Dr Paul Allen

“There was a man in the land of Uz , whose name was Job.” ( Job 1:1 ) Uz was a son of Aram and a grandson of Shem ( Genesis 10:22-23 ). Shem’s first son, Arphaxad , was born two years after the Flood, and his remaining sons would have been born in some reasonable sequence thereafter, probably around 36 years apart ( Genesis 11:10-26 ). It is unlikely that Aram, Uz’s father, was born past the first century after the Flood. The events at Babel took place during the fifth generation (the generation of Peleg ), and Uz would have been alive then. The land of Uz is later associated with the territory of Edom ( Lamentations 4:21 ), which is near the area southeast of the Dead Sea , toward the upper reaches of the Sinai Peninsula , east of Egypt and just north of the Red Sea. Although that area is not very pleasant now, at the time of Abraham it was “well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah , even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou

Most Bible study resources describe fallen angels as demons who joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God. But what if I told you that the only place in the New Testament that describes angels sinning does not call them demons , has no connection to Lucifer, and has them in jail? Welcome to the world of 2 Peter and Jude. 2 Peter 2:4: “For … God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.” Jude 6: “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.” Second Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 are nearly identical in their description of angels doing time, but there are differences that help us figure out “what in the spiritual world is going on.” Jude 6 defines what 2 Peter 2:4 means by the angelic sin .  These sinning angels “left their proper

Acts 28:1-6 is illustrated showing Paul being perceived by the Malta inhabitants as a God. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Something else gave Paul great hope and enthusiasm: He saw these circumstances as an opportunity to introduce unbelievers to his God . He wasn’t the least bit timid about mentioning “the God to whom I belong and whom I serve” ( Acts 27:23). God was the source of Paul’s authority, his wisdom, his hope, his optimism, and his enthusiasm. Why would he be apprehensive about saying so? Paul was eager to introduce God to these people. Under the circumstances, they might have thought they needed to prepare to meet Him. Paul wanted them to know Him first as Savior, rather than as Judge. So he was bold. He knew, of course, that the prophecy given to him by the angel would come to pass. And when it did, the glory and the credit went to God. As we noted earlier, the precise fulfillment of all Paul’s predictions also established Paul’s credibility. But it did much more than th

Sodom and Gomorrha, Alte Pinakothek, Room 23 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” ( Jude 1:8 ) The King James translators supplied the term “filthy” for the dreamers that Jude denounces because of the “likewise” that introduces their condemnation. The prior verses had condemned certain angels and the populations of Sodom and Gomorrha because of their perversion of God ’s sexual design. These dreamers not only “stain” the flesh but have become so arrogant that they give “no standing” to any authority and “blaspheme” those who have any “glory.” Not even Michael the archangel had that kind of attitude; Jude notes in the next verse that Michael didn’t rebuke Lucifer when he was carrying out God’s mission for Moses ’ body. Some people are way out of line! Jude’s whole message is focused on those who are attempting to resist, undo, damage, distort, or otherwise disrupt the work of God’s peop

The Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah, a painting by John Martin (painter), died 1854, thus 100 years. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha , and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication , and going after strange flesh , are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” ( Jude 1:7 ) These cities provide two stern examples of God ’s judgmental wrath. Their sin had reached such an intensity and had become so widespread that the entire region suffered the “vengeance of eternal fire.” Just like the awful misuse of human sexual potential distorted by the angelic beings cited in the previous verse, these cities had become so perverted that God’s longsuffering and mercy had ended. “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” ( Genesis 13:13 ). Whatever they were involved with had become so heinous and so completely a distortion of everything God created man for that God appea

“For there are certain men crept in unawares . . . ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ .” ( Jude 1:4 ) The special word chosen by the Holy Spirit is most helpful in understanding this warning. The Greek term translated “crept in unawares” is pareisduno, a uniquely compounded word meaning to “sink down in alongside.” What could be more descriptive? These kinds of sneaky people have been written about before, Jude says, and are prime examples of those who transpose the grace of God into uncontrolled lust. Paul uses a similar word in his letter to Timothy to warn him about the ungodly men of the last days who “creep into houses” and undermine the lifestyles of “silly women” ( 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ). The imagery implies the subtlety and cleverness of these “ungodly men,” but there is a horrible consequence of this replacement of God’s grace with “lasciviousness.” Jude lists the terrible judgment on the peop

"Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die." ( Genesis 19:19 ) This rather presumptuous plea of Lot to the angels who had spared his life when they called down fire from heaven to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah is noteworthy because it contains the first reference in the Bible to the mercy of God . Lot was a believer and a righteous man, but carnal in attitude and greedy in motivation. Yet God not only showed grace in His dealings with Lot, but even magnified mercy! As appropriate for the principle of first mention in Scripture, this first reference to "mercy" lays the foundation for the dominant theme of the doctrine of mercy throughout Scripture. The key is that God’s mercy can only be described properly in superlatives, and this fact is noted repeatedly throughout Scripture. "The mercy o

English: Fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah Русский: Бегство Лота из Содома (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Deuteronomy 29:22-24  If we can trust the Bible when it tells us about straightforward earthly things that can be verified, then we are more likely to trust it in areas where we can't directly verify it in an empirical way. There have been thousands-not hundreds-of archaeological finds in the Middle East that support the picture presented in the Biblical record. There was a discovery not long ago confirming King David . The patriarchs-the narratives about Abraham , Isaac and Jacob -were once considered legendary, but as more becomes known, these stories are increasingly corroborated. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was thought to be mythological until evidence was uncovered that all five of the cities mentioned in Genesis were, in fact, situated just as the Old Testament said. As far as their destruction goes, archaeologist Clifford Wilson says there is "permanent evi

Image via Wikipedia "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus , giving thanks to God and the Father by him." ( Colossians 3:17 )   Marriage has always had a high place--a high calling.  In the beginning, God's stated purpose in marriage was to propagate children ( Genesis 1:28 ) and to eliminate solitude ( 2:18 ).  Such a state was deemed "very good" ( 1:31 ). But sin entered through Adam 's rebellion, and the universal Curse resulted.  Out of this came a new marital relationship, one full of potential problems, for "he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" ( 3:16 ).  It is safe to say that the many excesses on both sides of a marriage that we see today are the legacy of sin.   Not only is marriage affected by the Curse, Satan himself delights in destroying marriage. Immedia