Fire in the Bible Part 5 – fire and rust; fire and the serpent

Rust is in fact slow combustion. What this means is that the fuel is still consumed like with normal fire but only heat will be given off and not light. But because the combustion is so slow even the heat would be very difficult to detect. Chapter 10 (below) will discuss rust and fire.

Chapter 9 Fire and the serpent

The serpents in the wilderness

Near the end of the forty years in the wilderness the children of Israel still had not learnt that they must trust in God. As they were walking around the land of Edom they were again discouraged and started to murmur against Moses and God, Himself. This murmuring brought punishment in the form of a plague of serpents against them. And it was these serpents that brought a lot of destruction among them. The people as result of this plague repented of their sins. What came next after this can be read in Numbers Chapter 21 and verses seven to nine.

And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

This sign can be easily traced to Christ’s salvation. The serpent mentioned in Genesis chapter three was associated with sin in that it suggested disobedience. So therefore a serpent was a symbol of our sinful nature, which from that first day has made it difficult for us to do good. We have all been bitten by the serpent and this bite will eventually bring forth death to us all.

The three features of the brass serpent

The serpent that God asked Moses to make had three features:

1.         It was made of brass. Brass represented the flesh. Polished brass represented flesh purified of sin. (for more on this read part 2 of this series)

2.         It was fiery. The brass had been tried by fire and was therefore in its sinless state.

3.         It was set onto a pole. Likewise Christ also was set onto a pole and crucified.

He crucified the sinful nature of man to become one who had conquered sin. His previous flesh as represented by the brass had gone through the fiery trials to become fiery incandescent brass which represents flesh purified of sin.

And this was all confirmed by John in John Chapter three and verses 14 to 15.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Let us, firstly be baptised, and then look on the Son of Man as the children of Israel looked on the fiery serpent so that we might have life everlasting. We can do this by studying the scriptures and then living a life committed to doing good works.

Chapter 10 Rust: fire in slow motion

As we saw in part one of this series, rusting is a slow form of burning. Rust is in fact slow combustion. What this means is that the fuel is still consumed like with normal fire but only heat will be given off and not light. But because the combustion is so slow even the heat would be very difficult to detect.

When you see rust it would be very unlikely that you would make the connection between it and fire. There are only three references to rust in the Bible. One is in Ezekiel (Ch.24:”scum”), one in Matthew, and one in James. And what do you know…..two of the three references refer to rust in the context of fire.  Let’s have a look at the reference in James. It is found in James chapter five and verse three. Let’s read verses one to three for context.

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

Even though this section was primarily aimed at the wealthy unbelievers there are also parts that wealthy believers can take notice of. This passage starts off by warning the rich men of the miseries that were going to come upon them. These miseries are not the normal cares and anxieties that beset mankind but the terrible judgements that were going to be poured out on them at a later stage.

So James then launches into a full attack of those who amass material possessions. When he did this, he no doubt had the words of Jesus in the back of his mind. Those words found in Matthew Chapter 6 and verses 19 to 20.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

In the James chapter 5 passage he his referring to the riches of people as being things that will be corrupted away. Their clothes will become moth eaten and their metal possessions will be rusted into nothingness. The rusting of people’s wealth would testify to their shame of having a preoccupation with accumulating material items. They had worshipped riches instead of giving themselves to God. They had a love of money which as Timothy says is the root of all evil.

Verse three (James Ch.5) tells us that like rusting metal their flesh would consume like fire. Here fire is being used as a symbol of divine judgement. So God was going to use their riches as a way of destroying them. He did this at the overthrow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. At that time, the rich merchant men became the target of the vicious enemy whose object was to rob them of their wealth. So in this way the riches became a liability rather than an asset, and thus in symbol ate their flesh as though it were fire.

We see that fire acted like a cleansing agent that destroyed that which was contrary to God’s will. It is indeed as a similar idea to the third reference to rust found in Ezekiel Chapter 24. If you have time later, it is worth looking up this reference.

Many people live in an affluent society where materialism is rife. Let us all take that care continually that we don’t accumulate material wealth which takes us away from our Heavenly Father. I’m not saying that we should go out into the backyard and burn or our possessions what I am saying is that we need to take a lot of care that those things we accumulate don’t take us away from our Heavenly Father. And indeed the care we take should increase as the number of our possessions we have increases. Let’s face it, the more possessions we have the more they become a liability to us, for we have more things to worry about losing whether it be by natural corruption or by being stolen.

Therefore, when we increase our wealth let us remember that if we let it take over our lives we may have a fiery judgement to face in the future.

One last point to remember on this is set out in the last sentence of verse three of James chapter 5:

You have laid up treasure in the last days.

This is the classic statement showing their foolishness. For here they were collecting riches in what could have been the last days before Christ’s return. We are in the last days now before Christ’s return. Do we waste time collecting riches knowing full well that we can’t take them with us into the kingdom?

Chapter 11 Fire and the Revelation

Revelation uses the image of fire a number of times through its pages. Sometimes it is used to mean the spirit involved in a destroying activity. In this context it can mean destruction or torment or great sickness or war and it’s terrible effects.

Fire and Christ’s body

Within this context of fire destroying things, various parts of Christ’s body were to take on the appearance of fire so that they could be used to apply the wrath of God and Jesus against those enemies of the truth. For example, have a look at Revelation Chapter 10 and verse one.

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.

This verse talks about Christ. Christ’s feet we are told in earlier chapters of revelation are like fine brass as if they were burned in a furnace – they symbolised flesh purified by fire.

Normally feet are seen as being things which are beautiful and good. But in this case they are pillars of fire which were to be used by Christ and his armies to stamp out and completely destroy the enemy. Christ in this instance is a picture of war using the burning fire to destroy all those who resist the coming kingdom on this earth.

Another example of a bodily part of Jesus taking on the appearance of fire so that it could be used in a destroying framework can be found in Revelation Chapter one and verse 13 and 14.

and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,

The eye is the symbol of intelligence. Whenever the main activity being expressed was to do with intelligence the eye was used as the symbol. Therefore an eye which was as a flame of fire, indicates intelligence in wrathful activity. So we can see from this that the mission of Christ was not one of peace but one of judgement and retribution upon the nations of the earth.

Gold tried by fire

Another use of fire can be found in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 18. This was John speaking to the Laodicean church (ecclesia).

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

John was advising them to buy gold tried in fire. Gold tried by fire is the symbol of a tried faith. This comes from 1 Peter chapter one and verse seven.

so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

A tried faith comes from hardship, not from worldly prosperity which will only weaken and corrupt. The Laodiceans were being counselled to buy a tried faith, which could only be purchased at the cost of much hardship and tribulation. Why is it necessary to go through a lot of tribulation to obtain a tried faith? Romans chapter five and verse one to five answer this question.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

It is necessary to go through tribulation to develop our hope in those things of God. If we are in tribulation then we would find that we are no longer in the position of having the need for nothing because of our worldly wealth and standing. Instead we would find that the tribulation would have put us into the position of being more dependent on the goodness and generosity of God because of the strife we are in.

So John was saying to that Laodicean ecclesia that they should pray that their faith might be tried by fire for in the end they will be spiritually rich. We need to also pray that our faith might be tried by fire so that we too might gain those extra riches that are necessary to enter that kingdom soon to be set up on this earth. Always remember those words in James chapter 2 and verse 5:

God hath chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, to be heirs of that kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him".

Seven spirits of God

Fire can be seen to represent the spirit of God in verses four and five of Revelation chapter four.

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,

Here we see seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of David. This symbol is to show the complete manifestation of the one spirit of God among those who will be redeemed. This verse is not saying that there are seven distinct and independent spirits rather what it is saying is that the one spirit of God will be represented by the symbol of perfection that is the seven lamps of fire. The seven lamps are the redeemed in a state of perfection who will go out and bring the nations of the world into subjection.

This is not a new idea for indeed King David had an inner council of seven men who assisted him in governing the nation (1 Chron. 27: 32 – 34).  So the council of seven is  a type of the seven spirits or lamps which will act as council for Christ. Ofcourse everything that is done by the redeemed in their capacity of the seven spirits will be in accordance with God’s will and purpose.

End of the millennium

There are many other references to fire through the pages of Revelation and most of them symbolise the wrath of God against the men of this world whether it be in the form of the beast or in the form of the whore of chapter seventeen and eighteen. However, the final use of fire by God will be at the end of the millennium. These are the words of Revelation chapter twenty and verses seven to fifteen.

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then 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.

and also verse eight of chapter 21.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

A lake of fire is thought of as being a region of land on fire. When a country is in a normal state of existence it is seen in Revelation as being neither a lake of water or seas. It is seen as being simply “the earth” out of which the beast came. However if a country is thrown into a state of a destructive confrontation, it then becomes a lake of fire. Therefore, the lake into which the beast and the False Prophet are thrown into is that region of country in which they exist as the religious leaders.

To throw them into the lake of fire in which they are destroyed is to kindle an enormous confrontation in the area of their rulership. And this confrontation is not extinguished or stopped until they are consumed, and those of their subjects who survived the battle transfer their allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ and his soldiers.

Verse fourteen of chapter 20 tells us that even death and hell will be cast into this lake of fire. In other words, at the end of the millennial reign there will be no further need of death and the grave. For at that the time the final judgement will take place where the remaining wicked will be consumed in death and the righteous will be granted immortality. So it will come true what Paul wrote to the Corinthians when he said that the final enemy Christ will destroy will be death.

This destruction will be carried out by that element that has been used by God hundreds of times through the pages of the Bible.

That element that requires fuel, oxygen and heat before it can exist,

That element that God chose to represent his spirit,

That element that we will all be clothed in as saints should we enter the kingdom,

that element that we all know as Fire.