Dr Paul Allen

Let no one deceives you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,10and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.—2 Thessalonians 2:3–1...

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.” ( Jude 1:4 ) Jude speaks severely of these “certain men” who were “before ordained” (literally “written about beforehand”) for a very specific judgment. The context relates back to the period of the Old Testament, although Jude later identifies others who are apparently active in the early churches. A purification of 30 days was required of “certain men” who were (apparently) undertakers during the time of Moses. They were “defiled” by their contact with dead bodies according to the law but must still keep the Passover—albeit a month after the other Israelites ( Numbers 9:4-11 ). God does not allow excuses. Later, “certain men” among the Israelites who had apostatized and become “children of Belial” were to be destroyed, along with their city and all of their possessions, after it had been definitely determined that they had left Israel and become part of a cult community ( Deutero...

J.P. Moreland is one of the 50 most influential living philosophers . He has spent his career writing largely in the philosophy of mind and the intersection of science and faith. He considers his most recent book, Scientism and Secularism , to be one of his most important contributions yet. It is a book with philosophical depth but is written for non-specialists. Interviewer : You've written a new book called Scientism and Secularism and have said its one of the most important books you have ever written. What makes this book so unique and timely? MORELAND : Our culture is rapidly going the way of Europe, namely, it is becoming more secular. At the root of this change is a false view of knowledge called scientism: The only knowledge we can have of reality comes from the hard sciences, especially, chemistry and physics. This leaves theological, ethical, political, and other claims most important to us as assertions no one can know are true. Scientism opens the door for Postmoder...

A Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. ISAIAH 53:3 We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it.  At the beginning of life, we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God.  But as we go on, we find the presence of something which we have not taken into consideration, our sin. It upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God.  Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ul...

We get the term “thorn in the flesh” from the apostle Paul : To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ( 2 Corinthians 12:7 ) Paul’s thorn is among the most famous afflictions in history, and we don’t even know what it was. There’s been a lot of speculation over the years. Paul’s thorn could have been a physical affliction. This is plausible given all the physical violence and deprivation he endured ( 2 Corinthians 11:23–27 ), and some think he may have suffered from an eye disease ( Galatians 4:15 ). “The most redemptive gift of pain in history was given to us through the most evil means.” Or since he referred to his thorn as a harassing “messenger of Satan,” he could have been vulnerable to significant spiritual-psychological struggles. This is plausible given the cumulative trauma of violently persecuting Christians , then...

Salvation in Christ is liberation, and the Christian life is one of liberty-Christ has set us free ( Gal. 5: 1; ct. John 8:32 , 36). Christ's liberating action is not basically social, political, or economic improvement, as is sometimes suggested today; it is liberation from the law as a means to salvation, from the power of sin, and from superstition. First, Christians have been set free from the law as a system of salvation. Being justified by faith in Christ, they are no longer under God's law , but under His grace (Rom. 3:19; 6:14, 15; Gal. 3:23-25). Their standing with God (the "peace" and "access" of Rom. 5: 1, 2) is assured because they have been accepted and adopted in Christ. It does not, nor ever will, depend on what they do, nor will it ever be imperiled by what they fail to do. They live, not by being perfect, but by being forgiven. Although they are fallen, human beings think they can gain a right relationship with God through discipline...

He’s the universe’s public enemy number one, the chief opponent of God and his people, and the leader of uncounted demonic forces. Jesus says he’s been a murderer from the beginning, and he’s engaged in an all-out war against the forces of good in the universe. The Bible calls him the devil, Satan, the evil one. Paul tells the Ephesian church to put on the full armor of God, so that they can stand firm against his schemes. James tells Christians that if they resist the devil, he will flee from them. Peter tells believers to beware: he is always on the prowl. We have an enemy—and if we’re going to stand firm against him, we need to know whom we’re up against. However, there’s a lot of devil folklore out there. It can be difficult to distinguish traditions from what the Bible actually says about Satan. So, let’s take a look at some biblical facts about the devil. A quick note on worldview The Bible was written millennia ago by people with a far more supernatural worldview than w...

My struggles with prayer run deep. The spiritual deserts in my life have always been accompanied by a parched prayer life. Eventually, I came to realize this was not only a symptom, but a cause. I was neglecting the very thing that would satisfy my weary, thirsty soul. I was ignoring the path that would not only lead me out of the desert, but keep me out of the wilderness in the first place. I often fall short of my good intentions when I fail to view prayer as  a discipline that needs to be learned and practiced and developed . We speak frequently of the importance of prayer, but often don’t know (or forget) the “hows” of prayer. Even Jesus’s own disciples had to ask Jesus how to pray ( Luke 11:1). They saw something in the way he prayed so fervently and intimately to his Father that made them long to do the same.  Lord, teach us to pray! While it won’t be the same for everyone, seven specific actions have really helped me in my battle against a weak prayer life...

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ , that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos;” and “I of Cephas;” and “I of Christ .” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius , that no man should say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas ; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. (1 Corinthians 1:10–17) One of the main reasons that cults in our day have had such an im...

Oil painting of a young John Calvin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In 1557, John Calvin published his large commentary on the book of Psalms . In the English translation , this commentary runs to five substantial volumes. This commentary reflects a life lived with the Psalter . He loved the psalms: he knew them, studied them, wrote on them, preached them, and sang them. In the course of his commentary on the Psalms, Calvin gave strong expression to various aspects of his doctrine of providence. Five themes about providence recur in his exposition. First, he recognizes God ’s power as the active governor of the world: He gives us to understand by this word, that heaven is not a palace in which God remains idle and indulges in pleasures, as the Epicureans dream, but a royal court, from which he exercises his government over all parts of the world. If he has erected his throne, therefore, in the sanctuary of heaven, in order to govern the universe, it follows that he in no wis...