John saw the door of heaven opened and a voice as of a trumpet said unto him, "Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must be hereafter." He continues. "And immediately I was in the spirit, and, behold a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne, who, to look upon was like jasper, and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald, and around the throne sat four and twenty elders in raiment of white, and out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings, and voices, and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament, and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the Sun. And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head and his face was, as it were the Sun, and his feet as pillars of fire."
"And the city had no need of the Sun, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." "And there shall be no night there, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. The Lord God shall be unto them an everlasting light, and the days of their mourning shall be ended."
"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear." (Matt. xiii. 43.)
We have quoted the foregoing Scriptural passages—to which we might add scores of others of similar import—to show the connection of the element of fire, heat and light—with God himself, and that while it proves the agency; at least in dispensing His blessings to all animated life, and can be so controlled by Him that—even in its intensity—it cannot harm the righteous, either in body or spirit, when He interposes; yet it is the certain agency of destruction, and the torment of the wicked at His will; or without this interposition. Certain it is, that it is the agency by which He has made Himself manifest to man, and this agency still continues in the dispensing of all the manifold blessings we enjoy, day by day, and should cause every heart to turn to Him with reverence and grateful emotions. The mind of the Christian world should acknowledge the omnipresence of the Infinite One; that He pervades all space, and is manifest in all things; while each individual should feel as Elihu did when he uttered the words, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life;" and exclaim with the Psalmist:
"I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. The eyes of the Lord are ever upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."
Now we have seen that God—by His Spirit, or influence—is everywhere; that he pervades the universe of His Creation; that his nature is eternal and indestructible, while all else—save man's immortal nature derived from God—is destructible. We are plainly told in the Bible that the Spirit of God is fire; that His Word is fire; that He is like a refiner's fire—even as a purifier of silver. That every man's work shall be tried by fire; the righteous saved as by fire; that, to his people, He will be as a wall of fire; and though they pass through the fire they shall not be burned; neither shall the flames kindle upon them. And yet our God is a consuming fire, before whom the wicked shall not stand. That the fire of His anger, and His wrath, shall be kindled against them, when all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be cast into the fire that will never be quenched; whose flames shall ascend up forever and ever. Oh, how plain the revelations of God as to the immortality of the soul, and a future state of existence! The righteous to enter into, and enjoy eternal life; the wicked—who are dead in trespasses and in sins—to enter into eternal death, even the "death that never dies."
How startling the fact of these plain revelations! God is now made manifest to our daily and hourly comprehension. How dare we trifle with Him, and our own soul's immortal interest? We are daily and hourly rushing on to our own eternal destiny. Ere another year, a month, a week or day is past, we may realize that "it is not all of life to live, nor yet of death to die." No one can escape the eternal fiat of Jehovah, "dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." As death leaves the body so judgment finds the soul. "The righteous shall inherit eternal life;" "the wicked shall be driven away from the presence of God, and from the glory of His power," and take up their abode with tormenting devils "in everlasting burnings."
Stop, poor wandering child of sin; yield obedience to the requirements of God's law; "acknowledge Him in all thy ways, and He shall direct thy paths."