This
teaching offers a revelation of ETERNAL that may be new to some of our Hebrew
family
The
references are taken from the Artscroll Stone Edition Tanach 1996
Genesis 19:23-26 The sun rose upon the earth and Lot arrived at Zoar. Now ETERNAL had caused sulfur and fire to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah, from ETERNAL, out of heaven. He overturned these cities and the entire plain, with all of the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the soil. His (Lot’s) wife peered behind him and she became a pillar of salt.
We
see here the ETERNAL uses fire and sulfur to destroy the sinful cities. In
Xtianity we heard that satan lived in the fiery kingdom – but let’s press
on.
Leviticus 10: 1-2. The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it; and they brought before ETERNAL an alien fire that He had not commanded them. A fire came forth from before ETERNAL and consumed them, and they died before ETERNAL.
ETERNAL
decides who may worship with fire and incense. The sons of Aaron were called
to serve ETERNAL but they had to be obedient and teachable and not ‘do their
own thing.’ Are we being warned?
Deuteronomy 4: 11-13 So you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire up to the heart of heaven, darkness, cloud and thick cloud. ETERNAL spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you were hearing the sound of words, but you were not seeing a form, only a sound. He told you of His covenant that He commanded you to observe, the Ten Declarations, and He inscribed them on two stone Tablets.
ETERNAL
appeared in the fire, this is also how He had attracted Moses in the first
place – with a burning bush. The people were afraid of the fire.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For ETERNAL your CREATOR – He is a consuming fire, a jealous ETERNAL.
This
is a very significant description of the ETERNAL. Who will He consume with
fire?
Deuteronomy 4: 33,36. Has a people ever heard the voice of ETERNAL speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard, and survived?
From
heaven He caused you to hear His voice in order to teach you, and on earth He
showed you His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.
The
fire of ETERNAL is here shown in a unique way to teach the Children of Israel
about His covenant and laws. They expected because of Sodom and Gomorrah –
and fire from the sky in the plagues of Egypt- that ETERNAL appearing as fire
would be bad news for all concerned.
Moses stood between the people and the ETERNAL. This fear meant that the relationship between the ETERNAL and His people would not develop at that time
Deuteronomy
5: 21-23 They said “Behold! ETERNAL our CREATOR has shown us His glory and
His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; this
day we saw that ETERNAL will speak to a person and he can live. But now, why
should we die when this great fire consumes us? If we continue to hear the
voice of ETERNAL any longer, we will die! For is there any human that has
heard the voice of the Living ETERNAL speaking from the midst of the fire, as
we have, and lived?
A
loving CREATOR had demonstrated that they could all live to tell the story of
their meeting at the mountain. He had spoken – they were still alive. They
just did not believe this could go on. They were locked into a tradition that
said – with no justification – that if you spent time in ETERNAL’s
presence you would die.
1
Kings 18: 36-39 And it was at the time of the afternoon offering, Elijah the
prophet approached and said ‘ETERNAL, the CREATOR of Abraham, Isaac and
Israel, today it will become known that You are ETERNAL in Israel and I am
Your servant, and that it is by Your word that I have done all these things.
Answer me ETERNAL, answer me! And let this people know that You, ETERNAL, are
the CREATOR; thus You will turn their hearts back. A fire of ETERNAL descended
and consumed the elevation-offering and the wood, and the stones, and the
earth; and it licked up the water in the trench. The entire people saw and
fell on their faces and exclaimed “ETERNAL He is the CREATOR! ETERNAL He is
the CREATOR!”
This
is a very well known story of ETERNAL demonstrating His power by fire
particularly after the priests of Baal had put on all their performances, all
day, without success. The appearance of the fire brought about the situation
where four hundred pagan priests were executed by Elijah. (Read the rest of
the story – the next day Elijah is running away from one bad tempered woman)
Isaiah
33: 10-16 Now I shall arise – ETERNAL will say – now I shall ascend; now I
shall be exalted! Conceive stubble and give birth to straw; your spirit is a
fire that will consume you. Nations will be like burnings for lime, like cut
thorns set aflame. Hear O faraway people, what I have done; and you who are
close by recognize My might. Sinners were afraid in Zion; trembling seized
hypocrites. Which of us can live with the consuming fire? Which of us can live
with the eternal conflagration? One who walks with righteousness and speaks
with truthfulness, who spurns extortionate profit and shakes off his hands
from holding a bribe, who seals his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts
his eyes from seeing evil. He shall dwell in heights; in rocky fortresses is
his stronghold; his bread will be granted, his water assured.
This
is the key point of this item. The righteous will live through the consuming
fire. If the ETERNAL appears as a consuming fire – and we want to be close
to Him – then we must be able to live through the fire. This passage tells
you the lifestyle that protects you and causes you to be blessed. There is a
choice – you may burn up like stubble or cut thorns or you may live through
the fire.
Ezekiel
28: 14-19 You were a great sheltering cherub and it is I who granted you this.
You were upon the holy mountain of ETERNAL; you walked among fiery stones;
Perfect were you in your ways from the day of your creation – until
wrongdoing was found in you. Because of your abundant commerce, your midst
filled with injustice and you sinned; so I desecrated you from the mountain of
ETERNAL and destroyed you, O sheltering cherub, from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendour. So I have thrown you to the ground and I have set
you before kings to gaze upon
you. By the multitude of your iniquities, by the dishonesty of your commerce,
you desecrated your sanctities; so I drew out a fire from within you. It
consumed you; thus I made you into ashes upon the earth in the eyes of all who
see you. All who knew you among the peoples were astonished over you; you were
a terror, but you shall be no more forever.
This
is what happens to satan. He was a covering cherub who became corrupt and
proud. He is to be destroyed by the fire. He is not currently running some
fiery kingdom or being the prince of the world as the pagan mythmakers would
have us believe. He hates the fire because that is how ETERNAL tests us. If we
are righteous we come through the fire. He, is not going to make it. People
who have given him so much credit and publicity will be astonished at his
demise.