Volume 2 Issue 10

REFINER’S FIRE

“B

ut who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a REFINER'S FIRE and like fullers' soap. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness." (Malachi 3:2-3) This verse is talking about the coming of the Lord. It is a day that we as Christians are to anticipate with great joy and longing, but it should not be forgotten that it is also a day of reckoning. The Lord is not coming as a meek and mild Lamb, but as the King of the entire world.

The Israelites experienced a taste of this when they, after coming out of Egypt, had come to Mount Sinai. It is doubtful, however, that they expected to encounter God in the manner that they did. “Now Mount Sinai was all in SMOKE because the Lord descended upon it in FIRE; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.” (Exodus 19:18-19) With our preconceived ideas of hell, one might be tempted to believe that what the Israelites were witnessing was the gateway to hell rather than the presence of the heavenly Father. Even Moses’ first encounter with God was not a heavenly vision of tranquility and the rustle of angel’s wings as they strummed on harps singing praises to the Lord. Instead it was an encounter with FIRE. “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a BLAZING FIRE from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2) Moses came away from that encounter with an image of God that made a lasting impression upon him. He told the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness that “the Lord your God is a CONSUMING FIRE, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24) These descriptions seem almost unbelievable given the fact that Christians, and indeed, many other religions, associate the domain of fire with hell and by extension, Satan or the devil, and God with an idyllic existence in heaven where all is quiet, peaceful, tranquil, and pastoral.

Heaven is pictured as beautiful mountains with babbling brooks flowing down into crystal clear lakes. Deer are frolicking, flowers are in bloom, trees are gently blowing in the warm clean air, and the sun is shining overhead casting the shadows of birds flying above upon the lush, green grass. Fire is nowhere to be seen. Indeed, with such a vision, fire would be totally out of character. Yet this is precisely the character that the Bible consistently attributes to God. “May our God come and not keep silence; FIRE devours before Him, and it is very tempestuous around Him.” (Psalms 50:3) Anyone who has read the book of Revelation can relate to this description of the coming of the Lord.

When I used to teach Bible Studies I would challenge those attending to do a word study in the summer months when we did not meet. I challenged them to look up the word “fire” in a concordance and count the number of times it was used in conjunction with the words “Lord”, “God”, and “angel”, and to compare that number to the number of times “fire” is used in conjunction with “Satan” and “devil”. No one ever said if they had followed through with this assignment so the question remained unanswered. Perhaps they thought the answer was a forgone conclusion, thinking that since hell is equated with fire and Satan or the devil is equated with hell, the answer must be obvious. Or perhaps they found the task overwhelming when they opened a concordance and discovered the number of times the word “fire” is used. Whatever the reason the answer may surprise some if not most people. Using the New American Standard version of the Bible the words “Lord” and “fire” are matched 402 times; “God” and “fire” 103 times; “angel” and “fire” 27 times. Contrast this to “Satan” and “fire” matching 3 times and “devil” and “fire” 4 times! In the case of “angel” and “fire”, 6 times refers to the Angel of the Lord, 19 times to the heavenly angels, and only 2 times to the devil’s angels, that is, demons. When you add all this together, you get a ratio of 530 to 9 with God being the overwhelming winner, so to speak. Obviously different translations of the Bible will likely produce slightly different numbers, but the relationship between God and fire is never in doubt.

Some may find this disturbing, having been taught that Satan’s domain is hell, even believing that he is lord of hell. Nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, Jesus, not Satan, is Lord of hell. When John had his vision of Jesus Christ at the beginning of Revelation it terrified him so much that he fell at His feet as if he were dead. Jesus responded by placing His right hand upon John and said, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I HAVE THE KEYS OF DEATH AND OF HADES.” (Revelation 1:17-19) It is apparent that the one who possesses the keys to a house is the master of that house. He allows in whomever he wishes. And if the house happens to be a prison it is he who decides who leaves.

Satan is not lord of hell; it is not his home, not yet anyway. In fact, in the book of Job we find Satan, not in hell, but in HEAVEN. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, AND SATAN ALSO CAME AMONG THEM.” (Job 1:6-7) Satan was in the presence of the Lord along with the angels, not in hell. The Lake of Fire, which is what we normally think of as hell, is empty. It is helpful here to understand that the word translated “hell” in the King James Version is often the Greek word “Hades” which is the unseen state of the unsaved dead, BUT it is not the Lake of Fire. Hades itself will be destroyed. “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. AND DEATH AND HADES WERE THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:13-15) The second death is what corresponds to what we think of as hell, the Lake of Fire, not Hades. Those who are unsaved, not born again, will find themselves thrown in this Lake of Fire AT THE LAST JUDGEMENT DAY after the Thousand Year Reign of Jesus is finished. Satan will be defeated and FORCEFULLY thrown into this Lake where the Antichrist and False Prophet are, having been thrown there themselves at the beginning of the Thousand Year Reign. Satan does not go peacefully or willingly. He is hurled in the Lake of Fire and he along with the Antichrist and False Prophet “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) [Literally: “to the age of the ages”. Sometime we will study what that means.] Hopefully the point has been made so as to have no confusion that God and fire go together NATURALLY while Satan and fire do not.

How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction? If God is love how can fire be so closely associated with Him? The answer lies in our CONCEPT of fire and the PURPOSE for which fire is used. Many people, including Christians, have an image of God that is distorted and at times borders on blasphemy. A description of the Lord in Isaiah reveals how His image has been distorted. “So His appearance was MARRED more than any man, and His FORM more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand.” (Isaiah 52:14-15) Most attribute these verses to the Lord Jesus when He was whipped and beaten and then crucified and that is no doubt the PHYSICAL explanation of the verses. Nevertheless, they also describe what has been done to the SPIRITUAL image of the Lord. We have presented to the world a God of wrath and anger, ready to strike us down for the slightest infraction of one of His “thou shalt nots”; we have done little to discourage the image of God as One who is unable or unwilling to stop the evil in the world. When people ask us how we can serve a God that allows little children to starve to death or be brutalized at the hands of evil human beings we remain speechless. The result is the appearance and form of the Lord has been MARRED; the Hebrew word means CORRUPTED. His CHARACTER appears to others, and all too often to ourselves, as corrupted, tainted with human weaknesses. The word “form” means beauty or comeliness. Because we have corrupted the Lord in our minds He no longer appears beautiful or attractive in our thinking.

As Christians our words and actions are a reflection of our Lord. When we fight among ourselves, engage in immoral activities, condemn the innocence, and threaten to reign fire and brimstone down upon them because they do not believe or because we have been insulted, we portray a MARRED, a CORRUPTED image of our heavenly Father. In our zeal to follow the Lord we often make the same mistake the Apostles James and John made when Jesus was traveling through Samaria on His way to Jerusalem. The Apostles were trying to find lodging for their group, but the Samaritans would not welcome them. This lack of hospitality angered James and John. They and their Lord had been insulted. “And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command FIRE to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, ‘You do not know what KIND OF SPIRIT you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.’]” (Luke 9:54-56) Perhaps James and John were thinking of the destruction brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah. “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and FIRE from the Lord out of heaven.” (Genesis 19:24-25) God had used fire to destroy these cities and the people in them. So why was James’ and John’s planned action wrong? The answer lies in the MOTIVE behind the acts. James and John reacted from a wrong inflicted upon themselves and Jesus, while the Lord, in dealing with Sodom and Gomorrah reacted from a need to PURGE sin from the earth. The citizens of these cities were totally corrupt. Gangs of homosexual men roamed the streets in search of victims to satisfy their perverted lusts. These cities were destroyed as a warning to future generations about the consequences of sinful perversion and to keep the infection from SPREADING. In His LOVE for those who would be contaminated by contact with this sin, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. On a deeper level it was even His love for the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah that caused Him to kill them. These people were in a state of spiritual free fall. Their iniquity was great and in order to save them from themselves God destroyed them. That is a little difficult to believe, but it is true. After Jesus sent His disciples out to the cities of Israel to preach He told them that if a city did not receive them or listen to their words, “it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.” (Matthew 10:15) The physical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah at the hands of the Lord will limit the SPIRITUAL judgment inflicted upon them later.

When man attempts to use fire as in the case with James and John the WELFARE of those subjected to the fire is not considered. When the Lord uses fire it is always for their welfare. It is a REFINING FIRE, not a fire of destruction. In the Greek the word fire is “pur”, from which we get PURE, PURIFY, PURIFICATION. In the verse given at the beginning of this letter it says that God will act as a smelter and PURIFIER, that He will PURIFY the sons of Levi so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. The PURPOSE is to purify and it starts with the Levites. The Levites were the priestly tribe of Israel. Thus, the purifying process was to start at the heart of Jewish worship. So it is with us. “For it is time for judgment to begin with THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.” (1 Peter 4:17) John the Baptist, speaking of Jesus, said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and FIRE.” (Matthew 3:11) Later, Jesus Himself said, “I have come to cast FIRE upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49) Why? So that a SEPARATION between the holy and the unholy could begin to take place. When silver or gold is refined it is heated to the point of liquefaction. The heat allows the alloys within the silver or gold to SEPARATE and float to the top. As this process precedes the refiner skims off the dross until he can see his reflection in the pure gold. The dross distorts the reflection and causes an imperfect image to be seen, but pure gold is much like a mirror, producing a reflection that is unspoiled by impurities.

Jesus was anxious for this process to begin, but it is a bittersweet process, for He knew that it would create divisions among people and even among families. Some hear the Word of God (and Jesus is the Living Word [Logos] of God) joyfully, experiencing a spiritual rebirth that begins a new life in Christ and others hear the same message and quickly distance themselves, rejecting the Truth. Why? “‘Is not My word like FIRE?’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer which shatters a rock?’” (Jeremiah 23:29) Jesus cast out demons, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and raised the dead. Who does not want to hear, “Your faith has made you well”? (Luke 8:48) These words that were so welcome to the one who was sick, BURNED within the hearts of those who hated Jesus. After Jesus healed the withered hand of a man on the Sabbath, “the Pharisees went out, and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” (Matthew 12:14) These were the same men who later shouted, “Away with this man (Jesus), and release for us Barabbas!” (Luke 23:18) They could abide the presence of a robber and murderer, but not the “Lord of Fire”. But it was a fire they could not extinguish. Jesus was about to “burn up the chaff with UNQUENCHABLE fire.” (Matthew 3:12)

One of the most amazing stories in the Bible that features fire is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, had con-structed a large golden idol that everyone in his kingdom had been instructed to bow down to at the sound of the music produced by various musical instruments. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, three Hebrew men who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar when Jerusalem fell into his hands, refused to bow down to the idol. They were worshipers of the Lord and would not deny their faith in Him by bowing down to a pagan idol, even if it would cost them their lives. When the music began to play and these men refused to bow down some of the people who were jealous of these men came and told the king that they refused to obey him. He had told the people gathered there that anyone who would not bow down to the idol would be thrown in a FIERY furnace. Thus, when the three Hebrews disobeyed the king they knew what fate awaited them. “Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?’” (Daniel 3:13-14) Nebuchadnezzar could not believe anyone would defy him when they knew they would be burned alive. He wanted to make sure what he had been told about their disobedience was true. He warned them again about the cost of not worshiping the idol. “But if you will not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and WHAT GOD is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15) The faith that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego expressed at this time is truly remarkable and Nebuchadnezzar was about to learn what God could deliver from the power of fire. They responded to the king and said, “We do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) O, to have such faith; not a faith that seeks escape, but that seeks the Lord’s will regardless of the cost.

There is much to this story and there are truths here that must be left unspoken for the time being because of time and space restraints. Suffice it to say that in Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath the fiery furnace was heated SEVEN (the number of spiritual perfection) times hotter than normal. The three Hebrew men were tied up by strong men of the Babylonian army and thrown into the furnace. The heat was so intense that these men, some of the best of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, were killed by it. Yet, the three Hebrews walked around in the furnace FREE of their bonds along with a forth person whose presence the king could not understand. He realized that only three had been thrown into the furnace and the forth one amazed him because He looked like the son of a god. This person was a pre-incarnation of Christ. When the king saw that these men had not been killed he called them out. “And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that THE FIRE HAD NO EFFECT on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.” (Daniel 3:27) The fire that had been meant by the enemy to destroy the Hebrews had served only to set them free.

      “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” (Isaiah 33:14) “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; YOU ARE MINE! When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2) Refined by fire – children of God.

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