Reference: Fire
American
In Scripture, is often connected with the presence of Jehovah; as in the burning bush, and on Mount Sinai, Ex 3:2; 19:18; Ps 18; Hab 1-3. The second coming of Christ will be "in flaming fire," 2Th 1:8. In the New Testament it illustrates the enlightening, cheering, and purifying agency of the Holy Spirit, Mt 3:11; Ac 2:3. By sending fire from heaven to consume sacrifices, God often signified his acceptance of them: as in the case of Abel, Ge 4:4; Abraham, Ge 15:17; Manoah, Jg 13:19-20; Elijah, 1Ki 18:38; and at the dedication of the tabernacle and the temple, Le 9:24; 2Ch 7:1. This sacred fire was preserved by the priests with the utmost care, Isa 31:9, in many ancient religions fire was worshipped; and children were made to pass through the fire to Moloch, 2Ki 17:17; Jer 7:31; Eze 16:21; 23:37. The Jews had occasion for fires, except for cooking, only during a small part of the year. Besides their ordinary hearths and ovens, they warmed their apartments with "a fire of coals" in a brazier, Jer 36:22-23; Lu 22:30. The were forbidden to kindle a fire on the Sabbath, Ex 35:3--a prohibition perhaps only of cooking on that day, but understood by many Jews even now in the fullest extent; it is avoided by employing gentile servants. Another provision of the Mosaic Law was designed to protect the standing corn, etc., in the dry summer season, Ex 22:6. The earth is to be destroyed by fire, 2Pe 3:7; of which the destruction of Sodom, and the volcanoes and earthquakes which so often indicate the internal commotions of the globe, may serve as warnings.
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And Abel, he brought also of the firstlings of his sheep and of the fat of them. And the LORD looked unto Abel and to his offering:
When the sun was down and it was waxed dark, behold, there was a smoking furnace and a fire brand that went between the said pieces.
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of a bush. And he perceived that the bush burned with fire, and consumed not.
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke: because the LORD descended down upon it in fire. And the smoke thereof ascended up, as it had been the smoke of a kiln, and all the mount was exceeding fearful.
"If fire break out and catch in the thorns, so that the stacks of corn or the standing corn or field be consumed therewith: he that kindled the fire shall make restitution.
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar: the burnt offering and the fat. And all the people saw it and shouted, and fell on their faces.
And Manoah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD. And the angel did wonderfully, Manoah and his wife looking upon. For when the flame came up out of the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked upon and fell flat on their faces unto the ground.
And there fell fire from the LORD and consumed the sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the gutter.
And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters in fire, and used witchcraft and enchantments, and were sold to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, for to anger him.
He shall go for fear to his strongholds, and his princes shall flee from his badge. This hath the LORD spoken, whose light burneth in Zion, and his fire in Jerusalem.
They have also builded an altar at Tophet, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom: that they might burn their sons and daughters - which I never commanded them, neither came it ever in my thought.
Now the king sat in the winter house, for it was in the ninth Month, and there was a good fire before him. And when Jehudi had read three or four leaves thereof, he cut the book in pieces with a pen knife, and cast it into the fire upon the hearth, until the book was all burnt in the fire upon the hearth.
that thou slayest my children, and givest them over to be burnt unto them?
namely, that they have broken their wedlock, and stained their hands with blood: yea even with their idols have they committed adultery, and offered them their own children to be devoured, whom they have born unto me.
I baptise you in water in token of repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost and with fire:
that ye may eat, and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on seats, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel."
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as they had been fire, and it sat upon each of them:
in flaming fire, rendering vengeance unto them that know not God, and to them that obey not unto the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
But the heavens verily and earth which are now, are kept by the same word in store, and reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Easton
(1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Ge 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Le 6:9,13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the dedication of Solomon's temple (2Ch 7:1,3). The expressions "fire from heaven" and "fire of the Lord" generally denote lightning, but sometimes also the fire of the altar was so called (Ex 29:18; Le 1:9; 2:3; 3:5,9).
Fire for a sacred purpose obtained otherwise than from the altar was called "strange fire" (Le 10:1-2; Nu 3:4).
The victims slain for sin offerings were afterwards consumed by fire outside the camp (Le 4:12,21; 6:30; 16:27; Heb 13:11).
(2.) For domestic purposes, such as baking, cooking, warmth, etc. (Jer 36:22; Mr 14:54; Joh 18:18). But on Sabbath no fire for any domestic purpose was to be kindled (Ex 35:3; Nu 15:32-36).
(3.) Punishment of death by fire was inflicted on such as were guilty of certain forms of unchastity and incest (Le 20:14; 21:9). The burning of captives in war was not unknown among the Jews (2Sa 12:31; Jer 29:22). The bodies of infamous persons who were executed were also sometimes burned (Jos 7:25; 2Ki 23:16).
(4.) In war, fire was used in the destruction of cities, as Jericho (Jos 6:24), Ai (Jos 8:19), Hazor (Jos 11:11), Laish (Jg 18:27), etc. The war-chariots of the Canaanites were burnt (Jos 11:6,9,13). The Israelites burned the images (2Ki 10:26; R.V., "pillars") of the house of Baal. These objects of worship seem to have been of the nature of obelisks, and were sometimes evidently made of wood.
Torches were sometimes carried by the soldiers in battle (Jg 7:16).
(5.) Figuratively, fire is a symbol of Jehovah's presence and the instrument of his power (Ex 14:19; Nu 11:1,3; Jg 13:20; 1Ki 18:38; 2Ki 1:10,12; 2:11; Isa 6:4; Eze 1:4; Re 1:14, etc.).
God's word is also likened unto fire (Jer 23:29). It is referred to as an emblem of severe trials or misfortunes (Zec 12:6; Lu 12:49; 1Co 3:13,15; 1Pe 1:7), and of eternal punishment (Mt 5:22; Mr 9:44; Re 14:10; 21:8).
The influence of the Holy Ghost is likened unto fire (Mt 3:11). His descent was denoted by the appearance of tongues as of fire (Ac 2:3).
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And Noah made an altar unto the LORD, and took of all manner of clean beasts and all manner of clean fowls, and offered sacrifice upon the altar.
And the angel of God which went before the host of Israel, removed and went behind them. And the clouden pillar that was before them removed and stood behind them
and burn the whole ram upon the altar. For it is a burnt offering unto the LORD, and a sweet savour of the LORD's sacrifice.
Moreover, ye shall kindle no fire throughout all your habitations upon the Sabbath day."
But the inwards and the legs they shall wash in water, and the priest shall burn altogether upon the altar, that it be a burnt sacrifice, and an offering of a sweet odour unto the LORD.
And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons, as a thing most holy of the sacrifices of the LORD.
And Aaron's sons shall burn them upon the altar with the burnt sacrifice which is upon the wood on the fire. That is a sacrifice of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
And of the peace offering they shall bring a sacrifice unto the LORD: the fat thereof, and the rump altogether, which they shall take off hard by the back bone: and the fat that covereth the inwards and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
shall he carry altogether out of the host unto a clean place: even where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on wood with fire: even upon the heap of ashes.
And he shall bring the ox without the host, and burn him as he burned the first, so is this the sin offering of the commonalty.
"Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be upon the hearth of the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall burn therein.
The fire shall ever burn upon the altar, and never go out.
Notwithstanding, no sin offering that hath his blood brought into the tabernacle of witness to reconcile with all in the holy place, shall be eaten: but shall be burnt in the fire.'"
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar: the burnt offering and the fat. And all the people saw it and shouted, and fell on their faces.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put cense upon; and brought strange fire before the LORD: which he commanded them not. And there went a fire out from the LORD, and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
"And the ox of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering - whose blood was brought in to make an atonement in the holy place - let one carry out without the host and burn with fire: both their skins, their flesh and their dung.
If a man take a wife and her mother thereto, it is wickedness. Men shall burn with fire both him and them, that there be no wickedness among you.
If a priest's daughter fall to play the whore, she polluteth her father: therefore she shall be burnt with fire.
but Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, as they brought strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and had no children. And Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the sight of Aaron their father.
And the people waxed unpatient, and it displeased the ears of the LORD. And when the LORD heard it, he was wroth, and the fire of the LORD burnt among them and consumed the uttermost of the host.
And they called the name of the place Taberah because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks, brought him unto Moses and Aaron and unto all the congregation: read more. and they put him inward, for it was not declared what should be done unto him. And the LORD said unto Moses, "The man shall die: let all the multitude stone him with stones without the host." And all the multitude brought him without the host and stoned him with stones, and he died as the LORD commanded Moses.
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein. Only the silver, the gold, and the things of brass and iron they put unto the treasure of the house of the LORD.
And Joshua said, "Inasmuch as thou hast troubled us: the LORD shall trouble thee this day." And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burnt them with fire, and overwhelmed them with stones.
And the lyers-await rose quickly out of their places, and ran, as soon as Joshua had stretched out his hand, and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set it on fire.
And the LORD said unto Joshua, "Be not afraid of them: for tomorrow about this time I will deliver them all slain, before all Israel: and thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire."
And Joshua served them as the LORD bade him, houghed their horses and burnt their chariots with fire.
And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, that no breath was let remain. And burnt Hazor with fire,
But Israel burnt none of the cities that stood upon hills, save Hazor only that Joshua burnt:
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and gave every man a trumpet in his hand, with an empty pitcher and lamps therein,
For when the flame came up out of the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked upon and fell flat on their faces unto the ground.
And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and went unto Laish, even unto a people that were at rest and without mistrust, and smote them with the edge of the sword and burnt the city with fire.
And he brought out the people that was therein and sawed them and drew harrows of iron upon them, and shred some of them with shredding knives of iron, and thrust some into furnaces. And so he served all the cities of the children of Ammon. And then David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
and fetched out the image out of the house of Baal and burnt it.
And when Solomon had made an end of praying, there came down fire from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. And the glory of the LORD filled the house:
And all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, and stooped with their faces to the earth upon the pavement and bowed themselves and confessed unto the LORD, that he was good and that his mercy lasted ever.
Yea, the joists and doorchecks moved at their crying, and the house was full of smoke.
Is not my word like a fire, sayeth the LORD, and like a hammer that breaketh the hard stone?
And all the prisoners of Judah that are in Babylon, shall take upon them this term of cursing, and say, 'Now God do unto thee, as he did unto Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
Now the king sat in the winter house, for it was in the ninth Month, and there was a good fire before him.
And I looked, and behold: a stormy wind came out of the North with a great cloud full of fire, which, with his glister, lightened all round about. And in the midst of the fire it was all clear,
In that time will I make the princes of Judah like a hot burning oven with wood, and like a cresset of fire among the straw: so that they shall consume all the people round about them, both upon the righthand and the left. Jerusalem also shall be inhabited again: namely, in the same place where Jerusalem standeth.
I baptise you in water in token of repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost and with fire:
But I say unto you, Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of judgment: whosoever sayeth unto his brother, 'Raca,' shall be in danger of a council: but whosoever sayeth, 'Thou fool,' shall be in danger of hell fire.
And Peter followed him a great way off, even into the palace of the high priest, and he was there and sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
I am come to send fire on earth: and what is my desire but that it were already kindled?
The servants and the ministers stood there, and had made a fire of coals. For it was cold, and they warmed themselves. Peter also stood among them and warmed himself.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as they had been fire, and it sat upon each of them:
forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel to another; even as Christ forgave you, even so do ye.
and the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which peace ye are called in one body: and see that ye be thankful.
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest to purge sin, are burnt without the tents.
His head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow: and his eyes were as a flame of fire:
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured in the cup of his wrath. And he shall be punished in fire and brimstone, before the holy angels, and before the lamb.
But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Fausets
Ever burning on the altar, first kindled, according to Jewish tradition, from heaven (Le 6:9,13; 9:24). But Scripture represents the altar fire as lighted naturally before this. Knobel observes the rule Le 1:7, "the sons of Aaron shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire," must refer to the first burnt offering; the rule afterwards was to be that in Le 6:13; Ex 40:29; Le 8:16,21-28; 9:10,13-14,17,20. The heavenly fire in Le 9:24 did not kindle the fuel but consumed the victim. So God testified His accepting sacrifices (Jg 6:21; 13:19-20; 1Ki 18:38; 1Ch 21:26; 2Ch 7:1; probably Ge 4:4). Hence, the Hebrew for "accept" is "turn to ashes" (Ps 20:3 margin).
The ever burning fire symbolized Jehovah's ever continuing sacrificial worship; so in the New Testament, Heb 13:15; 1Th 5:17. This distinguishes it from the pagan idol Vesta's fire, the Magian fire, that of the Parsees, etc. The fires of Moloch and the sun god were nature worship, into which Sabeanism declined from the one God over all; the Jews often fell into this apostasy (Isa 27:9; 2Ki 23:11-12). The "strange fire" (Le 10:1) is generally explained common fire, not taken from the holy fire of the altar. But no express law forbade burning incense by ordinary fire, except the incense burned by the high priest in entering the holiest place on the day of atonement (Le 16:12), and probably the rule was hence taken as to the daily incense offering. They presented an incense offering not commanded in the law, apart from the morning and evening sacrifice.
Being an act of "will worship" it was "strange fire." Nadab and Abihu probably intended to accompany the people's shouts with an incense offering to the praise of God. The time and the manner of their offering were "strange" and selfwilled. So, the fire of the holy God (Ex 19:18), which had just sanctified Aaron's service, consumed his two oldest sons. So the gospel that saves the humble seals death to the presumptuous (2Co 2:16; Col 2:23). (See AARON.) Fire by its pure, penetrating, all consuming agency, symbolizes the holiness of God which consumes sin as a thing that cannot abide in His presence (Heb 10:27; 12:29). The risen Lord's "eyes are like a flame of fire" (Re 2:18,23) "searching the reins and hearts." He shall come "in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that, know not God and obey not the gospel" (2Th 1:8).
The flaming fire marked His manifestation in the bush (Ex 3:2). Again the same symbol appeared in the pillar of cloud and fire (Ex 13:21-22), in His giving the law on Sinai (Ex 19:18); so at His second advent (Da 7:9-10; Mal 3:2; 4:1; 2Pe 3:7,10). John the Baptist, as the last and greatest prophet of the Old Testament dispensation, declared of the Messiah, "He shall baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire," referring to His judicial aspect, "burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Mt 3:11-12). Fire also symbolizes the purifying of believers by testing dealings (Mal 3:2), also the holy zeal kindled in them as at Pentecost (Acts 2; Isa 4:4). The same Holy Spirit. who sanctifies believers by the fire of affliction dooms unbelievers to the fire of perdition.
In 1Co 3:13-15, "every man's work ... the (judgment) day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is ... if any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." As the "gold," "hay," etc., are figurative, so the fire. Not purgatorial, i.e. purificatory and punitive, but probatory; not restricted, as Rome teaches, to those dying in "venial sin," the supposed intermediate class between those entering heaven at once and those dying in mortal sin and doomed to hell; but universal, testing the godly and ungodly alike (2Co 5:10; Mr 9:49).
This fire is not until the last day, the supposed fire of purgatory is at death. The fire of Paul is to try the works, the fire of purgatory the persons, of men. Paul's fire causes loss to the sufferers, Rome's fire the supposed gain of heaven at last to those purged by fire. A Christian worker, if he builds converts on Christ alone, besides being saved himself, shall have them as his crown and special reward (2Co 1:14; 1Th 2:19; 2Jo 1:8). But if his work be of unscriptural materials, that the fire will destroy, he shall lose the special "reward" of the work so lost, but himself shall be saved because in Christ, "yet so as by fire," i.e. having a narrow ESCAPE (Zec 3:2; Am 4:11; Jg 1:23).
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And Abel, he brought also of the firstlings of his sheep and of the fat of them. And the LORD looked unto Abel and to his offering:
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of a bush. And he perceived that the bush burned with fire, and consumed not.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way: and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light: that they might go both by day and night. And the pillar of the cloud never departed by day nor the pillar of fire by night out of the people's sight.
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke: because the LORD descended down upon it in fire. And the smoke thereof ascended up, as it had been the smoke of a kiln, and all the mount was exceeding fearful.
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke: because the LORD descended down upon it in fire. And the smoke thereof ascended up, as it had been the smoke of a kiln, and all the mount was exceeding fearful.
and set the burnt offering altar before the door of the tabernacle of witness, and offered burnt offerings and meat offerings thereon as the LORD commanded Moses.
And then let the sons of Aaron the priest put fire upon the altar, and put wood upon the fire,
"Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be upon the hearth of the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall burn therein.
The fire shall ever burn upon the altar, and never go out.
The fire shall ever burn upon the altar, and never go out.
And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards and the caul that was on the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and burned it upon the altar.
and washed the inwards and the legs in water, and burnt the ram every whit upon the altar. That was a burnt sacrifice of a sweet savour, and an offering unto the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. And he brought the other ram that was the full offering, and Aaron and his sons put their hands upon the head of the ram: read more. And when it was slain, Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. Then were Aaron's sons brought, and Moses put of the blood on the tip of the right ear of them, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat and the rump and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat and their right shoulder. And out of the basket of sweet bread that was before the LORD, he took one sweet cake of oiled bread and one wafer, and put them on the fat and upon the right shoulder, and put altogether upon Aaron's hands and upon his sons' hands, and waved it a wave offering before the LORD. And then Moses took them from off their hands again, and burnt them upon the altar, even upon the burnt offering: These are the full offerings of a sweet savour and a sacrifice unto the LORD.
And the fat and the two kidneys with the caul of the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses:
And they brought the burnt offering unto him in pieces and the head also, and he burnt it upon the altar, and did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them also upon the burnt offering in the altar.
and brought the meat offering and filled his hand thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice in the morning.
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar: the burnt offering and the fat. And all the people saw it and shouted, and fell on their faces.
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar: the burnt offering and the fat. And all the people saw it and shouted, and fell on their faces.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put cense upon; and brought strange fire before the LORD: which he commanded them not.
"And then he shall take a censer full of burning coals out of the altar that is before the LORD, and his handful of sweet cense beaten small, and bring them within the veil,
Let not the book of this law depart out of thy mouth: but record therein day and night that thou mayest be circumspect to do according to all that is written therein. For then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have understanding.
and the house of Joseph searched out Bethel which before time was called Luz.
Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the flesh and the cakes. And there arose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished out of his sight.
And Manoah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD. And the angel did wonderfully, Manoah and his wife looking upon. For when the flame came up out of the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked upon and fell flat on their faces unto the ground.
Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah
what time as the LORD shall wash away the desolation of the daughters of Zion, and purge the blood out from Jerusalem with the wind of his smoke and fire.
And therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be thus reconciled. And so shall he take away all the fruit of his sins. As for altar stones, he shall make them all as stones beaten to powder: the groves and Idols shall not stand.
"I looked till the seats were prepared, and till the Ancient of Days sat him down. His clothing was white as snow, and the hairs of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as the burning fire. There drew forth a fiery stream, and went out from him. A thousand times a thousand served him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set, and the books opened.
'Some of you have I overthrown as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: so that ye were as a brand plucked out of the fire. Yet will ye not turn unto me,' sayeth the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, 'The LORD reprove thee, thou Satan; yea, the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem, reprove thee. Is not this a brand taken out of the fire?'
Who shall endure in the day of his coming, or who shall stand to behold him? For he is as trying fire, and as the herb that fullers scour withal.
Who shall endure in the day of his coming, or who shall stand to behold him? For he is as trying fire, and as the herb that fullers scour withal.
For mark, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea and all such as do wickedness, shall be straw: and the day that is for to come, shall burn them up, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, so that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
I baptise you in water in token of repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost and with fire: Which hath also his fan in his hand, and will purge his floor, and gather the wheat into His garner; and will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire."
"Every man therefore shall be salted with fire: And every sacrifice shall be seasoned with salt.
every man's work shall appear. For the day shall declare it, and it shall be showed in fire, and the fire shall try every man's work what it is. If any man's work, that he hath built upon, abide; he shall receive a reward. read more. If any man's work burn; he shall suffer loss. But he shall be safe himself, nevertheless yet as it were through fire.
even as ye have found us partly, for we are your rejoicing, even as ye are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
to the one part are we the savor of death unto death; and unto the other part are we the savor of life unto life. And who is mete unto these things?
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every man may receive the works of his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
which things have the similitude of wisdom in chosen holiness, and humbleness, and in that they spare not the body - and do the flesh no worship unto his need.
in flaming fire, rendering vengeance unto them that know not God, and to them that obey not unto the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but a fearful looking for judgment, and violent fire, which shall devour the adversaries.
For our God is a consuming fire.
For by him offer we the sacrifice of praise always to God: that is to say, the fruit of those lips, which confess his name.
"And unto the messenger of the congregation of Thyatira write, 'This saith the son of God, which hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, whose feet are like brass:
And I will kill her children with death. And all the congregations shall know that I am he which searches the reins and hearts. And I will give unto everyone of you according to your works.
Hastings
Morish
God was early revealed in fire. The searching character of His righteous judgement was thus set forth, whether in the acceptance of good or the condemnation of evil. When Moses at Horeb approached the burning bush he was cautioned not to draw near, but to remove his shoes, for the ground was holy. God spake to him out of the burning bush. Ex 3:1-6. On Mount Sinai "the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire." Ex 24:17. Moses declared to Israel, "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire." De 4:24. When Aaron began his ministrations in the tabernacle fire came out "from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat." Le 9:24: cf. 1Ki 18:38; 1Ch 21:26; 2Ch 7:1-3. Nadab and Abihu offered 'strange fire,' and fire went out from the Lord and consumed them. Le 10:1-2. Thus God manifested Himself in fire to Moses. He showed His acceptance of the sacrifices by fire from heaven; He vindicated His servant Elijah, when he stood alone against the prophets of Baal, by consuming the sacrifice, the wood and the stone, by fire from heaven (1Ki 18:38); and He vindicated His own honour by fire, by destroying those who were disobedient in approaching to Him. The general idea in 'fire' is that of judgement.
In the N.T. it is repeated, "Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:29), to consume the dross in the Christian, as gold is tried and purified in the fire; and to judge and punish the wicked with unquenchable fire; who are also described as being BAPTISED WITH FIRE. Mt 3:11-12. One of the most awful things connected with this word is the description of the place of eternal punishment as THE LAKE OF FIRE. Re 19:20; Rev.20:10, 14, 15. What mercy to be delivered therefrom!
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Moses kept the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he drove the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of a bush. And he perceived that the bush burned with fire, and consumed not. read more. Then Moses said, "I will go hence and see this great sight, how it cometh that the bush burneth not." And when the LORD saw that he came for to see, he called unto him out of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses." And he answered, "Here am I." And he said, "Come not hither, but put thy shoes off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
And the fashion of the glory of the LORD was like consuming fire on the top of the hill in the sight of the children of Israel.
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar: the burnt offering and the fat. And all the people saw it and shouted, and fell on their faces.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put cense upon; and brought strange fire before the LORD: which he commanded them not. And there went a fire out from the LORD, and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, and a jealous God.
And there fell fire from the LORD and consumed the sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the gutter.
And there fell fire from the LORD and consumed the sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the gutter.
I baptise you in water in token of repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost and with fire: Which hath also his fan in his hand, and will purge his floor, and gather the wheat into His garner; and will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire."
For our God is a consuming fire.
And the beast was taken, and with him that false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that received the beast's mark, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast into a pond of fire burning with brimstone:
Smith
is represented as the symbol of Jehovah's presence and the instrument of his power, in the way either of approval or of destruction.
etc. There could not be a better symbol for Jehovah than this of fire, it being immaterial, mysterious, but visible, warming, cheering, comforting, but also terrible and consuming. Parallel with this application of fire and with its symbolical meaning are to be noted the similar use for sacrificial purposes and the respect paid to it, or to the heavenly bodies as symbols of deity, which prevailed among so many nations of antiquity, and of which the traces are not even now extinct; e.g. the Sabean and Magian systems of worship.
Fire for sacred purposes obtained elsewhere than from the altar was called "strange fire," and for the use of such Nadab and Abihu were punished with death by fire from God.
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And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of a bush. And he perceived that the bush burned with fire, and consumed not.
And the angel of God which went before the host of Israel, removed and went behind them. And the clouden pillar that was before them removed and stood behind them
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put cense upon; and brought strange fire before the LORD: which he commanded them not. And there went a fire out from the LORD, and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
but Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, as they brought strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and had no children. And Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the sight of Aaron their father.
But Nadab and Abihu died, as they offered strange fire before the LORD.
And therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be thus reconciled. And so shall he take away all the fruit of his sins. As for altar stones, he shall make them all as stones beaten to powder: the groves and Idols shall not stand.
Watsons
FIRE. God hath often appeared in fire, and encompassed with fire, as when he showed himself in the burning bush; and descended on Mount Sinai, in the midst of flames, thunderings, and lightning, Ex 3:2; 19:18. Hence fire is a symbol of the Deity: "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire," De 4:24. The Holy Ghost is compared to fire: "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire," Mt 3:11. To verify this prediction, he sent the Holy Ghost, which descended upon his disciples, in the form of tongues, or like flames of fire, Ac 2:3. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to enlighten, purify, and sanctify the soul; and to inflame it with love to God, and zeal for his glory. Fire from heaven fell frequently on the victims sacrificed to the Lord, as a mark of his presence and approbation. It is thought, that God in this manner expressed his acceptance of Abel's sacrifices, Ge 4:4. When the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, a fire like that of a furnace passed through the divided pieces of the sacrifices, and consumed them, Ge 15:17. Fire fell upon the sacrifices which Moses offered at the dedication of the tabernacle, Le 9:24; and upon those of Manoah, Samson's father, Jg 13:19-20; upon Solomon's, at the dedication of the temple, 2Ch 7:1; and on Elijah's, at Mount Carmel, 1Ki 18:38. The fire which came down from heaven, first upon the altar in the tabernacle, and afterward descended anew upon the altar in the temple of Solomon, at its consecration, was there constantly fed and maintained by the priests, day and night, in the same manner as it had been in the tabernacle. The Jews have a tradition, that Jeremiah, foreseeing the destruction of the temple, took this fire and hid it in a pit; but that at the rebuilding of the temple, being brought again from thence, it revived upon the altar. But this is a fiction: and the generality of them allow, that, at the destruction of the temple, it was extinguished; and in the time of the second temple, nothing was made use of for all their burnt offerings but common fire only. The ancient Chaldeans adored the fire, as well as the old Persians, and some other people of the east. The torments of hell are described by fire, both in the Old and New Testament. Our Saviour makes use of this similitude, to represent the punishment of the damned, Mr 9:44. He likewise speaks frequently of the eternal fire prepared for the devil, his angels, and reprobates, Mt 25:41. The sting and remorse of conscience is the worm that will never die; and the wrath of God upon their souls and bodies, the fire that shall never go out. There are writers who maintain, that by the worm is to be understood a living and sensible, not an allegorical and figurative, worm; and by fire, a real elementary and material fire. Among the abettors of this opinion are Austin, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Jerom, &c. The word of God is compared to fire: "Is not my word like a fire?" Jer 23:20. It is full of life and efficacy; like a fire it warms, melts, and heats; and is powerful to consume the dross, and burn up the chaff and stubble. Fire is likewise taken for persecution, dissension, and division: "I am come to send fire on earth," Lu 12:49; as if it was said, upon my coming and publishing the Gospel, there will follow, through the devil's malice and corruption of men, much persecution to the professors thereof, and manifold divisions in the world, whereby men will be tried, whether they will be faithful or not.
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And Abel, he brought also of the firstlings of his sheep and of the fat of them. And the LORD looked unto Abel and to his offering:
When the sun was down and it was waxed dark, behold, there was a smoking furnace and a fire brand that went between the said pieces.
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of a bush. And he perceived that the bush burned with fire, and consumed not.
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke: because the LORD descended down upon it in fire. And the smoke thereof ascended up, as it had been the smoke of a kiln, and all the mount was exceeding fearful.
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar: the burnt offering and the fat. And all the people saw it and shouted, and fell on their faces.
For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, and a jealous God.
And Manoah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD. And the angel did wonderfully, Manoah and his wife looking upon. For when the flame came up out of the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked upon and fell flat on their faces unto the ground.
And there fell fire from the LORD and consumed the sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the gutter.
And when Solomon had made an end of praying, there came down fire from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. And the glory of the LORD filled the house:
And the wrath of the LORD shall not turn away again, until he perform and fulfils the thought of his heart. And in the latter days ye shall know his meaning."
I baptise you in water in token of repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost and with fire:
Then shall the King say unto them that shall be on the left hand, 'Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels.
I am come to send fire on earth: and what is my desire but that it were already kindled?
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as they had been fire, and it sat upon each of them: