Dr Paul Allen

Philip Ryken The Bible describes the exodus in careful detail. Nevertheless, it has often been challenged on historical grounds. One standard objection concerning information given in Exodus 12 is the size of the Exodus. It deserves a response. The text says, “The people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds” (vv. 37–38). This account gives the kind of who, what, when, where, and how information that a good historian is careful to include. But what about “How many?” Can we really believe that God brought so many Israelites out of Egypt? That’s a good question. There are three common answers to choose from. Answer #1: Inflated Statistics If there were 600,000 men, then there were perhaps 2 million Israelites in all, and this number presents difficulties. If there were so many Israelites, why aren’t they mentioned in the annal...

The famous escape artist, Harry Houdini, was a master showman who started out as little more than a glorified locksmith. He would set up lethally dangerous circumstances in which to display his skill. The more impossible the incarceration and the more perilous the circumstance, the more miraculous the escape would seem and the more skilful he would appear. Each time his reputation and his life was put at risk. Each of his escapes escalated in danger and difficulty so that his skill was increasingly admired. Some well-known stunts included: escaping from handcuffs to escaping from handcuffs while inside a giant milk can, to escape from handcuffs while inside a giant milk can inside a crate nailed and chained with him in leg irons and dropped into a river weighed down by 2000 pounds of lead. In less than a minute Houdini would emerge from the water, free from all chains, and the box would be lifted up by a crane and found unbroken, still locked shut, with the leg-irons left inside...

The nineteenth-century French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote that the devil’s best trick is persuading people that he doesn’t exist. In the providence of God, the devil has been quite successful in persuading people that he doesn’t exist. The truth is that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they might not see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). As a result, the devil’s primary work is presumably focused elsewhere—on his enemy, God, and His people, the church. We who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ know all too well that Satan does indeed exist, for we wrestle daily against our enemy and the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12). The devil has been a liar from the beginning, and with the fall, sin became our master (Rom. 6:20). At conversion, we gained Christ and, thus, we gained His enemy—Satan and all his demons. While we know that demons can neither indwell believers nor c...