The fire of God is first and foremost the nature of God which is devouring, even when we are His sons/children, which we are, and live by His Spirit (cf. Deuteronomy 4:24 i.c.w. Hebrews 12:28-29).

 

Deuteronomy 4:24:
24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

 

Hebrews 12:28-29:
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

 

The word commonly used to describe fire is ‘aesh’, and in the two Hebrew letters ‘Aleph’ and ‘Shin’ it reveals to us the Heavenly Father in His power to love by pointing to the live-giving power of water and the distribution of combined forces in the unity as in the case of a cogwheel, for instance.

 

 

Staying in this fire points to the necessary approach to God that is also revealed in Psalm 18 where various phases of closeness to the living God as LORD, ‘JAHWE’, are described, who can cloak Himself in power and show Himself (cf. Psalm 18:25-31).

 

Psalm 18:25-31:
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

 

Numerous verses in this Psalm explain how only those can successfully approach Him who trust in Him, display purity, and by faith depend on the LORD in adverse conditions. It also becomes apparent that the LORD is on the side of those who acknowledge His greatness and holiness (cf. Psalm 18:2 ff).

 

To be in God’s fire therefore also means we might lose substance, because the heat of the flames burn consuming everything that cannot be considered ‘enduring’ or is classed as ‘dross’ (Note: unshakable). We can only gain a deeper understanding of this principle by considering ourselves sons of God, who have been begotten by the Father in His love.

 

We accept that we live in the dimension of shallowness and impurity present in a fallen world, and we can neither love it nor give it priority, as it has been overcome (cf. 1 John 2:15-17).

 

1 John 2:15-17:
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the
Father is not in them.
16 For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

 

In this context the term ‘world’ does not only describe the ground or planet earth but the dimension of the ‘cosmos’, encompassing the entire structure of the fallen first level of the ‘lower heaven’ (Note: natural and supernatural realm of the lower heaven of Satan's domain, lies and iniquity of fallen creatures).

 

Simply put, the Word of God teaches us how devastating it is to leave the love of the Father, the fire of God (Note: realm of the Spirit, sphere in the spiritual dimension), by cultivating even one thought of this ‘love for the world’ in our daily lives. This includes everything we permit to affect our heart and thus endangers our first love for the LORD.

 

This includes amongst others established humanistic thought patterns of ‘false love of one’s neighbour’, social opinion-forming that elevates itself over others, any kind of arrogance or self-righteousness, prideful thoughts (Note: hidden or openly displayed pride) comprising prestige or power of people, or recognition of status symbols, sexual impurity (Note: in whatever form from secret thoughts, consumption of impure pictures or pornography, masturbation to extramarital sexual intercourse), bitterness, unforgiveness, self-pity, ingratitude, laziness, manipulation, indifference, denial, unfaithfulness, craftiness, strife, addictive behavior, blasphemy, sarcasm, cruelty (Note: ruthlessness), stinginess, greed for material things, fear, reveries of the soul, etc.

 

Saints who think they deal with any thought patterns, behaviors, and habits containing such worldly standards in a tolerant manner, find it difficult to “stand in the fire of God” or remain therein, because they do not comply with the rules God has set eternally, “God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.” (cf. Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6b; 1 Peter 5:5b-c).

 

Proverbs 3:34:
34 He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.

 

James 4:6b:
… 6b That is why Scripture says (see Proverbs 3:34): “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

 

1 Peter 5:5b-c:
… 5b-c All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

 

 

The grace describing the favorable, undeserved expression of goodness from a superior person equals a level of access in the spiritual realm, which is why we through faith in Jesus Christ have access to the throne room of God; only by this justification are we permitted to come close to our holy God (cf. Hebrews 4:14-16).

 

Hebrews 4:14-16:
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

The one proactively submitting to God’s word understands the priority of sanctification as something to chase after – one voluntarily discards impure, unholy or prideful thoughts or behavior patterns, and lets them ‘burn’ in the fire of God (cf. Hebrews 12:14.28-29).

 

Hebrews 12:14.28-29:
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. …
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.

 

But there are saints who go a step further by building a deeper separation between themselves and their old, transient ‘I’ in the increasing presence of the fire (cf. Galatians 2:20) and lose themselves in the intoxicating moments of sincere adoration of the Bridegroom in the ‘Flames of YAH’ (cf. Song of Songs 8:6), so that they can no longer ‘uplift’ themselves. Several examples of encounters in the Word of God with His fire point to the mystery of the principle of glory and sacrifice, which is connected with love.

 

 

Peter, a passionate disciple, on the other hand, did not by chance deny his Master beside a fire where he warmed himself, whereupon the cock prophesied of Jesus as a sign of denial. It was not possible for him to faithfully stand by Jesus until the cross, the hearth of fire of God’s wrath and judgment He was to bear there (cf. Mark 14:66-72). Although Peter loved Jesus, he preferred at this moment his future as a free man and was afraid of being locked up or persecuted for his relationship with the LORD. He had not entered into the fire of God, which is at the same time an indication of the centre of God’s love for us humans (cf. John 3:16 i.c.w. Song of Songs 8:6b-c).

 

John 3:16:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Song of Songs 8:6b-c:
… 8b-c for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like the very flame of the LORD.

 

Our outward passion for Christ may carry us for a time, but it will be tested by the ‘jealous fire’ of God (Note: sphere of God’s presence), which implies amongst others that we will be challenged in circumstances to see whether we still worry, fear, or have concerns for something that might mean more to us than to live or even die for Christ alone (cf. Philippians 1:21 i.c.w. 1 Kings 18:21-40).

 

Philippians 1:21:
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

 

To stay in God’s fire therefore implies a greater dimension of passion associated with the first love and based on the faith (Note: inner conviction) that God as the Father is the adorable King, who reigns over all and will rule for all eternity (cf. Revelation 4:11).

 

Revelation 4:11:
11 “You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Tina Glimm

It takes our humble and repentant heart attitude towards God that can create an open spiritual access for angels to become active for our cause. This is illustrated by the scripture from Daniel 9:20-23, where Daniel confessed his sin as well as the sin of his people.

 

Daniel 9:20-23:
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill – 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 He instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.

 

 

We can see that it was important for him to pray for his spiritual place within God’s sphere of authority, the holy mountain of God, which corresponds to Jesus’ request according to John 17:21, where it is about oneness in God, who is Spirit (cf. John 4:24a).

 

John 17:21:
.. 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

 

John 4:24a:
24a God is spirit, …

 

God’s desire for us is that we fill our sphere of authority assigned by Him in Him and in this way rule in our spiritual field of responsibility.

 

When we read in the Gospels about Jesus going ‘up a mountain’, it actually says that Jesus went ‘into the mountain’. The Greek word used there is ‘εἰς – eis’ and means, among other things, ‘to go into something’. (Word explanation taken from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the Greek word ‘εἰς – into something’ with word key number: 1503)

 

Thus, God wants for us that we fill our field of responsibility assigned by Him with our presence to effectively exercise authority in Christ Jesus by His grace.

 

 

It is said that the angel Gabriel flew close to the prophet Daniel at the time of the evening sacrifice to instruct him. The name ‘Gabriel’ means ‘hero of God’ who appeared with the time of ‘twilight’ that is the time between day and night, which can be a reference to the ‘covering of God’ by ‘overshadowing’.

 

This principle is also revealed in the encounter of Gabriel with Mary, which was similarly accompanied by the shadow or ‘overshadowing’ that heralded the time of salvation – Jesus (cf. Luke 1:26-27.31.35).

 

Luke 1:26-27.31.35:
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. …
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. …
35 The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. …’

 

We know that angels are winds (cf. Psalm 104:4 i.c.w. Hebrews 1:7), in reference to ‘Gabriel’ we can speak of the ‘heroic wind’ that comes with the covering of God to bring forth boldness through understanding and enables to advance in the promise of God.

 

Psalm 104:4:
4 He makes winds his messengers [angels], flames of fire his servants.

 

Hebrews 1:7:
7 In speaking of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.’

 

 

It is stunning to find the description ‘in flight’ as referred to in Hebrew as ‘jā’ēp̅’, which also means ‘fatigue, to become weary, dull, tired’. (Word explanation taken from the Elberfelder Study Bible for the Hebrew word ‘jā'ēp̅ – in flight’ with word key number: 3357).

 

Thus, it shows that the presence of the angels sent by God or supernatural visitations can lead to a wearisome circumstance. God does this to bring about, in a certain way, a spiritual laying down for a spiritual reawakening, which can also be called a ‘download’ for the purpose of an ‘upload’.

 

From the book of Daniel, we can see that after the visitations of God in the form of the encounter with the angel Gabriel but also the visions, Daniel no longer had any strength left in him and was even ‘sick’ (cf. Daniel 8:27; Daniel 10:8-9).

 

Daniel 8:27:
27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

 

Daniel 10:8-9:
8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

 

The prophet Daniel was in captivity in Babylon and, despite this circumstance, was not intimidated to keep his vision focused on God as well as to practice the power of intercession.

 

It is necessary that we are not intimidated by external distressing circumstances to seek God. In this, it is crucial that we allow God to meet us in the way He desires and keep our prophetic consciousness or conscience pure and open to His encounter, much as Daniel had opened his windows to Jerusalem (cf. Daniel 6:11b).

Daniel 6:11b:
… 11b he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

 

 

Our conscience is the superior window or eye between our spirit and our soul. Therefore, it is important that we keep it clear.

 

Based on the visitation of the angel Gabriel, it was in God’s interest to surround Daniel with boldness and reveal to him the understanding of the time of the twenty-one days (Note: 3 x 7 days) of the resistance of darkness (cf. Daniel 10:13).

 

Daniel 10:13:
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

 

The twenty-first day was the day of God’s momentum, which carried within it the alignment of agreement of two high-ranking angelic powers, namely Gabriel and Michael. This was the correlation between the ‘boldness of God’ and the ‘mystery of God’ because the name ‘Michael’ carries the question, ‘Who is like God?’. This shows that even the presence of the opposition of darkness must serve for good to us who love God (cf. Romans 8:28).

 

Romans 8:28:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

From this it can be seen that Daniel was surrounded by a natural as well as a spiritual oppression. Here it is necessary to wait faithfully and persistently for God and His answer, which carries within it the knowledge of His love for us as faithful servants.

 

This involves, for us as in Christ, surrendering the present life in the Spirit to the LORD so that He may fill it by His touch with the supernatural power of His Spirit that is needed for the future (cf. Daniel 10:10-14).

 

Daniel 10:10-14:
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
11 He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’

 

The principle in this is striking, that Daniel was brought from the position of spirit-filled intercession, represented by lying on his knees and hands, to the upright position by the angel (cf. Daniel 10:10-11).

 

This reveals to us that through our devotion there is the intensification of spiritual touches that affirm us in our spirit being and bring us into a higher spiritual level of revelation.

 

 

Because of the intensity of the revelation for the future, Daniel lowered his face and kept silent, which can be an indication of hopelessness and limited prophetic vision. However, the Lord released another touch from the dimension of the Spirit, which we might assume that was Christ Himself, who appeared to Daniel the prophet in the likeness of a man and touched him on the lips. This enabled Daniel to communicate in a new way in the ‘realm of the Son of Man’ (cf. Daniel 10:14-19).

 

Daniel 10:14-19:
14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face towards the ground and was speechless.
16 Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak.
17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.’
18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.
19 ‘Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.’

 

On this revelation in the truth of God’s Word, we can deal with it gratefully in each and every circumstance of exhaustion after spiritual interaction, being allowed to hold on to the fact that we are being brought to new strength to continue our walk in Christ.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm