Dr Paul Allen

The public ministry of Jesus didn't create demonic activity, but it did expose it, theologian and New Testament scholar N.T. Wright said during a recent episode of "Ask Me Anything," cautioning Christians against both the denial of spiritual evil and the unhealthy fixation on it. Responding to a question  about whether Jesus’ arrival triggered an apparent surge of demonic activity in the New Testament, the 77-year-old British author said the Gospels portray Jesus’ proclamation of God’s Kingdom as a moment when hidden spiritual forces were suddenly confronted. “When Jesus comes into Galilee and starts saying, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand,’ it’s as though suddenly all the furniture starts flying around the room,” Wright said, pointing to Gospel accounts of public confrontations and exorcisms. “The dark powers realise, if He does everything that He looks as if He’s going to do, then we’re in deep trouble.” Wright, one of the world’s leading biblical scholars and a former A...

  Most Bible study resources describe fallen angels as demons who joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God. But what if 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.  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 (2 PET 2:4 ESV).   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 (JUDE 6 ESV). Second Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 are nearly identical in their description of angels doing time, but some differences 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 dwelling.” Second Pe...

What is Spiritual Warfare? 2 Thessalonians 1:4 –  Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions you are enduring. I heard a person who was in the military once share a harrowing war story with me. He and his men were deployed in Iraq and on patrol when they walked into an ambush. Enemies had set a trap for them that they unfortunately could not escape. They were surrounded on all sides, taking heavy enemy fire, low on supplies and ammunition, and had to settle in for an extended firefight. Thankfully, their communications still worked, and they could call for support. Exhausted, beat up, stressed out, and on alert, the soldiers needed to keep fighting to hold their position until reinforcements showed up, put down the enemy, and got them safely home. The Bible talks a lot about spiritual warfare, which has a lot in common with actual combat. For the Church, we are surrounded by the Enemy ...

Ghosts have long captivated the human imagination, sparking fascination and fear alike. But what is the truth behind these ethereal beings? Are they the spirits of the departed or something more sinister? As we delve into religion, history, and personal experiences, we will uncover the mysteries of ghosts and their true nature. The Many Faces of Ghosts Throughout history, accounts of ghostly encounters have taken various forms. Some claim to have witnessed the apparitions of deceased loved ones, while others have encountered restless spirits haunting specific locations. From dreams to unexpected appearances, the manifestations of ghosts are as diverse as the human imagination itself. However, understanding these discrepancies requires a deeper exploration of our religious backgrounds and beliefs. Religion and the Fear of Death Religion has often served as a solace for the human fear of death, offering explanations and reassurances about the afterlife. Different religious traditions pro...

In Genesis 6:1–4, the reader encounters one of the most challenging passages in all of Scripture to interpret. Here’s the passage in the ESV. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Echoes from Genesis 1–3 People multiplying is an echo of Genesis 1. God made “man” (Gen 1:26–27), and then he commissioned his image-bearers to be fruitful and “multiply” (1:28). In 6:1, we read of this multiplication happening. The reference to God as “Spirit” in Genesis 6:3 reminds us of 1:2, the second verse in the Bible. There, th...

By Jonathon Aigner The war against the once-beloved “Onward, Christian Soldiers” is decades old. When the United Methodist Church was revising its hymnal in the mid-80s, it made the mistake of trying to drop this hymn from what would soon become the current United Methodist Hymnal. Good Methodists and Methodists are good people. They started a war of their own, essentially inundating the hymnal committee with correspondence which, according to Carlton Young, made it “impossible for the committee to go on with its work.” Suitable for those lovely Methodist saints. Other denominations have long since dropped it like a hot potato. “Onward” hasn’t been in a mainline Presbyterian hymnal for 50 years. Other traditions still have it in their hymnals, like the Episcopal church, but I would guess that few Episcopal churches would use it lest they make those among them with little Scripture knowledge uncomfortable. On the one hand, I understand how militaristic language can be complex. It can be...