Dr Paul Allen

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.” Then John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. - John 1:29-32 When you are emotional and feeling things at a deeper level than usual, it is vital to submit those emotional feelings to the Holy Spirit. Just as you would bring your thoughts or desires before the Lord, you must do the same with your emotions and feelings to see if they align with God’s Word or need to be changed by the Spirit. It will be vital for you to compare your emotions to the emotional life of Jesus Christ to determine if your feelings are right or wrong. This can be challenging because almost everyone has an imbalanced view...

English: Jerusalem, Dome of the rock, in the background the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Deutsch: Jerusalem, Felsendom, im Hintergrund die Grabeskirche (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the apostle John’s account of the new earth in Revelation 21-22, prominent attention is given to the New Jerusalem , the capital of the eternal heaven. Nearly half of Revelation 21 is devoted to describing the physical properties of the magnificent metropolis. Its glorious splendor will be the heart of the new earth, for it is here that God Himself dwells. Christians rarely think of heaven as a city, and yet that is precisely how God describes it (Heb. 11:16; cf. John 14:2). Cities have buildings, streets, houses, and citizens. They are places of political power, economic industry, higher learning, refined culture, and impressive architecture. These characteristics are true of the heavenly city as well, though the New Jerusalem will far outshine any of earthly city in both its magnificence and its mig...

"And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God !" ( John 1:36 ) As he spoke to two of his followers, John the Baptist was, in effect, telling them that they should henceforth leave him to follow Jesus. "And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus" ( John 1:37 ). On the previous day, when John had first seen Jesus coming, he had said, apparently to all his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" ( John 1:29 ).  Jesus must increase, I must decrease (John 3:30) This is the first use of the word "lamb" in the New Testament , and it is significant that it refers here to the Lord Jesus as the one great sacrifice for our sins. He is called "the Lamb" 30 more times in the New Testament, the final time no longer viewing Him on the altar but on His eternal throne ( Revelation 22:3 ). Yet, even on His throne as our King, He is still the Lamb, and we can never...

English: Moses Sees the Promised Land from Afar, as in Numbers 27:12, by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night : he made the stars also." ( Genesis 1:16 ) It seems that throughout history, mankind has ignored or distorted the purpose for which God created the sun . Many cultures have even worshiped the sun, teaching that the sun was the source of all being, even human life . Temples were built in its honor, human sacrifices were made to appease it, whole civilizations were dedicated to its worship. The nation Israel , which had lived among sun-worshiping Egyptians for centuries, was warned not to "lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and . . . |see| the sun, and . . . be driven to worship" ( Deuteronomy 4:19 ) under penalty of death, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God" ( Deuteronomy 4:24 ). One of mankind's prima...

Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The key to understanding the cry of Jesus from the cross is found in Paul's letter to the Galatians : " Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" ( Gal. 3:13 , NIV ). To be cursed is to be removed from the presence of God , to be set outside the camp, to be cut off from His benefits. On the cross, Jesus was cursed. That is, He represented the Jewish nation of covenant breakers who were exposed to the curse and took the full measure of the curse on Himself. As the Lamb of God, the Sin Bearer, He was cut off from the presence of God. On the cross, Jesus entered into the experience of forsakenness on our behalf. God turned His back on Jesus and cut Him off from ...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written, “ KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS ” (Revelation 19:16). “Jesus is the Christ . He is the Lord. He is the Son of David . He is the Son of God. He is the Lion of Judah . He is the Lamb of God. He is our Righteousness. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the Suffering Servant . He is the Savior. He is the Lily of the Valley . He is the Rose of Sharon . He is our Great High Priest. He is the Mercy Seat.” Jesus is the incomparable Christ , and there is no limit to the wealth of glorious titles that can and must be given Him for all eternity. The Bible is filled with names for Jesus. How many do you know? When you read and study the Bible, do you look for Jesus, or do you find yourself just acquiring interesting information? As you read the Bible, ask yourself, “What name of Jesus do I see in this passage?” While you will never exhaust Christ’s character and personality, yo...