fire with the presence of the Lord quite irrespective of sin or wrath, is the

burden of many references:

'The sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire' (Exod.

This fire devoured Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:2) as it consumed the

murmurers in Numbers 11:1.  Deuteronomy 5 is full of reference to this

association of fire with the presence of the Lord, and in Ezekiel 1 to 10,

fire is associated with the appearance of the Lord there.  'Who among us

shall dwell with the devouring fire?  who among us shall dwell with

everlasting burnings?' asks Isaiah (33:14).  God Himself being a consuming

fire, it must follow that saved and lost must, if in that sacred presence,

alike be affected by its searching character, the believer being able to

answer the challenge of Isaiah 33:14, 'who ... shall dwell with everlasting

burnings' because clothed in the asbestos (the Greek word is found in four

passages) covering wherein they are accepted in the Beloved; this glorious

immunity being theirs, as found 'in Christ' not having their own

righteousness as a protection, but the righteousness of God which is by

These selfsame believers however, who are thus immune from the

searching flame of the Divine Presence, may have with them and about them

'works' which by their very nature cannot stand the test of fire, and so are

mercifully shrivelled as they draw near.  This aspect

we must now pursue as it impinges eventually on the interpretation we must

put upon the lake of fire in Revelation 20 and elsewhere.  We have used the

word asbestos in its modern meaning; in the New Testament it refers to the

fire that is unquenchable, not to the material that is unburnable (Matt.

3:12; Mark 9:43,45 and Luke 3:17).

Fire, and the Redeemed

Let us take the illustration found in Daniel 3.  The overwhelming pride

of Nebuchadnezzar left the three friends of Daniel no alternative but to

disobey his commands, even though the consequence of disobedience was to be

cast into a 'burning fiery furnace'.  To ensure their destruction

Nebuchadnezzar commanded that the furnace be heated seven times more than was

wont, and so vehement was its flame that the men who took up the faithful

three, were themselves instantly slain, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abed -nego,

though they 'fell down bound' in the midst of such a fiery furnace, were seen

walking unscathed together with one like unto the Son of God, and, as

Nebuchadnezzar admitted, 'they have no hurt'.  What is the meaning by having

'no hurt' is made clear in Daniel 3:27:

'These men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of

their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of

fire had passed on them'.

That is what we meant when we used the word asbestos for the perfect immunity

of the believer 'in Christ'.  These men are an anticipation of those who

shall not be 'hurt' of the second death.  Isaiah assured the 'redeemed' of

this immunity when he wrote:

'When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither

shall the flame kindle upon thee' (Isa. 43:2).