The Fire That Burneth and Purifieth: A Testimony of Flame from the Beginning

In the beginning, when the Lord made the heavens and the earth, He set the stars in the firmament to give light, and the sun to give warmth. And from His hand came also fire, which bringeth heat, light, and power.

Fire was a gift and a sign, both to bless and to judge. For it is written:
“Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

Fire as a Blessing

And lo, the sons of men learned to tend the flame. With fire they baked their bread and warmed their tents. With fire they forged tools of bronze and iron, and offered burnt sacrifices upon the altar unto the Most High.

In the wilderness, the Lord went before Israel by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might journey by day and by night (Exodus 13:21).

And upon Mount Sinai, the Lord descended in fire, and the mountain trembled, and the people feared and stood afar off (Exodus 19:18).

Fire as Judgment and Purification

But fire was not only for warmth and light, for it also came as judgment upon the wicked.

The Lord rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and the smoke thereof went up as the smoke of a furnace (Genesis 19:24–28). And Nadab and Abihu, who offered strange fire before the Lord, were consumed by fire from the presence of the Lord (Leviticus 10:1–2).

Yet fire also purifieth, as the goldsmith trieth silver. For the Lord saith:
“I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined” (Zechariah 13:9).

Fire in the Prophets and the Spirit

The prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven, and it consumed the sacrifice and the altar, and the people fell on their faces and cried, “The Lord, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:38–39).

And in the days of the apostles, tongues as of fire rested upon each of them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:3–4). Thus the fire became a sign of the Spirit, burning not with destruction but with divine power and zeal.

The Symbol of Fire Among the Ancients

Among the nations, fire was also held in reverence. The Chaldeans and the Persians offered prayers to the flame. The Greeks and the Romans kept eternal fires in their temples, guarded by virgins and priests.

Fire was seen as the breath of the gods, a bridge between earth and the heavens, both a destroyer and a giver of life.

Let All the Earth Understand

O man, consider the fire. It is not merely a flame upon the hearth, but a sign and a mystery.

For the Lord appeared to Moses in a bush that burned and was not consumed (Exodus 3:2), and in the end, all works shall be tried by fire (1 Corinthians 3:13).

Let thy heart burn with holy fire, and may thy steps be kindled with the flame of righteousness, lest thou be consumed in the fire of wrath and judgment.

“The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.” (Proverbs 13:9)