Burning Light or Strange Fire: Seeking Godhood Apart from God

The Ancient Lie of Self-Deification

From the Garden of Eden to modern secret societies, humanity has been enticed by the promise of becoming divine on our own terms. The very first deception recorded in Scripture hinged on this allure: the serpent assured Eve that if she took forbidden knowledge, “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5) This ancient lie – that one can attain godlike enlightenment or purification apart from God – echoes through history in various mystical and esoteric traditions. Many have sought a Promethean fire of wisdom and power, a stolen flame from heaven, to purify themselves or achieve godhood without submission to the Creator. In Greek myth, Prometheus (another name for a false light bringer) "heroically" steals fire from Olympus for mankind, symbolizing illicit enlightenment. In biblical revelation, however, such unauthorized fire is perilous. The allure of secret wisdom and self-exaltation is repeatedly shown to lead not to true light, but to darkness and downfall. This post explores the biblical and symbolic implications of these pursuits – contrasting the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit with the counterfeit “illumination” offered by fallen, fiery Seraphim-like beings. Through the lens of Scripture and the imagery of alchemy (the winged sun and the Philosopher’s Stone), we will see how attempts at purification or godhood apart from God amount to “strange fire” that God rejects (Leviticus 10). We will also examine Isaiah’s vision of the Holy God, the fall of Lucifer, and the dangers of secret societies and false religions that promise enlightenment or deification on Satan’s terms. In doing so, we articulate a clear warning: seeking divinity without the Divine is a path of pride and separation from the true Light.

Isaiah’s Vision: The True Purifying Fire of God

One of the clearest biblical images of legitimate purification comes from the prophet Isaiah’s throne-room vision. Isaiah, upon seeing the Lord’s glory, is devastated by his own sinfulness – “Woe is me! for I am undone...for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5) In response, one of the Seraphim (“burning ones”) brings a live coal from the heavenly altar to cleanse the prophet. As the text recounts: “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar” (Isaiah 6:6). The angel touches Isaiah’s lips with the glowing coal and declares, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isaiah 6:7) Here we see that true purification is initiated by God Himself – the coal comes from God’s altar – and it cleanses sin by fire.

This scene is rich in meaning. The term Seraphim literally means “burning ones” in Hebrew, indicating their fiery holiness. The burning coal represents God's sanctifying power: “Fire is purifying, and the New Testament has taught us that the true cleansing fire is that of the Holy Spirit” (Isaiah 6:6). Indeed, the live coal only had power to purify because it was taken from the altar of sacrifice (Isaiah 6:6), symbolically pointing to atonement provided by God. Isaiah’s guilt was not purged by secret knowledge or his own effort, but by a “divine communication” of grace. This aligns with the broader biblical theme that God Himself provides the means of our sanctification – ultimately through the sacrifice of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s presence is often depicted with fire in Scripture. John the Baptist prophesied that the Messiah would “baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (MATTHEW 3:11), and on the day of Pentecost this was fulfilled when the Spirit descended on the apostles as “cloven tongues like as of fire” (Acts 2:3)

The Spirit’s fire enlightens and purifies the heart of the believer, much as the seraph’s coal did for Isaiah.

Crucially, Isaiah’s response after being purified is humble service: “Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8). The pattern is clear – God’s holy fire humbles, cleanses, and commissions a person for God’s glory, not their own. The Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision cry “Holy, holy, holy” (6:3), directing all worship to God. This stands in stark contrast to the illicit flames pursued in occult traditions, which aim to exalt the individual. The purifying fire of the Holy Spirit always keeps God at the center, producing repentance, holiness, and a desire to do His will. Any quest for purification or enlightenment that bypasses God’s holiness and grace is fundamentally a counterfeit fire – a dangerous attempt to handle the things of God on one’s own terms.

Strange Fire: Unauthorized Paths to Enlightenment

Scripture gives sobering examples of how God responds to those who misuse sacred fire or approach Him in a self-willed manner. A notable incident is the tragedy of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, who offered “strange fire” on God’s altar – fire not taken from the source God had appointed. They “offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not”, and as a result “there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them” (Leviticus 10). This shocking judgment in Leviticus 10 shows that not all fire is equal: the holy fire from God’s altar sanctifies, but unauthorized fire incurs wrath. In a theological sense, “strange fire” represents any human-devised religious act or spiritual pursuit that pretends to offer enlightenment or purification apart from God’s revealed will. By conflating the profane with the holy, Nadab and Abihu’s fate warns us that playing with spiritual fire outside of God’s order leads to destruction.

This concept of forbidden fire or forbidden enlightenment finds a powerful metaphor in the figure of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Prometheus defied the gods by stealing heavenly fire and giving it to humanity. In later literature, especially during the Romantic era, Prometheus became a symbol of the bold rebel who brings knowledge or enlightenment to mankind. However, in the Greek myth he is harshly punished for this theft. The Bible’s perspective aligns with the cautionary aspect of the myth: enlightenment stolen or taken illicitly, rather than given by God, is deadly. We might say that Nadab’s “strange fire” was a kind of Promethean act – an attempt to grasp divine power on human terms. Similarly, all occult or esoteric quests for secret wisdom can be seen as attempts to steal the fire of heaven without submitting to heaven’s King.

In Christian theology, the archetype of a creature seeking godhood in defiance of God is found in the figure of Lucifer. The name Lucifer (Latin for “light-bearer,” rendering Hebrew Helel ben Shachar, “morning star, son of dawn”) appears in Isaiah 14 as a taunt against the fallen “king of Babylon,” widely understood as a metaphor for Satan’s own fall. Lucifer is depicted as a magnificent being brought low: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground...” (Isaiah 14:12)

Why did he fall? The text explains that in his heart he said: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). This is the essence of prideful self-deification – the creature’s will set against the Creator’s supremacy. Lucifer, a created angel of light, grasped at equality with God, seeking a higher station than was rightfully his. The result was not the godhood he craved, but ruin: “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:15). His stolen “light” became utter darkness.

Tradition holds that Lucifer was originally one of the highest angels – perhaps even of the order of Seraphim, those “burning ones” closest to God’s throne. If so, the contrast in Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 14 is striking: the loyal Seraphim remain in God’s presence, eternally aflame with holy love, singing “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The fallen “burning one,” Lucifer, is cast out of heaven, becoming Satan – adversary of God and false light-bearer to humanity. The New Testament hints at this demotion of Lucifer’s light: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), appearing as luminous and wise, but in reality peddling deception. Jesus calls Satan “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) and warns that the light within such a one is really darkness (cf. Luke 11:35).

Lucifer’s fall is thus the ultimate cautionary tale against Promethean pride. The same lie he believed – that a created being can exalt itself to godhood – is the lie he sowed into humanity. The serpent in Eden essentially invited Adam and Eve to follow Lucifer’s example: disobey God to attain wisdom and godlike status (Genesis 3:5) Tragically, our first parents fell for this false illumination and plunged the world into sin. The pattern repeats through history: whenever humans seek the effect of divinity (wisdom, immortality, power) while severing it from the source of divinity (the living God), the result is catastrophic. As Proverbs says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Fittingly, the Apostle Paul uses the devil’s story as a warning in appointing leaders: an overseer in the church must not be a new convert, “lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil” (I Timothy 3:6).

The “condemnation of the devil” refers to the judgment Satan incurred for his pride (I Timothy 3:6) Anyone who seeks a high spiritual status by self-exaltation risks replaying Satan’s pride and sharing Satan’s ruin. Pride turns angels into devils, and it can turn seekers of light into slaves of darkness.

The Glory of Man and the Worship of Idols

"Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not." — Isaiah 2:7–9

The prophet Isaiah describes a nation overflowing with material wealth and power — yet spiritually bankrupt. Surrounded by treasure and strength, the people bow to the work of their own hands. Rather than worshipping the living God, they offer reverence to objects they have fashioned, images that can neither see nor save. Isaiah’s indictment is not merely against carved statues, but against the heart that places created things or people in the place of the Creator.

This same spirit persists in modern idolatry. When a man lifts up a golden vessel — a monstrance — and exalts it before the people as the very presence of God, what is this but worshipping the work of men’s hands? The monstrance is crafted by artisans, adorned with gold and jewels, and held aloft as if the divine could be contained within it. Yet Scripture warns that God dwelleth not in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24), much less in objects made by human fingers.

The Apostle Paul is unambiguous: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?... neither idolaters... shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10) No matter how pious the ceremony or sincere the worshipper, bowing to a man or a man-made object in the name of Christ is still idolatry. Like the Israelites in Isaiah’s day, such worship exalts the symbol over the Saviour and substitutes form for the fear of God.

Let every soul take heed: no idolater shall inherit the kingdom of God. Let us worship the Lord not with relics, but in holiness. Not with icons, but in obedience.

So while multitudes today bow before popes, elevate golden monstrances, and adore consecrated wafers — treating them not merely as symbols but as gods made manifest on earth — they engage in a form of worship that Scripture unequivocally condemns as idolatry. This veneration of man and object, however veiled in tradition or ritual, is the very thing God warned against from the beginning: the deification of the creature instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25).

It is a grave thing to attribute divine honour to what is not divine, whether that be a man in robes claiming infallibility, a crafted vessel of gold held aloft as holy, or a wafer treated as the literal body of God. Such practices may stir emotion or seem sacred, but the Word of God pierces through appearances: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21), and “neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them” (1 Corinthians 10:7).

The Apostle Paul warns soberly:

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters... shall inherit the kingdom of God.” — 1 Corinthians 6:9–10

This is not a matter of religious style or denominational difference — it is a matter of spiritual life and death. Idolatry, in any form, excludes the soul from the kingdom of God. No amount of incense, gold, or tradition can sanctify a practice that violates the very commandment of God. And no ritual can replace the one true Mediator between God and man — Jesus Christ, who is worshipped not in wafer or image, but in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)

But then again, what does it matter to them? For those who bow before idols and exalt men in robes as if they were divine have already forsaken the eternal covenant of God. By turning to created things for reverence and trust, they have rejected the very foundation of true worship — the exclusive glory and sovereignty of the Lord. Their actions are not merely misguided; they are evidence of a deeper breach — a heart that has departed from the living God and aligned itself with a counterfeit faith.

Counterfeit Illumination in Alchemy: The Winged Sun and the Philosopher’s Stone

Throughout history, various esoteric disciplines have claimed to offer a path to purification and godlike enlightenment apart from God’s revelation. One of the most emblematic is alchemy – a blend of early chemistry, mysticism, and cosmology. Medieval and Renaissance alchemists sought the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance said to perfect matter and confer miraculous powers: the transmutation of base metals into gold and the attainment of the elixir of life (immortality). Alchemy was more than protoscience; it was rooted in a spiritual quest. The Philosopher’s Stone symbolized perfection of the soul as much as perfection of matter – in essence, a kind of self-made salvation or divinization. The alchemists described their work as the Magnum Opus (“Great Work”), often using allegorical imagery drawn from mythology and religion. In doing so, they created a symbolic language for a counterfeit spiritual transformation – one that imitates the work of God, but seeks to achieve it through secret wisdom and human effort.

One recurring alchemical emblem is the winged sun perched atop a stone or altar, as depicted in a 16th-century woodcut from the Rosary of the Philosophers. The winged sun was an ancient solar symbol associated with divinity and cosmic power in Egypt and the Near East (Winged sun - Wikipedia). Alchemists adopted this potent image to represent the stage of illuminatio (illumination) in the soul’s transformation. In the woodcut (above), a golden sun with outstretched wings hovers over a sepulchre filled with water. The original caption reads: “Here Sol plainly dies again, And is drowned with the Mercury of the Philosophers.” In alchemical code, “Sol” (the Sun) often stands for the enlightened spirit or the purified essence, while “Mercury” represents the volatile, transformative agent. The picture thus portrays a death and rebirth: the solar essence “dies” by immersion (dissolution in mercurial waters) so that it may rise anew – hence the sun is winged, signifying its impending ascent or resurrection. This is a striking parody of Christ’s death and resurrection, or of the believer’s death to sin and new birth by the Spirit. The difference could not be greater: in biblical faith it is God who raises the soul from death to life; in alchemy it is man’s own hidden art that accomplishes this. The winged sun promises apotheosis – the soul taking flight as a god – but without repentance, without atonement, without the true God.

The winged sun symbol, being a sign of “divinity, royalty, and power”, was naturally alluring to those in secret societies and occult orders. Over the centuries, many esoteric groups appropriated the winged sun as an emblem of illumination or cosmic authority, including Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Thelemites, and Theosophists. That a single image bridges Ancient Egyptian paganism and modern mystical movements highlights how consistent the counterfeit has been.

Whether etched into the stone of a pharaoh’s temple, embedded in the architecture of a Masonic lodge, or gleaming from the center of a Catholic monstrance, the sun stands as the ancient idol of human pride — the golden disc of divinity fashioned by man’s hands. Across centuries and civilizations, it has been lifted high as the supreme symbol of power, immortality, and illumination. But at its core lies a lie: “You can become divine. You can harness the power of the heavens. You can take the light into yourself.”

And what is the measure of that power? 666 — not by accident, but by design. In occult numerology and solar worship, 666 is the total sum of the sun’s power — the numerical perfection of human light, without God. It is the number of man exalting himself to godhood — through knowledge, fire, energy, and ultimately, idolatry.

So the sun is raised — not the Son — and the wafer is lifted up, shaped as the solar disc, encased in rays of gold, and presented as God incarnate. “Behold your god,” they say, “swallow him and live.” But this is not communion — it is consumption of a counterfeit. It is not the living Christ broken for sinners, but a golden idol, and the reenactment of the original deception: “Ye shall be as gods.”

It is the spirit of antichrist masquerading as sacred tradition — the adoration of the sun, not the Son.

Those who bow to this image, who partake of this idolatry, are not receiving grace — they are receiving the mark of a system that exalts man and dethrones God.

It is not the Son of God they lift up, but the sun god (Satan) — the same symbol of idolatry worshipped in Babylon, Egypt, and Rome.

Alchemy’s Philosopher’s Stone was often likened to a microcosmic sun or a celestial stone that fell from heaven. In some depictions its shape even resembled a winged disc

All these motifs – sun, wings, stone, secret fire – form a tapestry of symbolism proclaiming a self-deifying enlightenment. This is the illumination that occultists seek: a personal transformation that will confer godlike knowledge (often called gnosis) and immortality, achieved by awakening some latent divine spark within.

From a biblical perspective, such esoteric enlightenment is a lie – a dangerous mirage. It is essentially the serpent’s promise in a new form: “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). The winged sun atop the alchemical stone is a vision of the soul enthroned, flying free of the humble tomb of water. But in Scripture, water baptism symbolizes the necessary tomb of repentance – we die with Christ to be raised by God, not by our own occult mastery. Alchemy bypasses the moral dimension of purification (conviction of sin, cleansing by God’s fire) and replaces it with a technical or magical process. In effect, it seeks the crown without the Cross, enlightenment without the Light of the World. As Jesus warned, “He that climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). To steal God’s fire or sneak into His throne room by another route is to incur His judgment. It is telling that the Rosary of the Philosophers depicts Sol (the sun) “plainly dying” in the illumination stage – a subtle omen that this supposed light brings death, not true life.

Secret Societies and False “Light”

Alchemy’s dream of self-transmutation did not remain the province of eccentric laboratory hermits. Its core ideas – that hidden knowledge can perfect man, and that man can become godlike through enlightenment – entered the bloodstream of various secret societies and occult religions. The Freemasons, for example, emerged in the early 18th century inheriting a mix of medieval guild lore and Enlightenment deist philosophy. While many Freemasons historically were nominal "Christians", the Lodge’s symbolic system centers on moral and esoteric enlightenment apart from Christ. Masonic rituals speak of seeking “more Light”; initiates are taught that the keys to transformation lie in allegorical knowledge hidden in the craft. As one analysis summarizes, “Freemasonry is a fraternal order that believes esoteric knowledge is the key to ... power ... and to gain salvation.” (Freemasonry - Knowing the Bible) In other words, Masonry presents a kind of gnostic soteriology – salvation (or self-improvement unto perfection) by means of secret wisdom and self-discipline, rather than by grace through faith. The implicit promise is that through the degrees of the lodge, the initiate will ascend towards a godlike understanding of the universe (hence the motto “Ordo Ab Chao”, order out of chaos, and the use of the Eye of Providence symbolizing omniscience).

Many of the Enlightenment-era Masons were Deists, believing in a Creator who does not intervene in the world. In Deism (and in Masonry influenced by it), man’s reason becomes the supreme source of illumination.

A telling quote from a Masonic exposé reads: “For in Deism, man needs no God, and, in fact, through reason and sacred initiated knowledge, or illumination, Deists believe that man can become as God” (Unmasking Freemasonry - PDFCOFFEE.COM). This remarkable statement directly mirrors the serpent’s promise in Genesis (“ye shall be as gods”) and identifies “illumination” as the vehicle of self-deification. That line was penned by William T. Still, describing the philosophy undergirding much of modern Masonry. It shows how the spirit of Luciferian pride can wear the respectable garb of Enlightenment philosophy. Man declares he “needs no God” – effectively enthroning himself. The biblical diagnosis of this attitude is stark: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Ps. 14:1). And the outcome is equally stark: “God resisteth the proud” (James 4:6). No matter how sophisticated the secret society or how noble its charitable works, if its core teaching is that man can illuminate or redeem himself, it propagates a soul-destroying falsehood.

Other esoteric orders and movements make the Luciferian connection even more explicit. Theosophy, a 19th-century occult philosophy founded by Helena Blavatsky, openly praised Lucifer as misunderstood and symbolically adopted his name for a journal (Lucifer magazine, 1887). Theosophists and their successors in New Age circles teach that Lucifer is the Light-Bringer, a saviour figure who offered knowledge to humanity in Eden and whom true seekers should follow (they typically distinguish Lucifer from “Satan,” reinterpreting Lucifer as good). In essence, this represents a complete inversion of the biblical narrative — a reversal of God’s truth into blasphemous symbolism. It is no wonder, then, that the so-called "throne" of the papacy bears an inverted cross, a stark emblem not of humility as claimed, but of a kingdom turned upside down. Likewise, when popes assume titles such as “Vicar of Christ” or even “God on Earth,” they echo the very spirit of antichrist — exalting themselves in the place of God, not in submission to Him. This is not the church Christ built, but a system that glorifies man, distorts truth, and enthrones blasphemy.

Lucifer is cast as the hero, and the biblical God (or the Church’s dogma) is cast as the oppressor keeping mankind in darkness. Luciferianism as a system explicitly “reveres Lucifer as a liberator, light bringer or guiding spirit” (About: Luciferianism). Some Luciferians even regard Lucifer as “the true god as opposed to Yahweh” (About: Luciferianism). We have here the full development of what Isaiah warned: those who put light for darkness and darkness for light (Isaiah 5:20). They take the fallen Seraph and crown him with the glory of God. In their view, the fire he brings – the “Serpent’s wisdom” – will perfect and liberate humanity. It is the winged sun of alchemy, the promise of apotheosis, now turned into a religious veneration of the Rebel himself.

From a Christian theological standpoint, this is nothing less than demonic deception. The Apostle Paul wrote that “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), and that it is no surprise if his ministers also pose as ministers of righteousness. The Luciferian or occult promise of enlightenment is precisely Satan masquerading as an angel of light. It glitters like gold but is base metal beneath. The end of those who follow such false light is tragic. Jesus said of the devil, “he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth” (John 8:44). All who follow his path – the path of prideful independence from God – share in his fate. God pronounced of Lucifer, “I will cast thee to the ground... thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more” (Ezek. 28:17–19). And Scripture foresees a future punishment: “the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:10). How tragically ironic that those who lust for divine fire apart from God will meet an eternal fire of judgment instead. The “burning ones” who remain in God’s love (the Seraphim, the saints aflame with the Holy Spirit) enjoy the light of His presence forever, whereas the burning ones who fell will burn in a very different sense.

The Peril of Pride and the Path of Darkness

At the center of all these false paths – whether alchemical enlightenment, Masonic illumination, or outright Lucifer-worship – lies the sin of pride. Pride was the first sin in the universe, sprouting in Lucifer’s heart when he said “I” five times – “I will exalt my throne... I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Pride was the essence of that first human sin when Eve and Adam chose their own way to become “wise.” Pride is the common thread in every secret society oath that treats man’s reason or hidden knowledge as the key to salvation. Pride is essentially idolatry of the self. It seeks godhood without God, kingship without the King of Kings. And pride inevitably leads to a fall, (just what the fallen angels want). The case of Lucifer is proof eternal of this spiritual law: the higher one tries to lift oneself in vanity, the farther one will ultimately plunge. “God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7), and “he that exalteth himself shall be abased” (Luke 14:11).

Isaiah 14:12–15, as a whole, serves as a somber warning in this regard. Lucifer’s boastful aspiration to be like God was met with God’s unyielding verdict: “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit”. The one who wanted to ascend to the stars is cast down to the dust. Thus the Bible frames the pursuit of forbidden illumination as an act of self-destruction. It is poignantly illustrated by the fate of Adam and Eve: they did gain knowledge of good and evil, but that enlightenment brought shame, loss of innocence, and expulsion from Eden. Likewise, those who dabble in occult arts today often find initial “illumination” (a sense of power or insight), but soon are ensnared by spiritual darkness, confusion, and bondage. How many promising lives have been wrecked by addiction to secret knowledge, involvement in cults, or the consuming narcissism that these practices often breed? In trying to become more than human they became less than human, losing the very freedom and clarity they sought.

The danger of secret societies and false religions is not only in their doctrines but in their hiddenness and elitism – they cultivate the pride of being “in the know,” of having a special status above the uninitiated. This was the case even in ancient times: Gnostic sects in the early church era claimed to have special knowledge for salvation that common Christians didn’t possess. The Apostle John fought this by reminding believers that all true Christians “know the truth” (1 John 2:20-21) and that any who claim a higher knowledge while denying Christ are “antichrist.” The pattern repeats: whenever a group claims to offer a secret shortcut to enlightenment or godhood, apart from humble faith in God, it is recapitulating the original deception of Lucifer. Whether it is a magus in Alexandria, a sorcerer in medieval Europe, false prophet, self exalted priest or an occult society in the modern era, the core temptation remains the same: “you shall be as gods.”

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh...” — Acts 2:17, cf. Joel 2:28

The Lord was faithful to His Word. I have spoken before of the moment when a shimmering presence appeared upon my wall — radiant and living. It entered into me, and I felt a heat so intense that even my knuckles began to bleed. It was not a vision born of emotion or imagination, but a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and from that moment, He has begun to lead me into all truth, just as Christ promised:

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...” — John 16:13

This did not come through rituals, shrines, or by bowing before images. It did not come by lifting myself up or seeking hidden knowledge. It came through repentance, and by worshipping the Father as He desires:

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” — John 4:23

I humbled myself before the Living God. And now, by His Spirit, He is purifying me. Not with incense and relics, but with fire:

“He is like a refiner's fire... and he shall purify the sons of Levi...” — Malachi 3:2–3

This is not a fire that destroys, but a fire that cleanses. And by His mercy, I am being enlightened, not by false light, but by the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9).

I remember the true Sabbath

I pray unto the Father through Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).

I have repented of my sins and now walk in righteousness, by His grace.

The desire for the things of this world has been crucified — I now live humbly, content with little, and yet my soul has never known such peace and joy

I do not bow before men, exalting flesh and blood as if they were gods. There is one Mediator between God and men — the man Christ Jesus, and to Him alone belongs my worship, my reverence, and my repentance.

True Light and True Purification: A Biblical Conclusion

Against all these counterfeits, the Bible presents a simple, profound truth: God alone is the source of true light, true life, and true purification. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Any “illumination” that leads away from Him is by definition leading into darkness, no matter how enlightened it seems. The Holy Scriptures repeatedly call God’s word a light to our path (Ps. 119:105) and Christ “the light of the world” (John 8:12). The Holy Spirit is the one who enlightens the eyes of our heart and sanctifies our character. In the Bible’s vision, to become godly – to reflect God’s nature – is a good and holy calling (cf. 2 Peter 1:4), but it happens by relationship to God, not rivalry with God. We are invited to share in God’s holiness by coming to Him in repentance and faith, receiving His gracious purging of our sin (as Isaiah did). There is no secret or elitist barrier; “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). The true “Great Work” was accomplished not in an alchemist’s furnace but on the cross of Christ, where the Son of God gave Himself to atone for sin and to open the way for mortals to partake in His eternal life.

If one desires purification, the Bible points to the refining fire of God’s love and discipline: “He [the Lord] is like a refiner’s fire… and he shall purify the sons of Levi… that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:2-3). This refining fire may be painful (it convicts and burns away our pride and impurity), but it is ultimately life-giving. By contrast, the fires kindled by occultists either do nothing (false promises) or burn the soul to ashes. In 1 Kings 18, the prophets of Baal tried to conjure fire from their god all day to no avail, whereas Elijah prayed to Yahweh and he sent real fire from heaven. That story, though historical, reads almost like an allegory: the false religion rants and strives in secret rituals to produce even a spark, but the true God answers the humble prayer with genuine consuming fire. The point is clear – only God can send the fire from above. Humanity cannot steal heaven’s fire without dire consequences.

Therefore, the biblical call is to renounce the Promethean impulse in all its forms. We are not called to be gods apart from God; we are called to fellowship with God. The aspiration of the faithful Christian is not “I will be like the Most High” in the sense Lucifer meant, but rather “I will reflect the Most High.” We seek to be conformed to Christ’s image, not to usurp Christ’s throne (such as popes and the man-made hierarchy they have illegitimately established).

Any spirituality that encourages self-glorification, secret pride, or bypassing Christ’s lordship is, in Christian eyes, satanic in nature however angelic it may appear (2 Corinthians 11:14) The Bible unmasking Lucifer as a fallen angel warns us that even a being of light can fall if it departs from the source of Light.

“Take heed lest you fall” is the apostolic warning (1 Cor. 10:12) – a call to humility for every soul.

Do not allow the proud lead you down into the same destruction that awaits them.

Peace.