Originally Posted by
Colonel
That's not a politically correct title. I'm going to take a look at a scripture that concerns Christians rather than unbelievers.
1 Cor 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
The Day, as opposed to the current night, will be revealed by fire. Those two go hand in hand because God is a consuming fire and he is also light.
14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
The believer will be saved, yet as through fire. Meaning that the fire burns away that which shouldn't be there, including his faulty works. But it doesn't burn away everything. Since he is born again, something remains that isn't destroyed by the fire. So he passes through the fire.
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
The same fire destroys the sinner and this verse makes this particular in relation to those who persecute believers to death.
But who is doing the destroying here ? Is it Satan or is it God ? That depends on the tense of the verb. In Koine Greek there are three tenses where there are only two in English.
active
middle
passive
According to my multi-volume Greek Study Bible, the following word is used about God destroying (him who defiles God's temple) :
phtherei 3.pers, sing, fut, ind, act
Which makes sense. God is third person and singular, the destruction happens in the future, it is real therefore the indicative mode and the one performing it is actively performing it. Not passive as in permissively, nor middle tense which is more flexible - but active.
So God is doing the destroying, by fire. The wording used is precise. To make this perfectly clear : the passive tense of the same word is used multiple times in the New Testament.