Early on we see God’s fire as He rightly perceives and judges Sodom and Gomorrah. (See Genesis 19:24.) We also see God’s fire represent His presence. In Exodus 3:2, God spoke with Moses from a bush that was burning with fire but was not consumed. This declared that the presence of God was eternal and self-sustaining. Later in this same book, as the Israelites wandered the wilderness, God led them at night by a pilar of fire. This pilar of fire represented two things. God’s pathway is illuminated, no matter how dark the circumstance may be, and His protection is evident. In Isaiah 6:6-7, a coal was taken from the fiery altar and used to purge the sin of the prophet. This fiery coal displays for us God’s purity and perfection. In the New Testament, we see once again how God’s fire becomes evidence of His power. Tongues of fire appeared and gave the Apostles the miraculous ability to speak and to be understood in other languages, enabling them to share the Gospel of Christ. (See Acts 2:1-39.)
Throughout the Bible, the fire of God is a magnificent representation of God’s perception, His presence, His pathways and protection, His purity and perfection, and His awesome power.
