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FIRE On You Is there a baptism of fire along with the Holy Spirit? Of course there is. John who baptized in water said so. However it may not mean what the popular teachers teach. They distribute this teaching and experience to their supporters as a blessing, but the fact is, you may want to stay far away from this fire. Franklin Hall, who was an independent “healing evangelist,” a precursor to the Latter Rain movement, refined the Baptized by Fire teaching. He taught a “body-felt salvation” was through the application of the fire baptism. This baptism, would ultimately lead the believer into immortalization. He promoted disciplines of fasting and open-eyed prayer as a means to achieve body-felt salvation. The fire baptism was passed on through the laying on of hands, (impartation) and other extremes imparting the Holy Ghost fire into people's bodies, through fasting and prayer. Hall, is largely unknown among today's Pentecostals, but he was responsible for introducing many (strange) teachings into the Pentecostal movement that launched the Latter Rain Movement and the Manifested Sons of God in the 40s and 50s. Franklin Hall who claimed to receive greater truths than ever before. Truth and revelation that came about by fasting and prayer, will bring about a new kind of revival that will not be recognized by the average or present kind of sleeping church. He taught they are on the threshold of this new revival then. Hall claimed that God gave him the new revelation of impartation of Holy Ghost fire after Hall had fasted and prayed for a time. Kenneth Hagin says: “He went on instruct me that when I would pray and lay hands upon the sick I was to lay one hand on each side of the body. If I felt the fire jump from hand to hand, and evil spirit or demon was present in the body causing the affliction. … If the fire, or anointing, in my hand does not jump from hand to hand, it is a case of healing only...When the fire, or the anointing, leaves my hands and goes into his body, I will know he is healed.” Hagin, Kenneth, I Believe In Visions, p. 51.) Many describe this feeling of transference as well in their hand as did Branham. Branham described he would watch a Pillar of fire move around the building from one person to another when praying for the sick. Oral Roberts reported that he would feel a manifestation of God's presence in his right hand, which would be a point of contact between the believer and God's healing power. “Brother Roberts got his special hand gift when he was conducting a one-night service in Nowata, Oklahoma. While praying for a small boy who was deaf in one ear, he heard God speaking as if He were standing by his side: Son, you have been faithful up to this hour, "and now you will feel My presence in your right hand” (Oral Roberts, My Story, 1961, p. 151) In modern times we have Rodney Brown who says was saved at the age of five and baptized in the Holy Spirit at age eight (Rodney H. Browne, The Touch of God, p. 71). His anointing all began when He received what he calls the “baptism of fire” in 1979, at the age of eighteen. He says that he spoke to God, I knew that there was more, much more... “He told me that I had to hunger and thirst. At first I said-to him, 'Why don't you just give it to me? I have served you all my life. I have been a good boy. I haven't done this, I haven't done that as others have. God I deserve it.” He said, 'I'm not a respecter of persons. You come the same way everyone else does. You come in faith and you get hungry and you desire it. Then I'll give it to you.” 'You have to desire it like a man who has been in the desert three days desires water. ... If a man walks up to him and offers him half a million dollars, he will push him aside and shout, no, water, water, water! He wants water more than life itself, because the only thing that is going to save him is water.” (he got fire not water) Browne says “In July of 1979, I cried out to God in sheer desperation. I wanted Him to manifest Himself to me and in me. I was hungry...As I prayed that day, I told the Lord, “Either you come down here and touch me, or I am going to come up there and touch you.” I was desperate. I must have called out to God for about 20 minutes that day. Suddenly, the fire of God fell on me. It started on my head and went right down to my feet. His power burned in my body and stayed like that for three whole days. I thought I was going to die. I thought, 'He has heard my prayer, 'Either you come down and touch me or I win come up and touch you', and now He has come down here and touched me and He is going to kill me and take me home.' “I was really praying, 'Lord I'm too young to die.' In the fourth day, I am not praying, “O Lord send your glory,” I am praying, “Please lift it off me so that I can bear it.” I was plugged into heaven's electric light supply and since then my desire has been to go and plug other people in. “My whole body was on fire from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. Out of my belly began to flow a river of living water. I began to laugh uncontrollably and then I began to weep and then speak with other tongues.” I was so intoxicated on the wine of the Holy Ghost that I was beside myself. The fire of God was coursing through my whole being and it didn't quit ....Because of that encounter with the Lord, my life was radically changed from that day on” (Rodney Howard Browne, The Touch of God, pp. 73-74.) Where does the Bible ever teach to seek an experience and demand for God to show up? This description is not unlike the Kundalini experience of Hindu adepts. In fact this is the same description many describe as their charkas are opened, fire spreads from the crown of the head to ones feet and consumes them. A bolt of electricity passes through the body, the hands or different parts of the body can vibrate as if they were taken over by a powerful impersonal energy. The feeling of fire can pass from one person to another and make the recipient shake violently. Different emotions can surface, screaming, crying, fainting. Browne described this same incident at his camp meeting (July 18, 1994), he said it was as though all of a sudden somebody had taken gasoline and put a lighted match to it. The fire of God fell upon Him instantaneously, and he was immersed in the liquid fire of the Holy Spirit. He became completely inebriated in the Holy Ghost. He was beside himself. Overflowing, he laughed uncontrollably. He went from laughter to weeping to tongues, back to laughter and weeping again. Four days later, the glory of God was still upon him, and by this time he was saying, “God, lift it. I can't bear it any more...Lord, I'm too young to die, don't kill me now.” For a two-week period, he felt the presence of God.” If you watched Browne’s videos of his passing this anointing on to make people laugh you also see people feel as if they are on fire. One lady in particular started to scream uncontrollably as he laid hands on her head afterwards she fanned herself to cool down. Something Spiritual is definitely happening at some of these meetings and it is nothing to fool around with, in fact it is quite dangerous. Here is a comment from one who was involved with a guru. Many felt themselves being infused with feelings of great joy and peace and love. At other times the “fire” of Kundalini was so overpowering they would find themselves involuntarily hyperventilating to cool themselves down. (Performer Muktananda follower Joy Smith.) Now I understand the current vernacular of being on fire for God, but what we are discussing is something quite different. This is an experience of fire that they claim is found in Scripture. Is it? Sergio Scataglini - He was covered in the Truth Matters Fire Baptized issue 2 months ago. He claims to have received the baptism of fire and complete sanctification. Now he is busy “imparting” this mystic-fire into others (Reported by Banner ministries). Laverne Tripp on TBN in front of Paul Crouch channeled Jesus and said, “For the fire has come. The fire has come to burn out all the chaff, ...to burn out all the disease,. ..the sickness,...to burn out all the enemy has done. For this is My Day. This is MY DAY. For the Day of the Lord has Come!” (TBN telethon 1997) Rodney brown yells “the fire, the fire” as he imparts a fire power to others. Many others do the same. Steve Hill charging through the crowd screams: “Fire--Fire--Fire--Fire!” Steve Hill uses the mantra technique, repeating “More, Lord!” and “Fire! Fire! Fire!” To pass on the spirit at the Brownsville “revival.” He then transfers by “touch” this “spirit of fire” to someone else. But no one runs out of the building from this fire, instead they run toward the man who will transfer this experience to them. An interesting note, John Kilpatricks ministry was called the 'Feast of Fire. Fresh Fire was an experience the Toronto airport Vineyard (Randy Clark, Catch The Fire 1994). Clark claims that the “greatest revival of all times” is now a reality. That “people are being raised from the dead and temples are being hit by lightening or fireballs and knocked off their things. It's all over. Germany and Africa. It's everywhere. God's doing it” (Randy Clark, “Catch The Fire: Questions and Answers”, TACF, 10/14/94, audiotape) Unfortunately I couldn’t seem to find any evidence of this destruction going on at the time. It has been reported: David Hogan was speaking and he, after hearing her request, limply and repeatedly hit her on the head with his handkerchief saying, “Fire of God, Fire of Heaven.” Then the claims continue. He tells how he watched a man grow new legs and feet from the knees down and there's a story about a girl who had no bones from the hips down. The girl grew new bones in her legs, Hogan asserts. Then he tells the crowd at Brownsville that he is asking Jesus to do that right there for them. He tells them he is “exploding with fire.” People began to scream, cry and wail. Hogan tells them, “You all are easy targets” and begins to scream: “Fire! Fire! Fire!” as the Brownsville students surged forward. Hogan ordered his men: “Get 'em” as the “impartations” are eagerly anticipated. As the session concludes there is no smoke, no clouds, not even a mist, just a lot of people in a frenzy and wailing. Mercifully, the tape fades to snow and finally ends” (The Remarkable Exploits of David Hogan by G. Richard Fisher, Personal Freedom Outreach) The Modern Origin of Fire Baptism is from the Latter Rain Franklin Hall said of this fire baptism “ I have said that impartation prayer is not really prayer, but a commanding of fire upon the person being touched by the “anointed” man of God. This, too, reflects Hall's teaching on the ability to command fire upon those touched, Describing how a skeptic was converted after having allowed Hall to lay hands on him, Hall states:As Dr. Jumper stood before me, I commanded the Holy Ghost fire to descend and come all over him. The cloven tongues wrap around clothing did come upon nearly every part of Brother Jumper's body. He testified to it being hot upon his physical flesh. “Fire! Fire! More! More!” are all that is needed for Holy Spirit fire to be imparted. This was Hall's method as well. He states that it wasn't necessary to pray anything more than the command word: I thank God for the speaking of FAITH WORDS that work. In some instances, all that I did in Jesus' name was just to speak the commanding word and Jesus Christ fell all over people, including sinners. Remember Hall's the idea of impartation by speaking and commanding or decreeing in light of what you read from various promoters of this experience. In his November airing of This Is Your Day telecast Hinn told viewers, “That incredible anointing that hit at one point in that service is something that I'll never forget as long as I live.” And then divulged, “Listen saints, what we're about to show you we rarely ever show on any program. The fire of God hit and the Lord kept saying to me, 'Say, Fire! Speak the word, Fire!' And as I did you're about to see the results. You may never be the same again after this. “There’s coming a time in our lives as believers when we’re going to have a fresh revelation of who He is. And we’re going to come into a new walk with Him. Remember, He declared we would be baptized with fire. Fire ... Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know, the day will come when the fire of God’s presence will visibly appear in public meetings. You may have never heard that before - it’s biblical. ... We’ve known the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but we have not yet known the fire. And I’m here to tell you in Southern California, God is about to visit you and the whole Church with fresh fire” (November 1998 airing of his This Is Your Day ) “I don’t understand why sometimes the anointing comes that mighty and strong. All I know is it’s been absolutely incredible. It’s been incredible. I have never known the anointing, gentlemen, like I saw it that meeting, especially during that period in that service on Friday night when literally every part of my body was electrocuted with God’s [power]. Yet Hinn who endorse this experience also expresses concern when this fire hits him “I'm on fire my body is burning up” (This is your Day Oct. 25, 1999) Hinn describes it: “my God there's fire here. ahhh arrggh “My skin is about to explode your body will tinkle from the top to the bottom lift your voices lift your hands and ask him for it (TBN with Paul and Jan Crouch Sept. 13, 1999 viewing of the Denver crusade) Jessie-Penn Lewis in the book War On the Saints records a Minister During the Revival in Wales writing, “The counterfeit of the Presence of God is mainly felt upon the body, and by the physical senses, in conscious “fire,” “thrills,” etc… The person affected by this counterfeit will be moved almost automatically to actions he would not perform of his own will, and with all his faculties in operation. He may not even remember what he has done under the “power” of this “presence” (Jessie-Penn Lewis War On the Saints, p.153). Considering how we see Benny Hinn act under compulsion from this fire it would fit this description perfectly. Hinn growling in tongues and growling says “Fire on you and your ministry. bring those preachers, bring those preachers, bring those preachers, bring those preachers, My God .FIRE , FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, FIRE on you. Bring Paul Crouch here, Kent get up here Kent get up here (this is all done in an foreign voice not his own ) My God fire on you Paul , FIRE. Fire on you Kent fire, pick up Kent FIRE (tongue) fire pick him up fire on ya, pick Paul up, pick Paul up (Hin s now become very agitated in his ordering the catchers) fire that’s fire on ya paul, that’s fire on ya, that’s FIRE on Kent, that’s FIRE on ya my (preacher bunch) get ____over here lift your hands play in the holy ghost. that’s fire on Tim, come’re come’re come’re (Hinn now is in ecstatic pain) , fire on ya,( he growls in pain) come’re Mr.___come’re growls fire on ya, (whispers the fire presence is here) growling argh, FIRE on ya, Crusade shown on TBN with Paul and Jan Crouch Sept. 13 1999) Clearly Hinn on the video is completely out of control and trying to pass on this power that is on him. Hinn describes a video he is about to show with Paul Crouch on TBN “Paul, when, when, when I felt this atmosphere on me, and I spoke of a word, FIRE, like that. They were thrown in the air, began to, to roll real rapidly, and they went into the, what do you call that, like when a baby, a fetal, fetal position, with their bodies vibrating from head to toes violently, almost to the place you thought something was going, something physically was wrong with them” (TBN, Oct.23 1999). Just like Franklin Hall describe the fire baptism Hinn is able to speak and watch an immediate reaction. In the video Hinn releasing his anointing says, “Let the power in the Fire, fire, fire, feel the anointing. Let go, sweetheart - hallelujah! … That glory on this face. Pick up this young man. Keep playing. Pick up this kid here. Pick up this kid over there. Lord, I give you these kids. I give you these young people…. Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire. Whoa. Everybody pray. Pick him up. Pick up the other young man. Quick, bring him right here. That’s fire on these kids. Bring them here. That’s fire on these kids. Pick him up. Fire. He’s being electrocuted by God’s power. This young man is being electrocuted by God’s power. Fire. Pick him up. Fire on you. Pick him up. Fire on you. Fire on you. Pick her up. That’s my niece. I even recognize her. That little girl is my sister’s little baby. God’s power is all over her. I give you praise for the anointing. That’s glory. That’s glory. That’s glory. That’s glory. That’s fire. That’s fire. That’s fire on you, my friend.” “See the, look, look, look at this kid just enjoying God’s power on him. Kent, it’s marvelous on you, Kent. It’s marvelous on you, Kent. It’s marvelous on you, Kent. It’s marvelous on you. Look at that anointing. Huh? Kent, come here, you fireman, you. Bring that fireman here. Electrocute him in the Spirit!” After watching this video (words do not describe the mayhem exhibited) one can only wonder if this is what the apostle’s meant by being anointed or what the gurus meant? Hinn after showing these clips to Paul Crouch discusses it and says “You know, I had a prophecy form Rod Parsley, Kenneth Copeland, and a few others had come to be with me just the last few, few weeks and each one of them said, and I, I’m, I’m amazed because I didn’t think it would happen so fast. They said God is about to lift you to the hundred-fold anointing. Now, the hundred-fold anointing is a 1000 percent increase. Now, Paul, when this began in Denver, and that awesome anointing hit when I began to prophecy, remember. And God said, Speak blessings and cur- speak blessings and speak the cursings, because we, Body of Christ, need to, need to know that God’s presence not only can bless you, if you fight it, it’ll destroy you.” (TBN Oct.23, 1999) In Hinn’s crusade in Hawaii “Are you ready for the fire of the Holy Ghost...The prophecy is coming your way.” “ Speak it out in Jesus’ name.” “Many of you feel the power like that of fire. Others feel like electricity just rushing through your body.” “Many of you feel the power like that of fire. Others feel like electricity just rushing through your body. Quickly...Don’t wait for me to call on to you. Many of you begin to get healed even earlier than the service. You begin to feel a mighty fire when we’re holding the service.” Steve Brock goes down) Alvin joins (they went off in tongues out of control). “ the anointing is…Its all over me.” Steve Brock Prophesying on stage at Hinn’s crusade “for the fire of my spirit shall burn, shall burn. Yes, it shall start in those who have cried out in the secret of places. It shall burn so brightly and so powerfully that it shall consume the darkness and iniquity that has plague so many of our people that is in the church. And yes, it shall burn, it shall burn, it shall burn, it shall burn. Yes, like a wild forest fire, it shall go out of control. yes, yes” (Benny Hinn, Honolulu Blaisedell Jan.21, 1999) ...(Steve Brock prophesying in the first person) “I say I am the lord your God. I am the lord that delivers you from the enemy and the evil that comes before you. I am he that knocks down the mountains. I am he that lifts you out of the valleys. Lift thy hands and worship me. For my spirit and my power is upon you as never before. Ask what thee wants you will. Ask what thee wants you desire. For I have poured out my spirit upon my servant. become like bowls of fire (unclear words). The word he has spoken are my words. Be healed in the name of Jesus. Be delivered in the name of Jesus. Be set free in the name of Jesus. For the fire …For the fire of the Holy Ghost is upon you, saith the lord” (Benny Hinn, Honolulu Blaisedell, Jan.21. 1999) Going back to Franklin Hall, the method of receiving the body-felt salvation is through the impartation of the “fire baptism” through the laying on of hands. Hall's writings explain: As the Holy Ghost Fire comes about by IMPARTATION FAITH, so likewise will the Holy Ghost LIQUID STREAMS OF LIQUID LIGHT of LIFE SUBSTANCE come forth, along with other Bible and FAITH factors. The Saints will begin not only feeling the Fire but also will “Arise and Shine.” The healing fire cloud, is going to actually bring about the very perfection needed. Hinn tells us that this “new fire” anointing will burn away bondage and sin. Hinn states “you feel a tremendous anointing on you like fire” “many of you feel like fire going through you as I’m speaking. At one point Hinn ran off the stage and started slapping his hands on people’s ears in the first row and violently pushing them over saying, “fire on you.” He brought all the children up slays them all and gives them the fire on them. (Hinn, This is your Day Jan. 29, 2002) Hinn has consistently taught on this unbiblical and dangerous impartation. “Many of you feel a tremendous anointing on you like fire.” Hinn then brought up in front of the stage the Japanese and the Koreans who came to visit and then has fire go on them by repeating “fire” about a dozen times (Blaisdell Crusade Jan.11, 2002) Hinn explaining a dream he had of a crusade “I believe God is about to do wonders in the churches.” They fell just like the first section with violence except “heavy rain began to fall on them like and outpour of rain, heavy, heavy downpour.” The 3rd section same thing repeated except “now fire, liquid fire began falling on them, then I woke up” I knew it was from the Lord (crusade at Blaisedell, Hawaii Jan.10.2002) Could this actually happen someday? The Bible says it will. What this fire is the Scripture does not specifically describe, what we do know from Scripture is that fire accompanied God as his glory. So if there is a counterfeit false prophet and Christ it would make sense there would be a counterfeit glory coming down along with their counterfeit miracles. Hinn sees himself in his dream calling down fire from heaven as the false prophet does in Revelation. Which Biblically is really to summon God’s glory where he is in heaven. In the occult, calling upon the “I AM Presence,” is activated as a purifying fire to burn undesirable personal conditions away (much like many are calling the baptism of fire). A wide variety of decrees for handling both personal and social situations are used by I AM students. Most controversial are the several negative decrees which target specific conditions for annihilation, to be blasted from existence. The “I AM Presence” is invoked by the use of repetitive decrees, affirmations which are commands for the “I AM Presence” to initiate action. In calling upon the “I AM Presence,” the violet flame pictured around each person is activated as a purifying fire to bum undesirable personal conditions away. A wide variety of decrees for handling both personal and social situations are used by I AM students. (The purpose of ascended Masters “I AM activity” Mrs. G. and D. Ballard). Notice the concept of repeating decrees, ie. fire, fire, fire in these occult decrees. Phrases like “come now, come now, come now,” or “burn, burn, burn,” or “consume , consume, consume” would be repeated. They are summoning angels that are not of God to do psychic spiritual work in the earth. In this occult practice Saint Germaine, one of the many ascended masters is called upon specifically for healing fire, as he is the guardian of the violet ray for the ascended masters. The flame is able to extinguish illnesses and balance and prosper any situation. “The more you understand the reality and the presence, the more you can accept the presence of these healing violet flame angels, the closer, they will come and the greater their strength and power of that sacred fire wrapped around you” (I Am Healing Decrees, Saint Germaine press 1976 p.6) An angel of fire is also mentioned in Gnostic writings. We find angels of power being mentioned throughout various occult practices. “There shall not be found among you anyone that makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord” (Deut. 18:9-12). Most hold the position of this fire being literal as they sacrificed their babies. While the pagan nations did this, I’m not sure if this is the same as passing children through the fire in the worship of Moloch, where the children were sacrifice and actually killed and burned (Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 16:21; 1 Kings 8:29; 9:3). These are occult spiritistic practices mentioned in Deut.18:9-12. In context this is an occult initiation that God forbids Israel to participate in. In the occult worldview there is certain forces of nature used, four elements (fire, air, water, earth) “The Holy Spirit ... is the ingredient of Life which is the Fire of Cosmos” (Climb the Highest Mountain pp.346). “those who seek to evoke the Shamballa force, are approaching close to the energy of fire .... (Esoteric Astrology, 1st ed. [1951], pp. 586-587). Evoke is much like decreeing or repeating or speaking into the heavenlies what you want to come to pass. The prophets of the new apostolic order are also teaching about this fire and sending fire. Dutch Sheets “the is joining the river and the fire figures that one out we only heard last night about it being a river of fire (Dutch Sheets, National School of The Prophets, Mobilizing the Prophetic Office May 12, 2002) Mike Bickle says, “Loose then spirit of burning! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! (Mike Bickle May 12, 2000 National School of the Prophets) Kenneth Copeland has also said, “When the fire of God begins to burn and the rivers of the Spirit start to flow…” Sheets and others are saying the same thing. “..the spirit of God shall become one with them and the flesh will be made pure by the Holy Spirit that shall upon them like the flowing "river of golden fire” (Messiah and the 2nd coming John David and Naomi Rice 1982 Coptic press Wyoming MI) Uncannily they all seem to be same thing even though it is unbiblical. Cindy Jacobs speaking at the National School of the Prophets asks mike Bickle to share: “In Daniel 7:10, the fiery stream, or the river of fire that breaks fourth out of the throne of God, I believe is the person of the Holy Spirit. And when the fire comes forth, the fire is not just judgment. The fire is the revelation of the burning desire of God's heart for people. Now, with that burning desire, when rebellion rises up against it, the fire removes that which hinders love, and we call it judgment. But the fire breaks forth. His name is the Holy Spirit, and when this fire comes through history, Malachi 3 says, “The forerunners at the end of the age are going to loose the burning fire.” The spirit of burning is the manifestation through the House of God in prayer, of this river of fire called the Holy Spirit. And this thing broke out in the early church in the upper room in Acts chapter two. The river of fire broke in upon them in Acts 2. Tongues of fire baptizing them afresh. It's the anointing of the forerunner's spirit, and the thing ends in Revelation chapter 15. On the sea of glass, worshiping God, mingled in flaming fire with the harps of God in our hands. The church, the bride of Christ, that got a down payment in Acts 2, a room of a hundred and twenty with fire, is going to end up with these thousands and thousands and thousands, Revelation 15, verse 2 and 3, mingled with the same fire of Acts 2, the river of God, the Holy Spirit, clothing us with fire, bringing us into that kind of union, that intimate bridal partnership that we call intercessory worship. Amen.”(Cindy Jacobs speaking again) “Hallelujah! The Holy Spirit is fire and where does He abide? In here. That we begin to decree and declare what's going to happen. There's gonna be a fiery issue out of our mouths. The fire of God. The glory of fire, the Holy Fire, whatever you what to call it. The fire of the living God that came in us at Pentecost, you see, we just didn't receive tongues, we received fire at Pentecost. And the fire of the Holy Spirit is coming. And it's going to issue out from us into the nations of the earth” “Lord, we declare the fire that is released, the fire, the Michael force of angels is going in, come down, we cry out.” Amazingly she is saying the same thing that the I AM society of ascended masters say about the fire and angels. Cindy speaking again. “ Father, in Jesus' name we decree and declare that you're going to carry this back, for the, for the anointing of revival. We speak of fire, God, right now. Right now, right now, fire of God. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Yeah, yeah, the fire of God. The fire of God. We release it and we declare it.”… Lift up your hands. “Receive the fresh fire for the nations,” says the Lord. Fresh fire. Just coming, fresh fire. A new fire for the nations. “I'm sending you fire,” says the Lord. “A fresh new fire is coming down.” She then looses the fire all over the world Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa… “Now let the fire come. Let the fire come. California, wave your hands at me. Where are you? The fire of God is falling on you right now. Ohh. Hallelujah. It's a holy mess. It's a glorious disarray. When God is comes he shakes everything up. Let the fire come. Oh, yeah, yeah. More fire. Let the fire burn. Let the fire fall. Come on. Hallelujah. Let the fire fall. Ohh, let the fire fall. Ohh, hallelujah, Lord. Hallelujah. Mike Bickel, come here. Now I want you to loose that intimacy, that bridegroom thing, with the fire upon him.”The Lord showed me the fire. You see, that's what happening. You don't understand. We, we don't understand about the Holy Spirit. We're talking about the river of God, but this river of fire, we don't understand be baptized in fire. We don't understand this part of Pentecost. We don't understand what happened, and out of that fire, what happened.” (Thursday, May 11th, 2000 National School of the Prophets tape #6). The word fire was repeated hundreds of times ad nauseum John Bevere talks about waves of God's presence would come in, “children couldn't cry, scream, or shake any longer, another wave of God's presence would come and raise the intensity to another level. At times I could only drop my head on the podium because of the heaviness of God's presence. “I watched one young girl, no more than seven years old, wring her hands profusely as though they were on fire. Her uplifted face was bathed in tears as she cried out. You could sense God on these children so strongly that the ushers did not touch them after initially helping them. They just stood, watched, and cried” (p.6 A Heart Ablaze, John Bevere) The “fire” theme is an old- but persistently revisited Pentecostal cliché. Benjamin Irwin founded the Fire Baptized Holiness Church in 1895, claiming to impart a “baptism of fire” in which people would see balls of fire or feel burning in their bodies. Franklin Hall said The man-child group of the sons of God will be required “to rule the nations, with a rod of iron” (Revelation 12:5). To those “not accepting this invitation into Holy Ghost Light of fire, there is but one alternative: the opposite to light is DARKNESS. The Light (if Life will be to them a blinding and consuming fire of destruction!” (Hall's emphasis) (Subdue The Earth, Rule The Nations, p. 57 Hall.)“Many prominent teachers credit the empowerment for their ministries (especially healing ministries) in his book on fasting and prayer. It's clear that Hall's teachings are a blend of occultism with Christianity. And since his teachings formed the basis of those that came after, and since the influence of those teachings upon neo-Pentecostalism is so great, close scrutiny of every ministry they touched is necessary” (excerpted from Al Dager's work on Latter Rain and Kingdom Theology.) What Does the New Testament Say About fire? Is it biblical to say there is a fire anointing or a baptism of fire? It’s crucial to find this out lest you receive another spirit masquerading as the Holy Spirit that gives you an experience to convince you. The Bible speaks of trials like fire in our lives as we mature in faith but it does not once tells us about an experience of fire as if it were a function of the Holy Spirit. Yet Scripture does mention a baptism of fire. I sympathize with people who have gone for this. As a new Christian I too prayed for the baptism of fire not knowing what I was asking. When I was trained in the word I found this was not a good thing. Fire was associated with judgment the only apostles who wanted to bring fire down like Elijah were John and James, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus rebuked them when they wanted to call down fire “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them” (Luke 9:55-56). Do you know what spirit these men are? Have you tested them by the Word of God? Hinn reminiscent of John and James says “You know what days these are? The days of Elijah. We are in the days of Elijah! Fire is falling down from heaven!” (May 24th, 2000 - This Is Your Day) Is it? In Elijah’s day fire fell once and consumed the altar and the sacrifice, what kind of fire is falling today? When all the people saw it [the fire come from heaven and consume the sacrifice that Elijah had placed on the altar], they said, The LORD Yahweh he is the God; the LORD Yahweh, he is the God! 1 Kings 18:39) Hinn's explanation is fire on believers. We see the Disciples baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 (fulfilling what John said) but we never see the baptism of fire. No one received a baptism of fire, fire (the shekinah glory appeared above their head this one time only). Fire only appears once the New Testament in this kind of context (on the day of Pentecost as a one time event with the apostles), almost all the other times were of judgment. We are to “save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 23). What actually is the baptism of fire? In Matthew 3:11-12, (also Luke 3:16, 17) John was speaking to a mixed multitude-believers and unbelievers-he mentions both the baptism of the Spirit and the baptism of fire. When, he was speaks to believers only the baptism of fire is not mentioned (Mark 1:8). He distinguishes his baptism (by water) and the Messiahs baptism of the Holy Spirit that came later in Act 1:4-5, Acts 2:2-4 on the Day of Pentecost when believers were baptized into the body of Christ. No true believer will ever experience the baptism of fire. The believers are to be baptized by the Holy Spirit ONLY, it is the unbelievers that are baptized by fire. To be baptized with fire. Luke 3:17, makes it clear that the baptism of fire is a baptism of judgment, it is for the chaff. There the Lord is pictured as a winnower of grain. As He shovels the grain into the air, the chaff is blown off the sides of the threshing floor. Then it is swept up together and burned. Matthew 3:12 He will “gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Here is how Jesus explains it in a parable. Matt 13:24-30: “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;” but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. “So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?”’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’“ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.’ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matt 13:36-40 And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. “The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.” Luke 3:17 Jesus says they “will burn with unquenchable fire.”(see also Heb. 10:27; II Thess. 1:8) The word is asbestos (#762) - used of eternal hell fire to punish the damned. Mark 9:43-44 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched--”where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Fire is not quenched is the same word in Greek-asbestos. Each time fire is used it is a warning from Jesus. Mark 9:43 “…than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched…” Jesus repeats for numerous sins. We need to look at Jesus’ other statements to come to grips with what this means. Luke 12:49: “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! He was talking about the end of the age with judgment. In the Judgment Jesus says ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Matthew 25:41). Matthew 13:40: “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.” This is after the 2nd coming when Jesus judges the nations, He separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 24:31 he sends his angels to gather the elect) At the white throne everyone who lived that was a non- believer will be resurrected and judged. Rev. 20:10: “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.” Rev.20:1,13-15; Rev. 20:14: “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. The fire is clearly about the eternal judgment of God. God’s people neither want nor will see that fire. The whole order of things is burned. What kind of fire do we need? God says Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” a fire that would remove all the false teaching. This fire falling in gatherings today can certainly be understood as strange fire, since there is no descriptions or even a hint of it on the bodies of people, on the day of Pentecost it was seen above the disciples heads but it was not this type of experience. They may yet see fire but certainly not what they expect. The Bible has a lot to say about strange fire, is a coincidence that the new revival promoters say fire? I think not. It began with fire and it just may end in fire in the chaff, something to really think about. |
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