Dr Paul Allen

Most of us have probably gone through a period in our Christian lives (or are still there) when we thought about little else than what the Bible says about end times prophecy. So why is there so much disagreement on the topic of biblical eschatology? I recall how, shortly after I became a Christian as a high school student, the timetable for the tribulation period and the rapture became an obsession. To date, it was right around the time when Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth was made into a movie. While I know some people who came to the Lord because of that film and its end-times trajectory, my path toward becoming a biblical scholar showed me that discerning exact end times details weren’t a fruitful use of my time. Now having taught eschatology at a Bible college many times, I know that not only was Jesus unsure of precisely when he would return (Matt 24:36), but we aren’t going to figure that out any time soon either. No end-times scheme is self-evident (or “biblical” as adher...

As We Forgive (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Five Ways to Start Forgiving Right Now  1. Pray for the person who wounded you . Ask God for insight and understanding into this person’s life and for the situation you’re challenged with.  2. Look the offending person in the eye, say hello, and offer a compliment . It’s easier to hold on to grudges and hard feelings when you pretend the other person doesn’t exist. It’s not as easy when you have to be reminded they’re human just like you. Whether they respond in kind doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do.  3. Do the right thing . Whether someone is willing to meet you halfway or not, do what is right and don’t worry about what the other person is doing or not doing.   4. Be OK with what you’ve got . Sometimes problems develop because our expectations are higher than what someone else is willing to give or be. When you’ve done what you can to bring a relationship closer, but there’s no movement from...