Satan And The Fire of Hell or God And The Fire of Purification?
Yesterday I travelled to my brother Grant’s home for him to share his testimony live. We had only met and spoke for the 1st time 1 week earlier.
During the deep, revelatory live, Grant began sharing about some of harrowing visions and nightmares he has experienced prior to surrendering his life to Jesus and being baptised with the Holy Spirit. He would often wake up screaming.
One of the nightmares were when Grant was being chased by demonic presences. He was running through streets trying to hide, but he couldn’t escape. He would always end up running in to a huge, derelict building with an enormous fireplace in it.
He felt safe, thinking that they can’t get him, and he would be looking down at all the demonic forces trying to get him from the fireplace. He felt safe, but then this hand would come up out of the fireplace and grab him, and pull him in to the fire.
He would be falling and engulfed with flames, burning and burning and burning, and he couldn’t wake up. Eventually, in shock he would come out of the nightmare.
This kept happening over and over, but unlike the night terrors Grant had also been speaking about, when he woke from these nightmares he wouldn’t be afraid.
Whilst I was listening to Grant share about these nightmares with the blazing fireplace, my eyebrows started to raise, and I started to realise the profound significance of what happened with my daughters the evening before.
The afternoon before, when I picked my daughters up from school, my youngest daughter Amelia asked if she could do some painting when we got back. They hadn’t done any painting for probably about a month, and I said yes sure.
After dinner my daughters got the pairing box out on the kitchen table. It was Amelia and Sofia, as my oldest daughter Isabella was away on a residential trip.
I decided to do some watercolour painting too. It had been over a month since I had last done any painting. The last times I had, I drew flowers and another painting I drew sunset with the cross of Christ.
This time, I put my A4 paper in portrait, and then I was just waiting on the Lord for what He wanted me to paint.
I started to paint long flames in the bottom half of the paper. Yellow, orange, red. Like a raging furnace. I was being led to think about Shadrach, Mechach and Abednego in the firey furnace, with the Lord our God in the fire with them.
After finishing the tall flames, I was asking the Lord what He wanted me to paint above the flames.
“Do you want me to paint a person, although that will be difficult?”
The Lord said to me:
“Paint a bar of gold, for I refine my people 7 times over in the fire like gold.”
I started to paint a bar of gold. Sofia looked and asked what it is I’m painting with a slightly confused look! I told her and explained what it represents.
After painting the bar of gold I added flashes of light coming from it.
I finished the painting and looked at it, pondering on the significance of what this represents, and the important of us as believers being purified like gold, of us being tested by fire, with Jesus in the fire with us.
My daughters finished their paintings and we put the paint box away.
Less than 24 hours later I’m listening to Grant share about his horrifying nightmares and the huge derelict building and him overlooking an enormous fireplace, where this hand came up and dragged him in.
Later during our live discussion I shared with Grant about my Holy Spirit inspired watercolour painting from the evening before.
The Lord then used me to explain how actually, it wasn’t the hand of Satan pulling grant in to the fires of hell, it was the Lord God pulling Grant in to His refiners fire so God could strip away from Grant all the things of his flesh.
This revelation is something Grant hadn’t even considered before. It was a truly glorious experience to be sat next to Grant talking about this by the Spirit.
Here are various scriptures all about the fire of God that we go through as His disciples, and how our old self, our flesh, is burnt way in the fire.
“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.”
Isaiah 48:10 NLT
“The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.”
Psalms 12:6 NLT
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”
Proverbs 17:3 NLT
“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.”
Job 23:10 NLT
“I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.”
Isaiah 13:12 NLT
“My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!”
Proverbs 8:19 NLT
“Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
Daniel 3:6 NLT
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.” Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
Matthew 13:47-52 NLT
“Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke! Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.”
Daniel 3:19-30 NLT
