In a marvelous prophecy, Abraham was called by God to assume the role of the Father in the Passion of Jesus Christ (Gen. 22:1-14). This viewpoint is rarely brought before readers even in the New Testament (Jn. 3:16,Rom. 8:32).
Sean Michael Morris·Oct 7, 2024·Updated Sep 3, 2026
In a marvelous prophecy, Abraham was called by God to assume the role of the Father in the Passion of Jesus Christ The storyline of this prophecy is unique in how it focuses more on the personal suffering of the Father rather than theSon. This viewpoint is rarely brought before readers even in the New Testament
“He that sparednot his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
— Rom. 8:32
Abraham “took the wood” and “laid it upon Isaac his son”, and they both ascended mount Calvary together The foreshadowing of this event is captivating! Beholding the Son of God carrying the Cross up the hill of Calvary in a theater of typology is a masterpiece of prophecy. However, that being said, let the reader also behold how Isaac wasn’t alone in the ascent. It is written, “…so they went both of them together.” Abraham, the executioner, ascended mount Calvary with his hands full! Literally, he had “fire” in one hand and a “knife” in the other
Considerable attention has already been given to theknife of Abraham. With the knife, Abraham was going to stab his son in the heart! This symbolized how the Father was going to strike his Son with a sword of divine justice in the same location 2,000 years ago However, not enough attention is given to the fire of Abraham. With the fire, Abraham was going to burn the corpse of the boy on the altar as a burnt offering until Isaac was completely reduced to ashes. Legally, the burning is an essential part of a “burnt offering” What does this symbolize?
The Fire, the Burning, & the Burnt Offering
“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an Offering and a Sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” – Eph. 5:2
Naturally, fire is an unexpendable part of human life. People have been using fire for cooking, warmth, and illumination for six thousand years. Fire has also been used to eliminate or exterminate agents of disease and death, like in the case of burning dead bodies, but this was the farthest thing on Abraham’s mind when he was determined to burn the dead body of Isaac. The work of the fire in this case was entirely for God’s sake according to the Doctrine of Burnt Offerings. Fire has always been important when it comes to satisfying the wrath of God in the execution of divine justice.
“…it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.”
— Ex. 29:18
“…and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweetsavour unto the LORD.”
— Lev. 1:9
Fire was employed in the earliest appearance of the Lamb at the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This can be proven by the combined testimony of and But the work of the Lamb in Eden is unappreciated when proud sinners feel entitled to salvation. Therefore, allow the following comparison to put things in perspective.
The Lamb in Eden Preventing the End of Humanity
At the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, mankind should have been immediately condemned to hellfire. Sinners don’t deserve mercy. Sinners deserve justice! No mercy was shown to sinners at the fall of angels! “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell…” In other words, sinful angels were not given any opportunity to find forgiveness before God. Justice was served immediately and without mercy upon this whole race of heavenly beings. Tragically, one third of the angels of heaven fell into sin, even though they were enjoying sinlessly perfect fellowship with God in eternity It was then that God created hell as a prison for these evil angels This is a cursed place that is specifically designed by God to punish sinners with everlasting fire.
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
— Matt. 25:41
Our race, the race of mankind, didn’t deserve a second chance from God, especially considering the fact that no second chance was given to fallen angels. Adam and Eve should have been killed immediately and sent to hell! But the Lamb ofGod stopped this from happening to Adam and Eve, even though sinning men and sinning angels deserve to share the same fate in the “everlasting punishment” of “everlasting fire” A sacrifice was made in Eden for an atonement This is “the Lambslain from the foundation of the world” The hide of the burnt offering was then used by God to make “coats of skins” for clothing to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve These new robes represented the righteousness of Jesus Christ
There is a Gospel in Eden The Lamb of God as a burnt offering proved to be strong and effectual at preventing hellfire. Let the reader understand, the Lamb was burning because sinners deserve to burn in the fiery torment of hell. Granted, the details about the sacrifice in Eden weren’t given until so it can seem unclear to many interpreters. Also, an appearance of ambiguity seemed to continue with Abel’s sacrifice in Therefore, interpreters are forced to come to Noah’s altar in the new world.
Burnt Offerings in the New World Preventing the End of the World
Noah was offering sacrifices and burnt offerings according to the same religious and ceremonial rules as his forefathers dating back to Adam and Eve. Now, observe the power of the burnt offering.
“And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on thealtar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”
— Gen. 8:20-21
This was a surreal moment of peace in the dawn of the new world. Wrath was quieted through a stunning demonstration of power in the burnt offerings. The old world declined into a spiritual condition of lawlessness that made billions of souls unsavable reprobates. Deep remorse and regret filled the heart of the LORD. Therefore, God said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth…” Mountains were overturned Continents were shifted Oceans were divided! The earth has been deeply wounded and scarred ever since. Divine wrath was kindled and took its course in executing a judgment of epic proportions, even in the End of the World
“God…spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”
— 2 Pet. 2:4-5
In the condemnation of the old world, God emptied earth into hell, and the noise of billions of souls falling into hell all at once caused a great stir among the population of the damned in the infernal dungeon Nevertheless, the burnt offerings in the new world stopped this great and terrible force of divine wrath! Evidently, the burnt offering has thepower to prevent world-ending divine judgments for thousands of years and counting, even as the LORD “smelled a sweet savour” coming from the smoke of the fire as it burned the sacrifices
Abraham’s Prophecy in a Theater of Typology: “God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering” - Gen. 22:8
Fire continued to be essential to the animal sacrificial system of the Patriarchs, Priests, and Kings throughout all time. Of course, Abraham the Patriarch was no exception to the rule, hence the trial of his lifetime, and the staggering prophecy, "God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering" Abraham was no stranger to the fiery power of divine judgment! He was there to behold the Cities of the Plain when the whole region was turned into a fiery furnace as the people were "suffering the vengeance of eternalfire" in real time As an intercessor and a witness of how divine wrath took its course to execute judgment, we can be sure that Abraham learned a lot about how God used fire to satisfy divinewrath in the worst possible outcome on earth. As one beholden to Hell on Earth, Abraham acquired a greater respect for the fire of burnt offerings in how they were able to quench divine wrath
Animal Sacrifices in the Law of the Mosaic Covenant
The presence of the Lamb was only enlarged at the giving of theLaw through the Mosaic Covenant. To be fair, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being preached typologically and figuratively through all the animal sacrifices in the Law of the Old Testament. The book of Leviticus gave detailed instructions on how to make all kinds of animal sacrifices: goatsramsbullockscattle & pigeons These are typological solutions to sin problems because the blood of beasts could not actually merit forgiveness for sinners This operation serves its purpose in shedding light on the Cross of Christ Furthermore, it brings to light the divine power of imputation and underscores our need for an atonement before a holy God. However, that being said, the Lamb is the largest and most towering character in a seemingly crowded operation of priestly ceremonies of atonement.
The Eternal Burning of the Lamb as a Burnt Offering
The fire of the altar continually burns as it consumes an animal sacrifice, and it is unquenchable until it transforms the beast into dust and ashes. The smoke thereof is a sweet-smelling savor in the nostrils of a holy God Justice smiles at the sweet exercise of judgment being executed. Nevertheless, the Lamb was the supreme and preeminent sacrifice of the day, every day, no matter the occasion. Literally, no matter how many different animal corpses were burned on Jewish altars throughout the course of any given day, the Lamb was the first and lastburnt offering of the day.
“Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two Lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one Lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other Lamb thou shalt offer at even: And with the one Lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other Lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”
— Ex. 29:38-43
The Law is teaching us about the power of the Lamb!“Wherefore the Law was our Schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The Law, which is preoccupied with justice, hereby presents to all of mankind the eternal burning of the Lamb of God. A “continual burnt offering” is an eternalburnt offeringThe Lamb offered in the morning would be put upon the altar in piecemeal. Similarly, theLamb offered in the evening continued to burn into the morning time. The bones of the Lamb, though reduced to embers of hot coal, were still offering a sweet savour to the LORD By design, the fire of the altar should never go out, and therefore the smoke of the Lamb should never cease to rise! “This is the Law of the burnt-offering .”
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”
— Lev. 6:8-13
Eternalhellfire is burning beneath our feet in the deepest part of the earth as a living manifestation of divine wrath Therefore, to quench this great and terrible divine wrath, and thus keep the fire down there, or prevent it from coming up here, the Lamb of God must be burned forever. The fire below is answered by the fire above. Evidently, the fire of the burnt offering continually burning the Lamb was a real solution to the problem of eternal wrath manifesting as unquenchable fire. There is an equation to this solution. The scale of divine justice is balanced perfectly. Do you see it? Either wrath burns the Lamb, or it burns everyone and everything else! This is the fearful reality. Only the hellishsuffering of the Lamb could prevent sinners from going to hell Jesus Christ suffered an equivalent of eternal hellfire in time, even the equivalent of a million hells in 15 to 17 hours from Gethsemane to Calvary.
Fire at the Altar & Fire in Eternity!
People shouldn’t be looking at the fire on Jewish altars as something ordinary and earthly. Anyone, anywhere, can burn a dead corpse and reduce it to ashes. Something divine and heavenly happened at the Jewish altars of the Old Testament. The fire at work on Jewish altars originated from God! Therefore, the burning was the execution of divine justice in real time. -10:2 perfectly illustrates this reality.
“And Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.”
— Lev. 9:23-24
At the commencement of the Priesthood, on the first day of atonement with a fully functioning Tabernacle, the fire that consumed the burnt offering had a supernatural origin. The fire came directly from the presence of God as the LORD was visibly manifesting in glory before the eyes of the people through a pillar of cloud. Let this be a reminder that Jewish altars were holy grounds where vertical problems between God and men were solved. The eyewitnesses of this event understood the exploit of redemption. Deity, as an Executioner, ignited the sacrifice into flames and burned it until it was totally consumed, even as a sinner in the presence of God for the execution of divine justice. Literally, because the animal sacrifice was slain and burnt, the believing sinners of the congregation were spared from death and hell. Harmoniously, in contrast, unbelieving transgressors were publicly burned.
“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”
— Lev. 10:1-2
The burnt offering was a substitute for sinners by the power of divine imputation. Either the fire burns the burnt offering, or it will burn everything and everyone else without exception! flows into sending a clear message to all mankind. In this case, as unbelievers, Nadab and Abihu acted in a provocative form of disobedience, and therefore the same fire that so lately consumed the burnt offerings then suddenly devoured these men alive. This should change our view of the fire at work on the altar. It is not an ordinary fire! Rather, it is “the fire of the LORD” When God became angry with the Jews, divine wrath was manifest in the kindling of hellish fire, and the rest is history.
“And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.”
— Num. 11:1-3
“Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:”
— Psalm 78:21-22
Provocations were answered by increasingly glorious divine punishments to teach Israel a lesson. Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and company, and all of their families, and all that pertained to them, proudly stood in opposition to the LORD in a public contest of authority, until the earth under their feet was opened as the very mouth of hell, and they all went down alive into Sheol Simultaneously, “there came out fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense” The ruling of caselaw in biblical history sheds light on the legal framework of salvation and condemnation. Justice was served in how “the flame burned up the wicked” And divine judgment will only intensify until there is no more remedy for those who disrespect the fire at work at the altar The same thing can be observed in the 2nd Advent of Christ and the fire at work only intensifies at theEnd of the World
“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
— Rev. 20:9-10
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
— Rev. 21:1
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
— Rev. 21:8
The fire of history intensifies in futurity! But the end is for a new beginning. The consummation is for a restoration. The fire of the LORD will baptize the world in a fiery deluge This is a baptism of purification. The fire will consume all the sinners from off the face of the earth, even as heavenly songs ring out, “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more.”The fire of the God will even evaporate the seas and oceans of the earth A new world will emerge from the flames with no more sea However, with respect to sinners in the afterlife, this is just the beginning of the work of fire in their consummation. God’s wrath will not be appeased by the burning of the world!
“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up theisles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less thannothing, and vanity.”
— Isa. 40:15-17
A fiery death in life only leads to an everlasting fire in the afterlife God is still angry in eternity! In the End of the World, God will burn and totally consume everything, but the smoke thereof will not be sufficient for a burntoffering, nor will the burning of all nations be satisfying to God in the appeasement of divine wrath; literally, everyone who will be consumed on earth will end up burning forever in hellfire. The fury of eternal fire will never be quieted, calmed, or extinguished. Hell and the burning Lake never decrease in temperature for all of eternity! Accordingly, the torment of the damned never ends.
Therefore, let the eyes of sinners be directed to the prophecy of Abraham, when he said, “God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering” even as the eyes of all the Jews were directed to the altar at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and then to the altar of the Temple in Solomon’s day The flames of the burnt offering can save mankind from hellfire! Let condemned souls comprehend the real work of fiery condemnation at the Jewish altars of old. The only way to prevent anyone on earth from going to hell, or to keep hell from coming up here, is the power of an atonement in a burnt offering. If God ever says, “I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours” essentially, this is the end of our world. Historically, this is the end of Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, & the Tabernacle / Temple Ultimately, this is the End of the World.
“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.”
— Deut. 32:22
Israel had to learn things the hard way. We should learn from their mistakes Speaking of this, it was written, “Neither let us tempt Christ…” Divine wrath was famously described as something that could “wax hot” and “consume” the Jewish people if God became angry The “heat” of divine “anger” posed a real danger of total annihilation in epic proportions, even as Sodom & Gomorrah were destroyed in a fiery deluge This was apparent to Israel in the Exodus Generation when the people encountered El-esh-oklah at mount Sinai for the first time. Fear was stricken on their faces as God the Consuming Fire was etched in their memories
The Doctrine of the Tree punctuates the Law in the Book of Joshua. This punctuation brings the needed closure to the story of divine wrath being depicted in the Law.
God tested Abraham with the trial of his life. The word of the LORD came to Abraham, and the renowned Patriarch was immediately filled with unspeakable anguish. God commanded him to give up his son,
In the presence of God the Consuming Fire, all eyes were fixed on Moses as a Mediator (Gal. 3:19). Similarly, Abraham said under inspiration, “God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt-offering” (Gen. 22:8).
Instead of using the word “Cross”, the apostles referred to it as a “Tree” on three occasions while preaching to Jews and Gentiles in Acts 5:30, 10:39, & 13:29. Why?
Many sinners stopped celebrating and began crying. The noisy sound of reveling was replaced with strong regret and remorse. Many unbelievers began to make confessions of faith in dread amazement at what just happened!
The Cross was a unique form of torture that forced the crucified ones to inflict pain upon themselves. In order to fully exhale they would have to press against the nail in their feet
