Fr. Mark Goring’s latest YouTube describes two small fragments retrieved recently from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Listen to his podcast:
After hearing the two verses, I do think God is trying to get our attention. Here is the one verse that is very appropro to today’s world:
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate — declares the Lord.
Zechariah 8:16-17
The other verse found recently tells about His anger being poured out like fire. His first wrath was by water and resulted in a flood that destroyed all of mankind except for those that found safety in the ark. Is this second verse an omen of how the cleansing of the earth will happen this time?
The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills melt. The earth heaves before Him, The world and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before His wrath? Who can resist His fury? His anger pours out like fire, and rocks are shattered because of Him.
Nahum 1:5–6
The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses fire in this way.
Fire. While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit’s actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who “arose like fire” and whose “word burned like a torch,” brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a “figure” of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes “before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah,” proclaims Christ as the one who “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Jesus will say of the Spirit: “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” In the form of tongues “as of fire,” the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit’s actions. “Do not quench the Spirit.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church #696
In my post on chapter 13 from Revelation it mentions the two beasts in Revelation.
[The Land Beast] works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men
Revelation 13:13
Whether the fire is metaphorical or literal, fire it will be when His anger is poured out. Let us hope and pray the fire of the Holy Spirit will precede the fire of His wrath.
Cover photo attribution: By Tango7174 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26642848
References
1 – ‘Cave of Horrors’ Bible Scrolls Shed Light on Jewish Rebels, Candida Moss, Fri, March 19, 2021, https://news.yahoo.com/cave-horrors-bible-scrolls-shed-042233843.html
2 – What the newly-discovered Dead Sea Scrolls tell us about history, Matthew Rozsa, MARCH 18, 2021, https://www.salon.com/2021/03/18/what-the-newly-discovered-dead-sea-scrolls-tell-us-about-history/
3 – Unearthed Fragments Of Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal Ancient Bible Verses, Bill Galluccio, March 16, 2021, https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-03-16-unearthed-fragments-of-dead-sea-scrolls-reveal-ancient-bible-verses/