The Two Kinds of Fire: Divine Fire (Esh) vs. Common Fire (Pūr) 🌋🔥
The Bible uses various terms for fire, but a profound distinction exists between the mundane fire used for cooking or warmth and the unique, terrifying fire associated with God’s presence, judgment, and ultimate purification.
1. Mundane Fire: Pūr (πυρ)
- Meaning: This is the common Greek word for physical, visible fire; it burns, gives off heat, and consumes physical matter.
- Theological Focus: Pūr is used extensively throughout the New Testament to describe literal fire, such as the tongues of fire at Pentecost (Acts 2:3) or the natural effects of fire.
- Significance: It is the material agent of consumption and destruction.
2. Divine Fire: The Concept of the “Uncreated Light”
The shocking concept comes from the biblical tradition (rooted in the Hebrew Esh, often translated conceptually into Greek) that God’s fire of judgment is not merely Pūr (common fire) but is uncreated, divine light that interacts with creation based on moral state.
- The Shocking Claim: This concept suggests the final “fire” is not an external physical force (like a nuclear blast), but the unshielded presence of God’s perfect Holiness, which becomes agonizing judgment to the unrighteous, but a source of glorious illumination to the righteous.
- Biblical Evidence (Theophany):
- Moses at the Bush: The bush was “burning with fire, yet it was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). This demonstrates God’s fire (Esh) operates outside the normal laws of Pūr.
- The Glory: The Apostle John described Christ’s eyes as being like “a flame of fire” (Revelation 1:14). This vision confirms the judging agent is intrinsic to Christ’s glorified being.
- The Final Judgment Implication: The final judgment is not a separation into fire, but the forced realization of a difference in substance: Unrighteousness cannot sustain the pressure of God’s uncreated light, and thus, its very substance is violently consumed by the unbearable holiness, resulting in the eternal agony described as the “Lake of Fire.” The righteous, whose nature has been changed, are illuminated and glorified by the same light.
The final judgment, therefore, is not a punishment from God, but the intrinsic consequence of being exposed to God’s raw, unmitigated existence while spiritually unprepared.
The Return Question
If the “fire” of judgment is the unbearable exposure to Christ’s uncreated, perfect Holiness, what specific darkness or secret sin are you currently protecting in your life that would make the immediate, unshielded revelation of His glorious presence terrifying rather than joyous?