Dr Paul Allen

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...

Most children who’ve attended Sunday school classes can tell you what happened at the Tower of Babel. King Nimrod wanted to be famous, so he convinced the people of Babylon to build a great tower that would reach heaven. God could see that the people were becoming prideful and decided that he should go down and mix up their language so they couldn’t understand each other. This teaches us that pride is bad and helps us understand where all the world’s languages came from. Most adults don’t really have an understanding of this story that’s any more sophisticated. So what really happened at the Tower of Babel and how does it connect to the New Testament. Interpreting the Tower of Babel story The famous Tower of Babel story and how it was built s about much more than an ill-fated construction project and language confusion. It’s at the heart of the Old Testament worldview. Babylon was where people sought to “make a name (shem) for themselves” by building a tower that reached the heavens, t...

Frans Floris - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Gathering and Protecting Mankind - WGA7949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father , and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him . . . he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” ( John 14:8-9 )   Theologians have wrestled with the dual nature of the Lord Jesus since the beginning. On the one hand, there are those who deny or belittle His humanity, and on the other hand, there are those who deny His deity. Both natures are completely true: Jesus is fully human and fully God .   The prophets identified the coming Messiah as fully God. Isaiah 9:6 is the “naming” prophecy that specifies that the Messiah would be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace .”  Isaiah  7:14  specifies that “the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel .” Matth...

Since the letter to the Hebrews specifically urges Christians to "fix your thoughts on Jesus " (Heb. 3:1, NIV ; cf. 12:2), it should not surprise us that the author describes Him in more than a dozen different ways. Jesus is "Son" (Heb. 1:2); "Lord" (Heb. 2:3); "Apostle and High Priest " (Heb. 3:1); "Christ" (Heb. 5:5); "source of eternal salvation " (Heb. 5:9, NIV); a priest "according to the order of Melchizedek " (Heb . 7: 11); a descendent of Judah (Heb . 7: 14); "a Minister ... of the true tabernacle" (Heb. 8:2); "the Mediator of the new covenant" (Heb . 9: 15 ; 12: 24); "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8); and the "great Shepherd of the sheep" (He b.13: 20). But perhaps the most intriguing title for Jesus in the letter is "author." He is called the "author of ... salvation" and the "author ... of our faith" (Heb . ...