"By the _word_ of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth."

_And here His word is represented as_ FIRE!

In the first book of the Chronicles it is written:

"Every man's work shall be tried by fire."

And, in the second book of the Chronicles:

"And when the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the House, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground, and worshipped and praised the Lord."

Thus, no one dared gaze on the brightness of that _glory_, and all bowed "with their faces _to the ground_."

Turning to the book of Deuteronomy, we find written:

"The Lord thy G.o.d is a consuming fire. Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy G.o.d is He that goeth over before thee as a consuming fire. Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He showed thee His great fire; and thou heardest His words out of the midst of the fire."

In Leviticus we find written:

"And there went out a fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offerings--which, when the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces."

Let us contemplate, for a moment, the sacrilege of the attempt at using this element--during the old dispensation--to the consuming of an offering or sacrifice to any other than the _one true and living G.o.d_. Turn to the Book of Numbers, and read,

"When the people offered incense upon the strange altar, there came down fire from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty who offered the incense. And Nahab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the Lord."

Second Kings, vi. 17:

"Elisha said, they that be for us are more than they that are against us; he prayed, and G.o.d opened the young man's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

Thus we see that this element--in its destructive form--is the ready manifestation of G.o.d's displeasure.

Turn to Exodus, and read,--

"And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses), in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." _Again_, "The cloud of the Lord was upon the Tabernacle by day, and a fire was upon it by night in sight of all the house of Israel." _Again_, "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire upon the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel."

Now let us consider this element in its offices when controlled by the Great Jehovah.

Judges, xiii. 20:

"For it came to pa.s.s when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar."

Here there was no delusive manifestation, but the actual _flame of fire_, ascending upward toward heaven; even to the _Sun_ its original source.

We will now turn to the Book of the Second Kings, and--in our mind's eye--join the prophets "as they walked and talked with Elijah" and witness one of the most sublime scenes the eye of man has ever beheld:

"And it came to pa.s.s as they still went on and talked, that behold there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

Was there not a startling, and sublime revelation, that this element controlled, can be suited, even to our enjoyment of _happiness_ when the great change comes; when this mortal shall put on immortality?

In the Book of Malachi--the last of the Old Testament scriptures--we hear the voice of Him who had promised deliverance, speaking to us through His prophet:

"Unto you that fear my name, shall the _Sun_ of righteousness arise."

Thus we see that the promised Messiah was spoken of as a _Sun_.

Turning to the record of the New Testament, we find the Saviour's advent into this world signaled by a brilliant "Star," emblematical of the _Sun_, shining in all its splendor, brilliancy, and beauty, and leading the wise men to where lay the "Infant of days"--the veiled "Star," or _Sun_, of light and immortality.

At a later day, behold Him manifesting His veiled brightness, as he stood "_transfigured on the Mount_" before Peter, James and John, when "_His face did shine as the Sun, and His raiment white as the light_."

But we deem it unnecessary to dwell upon all the symbols of _fire_, _heat_, and _light_, so clearly representative, which may be found interspersed throughout the Old, and the New Testament pages. We will catch up a few others as we pa.s.s along, before, in mind, taking our stand with John, the revelator, on the Isle of Patmos. St. Paul tells us,--

"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not G.o.d, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." And that the "Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming."

St. John, says:

"_I indeed baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and_ WITH FIRE."

Thus we see that _spirit_ is denominated _fire_ in the ordinance of _Spiritual Baptism_.

And St. Paul says:

"By one spirit are we all baptized into one body."

Let us now glance at the account of John's spiritual vision while on the Isle of Patmos, as recorded in the Book of Revelation:

"I heard behind me a great voice as the voice of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and I saw seven golden candlesticks, and One in the midst of the candlesticks like unto the Son of Man. His head and his hair were white as the snow, and his eyes were as _flames of fire_, and his feet like unto fine bra.s.s, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; _and his countenance was as the Sun shining in his strength_."

John saw the door of heaven opened and a voice as of a trumpet said unto him, "Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must be hereafter." He continues. "And immediately I was in the spirit, and, behold a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne, who, to look upon was like jasper, and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald, and around the throne sat four and twenty elders in raiment of white, and out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings, and voices, and there were seven lamps of _fire_ burning before the throne, _which are the seven spirits of G.o.d_. And the temple of G.o.d was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament, and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, _a woman clothed with the Sun_. And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head and his face was, as it were the _Sun_, and his feet as pillars of _fire_."

"_And the city had no need of the Sun_, for the glory of G.o.d did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." "And there shall be no night there, for the Lord G.o.d giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. The Lord G.o.d shall be unto them an everlasting light, and the days of their mourning shall be ended."

"_Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear._" (Matt. xiii. 43.)

We have quoted the foregoing Scriptural pa.s.sages--to which we might add scores of others of similar import--to show the connection of the element of fire, heat and light--with G.o.d himself, and that while it proves the agency; at least in dispensing His blessings to all animated life, and can be so controlled by Him that--even in its intensity--it cannot harm the righteous, either in body or spirit, when He interposes; yet it is the certain agency of destruction, and the torment of the wicked at His will; or without this interposition.

Certain it is, that it is the _agency_ by which He has made Himself manifest to man, and this agency still continues in the dispensing of all the manifold blessings we enjoy, day by day, and should cause every heart to turn to Him with reverence and grateful emotions. The mind of the Christian world should acknowledge the omnipresence of the Infinite One; that He pervades all s.p.a.ce, and is manifest in all things; while each individual should feel as Elihu did when he uttered the words, "The _Spirit_ of G.o.d hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life;" and exclaim with the Psalmist:

"I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. The eyes of the Lord are ever upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. G.o.d is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art G.o.d."

Now we have seen that G.o.d--by His Spirit, or influence--is everywhere; that he pervades the universe of His Creation; that his nature is eternal and indestructible, while all else--save man's immortal nature derived from G.o.d--is destructible. We are plainly told in the Bible that the _Spirit of G.o.d is fire_; that _His Word is fire_; that He is like a _refiner's fire_--even as a purifier of silver. That every man's work shall be tried _by fire_; the righteous saved as by _fire_; that, to his people, He will be as _a wall of fire_; and though they pa.s.s through the fire they shall not be burned; neither shall the flames kindle upon them. And yet our G.o.d is a _consuming fire_, before whom the wicked shall not stand. That the _fire_ of His anger, and His _wrath_, shall be kindled against them, when all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be cast into the fire that will never be quenched; whose flames shall ascend up forever and ever. Oh, how plain the revelations of G.o.d as to the immortality of the soul, and a future state of existence! The righteous to enter into, and enjoy eternal life; the wicked--who are dead in trespa.s.ses and in sins--to enter into eternal death, even the "death that never dies."

How _startling_ the fact of these plain revelations! G.o.d is now made manifest to our daily and hourly comprehension. How dare we trifle with Him, and our own soul's immortal interest? We are daily and hourly rushing on to our own eternal destiny. Ere another year, a month, a week or day is past, we may realize that "it is not all of life to live, nor yet of death to die." No one can escape the eternal fiat of Jehovah, "_dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return_." As death leaves the body so judgment finds the soul. "The righteous shall inherit eternal life;" "the wicked shall be driven away from the presence of G.o.d, and from the glory of His power," and take up their abode with tormenting devils "in everlasting burnings."

Stop, poor wandering child of sin; yield obedience to the requirements of G.o.d's law; "acknowledge Him in all thy ways, and He shall direct thy paths."