Dr Paul Allen

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” ( Matthew 7:1 ) This is a very familiar maxim, often cited by unbelievers and carnal Christians as a rebuke to Christians whom they regard as intolerant. These words of the Lord Jesus Christ do, indeed, warn us against a self-righteous attitude, condemning others who disagree with us on the basis of superficial criteria. On the other hand, this caution by no means relieves us of the responsibility of evaluating the beliefs and practices of others in the light of Scripture. In the very same sermon, in fact, Jesus said just a few moments later: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine”; and, “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing” ( Matthew 7:6-15 ).  Obedience to such commandments obviously requires one to make a judgment as to whether certain unb...

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God ’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:5). Some of those who object to the doctrine of hell hold that it denies God’s love and goodness. Some suggest that if the Lord is really loving and good, then He would not subject anyone to eternal punishment . Assumptions that the Creator loves all people equally and that nothing exceeds His love for human beings lay behind this protest. However, these definitions of love are not biblical. First, Isaiah tells us the Lord is jealous for His own glory. “My glory I will not give to another,” says Yahweh (48:11). His creation and salvation of His people are not primarily for our good, but for His glory (43:1–7). Note how God’s wrath and rig...

English: Sign in Spanish for Family Radio's prediction of the end of the world, on 12th Avenue between Broadway and Acoma Streets, behind Golden Triangle Liquor Store, in Denver. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Harold Camping – who predicted the end of the world would come on May 21, 2011, among other dates – has died at the age of 92, according to an email from Family Radio . Camping, co-founder of Family Radio and controversial doomsday radio Bible teacher, died on Sunday at around 5:30 p.m., according to the Family Radio Network email sent out Monday evening. "On Saturday, November 30th, Mr. Camping sustained a fall in his home, and he was not able to recover from his injuries. He passed away peacefully in his home, with his family at his side," the email reads. Camping made national as well as global headlines in 2011 when he proclaimed that Judgment Day would come on May 21. Thousands of listeners of Camping's radio show around the world believed him and man...

Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative by Sam Storms - Described by Kevin De Young as "the standard bearer for Amillennialism for years to come.” Kingdom Come offers an alternative and a biblical rationale to the widely held view of Premillennialism : that Christ ’s return will be followed by 1,000 years before the final judgement . This book reveals that this is not the only option for Christians . This is a substantial work which will challenge and encourage. Storms explain the belief that the 1,000 years mentioned in the book of Revelation is symbolic, with the emphasis being the King and his Kingdom. So that even those who remain unconvinced will need to reckon with the powerful case made for Amillennialism by reading this work. Questioning Premillennialism Upon graduating from The University of Oklahoma in 1973, I began my studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. My professors were a Who's Who of dispensational premillennialism: John Walvoord (then president of DTS...

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left (Isa. 24:6). Chapter 24 of Isaiah often is referred to as an apocalypse, and many believe that Isaiah was prophesying about the Last Judgment . John Calvin , however, takes an opposing position and maintains that this chapter and the ones following are a conclusive summary of all the previous chapters. Calvin argues that Isaiah was speaking about the destruction, not of the whole earth in the Last Judgment, but of all the nations known to the Jews —Moab, Assyria , Egypt , and other nations in their vicinity, as well as many that were far off. These nations would be judged by the Lord—judgments that are recorded in detail in earlier chapters. Though the term “earth” is used in these passages, Calvin says that this was a common designation for the “known” ...

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Meditate much upon the day of judgment . Feathers swim upon the water, but gold sinks into it; so, light, feathery Christians float in vanity; they mind not the day of judgment; but serious spirits sink deep into the thoughts of it. - Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity The Bible teaches that the world as we know it now will one day end and every human who has ever lived will stand individually before the throne of Jesus Christ to give an account for how they lived ( 2 Corinthians 5:10). This judgment, also known in Scripture as “ the day of the Lord ,” will come at a time people do not expect ( 1 Thessalonians 5:2), and the ruling for each person will be either eternal punishment in hell or eternal life with God in heaven ( Matthew 25:46 ). Eternal punishment will be the fate of those who have not believed in the only Son of God and therefore have no shelter from the wrath of God (John 3:18). But those who believe in Jesus Chr...

Baptism of Christ. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In Luke 12:49-57, Jesus told His disciples that He had not come to bring peace, but division. He told them that He was bringing a baptism of fire to the earth, warning the crowd to flee the wrath to come. This was the great moment of crisis in history. It was a time of urgency that swept the earth with the appearance of Jesus. Jesus' coming to this planet in the fullness of time was a time of division, judgment, and separation. It was a time of personal choosing, when eternal destinies were at stake. Everyone who encountered Jesus had to make a choice, to stand with Him or against Him. Thus, since the time of Jesus' first appearance, the world has been gripped in a kind of crisis that will continue until the last great crisis, the last judgment . How do people encounter Jesus today, thus facing their own crisis of history? Jesus is in heaven, but men and women encounter Him thro...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 13:47-50 "So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous" ( v. 49 ). The parable of the wheat and the tares ( Matt. 13:24-30 , 36-43 ) is probably not first and foremost about the presence of people who profess the Christian faith falsely in the institutional church. However, this does not mean that Jesus has nothing to say on the subject. The parable of the net apparently deals with the fact that those who do not really know Chr...

Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We have to make a distinction, between the judgment that we receive immediately upon our death, at which we are brought before Christ , and what the Bible speaks of as the last judgment. There’s a reason the Bible refers to the last judgment as the last. That which is last presupposes that there have been some kinds of judgment prior to it. The Bible says that it’s appointed for man to die once, and then the judgment. There’s much in the New Testament to indicate that at the moment we die, we experience at least a preliminary judgment. Paul, for example, said that he longed to depart and to be with Christ, which was far better than to remain here in this life and in the ministry he had. Historic Christianity has almost universally, but not quite, confessed the idea that the departed saints go immediately to be in the presence of Christ, in what ...

Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We have to make a distinction, as I think the Bible does, between the judgment that we receive immediately upon our death, at which we are brought before Christ , and what the Bible speaks of as the last judgment. There’s a reason the Bible refers to the last judgment as the last. That which is last presupposes that there have been some kinds of judgment prior to it. The Bible says that it’s appointed for man to die once, and then the judgment. I think there’s much in the New Testament to indicate that at the moment we die, we experience at least a preliminary judgment. Paul, for example, said that he longed to depart and to be with Christ, which was far better than to remain here in this life and in the ministry he had. Historic Christianity has almost universally, but not quite, confessed the idea that the departed saints go immediately to ...

Image via Wikipedia The End of the World According to Harold Camping   Author: Robert Godfrey . If you were to drive the freeways of southern California, you would see from time to time billboards proclaiming the Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 and declaring that the Bible guarantees it.  Presumably these billboards may be seen in many other parts of the country as well. Who is responsible for these signs and what do they really mean theologically? The signs have been placed by Harold Camping and his followers to warn people that the end is at hand. To understand these signs we must know something of the history as well as the theology of Harold Camping.  I am in a somewhat distinctive position to write on this subject since I first met Camping in the late 1950s. I learned a great deal from him then, and so I find what follows a very sad story. I pray for him that the Lord will deliver him from the serious errors into which he has fallen. Christian Reformed ...