Bible Prophecy by Rick Lange

HOLY FIRE OR STRANGE FIRE                 John the Baptist was preaching by the Jordon River one day and he was saying: “AS for me, I baptize you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I and I am not even fit to remove His sandals; He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Mt. 3:11                 “And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus and found some disciples, and he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”                 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is in Jesus.” And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid

THE BREAK OF DAY                 I always look forward eagerly to Saturdays. Having gone to bed somewhat early the night before I rise at more like 2 AM rather than my usual 3-3:30 AM. I spend time with the Lord and in His Word until He graciously provides me with a message and then I write my regular morning article, such as you are reading right now.                 Then, while it is still pitch dark outside (At least at this time of year) I jump into my car and head for Melton lake where I meet my son Zach for our 4 mile walk. By 7:30 the first grey of dawn is making the bike trail visible and so we head out along the lake. Usually there is a ghostly night fog hovering over the water as nature yawns and stretches and prepares to meet the day.                 Ducks ply the waters along the shore and up on the high power pole, thirty to forty Vultures sit hunched against the cool of morning like cloaked monks waiting on God for their daily bread.                 Yester

THE COVENANT THAT CAME BEFORE THE LAW                 Please beware that in this article, I am not seeking to upset those that believe in keeping the Ten Commandments, nor am I seeking to release those from obedience to God who live by faith without the Ten Commandments. For those on either side of this issue, I find that most people don’t really understand the issues and so I hope and pray that we will gain understanding from the Holy Spirit and the Word that will bless us in our walk with the Lord.                 There are extreme elements in the Messianic movement who literally reject Paul, believing that he teaches heresy, while other Sabbatarian Christians simply ignore what he says when it comes to the Law. But unless we really understand what Paul is saying we are left with this uncomfortable feeling that the Bible is full of contradictions on the subject. So let’s dive into the heart of the issue. Here Paul throws down the gauntlet:                 “Does He then,

THE COUNTDOWN                 Picture in your mind a series of events that signal the Lord’s return.   Believe in your heart that in His great love, He is giving those who will listen, a countdown of events along with a list of instructions about what He wants His Bride to be like when He comes. Let’s begin with the Hebrew prophets who spoke often about the DAY OF THE LORD and in most cases they speak of unprecedented upheaval.                 But as a prelude to these unprecedented times certain things must be in place. Daniel and nearly all of the Old Testament prophets speak about the end times and one thing stands out. Israel is going to be back in their land in the end time… the antichrist is going to reign in the place of Christ in a Jewish temple and it is in that temple that He will commit the abomination of desolation. Daniel set it up, many of the Prophets added details and then Jesus confirmed it as an end time event by giving it as a sign of His coming. Mt. 24:15,

NIHILISM                 Mankind is I a desperate search for something, anything that could explain how the universe could have come into being without God. Billions of dollars are spent searching for God particles, developing string theories, offering up models of existence that would allow for pure evolution to be more than a theory. Surely Darwin must have been right. Right?                 But the evidence against our well- ordered universe just coming together by chance is overwhelming. Our universe is so finely tuned that even slight differences in the balance of forces, systems and properties would render life completely impossible. Everything in our universe screams out “DESIGN!”   “INFORMATION!”   “PURPOSE!”   “OVERSIGHT!” “ SUSTANANCE.” And all of these things cry out for a “SOURCE, with a big S.                 Nihilism pervades our culture in this modern age. Our bent towards not wanting to answer to God has caused us to rather become fools… fools that contradi

WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT                 Yesterday we put on our annual Christmas feast for the homeless and the poor and the lonely. The turn out this year wasn’t as big as last, but we had a wonderful time of fellowship with those in the community who are often forgotten.                 When all were served I grabbed a plate of food and went out and ate with them and there was fun and laughter and a spirit of grace and peace over the entire event just as we had prayed for.                 After everyone had left for the day, we cleaned up, stowing tables and storing chairs, rolling up all of the 60 foot long table clothes and decorations and cleaning up the kitchen and the dining room.                 It was a lot of work, but in reality I can’t remember having more fun at Christmas than we had this year. We spent Christmas Eve with a house full of family and friends, including my son Zach and his wife Jamie and our grandsons Seth and Titus and Jamie’s parents Mik

ABSOLUTE TRUTH                 Generally speaking the disciples were Jews living in a Jewish culture. Being largely fishermen and common folk, they may not have been able to explain every detail of the Torah. They had fish to catch. But there was always an underlying sense among Jews that they were God’s chosen people and that their faith was built upon absolute truth. They would have defended to their death the truth they believed even if they, as simple fishermen, could probably not parlay with members of the Sanhedrin or the Levitical priests.                 Jesus chose the disciples that He chose for that very reason. And the Bible shows us that Jesus faced strong opposition from the scribes the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. They were steeped in their religion and for good reason. Every inch of the Torah is God’s Spirit breathed Word. The Torah represents bedrock and absolute truth.                 But in spite of the fact that the Torah is absolute unchangea