BAPTISM IN HOLY SPIRIT AND BAPTISM IN FIRE.
John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 3:16
This verse clearly tells about two baptisms done by Lord Jesus. We have to read the next verse together with this and the meaning is clear. It reads: His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Luke 3:17
The analogy is of the wheat and the chaff. Wheat portrays those who believe in Jesus and allow themselves to be baptised in the Holy Spirit.and chaff are those who do not believe in Him. With the winnowing fan He will separate the wheat and chaff and burn the chaff. This is judgment on those who don’t believe in Jesus. This talks about the two dispensations, the Day of Jesus and the Day of the Lord. Jesus read to the people in the temple that He came to proclaim the Acceptable year of the Lord. He stopped reading before mentioning about the Day of vengeance. The acceptable year was about the plan of redeeming people through faith in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The believers will lead a life guided by The Spirit of God. Those who do not accept Him as God would be gathered together at the end of the age and put in the burning fire of hell. As is given in The book of Isaiah :“To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God” the baptism in Spirit and baptism in fire are of two different dispensations.
Isaiah 61:2
And these two baptisms are misunderstood by many believers and they pray for baptism in fire. They think that there is anointing in fire as on the Pentecost day the Holy Spirit came on those who waited for the outpouring of the Spirit on them as Jesus had promised.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:3-4
Here they found tongues ” as of fire”.This was not fire, this was like fire. After baptism the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus, like a dove,. But Holy Spirit was not dove. Holy Spirit is not dove or fire.
Baptism in fire is judgment which will come on those who refuse to accept Christ the saviour.
Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:40-42
“For Israel has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces.”
Hosea 8:14
There are many more verses to prove that fire is judgment.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
John 15:6
Only by abiding in the vine , the branches can bear fruit. If we abide in Christ Jesus , we can bear fruit. “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi 4:1
We are so blessed to have received the Holy Spirit through faith. At the end of this Age of Grace we will be caught up in heaven. Rapture is the blessed hope of a Christian Believer. When we received Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we are baptised in Spirit and the infilling of the Spirit is an ongoing process. The baptism in fire is judgment, it is not for us, the church. So don’t misunderstand it for the Spirit and don’t pray for it.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1
God bless.
SOL.Salomi Kurian.