Fire From Heaven
In my prayer time a few months ago God was teaching me about details of scriptures I had forgotten about. I intended to write it down, document it, and share it then, but I put other things first. I had forgotten about it til today while praying I remembered He taught me something that I wasn’t faithful with but I couldn’t remember what it was. I told Him I was sorry and asked if He would remind me of what that was. In his kindness He did, so I want to be faithful to document it and share it.
The first thing God asked me a few months ago was, why did the priest have to keep the fire going in the temple?
(‘The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. ‘ - Leviticus 6:12-13)
I told Him I didn’t know. I asked if it was because fire came down from Heaven? I couldn’t quite remember if that was the case or not? I remembered the Elijah story of fire coming down from heaven but I couldn’t remember if it came from heaven for Moses. So I went to look it up and it sure enough it did.
(‘Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.’ - Leviticus 9:23-24)
Then I wondered; but Solomon built a new temple, did fire come down then too? I had a vague memory that maybe it did so I went to look it up too. Sure enough it did.
(‘When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord , saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” ‘ - 2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
I know most of the Old Testament has prophetic meaning for us today, so I asked Him what does this mean. I felt he was telling me though my heart that these days all his people in His church are priests. 1 Peter 2:9 -“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”
Then it came to mind that God sent fire down from heaven one more time. On the day of pentecost, 'They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ‘ - Acts 2:3
As priests in his new covenant we have the responsibility to keep His fire burning. It is our responsibility to care for the fire 24/7 day and night. And when storms come against us in life, we all the more have to work diligently to keep the rain from putting the fire out. It is the responsibility God gives to us and the way we steward that responsibility will have an effect on how bright God’s light is in this dark world.
Just now I was also reflecting on how there are chapters and chapters on how the priest were to prepare the sacrifices. Only after the priest had prepared all the sacrifices correctly did God send his fire down at the tent of meeting then the same thing for the dedication of Solomon’s temple. The preparing the sacrifices did not earn God’s presence, but when the priest obeyed God on how to do it, he blessed them with his very own self, with his presence in the form of fire. We also have the responsibility as God’s priest in Jesus to put in the work to prepare ourselves as sacrifices for God’s fire. Romans 12 urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. The apostles were prepared for God’s fire by Jesus.
The fire on the alter was a foreshadow of the Holy Spirit. The priest were a foreshadow of us. No work we ever do will cause us to deserve God’s Holy presence to be manifested outwardly in our lives, but we do have a responsibility to spend time with Jesus to prepare us as sacrifices. Then as we pursue Him with our whole heart He will send us his fire in His Holy Spirit to consume us. When that fire falls, do everything you can to keep the fire burning, including throwing your own life on the alter. The world needs God’s presence and we get the great privilege of being that conduit to heal this broken world and healing God’s lost and broken people.