This Word on the fire of God is not exhaustive by any means; but it will be basic to a great deal of teaching in the days to come. In its simplicity it could mold our whole thinking for the rest of our lives. What we want to deal with is the fire of God. This revelation in the Scriptures is something that came recently while I was intensely seeking the Lord. It gave assurance of the direction that should be taken now. The major emphasis is going to be on the ministry of judgment—apostolic judgment returning to the earth (Revelation 18:19–20, ASV).
The Scriptures talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, and tell us that “our God is a consuming fire.”
John the Baptist said, “As for me, I baptize you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not even fit to remove His sandals; He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11–12.
“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24.
For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29.
The visions and revelations in the book of Revelation show the different aspects of the colors of the flames of fire that come forth (Revelation 1:14–16; 4:5; 9:17; 10:1; 15:2). What God’s people have never understood is the place that they are to have in participating in the ministry of fire. Although we do not understand some things in the Scripture, we must realize that we are seeing as much as God wants us to see at the moment. And as the seals are taken off of the Book, we will understand more (Daniel 12:4, 9–10; Revelation 5:4–10).
Peter talks about the place of fire in the last days. He tells us that at the beginning—back in the antediluvian world—the waters were reserved for judgment (II Peter 3:6–7). The fountains of the deep and the fountains of heaven were opened up and the great flood of judgment came which was cataclysmal (Genesis 7:11). Archaeologists believe that they have found the ark of Noah on Mount Ararat (Genesis 8:4). The frame of the ark up on that mountain has been seen from aerial views, in times when part of the glacier there melts down enough for it to be visible. After the flood God gave a rainbow as a sign that He would never destroy the earth with waters again (Genesis 9:11–17). Never again will there ever be a great worldwide flood. However, Peter tells us that fires are reserved for the endtime judgment.
But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. II Peter 3:7.
Revelation chapter 8 talks about fire and the time of the end—the divine fire and the control of it, the use of it, and what is going to come to pass because of it. This message will require that you read the whole book of Revelation. You will read about the two witnesses and how they minister, how these witnesses bring the judgments and condemnation on the world (Revelation 11:3–6). Read about the seven trumpets and the seven vials and notice how many times fire comes out from them.
And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
And the first (angel) sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood.
And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.
And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths. Revelation 8:5, 7–8, 10; 9:17–18.
Notice that during these times of judgment in the book of Revelation, God judges the earth for her worship of demons and for her sorceries and so forth (Revelation 9:20–21; 14:9–12; 16:2). It is very significant that witchcraft and devil worship is reviving now. But it is not coming up to take over; it is coming up because God is going to judge it. He is not leaving anything under cover; He is bringing it up so that it will be judged. Now the great medium of judgment—though we have not seen it yet—is going to be fire. There will be times of judgment when fire is literally going to come out of heaven to devour the adversaries.
Read now something which is a clear first indication that the believers are to participate in this fire. It also indicates the manner in which it is to come. And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. (This is talking about the last of the seven seals that are on the book, the scroll of Ezekiel 2:9–10 and Revelation 5:1.) And I saw the seven angels that stand before God; and there were given unto them seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel taketh the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Revelation 8:1–6, ASV.
Then follow all of the soundings of the trumpets and the amazing judgments that come, and such desolation those judgments bring upon the earth! And the amazing thing is that even with such total judgments, there is no repentance (Revelation 9:20–21). Instead, the people of the earth arise to blaspheme God in their state of unrepentance (Revelation 16:9–11, 21). Read the rest of chapter 8 and chapter 9 carefully, and get the picture which is portrayed.
What was the trigger that brought all those things to pass? The angel took a golden censer, and much incense, that he should add unto it the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar. And the smoke of the incense came up to the Lord, and there was added to it the fire from off the altar of God; and then it was cast upon the earth.
Then came the thunders and the voices, the lightnings, and an earthquake. And then came the seven angels blowing their seven trumpets (Revelation 8:7, 8, 10, 12; 9:1, 13; 11:15). What triggers off the judgments? Fire on the earth.
Jesus hinted at that. He said, “I am come to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I, if it already be kindled?” (Luke 12:49.) How little we understand of what this really meant: “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I, if it already be kindled?” Our Lord Jesus Christ brought the beginning of judgment. All civilization changed with the coming of Christ. Nations fell. Jerusalem fell. Judgment was already in the earth. The Lord had cast it; it was already kindled. But that was only a token of what is to come in the end time.
Of the two witnesses that came, it was said that these were the prophets who in their day had brought fire from heaven and judgments on the earth and had commanded that it not rain (II Kings 1:10–15; I Kings 17:1). Revelation 11:3–6 describes a number of things which indicate to us that it is probably talking about Elijah and Moses. Whether or not you believe in the personal return of Elijah, it is prophesied in the last prophecy in the Old Testament, in the final verses of the book of Malachi.
In the time of Christ, they referred to that prophecy: “I will send Elijah before His face to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, lest He come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:4–6). When Jesus spoke to the multitudes about John the Baptist, He said, “If you can receive it, this is Elijah who was to come” (Matthew 11:14, KJV), referring to that prophecy. He was indicating that Elijah, without question, had an incarnation in John the Baptist (Luke 1:13–17; Matthew 17:10–13; Mark 9:11–13). John the Baptist who came, then, was the very Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11:14; Malachi 4:5–6). Yet the prophecies pointed to something more than John the Baptist ever fulfilled, which indicates another Elijah ministry to come (Luke 1:17; Malachi 3:1–3; 4:5–6; Luke 3:4–6; Isaiah 40:3–5).
In the Old Testament, in all cases where you see Elijah move, you get the feeling that he was a ministry who was almost out of context. He moved in things that belong to the remnant in the end time (I Kings 17:1, 6, 19–22; 18:12, 24, 30–40; II Kings 1:10). He moved in authority and judgment and ministry that we are to have now. Please note this summary of Elijah’s ministry.
I & II Kings—Prophetic Events from the Story of Elijah
I Kings 17:1Dominion over kings; dominion over nature.
17:6Miraculous preservation and immunity.
19–22Dominion over death, sickness, disease (signs and wonders).
18:12Transported in the Spirit.
18:21, 24Authority in judgment to separate precious from vile, false professors from believers, those who serve the Lord from those who serve Him not, etc.
18:30–31Repairing and restoring altar of the Lord; twelve tribes regathered in one worship.
18:38, 40Authority to bring divine fire of judgment upon sorcerers, followed by physical annihilation.
II Kings 1:10, 12Authority to bring down divine fire of judgment.
We realize now that the end-time ministry of Elijah refers to a company of people; there is no question that this is true. But I have a distinct feeling about how we should read these prophecies. When I read about the “two witnesses,” I believe that it is a two-witness company; but I also believe that there are two witnesses who head up the company. When I read about an Elijah company, I believe that there is a great company which carries an Elijah ministry; but I also believe that there will be an Elijah who schools and trains them. When I read about the Body of Christ, I know that it is a great, many-membered Body (Ephesians 1:22–23; 4:15–16); but I also know that there is a personal, living Christ who heads it. So you can speak of companies, but you cannot eliminate the individuals who bring them forth.
I believe that we are going to see visitations again. I am looking for the remnant of God—whether they are conscious of being a remnant or not—to be brought into the intercession of these saints (Romans 8:22–23) where there is the smoke of the incense in the censer with the prayers of the saints, and the fire from off the altar of God is added to it and it is cast upon the earth for great troubles and tribulations (Revelation 8:3–6). God is more in our being led by the Spirit to the targets for our intercession each day than anyone realizes. Some of the greatest work that will ever be done will not only be this Living Word that is going forth, but also the living judgment that is going forth as well.
I believe we can pull down men in high places who are devil-possessed (Psalm 149:5–9; Ephesians 6:12; II Corinthians 10:3–6). We can destroy nephilim that have worked their way into high government circles. These things are going to come. We will have faith for that judgment.
“If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty” (II Kings 1:10). I looked to the Lord, and there was no vindictiveness or antagonism in me; I just quoted that verse in a prayer very simply: “If I be a man of God, let fire devour these fifty.” I had not been thinking of that story; it was not even in my mind. Those words came just as though someone else had moved upon me to speak them, and immediately the release began to come. I have felt ever since that this is what God wants to do through us.
I believe that the spirit of Elijah will be working more closely with us than we realize in the days to come. He will be provoking people to move into their ministry. There will be an Elijah company that comes forth. There will be a group of people that comes forth with such faith in God that by their prayers—coming up like an incense to the nostrils of God—they initiate this fire from the altar being put in the censer. It is the prayers of the saints that literally cast fire upon the earth—that is the trigger for the seven angels to begin their trumpeting.
This is something that God is doing; and the Scriptures tell us that God does not move—He does nothing—unless He reveals it first to His servants, the prophets. He reveals it first to His servants, the prophets.
Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7.
And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.” Revelation 22:6.
Study the story of what happened in II Kings chapter 1.
Elijah was very bold to prophesy to a king in Israel named Ahaziah who had injured himself by falling through a lattice in his upper chamber. He had sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, about whether he would recover from his sickness. But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite to meet the messengers and tell them that the king would die. Elijah met the group that was sent from the king and said to them, “You tell him, ‘Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shall surely die.’ ” So they returned to the king and he asked, “Why have you come back so soon?” They told him, “There was a man who met us,” and they gave him the message. The king asked, “Who was he?”
“We don’t know.”
“What did he look like?”
“Well, he was a hairy man clothed in a leather girdle.” The king said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.” So he sent a captain with fifty men to go and get him. Elijah was up on a high rock at the time that they came to him, and the captain said to Elijah, “O man of God, thus saith the king, ‘Come down quickly.’ ” There probably was not much respect in the tone of his voice, either. Elijah answered, “If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty,” and it was done. Fire came down from heaven—“a fire of God,” the Scripture says—and consumed him and his fifty. Again Ahaziah sent a captain and a second fifty to Elijah and the same thing happened—he burned them up.
So the king sent the captain of a third fifty to come and ask Elijah, and this time it was a little different—there was respect in his voice.
And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in thy sight. II Kings 1:13b–14, ASV.
The angel of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Go with him; do not be afraid,” and told him what to do. So they brought him to the king, and Elijah said very bluntly, “You’re going to die.” Then he went on to his place and the king died according to the Word of the Lord (II Kings 1:1–17). In the second chapter we find fire again: horses and chariots of fire came down and swept Elijah and Elisha asunder, and Elijah was caught up in that whirlwind (II Kings 2:11, ASV).
There is a fire, and Satan has tried to tune into that thing time and time again, in witchcraft and sorcery and things of that nature. You may have heard of how the devil has tried to use fire and destruction, a mystical fire. One of the earliest attempts of devil worshipers was to produce fire walking, and walking on hot molten lava (which even in a solid state can be hotter than molten iron) that would normally scorch them alive. You know the tenderness of skin exposed to heat; imagine being able to walk upon hot molten lava or coals of fire, as they do in some island cultures, and remain unhurt. There is no way that you can call that “mind over matter,” because human flesh can be burned. If you are walking on fire—whether you are thinking about it or not, whether you do believe it or you do not believe it—you will get burned. There is some mystical control of fire involved, which Satan has been trying to use for some time (Ezekiel 28:14; Revelation 13:13).
I have heard how in Hawaii the Kahunas use fire in their witchcraft. One Hawaiian sister who was raised as a little girl by a Kahuna said that at times she has seen the ball of fire go across the sky at night, just sailing through the heavens, not too many feet off the ground. When the people saw that, they knew what was happening: A Kahuna had worked his mystical force and was sending it to destroy a certain individual. It would strike terror in the hearts of those Hawaiians. You do not see too much of it anymore, but it used to be done quite commonly. The sign was always a ball of fire that appeared, and the next day they would find that someone had been destroyed by that fire.
Satan has tried to do this and has only played around with it (Ezekiel 28:14, 16, 18). Whenever you find Satan doing that, know that he is taking some remnant of the authority that once existed in man, some little trace of it that still remains in the old Adamic race. He cannot originate it, but he can amplify it—just as a radio does not originate music but takes a weak signal that cannot even be heard and amplifies it until it booms out. That is what Satan does. He takes some little spark that is in an individual—in a man’s hatred, in his psychic forces, in his concentration—and amplifies it with devil power; then he uses it to destroy.
But for all of that, what Satan can do is insignificant, as far as the real thing is concerned. Satan has been playing a bluffing game in the whole picture. Nine-tenths of all that is coming right now in devil worship and witchcraft is pure nonsense. A lot of it is nothing more than imagination or suggestion, nothing more than preying upon people’s fears; it is not that real. There may be a little spark of reality; but whatever is there, he amplifies it and tries to make it appear great.
The fear of the Lord is going to be in the earth, and that is going to be much different.
At night my soul longs for Thee, indeed, my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently; for when the earth experiences Thy judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9.
We have been hearing the Words of the Spirit talking about judgments in the earth. Judgments are returning. Judgments are coming to the whole earth.
When we pray and believe, God’s Word reveals the thoughts and the intents of people’s hearts (Hebrews 4:12). When we lay hands on people, we see their lives change; their personalities change. Look at the lives of those who really persevered in this Living Word—they are miracles. Could we have come so far and be going down a dead end? Could we be hearing prophecies, like those God has spoken to us about judgment being committed to the saints, and be going down a dead end? No! How many times in these last few years have you heard prophecies come about judgment, prophecies that we are to be an instrument of judgment in the hand of the Lord? God has to do it, and there will be teaching and help from the Lord. We are going to go after this just as if the spirit of Elijah were with us to teach us all the secrets of fire.
I am not speaking of a literal, natural fire; I am speaking of the fire of God, something that few people understand. This is the same flaming fire that was set up in Eden—the cherubim with the sword of fire was stationed at the entrance to the garden of Eden—as a symbol of judgment (Genesis 3:24).
The more you get into the book of Revelation, the more you become aware of all the fires that come. As I read it, I was astonished. As I read about the seven trumpets and the seven seals and so forth, I found 19 references to the fact that fire is involved in the judgments that came, and several other references to the manifestations of fire. And I noticed how often devil power is mentioned, and how often the people of the earth were unrepentant for their sin (Revelation 9:20–21; 16:9–11).
REFERENCES TO FIRE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
There are 19 references to fire, brimstone, and smoke and burning, relating directly to judgment in Revelation:
Revelation 8:5 14:11 20:9
8:7 16:8–9 20:10
8:8 17:16 20:14
8:10 18:8–9 20:15
9:17–18 18:18 21:8
11:5 19:3
14:10 19:20
There are also 9 other references to fire in Revelation:
Rev. 4:5—the seven lamps of fire before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Rev. 3:18—speaks of purchasing from the Lord gold refined by fire.
Rev. 1:14; 2:18; 19:12—speaks of His eyes as a flame of fire.
Rev. 10:1—the strong angel had feet like pillars of fire.
Rev. 13:13—the beast makes false signs, even fire that comes out of heaven.
Rev. 14:18—mentions the angel who has power over fire. Rev. 15:2—the sea of glass mixed with fire.
Certainly our God is a consuming fire! (Hebrews 12:29.)
Revelation 11:3–13 talks about the two witnesses; it says that they are two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. That goes back to Zechariah’s prophecy (Zechariah 4:2–14).
And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed. These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. That looks like defeat, but I want you to notice what follows because this is very significant: And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. (By this we assume that we are reading about Jerusalem.)
And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do men look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.
And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons: and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11:5–13, ASV.
This is God’s demonstration that there can be no defeat to us. We are going to come more and more into immunities and invincibility—though it may not look like it from a human plane. There will be times in which you could literally be slaughtered. It is happening on a spiritual plane now; it is as though you are lying there and it is the end of you—but the Spirit of life will come upon you again and you will rise up. If you have an honest heart before God, and you are seeking God and you are among this elect, I do not believe that anything can stop you. Nothing can stop you. Realize that there must be within you an implicit faith in the actual destiny of what God is bringing to the earth. You have to believe it with all of your heart, and set about to do it. Do that which God called you to do.
Don’t agree with those who say, “Be careful, because we could die in this.” That is very possible. But if we believe in the destiny that we are called to, then we believe that God could raise us from the dead, if need be, so that we can go on and finish it. That was Abraham’s faith: he lifted that knife in perfect confidence. He would have put it right in his son’s heart, because that was what God told him to do (Genesis 22:2). Only one thing stopped him in it: The angel said, “Stop” (Genesis 22:9–12). The Scriptures say that Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead; he never wavered from the promise of what God was going to do through that boy (Hebrews 11:17–19). He believed God. God told him what to do. He could put a knife into all of those prophecies, but he still believed them. It looked as though he would be putting an end to everything of his hopes and his dreams and all the things that God had ever spoken to him, but he knew that it was not so. He believed what God had said.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type. Hebrews 11:17–19.
I do not believe that this walk in the Spirit can be killed. I do not think that anything can stop it. I am not asking for anything to prove it, but there will be times down the road in which great assaults will come against this Word, and it will rise up again and be caught up to an even higher spiritual level. Fire is involved, though I do not know how.
The Shekinah glory of God came in the Old Testament, and it was not only for blessing but it was also for a judgment. There were people who tried to draw near to it and who died in the process (Leviticus 10:1–3; I Chronicles 13:7–10). When God came down on Sinai to give the Law and the judgments, there was fire and lightning and great tempest, and God thundered out of the mountain (Exodus 19:16–20; Hebrews 12:18–24). The Word says that now He speaks, and He shakes not only the heavens but the earth, and everything that can be shaken will be shaken.
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”
And this expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:25–29.
We must believe for something to rise in our hearts. We are not just a people with the sweet little spiritual exercise of making a few prophecies and exhortations, singing a few psalms; that is not where this is to end. We are in the biggest dead end imaginable if we maintain that what God wanted to do in restoring His Church was only to bring forth a few gifts of the Spirit to help us, to give us something to revive us in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We are raised up to be the trumpets that sound forth the judgments! We are raised up to be the ones who make those prayers and intercession to which is added the fire from off the altar of God and then cast upon the earth (Revelation 8:3–5). We are the ones whom God has ordained, and we should pray and seek the Lord continually.
We do not have a big enough vision yet of what is to come. The real proof of what God is going to do in the earth and of our being His instruments to perform it will be in that fire that comes. That is God’s witness to the earth.
The Living Word is going to come to the whole earth, but don’t think that the Living Word is coming to be given to everyone. Already we have seen that it is too selective a thing for that. It is God’s Living Word to come and seek out the remnant, the lost sheep, to build again Zion (Jeremiah 23:3–4). This is the restoration, although it is not on a large scale. The book of Revelation shows that these judgments are going to decimate the earth—they will destroy a third here, a third there (Revelation 6:8; 8:11; 9:15–21). What will happen will be terrible. Don’t you want to walk right on through it? While the angels are blowing these trumpets of judgment, I want to have my incense of intercession in that censer with the fire of God. I want to be among the people who are proclaiming the Word of God, the Gospel of the Kingdom to be preached to the ends of the earth.
“But the one who endures to the end, it is he who shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” Matthew 24:13–14.
The Word is coming. The response to it has been selective. A thousand people can hear this Word and not be moved by it. But one can get one little Word, and because God has been dealing with his heart, he opens up to it and he comes alive. Just speak the Word; because one man will arise right up out of the muck and become an apostle, and another man who is standing behind the pulpit will hear the Word and turn away from it and blaspheme it. You cannot say who is going to accept it. It is like some strange selection that God has made (Matthew 13:11). That is why you hear the Word and you leap to it. The Living Word will go forth to the ends of the earth, and the new song will be sung. But it was never ordained of God to bring His Kingdom in to the earth through the winning of the multitudes to this walk; it is what God does with the remnant who come forth in this hour. We are the ministry of judgment. The instrument of judgment is being prepared—and we are that instrument!
The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And of the tribe of His inheritance;
The Lord of hosts is His name.
He says, “You are My war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
And with you I shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,
And with you I shatter man and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and youth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and prefects.”
Jeremiah 51:19–23.
Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishment on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the judgment written;
This is an honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
Psalms 149:5–9.
For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. II Corinthians 2:15–17.
God is ready to judge this age—to close it and finish it. For that reason He has projected you into the age to come. You are partaking of the powers of the Kingdom of God that is being loosed in your hearts, but that is not so in the rest of the world. The world is getting darker every day, and our lives are getting brighter every day. Two different things are happening in the earth: to the remnant is coming the life and the light and the fire of God; to the rest of the world is coming darkness, and upon that world the fires of judgment will fall (Joel 2:2–3; I Thessalonians 5:4–9).
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. Proverbs 4:18–19.
A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations. A fire consumes before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them. Joel 2:2–3.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:4–9.
The greatest compassion that anyone can have right now must be God-directed; and if God wants to destroy this mess, say “Amen” to it (II Chronicles 19:2). If God wants to put an end to this old order of things, let Him put an end to it. Don’t weep to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live in Thy sight”—because he just may live, and plague you for generations to come (Genesis 16:11–12; 17:18, 20). Don’t befriend the Gibeonites because they have a sad story; slay them, or else they will be a thorn in your side (Deuteronomy 7:1–5, 16; Joshua 9:7, 15; 23:12–13).
Your compassion should be directed the way God wants it. People have heard this Word, and you help them; you stand with them and bless them; hold them up, and make for them a lifeline of love. Do everything you can. Let the Word go out, for God is going to have many little bodies and little companies of people, and they are all going to flow into one. We could be the greatest adhesive force in the Body by the Word that God is giving us, for it produces a unity. And look at what has been happening: That Word is making us flow together. We are flowing together in God.
What is the next step? There will be prophecies. There will be visitations of God, and the fire will come.
“And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.” Joel 2:28–32.
And that for which you were raised up—to be the great prophetic voice going before His face—will happen in the earth again. An age has never died but what in the shriek and the howl of that dying age there were prophets thundering on one hand and another, “Thus saith the Lord!” The prophets of this hour are prophets of judgment. They are beginning as prophets of edification to the Body, but they are to be prophets of judgment.
Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:9–10.
The book of Revelation speaks of the fulfillment of that: “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” Revelation 18:20.
Malachi, too, spoke of the prophets of judgment: Then they that feared Jehovah spake one with another; and Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own possession, in the day that I make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 3:16–4:6, ASV.
This is a ministry of mercy. The Elijah ministry of judgment and fire is coming to prevent the total destruction of everything. Do you think that what you have been through is something that you cannot endure? You can endure it. The more the Lord puts you through, the more He is getting you ready to be an instrument in His hand. You are being refined as silver is refined in the fire.
The fires of God are coming to us in a very corrective way, purifying and purging; but the fires that come later are destructive fires. They would destroy us too, if we did not go through this preliminary time of preparation. This is like a vaccination: You are inoculated, and soon you can walk right through all the plagues and they will never touch you because you have built up an immunity to them. That is what God is doing for us. Thank God for what is taking place in our lives.
There is one thing that is very real to me: People may be looking for this thing of judgment in the book of Revelation to come to pass as quite a literal thing, without realizing that God could send an invisible spiritual fire that would literally destroy devil worshipers and witchcraft and such things in a way that is almost imperceptible. The reason I know this is because I saw a vision. I saw people coming and going just as usual. But the fire was coming, and they could not even see it. It was hitting and burning, and people were coming into judgment. And I thought, “I wonder if the perceptive, visually oriented world will know very much about these end-time events? They will be in them, they will be subjected to them, they will be tormented by them—they will experience judgments such as the big locusts that come up out of the pit—but will they see them? Will they really know them? Was Revelation 9:3–11 talking about a spirit world that is invisible to people, and in the deception of Satan many of them will not even know it until the world seems to go mad, until it seems to perish and is destroyed without knowing why?” I think that this is more of a true picture than to expect the fulfillment to happen on a literal plane.
God is conditioning us to see what the world cannot see, to hear what the world cannot hear, to walk in what the world cannot walk in (I Corinthians 2:6–10). We are seeing things the world does not see. We are hearing things the world does not hear.
Elisha made use of this principle when the Syrians plotted to capture him: And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria. And it came about when they had come into Samaria, that Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. II Kings 6:18–20.
Paul wrote of the spiritual senses that God is creating in us: Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. I Corinthians 2:6–10.
I think that this message could be preached to the Christian world, and a greater percentage of them would say that we are mad. But there would be a little remnant who will hear it and leap for joy, because they found in it a Word from God.
God is a consuming fire and He makes His ministers a flame of fire.
Christ came to cast fire on the earth. Is it already kindled?
Can any new phase of the Kingdom come without a visitation of fire?
How shall God’s fire come to you? To illuminate? To purge and purify? To consume? To judge?