Dr Paul Allen

We’ve answered the question, “ What was the ark of the covenant? ” The next question we must ask is “What happened to the ark of the covenant?” Specifically, what happened to it from the time it was made until the time it disappeared. As we have seen, from the day of its construction, the ark was the central object of Israel’s faith. The second commandment prohibited Israel from having images of the deity, as other nations had. Instead, Israel had the ark, the invisible deity’s footstool. But what was its story in Israel’s national life? And what happened to the ark of the covenant in the end? FROM TABERNACLE TO ZION TENT Where the ark went, the Lord went (Num. 10.34); its presence ensured his (1 Sam. 4.3). He spoke from between the keruvim on the ark, amidst a glowing cloud (Exod. 25.22; 30.6; 40.35). The honour due him was paid to the ark. When the ark appeared in public, sacrifices were offered before it, people bowed to it and cried on every side, Yehovah Ts’vaot! Yehovah Ts’vaot!...

Figures 059 The Erection of the Tabernacle and the Sacred Vessels (left plate) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ And the Word became flesh, and  dwelt  among us… ” – John  1:14  - If we’re reading through this verse in our daily Bible reading, we’re likely to zip right by it with little fanfare.  We read, simply, that Jesus “dwelt” among us. And when we think of the idea of “dwelling” we just think of “hanging out.”  But there’s much more going on in what John is saying than it sounds to us English-speakers. He uses a peculiar word here. There are more common Greek words for “to dwell,” but he chooses  skēnoō .  Now, the word  skēnē  in Greek means “tent,” and  skēnoō  is the verb form. So we could render it, “to pitch a tent.” John tells us that this Word became flesh and  pitched his tent  among us. That’s a weird way to talk, isn’t it? Especially since we don’t have any Scripture tha...

Rock Climbers & Cliff Campers Man is a wondrous being, just look at what God has made. Man is capable of amazing deeds! Hanging precariously in tents off a 4,000ft vertical cliff face wouldn't be most people's idea  of the perfect camping trip. But these daredevils scale cliffs and pitch their tents thousands of feet up. These intrepid rock climbers thrill in tackling the longest and hardest - and probably most dangerous - big wall climbs they can find. And as these pictures show, because their climbs can last for weeks they must set up tents on the edge of cliff faces for much needed rest The collection of photographs is part of a summer-long exhibit of work by Gordon Wiltsie at the Mountain Light Gallery in Bishop, California , USA . The exhibition features an array of stunning images from climbs over the past decade including the first ascent of Great Sail Peak (above) - an overhanging granite  wall on Canada's Baffin Island Gordon W...