Dr Paul Allen

What was the ark of the covenant? You’ve heard of it. You’ve read of it. Maybe you even saw it in Raiders of the Lost  Ark,  but  what was it really? What did it look like? And why was it so important? In the desert, after the Exodus from Egypt, the Lord told Moses to make a ceremonial ark or aron – a wooden chest – as a sign of the covenant made at Mount Sinai.[1] The ark was made of acacia wood—a box within a box within a box—a metre long, and overlaid with gold.[2] On top was a solid-gold cover called the kapporet , where two golden keruvim or ‘cherubim’ faced each other, wing-tips touching. WHAT IS A KERUV? The keruv or cherub is a being whose general type is well known to us from ancient eastern iconography. It was not a winged man; much less a little flying putto or baby boy . Rather it was a being combining human characteristics with those of fierce animals and birds, and representing a solar or stellar deity. The best-known example is the great man-headed lion t...

What happened to the ark of the covenant? There are theories galore. Here’s a quick rundown.  Let’s start with Egypt. After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king, and Pharaoh Shishak invaded Jerusalem. He carried off treasures from the temple (1 Kings 14). That theory, of course, lies behind Raiders of the Lost Ark. Others think that when King Jehoash from the northern kingdom invaded Jerusalem and plundered the temple treasury, he took the ark as spoils of war (2 Kings 14). Both theories run into a snag. There is evidence that the ark was restored to (or still present in) Jerusalem generations later during the reign of Josiah ( 2 Chronicles 35:3). That brings us to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Nebuchadnezzar razed the temple and carried many sacred objects away to Babylon. Some think the ark was destroyed then or taken into exile. Here’s the problem: Jeremiah 52, which we read today in Bible in One Year, gives a long inventory of temple items taken by th...

The Church at large is reeling from more and more exposure of sin in the lives of its leaders, whose greed, sexual immorality, abusive behaviour, and lust for attention have left many weary and wary. In the charismatic world, the list of problems includes failed “prophecies” from those claiming to speak for God. It’s no wonder that even many continuationists have become gun-shy about the supernatural. To be clear, by “continuationists” (more commonly, charismatics), I mean those who believe the Holy Spirit still distributes spiritual gifts today, including supernatural gifts like prophecy. People who believe the Holy Spirit ceased distributing spiritual gifts after the apostolic age are called cessationists. Scripture takes these issues seriously. Jesus warns of false prophets (Matt. 24:11, 24), as does John (1 John 4:1). Likewise, Peter and Paul warn of false teachers, prophets, and apostles (2 Cor. 11:13; 2 Pet. 2:1), and all their warnings are relevant for this moment. With that sai...

  In 2 Samuel 7, God makes a covenant with David. Along with   the other major covenants in the Bible , the Davidic covenant furthers God’s redemptive plan to bless the world through a coming offspring. Interestingly, David himself comments on the significance of this covenant by saying, “this is instruction for mankind” ( 2 Sam 7:19 ). He knew that God’s promise to him had universal significance. Like other covenants of promise, the Davidic covenant is both specific and universal. It has a specific object (David’s household, in this case) and its gracious purpose extends to all peoples. The Davidic covenant also stands as  the  key promissory covenant that God makes  after  the Mosaic era and  before  Jesus brings the new covenant. It bridges the Abrahamic promise and the new covenant blessings by singling out the individual household that would bring blessing to the nations, since sin had deprived humanity of life. The rest of this article seeks...