Dr Paul Allen

Luke provided similar hints in his narration of the mission of the church after Pentecost. A particularly strong hint concerning the Spirit’s prior work comes at Acts 9:10–19. Ananias, a disciple and therefore presumably in receipt of the Spirit, had a vision in which he heard the Lord calling.  That Ananias should have a vision was in perfect accord with the explanation, given by Peter on the day of Pentecost with reference to Joel 2:28–32, that the arrival of the Spirit ushered in a plethora of prophetic activity including seeing visions (Acts 2:17). It is perhaps, then, a little more surprising to find Paul, at Acts 9:12, also having a vision.  Paul was only to receive the Spirit once Ananias had reached him (Acts 9:17). Yet prior to his Spirit reception, Paul was already the object of divine activity for which Luke elsewhere offered only one explanation: visions come by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17). 80 Acts 26:16–18 is consistent with this, for here Luke presented the voic...

QUESTION TO DICK HARFIELD: Who is the prophet referred to in Matthew? DICK HARFIELD'S RESPONSE: Matthew 2:23 refers to a prophet whose identity has long puzzled scholars because there is nothing in the Old Testament or even the Apocrypha that mentions a Nazarene. One popular suggestion is from Judges 13:5, where it says of Samson, "the child shall be a Nazirite." However, Matthew does not say ‘Nazirite ’, and the word has no known link to the town of Nazareth; moreover, Jesus was not a Nazirite and is never described as one. Some believe Isaiah 60:21-22 was the prophecy of which Matthew wrote, because the Hebrew for a small twig is netzer — presumably close enough to be a prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene, but not very plausible. I believe the real reason is closer to home, as you can read in The Mystery of the Nazarenes. We now know that Matthew’s Gospel was substantially based on Mark’s Gospel, the Greek manuscripts of which always refer to Jesus the Nazar...

And all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." Matthew 1:22-23 (NAB) In the biblical passage above, Saint Matthew is quoting from the Old Testament Book of the prophet Isaiah. It is a quote from the "sign" Isaiah gave to King Ahaz in Isaiah 7:14 . The Greek Septuagint translation used during Jesus' lifetime translates the Hebrew word ha almah as "the virgin," using the Greek word parthenos.   Since the Christian era, Jewish scholars have maintained that the Hebrew word almah does not mean "virgin" but instead refers to a young woman recently married. The Septuagint translation of this Hebrew word as "virgin," however, is an important witness to an early Jewish interpretation of this word as "virgin", a translation accepted by Saint Matthew and applied to the ...

QUESTION:   The Book of Isaiah describes events of the Babylonian Exile and even mentions Cyrus by name. Given that the prophet Isaiah lived centuries before the Babylonian Exile, that ought to be surprising. Biblical scholars have looked at changes in style, vocabulary and historical interest to establish that the Book of Isaiah was originally three separate books written by three separate authors over a long period of time. Isaiah, son of Amoz, only wrote chapters 1–39, apart from some alterations and insertions within those chapters. Two other, anonymous authors wrote the remainder of the book. Another instance is the Book of Daniel, which appears to predict quite accurately the events immediately before 167 BCE. Still, neither mentions what happens immediately after that time nor is it at all accurate regarding the history of the Babylonian Exile, the time during which the story is set. Biblical scholars have established that the book must have been written around 167 BCE, as i...

Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph less than nine months after they had been married. That was probably the basis for the Pharisees’ accusation against our Lord: “We were not born of sexual immorality” ( John 8:41 )—insinuating that Jesus was the result of an illicit union.  The real scandal, however, is that Jesus of Nazareth was not conceived by a sexual union at all, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (cf. Matt. 1:18–25 ; Luke 1:26–38 ). God ordained that His Son would be produced in the womb of His mother, apart from the normal means of human procreation. Thus, by the Spirit, God worked the quietest miracle of all. The clear teachings of Scripture are usually among the first doctrines to be ridiculed by sceptics. This should not be surprising, for everything about “Christ crucified”—including the manner of His incarnation—is a stumbling block (Greek skandalon) to the mind of the flesh ( 1 Cor. 1:22–25 ). God’s wisdom, revealed in Christ, cap...

The fourth scroll or seal in the Book of Revelation appears in Revelation 6:7-8, and its opening releases the pale horse and its rider. Here's the key passage: "When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They gained control over a quarter of the planet, enabling them to eliminate threats such as swords, famines, plagues, and wild beasts. (Revelation 6:7–8, NIV) Symbolic Elements • Pale horse (Greek: chloros–pale green, the colour of decay) • Rider: Death, followed by Hades • Power over ¼ of the earth • Four methods of death: sword (violence/war), famine, plague (pestilence/disease), and wild beasts Practical Prophetic Application There are different interpretive lenses for Revelation, but here’s a practical prophetic application that blends biblical theology with contemporary relevance: 1. A Warning...

What does this Prophecy mean today? One of the most well-known prophecies about the birth of Christ is Isaiah 9:6, which says,  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  We read this on Christmas cards and holiday signs, but what does it mean? The original context of this promise in Isaiah helps us. Isaiah answers three questions about this child who will be born. What He Brings First, what will he bring? Along with the arrival of this child, Isaiah promises that God will bring three gifts. The first is joy.  Isaiah 9:1 says, “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.”  These are the northern parts...