matter. In Jewish literature, the sea was often...

Nicolaes Knüpfer - Christ before Herod Antipas - WGA12216 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 11:1 –6 “Go and tell John…the blind receive their sight and the lame walk…the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (vv. 4–6). Among the more persuasive evidences for the authenticity of Scripture is the Bible’s willingness to tell the whole truth about the people it describes even when they look bad. Scripture does not hide the faults of the great heroes of the faith. The authors of the various biblical books could have passed over the occasions on which figures like Moses doubted the Lord (Ex. 4:1–17). Such episodes are included because the apostles and prophets, under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, knew they had to tell the truth about these people, warts and all. Of all people, we would expect John the Baptist to have the fewest doubts about the person and work of Jesus . After all, he is the Mess...