In the song, “Revive Us Again,” the last verse contains the words: “May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.” Congregations have been singing these words for decades, but what do they mean? Where in the Scriptures do we find fire coming from above? One might think of Nadab and Abihu, but the fire is not said to come from above, but rather “out from the Lord” (Lev. 10:2).
Prior to that even, the Lord rained down brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24). Fire was mingled with hail as it fell from heaven in Exodus 9:23-24 as one of the Ten Plagues God brought upon the Egyptians. The Lord descended upon Mount Sinai in fire. “Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace…” (Ex. 19:18). The text does not say the fire descended upon the Israelites, however. If it had, would it not have consumed them? Another text says that the “sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain…” (Ex. 24:17). In Numbers 11:1-3 the fire burnt among Israel at Taberah, but it is not described as having come from above (see also Numbers 16:35).
In 1 Kings 18:38 fire from above consumed the sacrifice that Elijah had prepared and doused with water. The fire did not come upon the people, however. Fire from above fell on two captains, each with the 50 men (2 Kings 1:10, 12). Jeremiah writes: “From above He sent fire into my bones…” but it refers to judgment on Israel (Lam. 1:13). The effect in this instance was not good—not something one would want to experience. In short, fire from above is usually a symbol of judgment—as in 2 Thessalonians 1:8, where Jesus descends from heaven with His mighty angels “in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (see also Revelation 20:9). As the writer of Hebrews declared: “For our God is a consuming fire!” (Heb. 12:29).
So why would we ask God in song to fill us with fire from above, since it usually represents destruction and consumption? The writer of the song may (and this is a guess) have been thinking of Pentecost when divided tongues, as of fire, sat upon each one of the apostles (Acts 2:3). If so, he is asking for a Pentecost experience to come upon those singing the song, which is not possible since what happened on Pentecost was the fulfilment of a promise. Today, we do not receive either the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the gift of speaking in tongues. So, why do we sing this verse? There are four other verses; perhaps we ought to stop with them.
(Continued in Article posted August 25, 2019.)