Fire on you - Your fired p.1
 

We read in Luke 9:52 Jesus wanted to go to Jerusalem, Jesus sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him, but they did not receive Him.

Luke 9:53-56 “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, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "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."

What does this tell us? Fire from heaven (which is what we hear today from revivalist who do not understand the Bibles words or meaning) is destruction, that it is not Jesus intent as he reaches out to people to follow him. Instead, he wants to save. How he does this is by the gospel, a message; the message he gave authority to all to speak that will save people from their sins. One must first believe the message themselves to give it to others.

Nearly everywhere we read of fire in the Scripture, it is not a good thing.

Luke 12:49-53 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Acts 1:5 Jesus said to his disciples “but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Not the Holy and FIRE, only the Holy Spirit.

They were baptized with the Holy Spirt on Pentecost, just as Jesus said. We see the Disciples baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 (fulfilling what John said) but we never see a baptism of fire. No one received a baptism of fire, fire, a light (the shekinah glory appeared above their head this one time only). “the fire-like appearance was above them, not ON THEM.” They were not touched in the body by this fire.

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), it was temporary. Almost all the other times fire is mentioned were of judgment. It appeared only once when the Holy Spirit came to birth the Church.

Furthermore, when Peter spoke Acts 2:38-39 said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” he did not include fire, nor was fire seen above their heads as it was in the upper room.

 Acts 2:41-42 “Those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”

There was no repeat of a rushing wind, nor was there fire upon the 3,000 saved that day. In fact it does not mention that the 3,000 spoke in tongues. To say otherwise is reading into what is not there. To understand what is written correctly, we need to carefully read the text and not insert our own interpretations. Rightly divide the word.

Acts 2:3 The idea is that they were separated or divided one from another; it was not one great flame, but was broken up, or cloven into many parts, and probably these parts were moving without order in the room. (from Barnes' Notes)

Acts 2:3 but each separate tongue looked like fire, not real fire, but looking LIKE hoosei (NT:5550), as if) fire. The audible sign is followed by a visible one (Knowling)]. "Fire had always been, with the Jews, the symbol of the Divine presence (cf. Ex 3:2; Deut 5:4). (from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Now I want to propose a point to help explain this. This was a light that acted like fire. Remember, they did not have light apart from fire back them, no light bulbs, so it was difficult to describe.

The Bible says, “There is ...one baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5) and it is of the Spirit which puts a believer into the body of Christ and the Spirit in the believer (1Cor.12:13), there is NO baptism of fire for any believer afterwards.

Some may point to Acts 2:3 as justification for the baptism of the Spirit (called as tongues of fire) but this event was unique, it occurred only once, it did not take place in either the apostle’s ministry or to the church ever again. It was never repeated in the New Testament nor taught as a practice for the baptism of the Spirit in the church by the apostles.

A baptism of fire
 

What actually is the baptism of fire? In Matthew 3:11-12, (also Luke 3:16, 17) John was speaking to a mixed multitude of believers and unbelievers that came out to see him in the wilderness. He mentions both the baptism of the Spirit and a baptism of fire. When, he was speaks to believers, 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 a separate baptism of fire. The believers are to be baptized by the Holy Spirit ONLY, for He is God. It is the unbeliever’s that are baptized by fire.

Matthew 3:12 He will gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable 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.

Jesus says they “will burn with unquenchable fire.” (see also Heb. 10:27; II Thess. 1:8)

Here is how Jesus further 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.”
 

The seed is God’s word that is to produce fruit, the fruit being the life of Christ in the believer.

Bad seed is from the enemy which will make one not have fruit of the Spirit. So when you see men speak of fire, a baptism of fire and will transfer this to you through their hands, or call it down from heaven you know this is not good seed.

Matt 7:19-20 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire . Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

 

 

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