“I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
10
“A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened. Dan 7
This is a picture of Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm(time transcendent, beyond the veil, eternal view) much like Ezekiel’s and Isaiah’s and John’s and Stephen’s. It correlates with Romans 2, for me anyway, “On the Day God judges the secrets of men’s hearts by Jesus Christ”
I see a correlation with Isaiah 9
Surely wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns,
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty
the land will be scorched
and the people will be fuel for the fire;
they will not spare one another.
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;
on the left they will eat,
but not be satisfied.
This is more of a picture of the fire as it burns in the world/lifetime of men, as accountability and reaping as they sow, but this comes from the Lord. It is flowing out from Him into the time realm, the threshing floor…
“Everyman will be salted with fire”
Life is the threshing floor upon which God separates the wheat from the chaff, but the tares are gathered to be burned at the end of the age. Since we know that it is “Each in his own order” and that not all are “gathered into one in Christ”(Eph 1) in this age it is not unlikely that some will be gathered in “the ages to come”(Eph 2)
But not to debate the whole preterist historicist thing, because I believe the two are interwoven- and that is my point.
What is happening in the visible world is subject to and flowing out of the invisible world. Jesus is high and lifted up and His train fills the temple(Isaiah 6 and Eph 4), “He who descended is also He who ascended so that He might fill all things” The view from Isaiah 6 is the same as the view from Eph 4:11 and Dan 7:10 and it is not about time, so much as it is about being at various points around the bubble(time) looking into the center(olam) which transcends time, "WHo was foreknown from the foundation of the world(Alpha) and is manifest in these last(completing, finishing) days(Omega)… last days not being only about sequence but also about purpose- the manifestation of heavenly realities into the time realm, the threshing floor… light into chaos bringing the form of a new creation.(2 Peter chapter 3)
“A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; Dan 7:10
Daniel 7:10 is the same as, or parallel to, Hebrews 12
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
and Rev 14
“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed [f]in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and [g]brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
And it requires the full context of all these verses and many more to even begin to understand what the fire is, where it is, and when it is- His presence, everywhere, always…
Standing in it, for the wicked, post-mortem, will be the revelation that pierces the heart, brings to light every hidden thing, and slays Leviathan the twisting serpent, the worm, Adam. There will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, followed by remorse, reconciliation, rejoicing and restoration.
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Heb 4:12,13
His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. Rev 1
In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
With His fierce and great and mighty sword,
Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
In that day,
“A vineyard of wine, sing of it!
“I, the Lord, am its keeper;
I water it every moment. Isaiah 27:1-3
All of these verses and many more are the context for Mark 9:49, so not to say anyone here is “right” or “wrong”- I just think the polarizing elements may be narrow views of a much wider picture, cut out of whole cloth.
BUT “to one another”… thus allowing His restorative healing to flow.
