THE MYTH CALL ‘HOLY GHOST FIRE'

By Gavin Aleogho

If there is a phrase that is commonly used by Africa Christians especially during prayer, it is the phrase “Holy Ghost Fire”. Have you ever stop to ask yourself what is the meaning of this phrase “Holy Ghost Fire”? What is its origin? Is it biblical? To be sincere, I also used this phrase in the past.

On the average, this phrase is being used to pass judgement of fire on a perceived enemy. Just like I overheard a neighbour saying that “every one that is gossiping her, Holy Ghost Fire will burn them”.

Is there any place in the scripture where the Holy Ghost Fire is said to be our weapon of war against our enemies? Or is the Holy Ghost Fire a supposed weapon of war in warfare prayer?

Okay, let go to the Bible which is the foundation and guide to our Christian life. I’ve read on several times the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and I can tell you boldly, that there is no one place that the phrase “Holy Ghost Fire” appeared!

So, where did it originate from? There is no record that shows that our Fathers of faith ever used this phrase. Even up to date, the western and eastern world where Christianity spread from never used this phrase.

I perceived that many people that pray with such phrase tends to follow Elijah’s example in the Old Testament where on two occasions he called down fire.

One of which was during his encounter with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:21-40). If you study the account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal, you will realize that Elijah never called down fire on the false prophets. As a matter of facts, the calling down of fire by Elijah was on the prepared altar and the purpose was to validate that Jehovah God is the true and only God that should be worshiped and not the other way round as some may want to believe.

The second occasion was with the Captains and their respective armies of fifty whom Prophet Elijah called down fire to consume. Yes, that was in the Bible (2 Kings 1:9-14). But was it the supposed “Holy Ghost Fire” he called? The Scripture did not say so.

Notwithstanding, when you fast forward to the New Testament, when John and James, the disciples of Jesus wanted to err in this regard; they wanted to do want Elijah did (just like many Christians are doing today). Jesus rebuked them. He corrected them and said that His mission (just as it should be every Christian’s mission) is not to destroy men’s life, but to save them.

“And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.” Luke 9:54-56.

Do you think you are so righteous enough to call fire on another man? Who approves or what qualifies you to think that you can walk in Elijah’s footstep when even the Lord never approved such an act? Do you think you would have been alive today if, before you knew Christ, other Christians prayed fire on you?

Growth in Christianity is inevitable. As you grow in your Christian walk, you have to learn to x-ray every teaching and doctrine in the light of the Bible, the Word of God which is the final authority on any subject matter. We have to learn to uphold the basic tenets of the Bible and discount anything that is unbiblical which are just what I would call “spiritual excesses”.

Come to look at it; is it wrong to use a phrase that is not biblical? I don’t think so. What is really important is the motive of using it. Is the motive biblical? On this subject matter, many use it with a mind-set that they are setting their perceived enemy on fire. Jesus never taught that the Holy Ghost would be a "fire" which should be used to burn and destroy our enemies.

Praying with such phrase is common during presumed “warfare prayer”. Am I against warfare prayer? No! I do believe there is warfare prayer as we may want to call it. But you should know that this war is not against humans but against the devil and his demons.

Besides, I think “Fire Judgement” is exclusively reserved for God to use. There is no place in the Bible where a person (whether the Israelites, prophets, priests or Apostles) used fire on their perceived enemies except Prophet Elijah. Were these people mentioned having enemies then? Yes! The Israelites where surrounded by nations that hated them. The Apostles had the Roman and some Jews who were persecuting them. Yet, none in the New Testament prayed for fire to come down on their foes.

The Holy Spirit, also known as the Holy Ghost; is the third person of the trinity. The scripture shows that the Holy Ghost on different occasion is referred to symbolically as either a dove, wind, oil, cloud, water, or even fire (Acts 2:3). But the Holy Spirit is not dove, wind, water or fire but a Person. The Holy Spirit is God. Attaching fire to Him to have Holy Ghost Fire doesn’t automatically turn the Holy Ghost to a destructive fire which can be used to burn whatever or whoever we wish.

God is indeed a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). And what do you think is the characteristics of God's kind of fire in respect to man? If there is actually Holy Ghost fire; it means that the fire must be holy, with the characteristics of what it takes to be holy and righteous. It will be pure with pure motive. God’s kind of fire is for purification, baptism, sanctification and can also be for judgement like in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit before His departure from earth. The purposes of the Holy Spirit are to be our Helper, Comfort, Counselor, Guide, Advocate, Standby and Intercessor. As you can see, His purposes are all friendly attributes. He is not a wicked Spirit but a gentle Person. So, how can He be a weapon of vengeance on our fellow humans?

Jesus is our example. He never used Holy Ghost fire against the Pharisees and Sadducees who were His enemies as we may suppose. Jesus never used any kind of fire to pray or cast out demons and evil spirit. Jesus taught us to love and pray for (not against) our enemies.

The greatest weapon that Jesus gave us is His name, Jesus. The name Jesus is sufficient to handle any challenge that may likely come your way. Take advantage of the name “Jesus” in your prayers. The name is ever powerful and relevant.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus; not Holy Ghost Fire) shall be saved.” Romans 10:13.