California Fires: A Warning from God

“But the day of the LORD will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

2 Peter 3:10

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The Terror of Fire

The fires in California have captured the attention of the world. The scale of the disaster is difficult to grasp. Water reserves have run dry. Whole blocks of homes are gone. Tornadoes of fire have developed in the wind and flames. Men and women, rich and poor, famous and lowly, all have suffered. Estimates for the real estate losses alone stand at $50 – $150 billion. At the time of publishing this article, the fires are still burning. More than ten people have perished in the flames. It is probable that more victims will be found over the coming days. Residents have made desperate flights to safety with flames burning on both sides of the road they are traveling. The impact of the smoke on the firefighters and population is not yet known. May God protect all who are in the fire’s path!

The pictures of destruction remind me of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb and Dresden after the firebombing in World War 2. They remind me of events like the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center. People threw themselves out of 90^th story windows to escape the fire all around them. They remind me that the last place I want to be is in the middle of a fire. The gut-wrenching pictures warn that a far greater fire is coming.

When terrible disasters strike a nation, the people should turn to the Lord in fear and repentance. No disaster is more pointed in that regard than the disaster of fire. God uses the illustration of fire to describe the terrible place of Hell. There the wicked will be in torment for all eternity with Satan and his demons.[1] Rather than turning to God, our nation is doing the opposite. We eulogized a former president with a song imagining God and His word are false.[2] Have we forgotten the horror of fire?

Fire devours everything in its path. When God sent fire on Nadab and Abihu it devoured all.[3] Fire is always looking for more. It never says, “Enough.”[4] It will go on burning until it runs out of fuel or its flames are extinguished with water. Cities like Rome, London, and Chicago have all been devoured by fire. Enough fire can create its own weather. Fire storms started in several cities after bombing in World War 2. Pilots over Dresden, many thousands of feet in the air, felt the heat and wind generated from the fire far below. If it could, fire would go on burning continuously.

Fire is hot. Long ago Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol. The fiery furnace was heated seven times its normal temperature. It was so hot that the soldiers tasked with throwing the men into the flames died from the heat.[5] Elijah prayed and the fire came down from heaven on Mount Carmel’s altar. The water, dust, stones, wood, and sacrifice were consumed.[6] The fire burnt up two groups of 51 men sent to take Elijah captive.[7] Fire is deadly hot.

Fire is painful. Christ gave an account of hell in Luke 16. The rich man is described there as dying and being in fire. Three times he is said to be in torment. When was the last time you had a burn? Was it painful? How much more the whole body? When martyrs were burnt at the stake, mercy was sometimes shown by tying gunpowder around their neck. The torment of fire will help you understand how this was a show of mercy. Fire is terribly painful.

In this life, fire is temporary. Eventually, a devouring fire runs out of fuel and goes out. One of the tabernacle jobs was to keep the lamps burning. The lamps had to be refilled with oil to not go out. If the oil was not refilled the fire would die. Whole cities have been consumed by fire but eventually the fuel is exhausted and the fire goes out. The fire that is coming will be quite different.

The Coming Fire

Much news has come from California with accounts of the fires. A similar quantity of news has come with finger-pointing about the fires. Why wasn’t Los Angeles prepared? Why wasn’t the governor prepared? How is it that the fire hydrants had no water? What will be done to stop fires earlier in the future? How can we prevent fires from starting in the future? All of these are fair questions. Nevertheless, the fire that is coming cannot be stopped or prevented. There are at least two reasons.

First, the coming fire is from God. “Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Who can stop the work of the Lord? What God has determined will come to pass.[8] No one can prevent the fire that is coming.

Second, the coming fire will be worldwide. Firefighters usually have success over forest fires and in time should have success with the Los Angeles fire. They have success because most of the world is not on fire. They can build a base of attack from a location outside the fire. The fire that is coming will not be like that. There will be no base of safety from where to attack the fire. All the world will be on fire.

In the days of Noah, when the door was shut and the rain came, no one escaped. The flood was worldwide. People climbed on the roofs of their homes to escape but the water covered their homes. They went to the hills but the water breached the hills. They reached the summit of the tallest mountain peaks… and the water went higher. All outside the ark perished.

So it will be on the day of the Lord when all the world is doing its worldly things. Fire will come covering all the earth. People will go to lakes, rives, and oceans but they too will be burnt up. There is no place on earth to escape this fire. By the grace of God there is a fire escape that we will now consider.

The Fire Escape

Prior to the terrible destruction of Heroshima, allied planes dropped leaflets over the city. They warned the residents of the coming disaster and instructed them to leave immediately. In essence, the allies were telling the citizens, “flee from the city of destruction!” Japanese authorities forbade citizens from reading the leaflets so many did not have the warning. Few that had it heeded it. But those that had the warning and heeded its instructions lived.

From the fires in California God is providing a warning today for what is coming tomorrow. The world offers no fire protection for coming fire. Every mansion and high tower, every bank account and piece of gold, everything will be destroyed. That is only the beginning of sorrows. At that day all who are outside of Christ will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.

The fire of Hell never goes out. Those in it are never delivered from their torments. They are in utter misery for all eternity. A million years will pass and they will be no closer to the end of the flames than when they began. It is a dreadful place. There is only weeping and gnashing of teeth forever. Children will be there with adults, young and old, rich on earth and poor, educated and foolish.

I wish I could make the horror of hell more lucid only that all would run from destruction to the merciful and gracious Savior. Few accounts are more dreadful in Scripture than Zephaniah 1 and Luke 16:9-31. Read those passages. May God by His Spirit work His word in you to generate a fear of death and the fire of hell. Than may that fear bring you to the feet of Him who alone is able to deliver you.

That a worldwide fire is coming is a fact revealed by God. That God has provided an escape from the fire is also a fact. There is only one way of escape. Jesus Christ is the escape. He came into a world rushing to the fire in order that He might save some to everlasting life. He came to rescue His children from the pit of hell. Jesus came to die in their place, and in their place He died. On the third day He rose from the dead. Fifty days later He ascended into Heaven from where He will come again. Christ did all these things so that His children would not die. Today Christ calls you: “Whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life.”[9] “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved!”[10] Call upon the name of the Lord!

Consider a man in Los Angeles whose house is on fire and he is inside. The firefighters are at his door telling him to come with them to shelter. “Take my hand! Come with us, we will bring you away from the flames to safety.” Rather than reaching out, the man refuses. “I do not believe you, I will find another escape.” Running out the back door, he at once finds himself in the fire with no way of escape. Who wouldn’t consider that man to be a fool? But how many are doing the same thing as that man today?

The world is perishing around them and they pretend it isn’t. The gospel preachers are urgently proclaiming Christ crucified for sinners. They are calling all to come to Christ for rescue and salvation. Christ is standing at the door and knocking. He is the way of escape. Take hold of Him by faith and He will deliver you from the coming fire. Too many refuse. They would rather burn than come. Don’t be numbered among them!

Friends, see that you don’t refuse the Lord one more day. Look at Los Angeles. What would happen if you were in one of those homes and did not flee to safety? What will happen when Christ appears and you are not in the safety of the Savior? Today, if you will hear His voice: Repent of your sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and live!

The Fire Preached

Because I have unsaved friends and family members I usually conclude my articles with a call to the lost. Today I must conclude by pleading with Christian. Particularly, I am thinking of pastors and parents. All around you human beings are on their way to the fire. I have no doubt if your friend’s house were on fire you would warn them. You would call out to them to escape. If your child, spouse, or fellow church member were inside, you might run in to the burning house yourself to try and save them. I plead with you – warn them of the fire! They do not see it yet. Warn them anyway.

The world is focused on fire. Let that focus be the means God gives you to plead with the dying. Can you imagine the Judgment arriving and your mother, father, child, or church member being with the tares? Worse yet, can you imagine in those final moments them turning to you and asking, “Why didn’t you warn me?” “Why didn’t you tell me of my eternal condition?” Parents, warn and point your children to Christ. Preachers, proclaim the full counsel of God! I know a man that God brought to salvation with this question: “Do you realize if you die today you will go to hell.” How many ministers or elders have used such an approach in their ministry?

A tower collapsed in Siloam and killed 18 people. Jesus took that occasion to preach the word. “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Are those suffering in Los Angeles worse sinners than you and me? By no means. Unless we repent we will likewise perish. May God use you as His means to rescue the perishing!

A fire is coming. May God save all that are in its path!

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[1] Matthew 5:41.

[2] John Lennon’s “Imagine” was sung this week at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. The opening lines are: “Imagine there’s no heaven, Its easy if you try, No hell beneath us, above us only sky…”

[3] Leviticus 10:1-2

[4] Proverbs 30:16

[5] Daniel 3:22

[6] 1 Kings 18:38

[7] 2 Kings 1

[8] Isaiah 46:9-13

[9] John 3:16

[10] Romans 10:13

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