Within the Holy Scriptures we find the word “fire” mentioned over 600 times in a wide variety of contexts. Relative to the believer’s personal walk with God and Christ, “fire” is used over 60 times. In many instances the word is used in conjunction with two other words which carry deep, obvious meanings. Those words are “sacrifice” and “offering,” which also have human connotations relative to our relationship with the Godhead. So what is it about fire that is so vital to a believer’s long journey from conviction of sin to salvation of the soul? The answer involves the effect that fire has on everything it touches. Fire, as we all know, “brings the heat.” Heat, as this study will show, has both physical and spiritual applications.

In the physical world, the effect of fire/heat upon an object is to refine the object by causing whatever impurities within it to become visible so that they can be removed, thereby making the object purer and/or stronger and therefore more valuable. Examples of this process are gold and steel. In other physical entities, such as food and water, the heat generated by fire kills the impurities (germs, etc.) within them, making them fit for human consumption.

In the spiritual realm, when people are touched by spiritual fire the effects are usually not immediately obvious. Spiritual fire is designed to have spiritual, and therefore eternal, effects. The recipient of the fire reacts either positively or negatively upon feeling the “heat.” One’s reaction to the fire reveals one’s openness to the One Who sent it. Let us now delve into the Holy Scriptures as we examine the spiritual fire that originates with the Godhead and is sent to affect those whom the Father and the Son wish to touch, to change and to mold into Their spiritual image. Without exception, the intended result of heavenly fire is always to create HOLINESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND GODLINESS in the recipient of Their fire. THE END RESULT OF HOLINESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND GODLINESS IS ETERNAL LIFE (Rom. 5:21; 6:22) LIVED IN KINGDOM HEADQUARTERS. It is the recipient of the heavenly fire who determines its effect. If the end result of the fire is not holiness, righteousness and godliness, rebirth, salvation and entrance into the earthly Kingdom of God will not be awarded upon Christ’s return. Read The Kingdom of God. Key word–Kingdom. I HIGHLY recommend reading that series as soon as possible.

When dealing with heavenly fire, the thing to remember is that fire from on high has only one goal–TO QUALIFY THE HUNGERING, THIRSTING RECIPIENT (Mat. 5:6) TO RECEIVE ETERMA; LIFE WITH FATHER AND SON IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Without GODLINESS ON THE PART OF THE SEEKER, there will be no entrance into Their kingdom. Read Born Again. Key word–Born.

In this series we will concentrate solely on the New Testament in which the Holy Spirit is directly and intimately involved in the lives of salvation seekers. I will briefly summarize the Spirit’s involvement in the salvation process by saying that only those who obey the “voice” of God (His Spirit) from within one’s heart (mind) one will not join Him in Kingdom Headquarters. Read about this incredible heaven-on-earth paradise in the Kingdom series. In conjunction with the Kingdom series, read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe. Key word–Caretakers 1 PAGE

The first mention of fire from on high in the New Testament is recorded in Matthew 3:11 where we find a rough-hewn, roughly-dressed, wild honey and locust-eating man preaching to a crowd of people as he stood waist deep in the Jordan River. Known as John the Baptist (the baptizer), this most unlikely looking fellow was immersing people who had come to have their sins symbolically washed away following their confession of repentance for breaking God’s Law. In verse 11 John tells the people that he (John) will baptize them in water, but that there was coming after him One who would “… baptize you with the HOLY SPIRIT and with FIRE.”

The “baptism of fire” John told the people about would be instrumental in preparing the salvation seeker to obey God’s commands which would enable him/her to receive eternal life. It would be the seeker’s reaction to that fire that would determine if he/she made the cut. Jesus warned that not many would qualify for salvation (Mat. 7:13,14) by “walking as Jesus walked” in this life (1 Jn. 2:6). He also warned that many would FALSELY believe that they were walking the “Christian walk” because their false prophets (Mat. 24:4,5) would have deceived them into believing that, as one famous t.v. preacher assured his followers: “You’re saved. That’s already settled.” A bigger lie has never been uttered. Read The Salvation Process. Key word–Process. In Christ’s Matthew 7 warnings it is understood that those in the deceived (wide gate, broad path) group would “know” that they were pleasing God and would enter a heavenly paradise at the moment of death. Note the word “gate” relative to entrance into God’s “sheepfold.” This important concept is explained in detail in the series titled “My People Who Are Called By My Name.” Key word–Called. Read this important series as soon as possible.

Following the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth on the scene, He (Jesus) would speak about another fire (hell fire) eight times as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. In each case He would be warning people that if they did not do what He, John and the disciples told them to do, that they would be cast into hell fire. Ironically, the Scriptures tell us that it is “fire” that will determine if one is purified and allowed to enter God’s kingdom, or if one will be consumed by it and burned to ash which would be walked upon by those who had been purified by it (Malachi 4:3). Understand that there are only two options relative to spiritual fire: one is either purified by fire or consumed by fire. 2 PAGES

In Luke 12:49 Jesus declared that He had “come to send fire on (the people of) the earth.” In Mark 9:49 He warned that all human beings would be “salted with fire.” In Matthew 10:34 He said that He had not come to bring peace to the earth, “but (rather) a sword.” That “sword,” He tells us in Ephesians 6:18, is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” which, Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:12,13, “is sharper than any two-edged (physical) in that it is “quick and powerful … (which) … dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (mind).” The Word of God (sword of the Holy Spirit) opens man up so that everything is “naked and clear to the eyes of Him to Whom we must answer.” It is the basis for the fire that everyone will face in their earthly lives. As this series will show, there are several types of fire.

As these passages reveal, the “fire” of God is directly connected to the “Word” of God. As I have written many times, EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO THE WORD. So important is the Word that in John 12:44-50 Jesus tells us that He Himself will not judge one’s reaction to His Word/fire, rather, His Word (Genesis to Revelation) will judge mankind. Again, the fire and the Word work hand-in-hand, so much so that they can be considered one and the same. If anything is contrary to God’s Word IT IS SIN WHICH, AS ISAIAH 59:2 TELLS US, SEPARATES US FROM GOD. And what is sin? “To transgress (break) the Law is sin; for SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW” (1 Jn. 3:4). Yes, this includes commandment #4. The Apostle James (2:10) tells us that to break one commandment is to break all ten of them. Recall also that the rich man was denied salvation for breaking the tenth commandment–the “one thing” that he lacked (Mk. 10:21). What does this say about so-called “sinners saved by grace?” It says that there is no such thing in that they have used Satan’s “water” (perverted Gospel) to quench God’s “fire”–Galatians 1:6-9.

I offer free of charge an index of this website’s series titles along with key words. To receive an index email me at lpj4142@gmail.com Upon receipt of the index, I will not contact you again unless asked to do so. L.J.