Ex 24:17, And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. We began our consideration of this passage last time. One of the key aspects that needs to be clearly understood is the full weight of how this description of God would have been manifestly powerful and overwhelming to the sons of Israel. 
The viewpoint of those generations to the reality of the image of fire was phenomenal. Fire was utterly essential to the very survival of humanity. It was the only source for light and heating and cooking of food. It was used for protection from freezing and from the wild animals that were kept at bay by it. Without fire, there would have been no continuation of humankind in the development of communities and cities and nation states. It was imperative to the every fabric of societal expansion, progress, and improvement. For God to be described in this way was to give an immediate picture of just how vital He was to the people who belonged to Him. 
The other aspect of fire that is directly attributable to God is the fact of its uncontrolableness, its overwhelming power and capacity. Here, in Southern California, we get a little sense of the awe that these early people had of the power and the irresistible might of wildfires as they swept through the mountains and fields. There was nothing that could stop its fiery path as it would be pushed forward until it was either extinguished by rain or ran out of fuel to burn. Such is the knowledge that God will do what God will do and no one or nothing can prevent Him from carrying forth His plan and purpose to the utmost. 
	The Psalmist, in Ps 97:1-6, uses such language and detail to declare the majesty of God. Ps 97:1-6, The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him, And burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory. 
	In his vision of the end of days, Daniel, in Dan 7:9+10, related how God revealed Himself in this manner as sovereign and unstoppable in the amassed fires of His glory. Dan 7:9+10, "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. 
    	The other aspect of the use of fire as descriptive of the Lord God Almighty as the means of refining metal and making it usable. God works with all His power and sovereignty in the lives of men to cause them to come through the fiery trials and tribulations with a greater purity and holiness than when they began their time in the smelting crucible. The Prophet Malachi, in Mal 3:1-3, detailed this for us. Mal 3:1-3, "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord of hosts. "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. "And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. 
    	This view of God as detailed in fire was not just peculiar to the writers of the Old Testament. The New Testament is also filled with what God, represented in fire, will accomplish to His glory in the lives of those whom He has redeemed unto Himself. 
This was especially evident in the terminology used to describe the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:1-4, when the Holy Spirit was seen as flames of fire on the gathered apostles. Acts 2:1-4, And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. 
It was the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling these saints and giving them the power and the words and the courage to declare to the entire city the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. The testimony of the salvation of God began as a flame and became fanned into a conflagration in the the spreading of the Good News. It swept through the city of Jerusalem to the point that over three thousand redeemed were added to the church on that single day. 
	Later in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, in 1 Cor 3:9-15, described how God manifests Himself as if fire testing the very foundation of the belief on Jesus Christ by those who claim to be believers. Please open in your Bibles to 1 Cor 3:9-15. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. 
    	And as fiery as may be the trials which test our faith and our foundational belief upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so also in 2 Thess 1:3-8, the Apostle Paul relates to us just how precious we are in the sight of God. This is to the point that when Jesus Christ returns, He will bring forth against those who afflict and persecute His Beloved Saints the fiery retribution for that tribulation. 
2 Thess 1:3-8, We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 
	The Writer to the Hebrews, in Chapter 12, has very much to say concerning this reality of God as the manifestation of the essential being of life as so characterized by fire and flame. There is a recounting of how the original Israelites had come to Mount Sinai and had seen the image of God as fire and smoke and lightening on the mountain. Please follow along in Hebrews Chapter 12, verses 18-25. 
Heb 12:18-25, For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word should be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned." And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I am full of fear and trembling." But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 
	Then in verses 26-29, the Writer makes the very deliberate statement which echoed Moses declaration to the nation so much earlier at Mt Sanai. Heb 12:26-29. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven." And this expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
This would have reverberated within the very hearts and minds of the readers of this letter that which Moses had affirmed so long ago in Deut 4:23+24. Deut 4:23+24, So watch yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 
In 1 Peter 1:3-9, the Apostle Peter carries forward the sense of the truth that our deeds and our actions and our hearts will be tried, as if by fire, in terms of the purity and the certainty and the assurance of our faith and our salvation in Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:3-9, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. 
	Our final passages of this subject are found in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. In Acts, we saw that the Holy Spirit was presented as flames of fire. In this entire Book, we have the record of the Son of God shown in details of fire and holiness and power and authority. 
Please read along in the first chapter, verses 12-18. Rev 1:12-18, And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 
	Christ is again similarly described in Chapter 2, verses 18+19. Rev 2:18+19, "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 
	Then in Chapter 19, verses 11-16, we have the triumphant revelation of Jesus Christ detailed in all His power and majesty and honor. Rev 19:11-16, And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 
Lord willing, we have a greater sense of the power and the might and the awe that should be ours in these descriptive images of God framed in fire and in lightning and in all His glory. It is no small thing to come to the Lord God Almighty, in Whose presence is splendor and majesty and everlasting honor and holiness. So be it. 
And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Amen.

				

This morning’s benediction is Heb 12:28+29. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Amen.