"Place me like a seal over your Heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame." (Song of Songs 8:6).

Almost ten years ago I received this verse and also verse 7, but I never really understood what it meant, until recently.
Actually my late wife and I had these two verses on our wedding rings, and we had felt God gave it to us in a special way. Though we still did not understand them. It helped that commentaries considered these verses as the climax of the Song of Song and that it described marital love at its strongest.

Then I heard that Mike Bickle had been meditating on these verses in his office, when the presence of the Lord suddenly came in a special way, and while experiencing this the phone suddenly rang, and it was Bob Jones on the line (a prophetic man in his church at that time). He had just heard the audible voice of the Lord and Bob said The lord was about to give him (Mike Bickle) his life mandate and it was to be found in the Song of Songs 8:6. That should be his mandate all the days of his life, and that God was going to call people to it, and he is going to do this in the body of Christ world wide. THIS MESSAGE WAS SPOKEN BY THE AUDIBLE VOICE OF THE LORD TO BOB JONES, WHILE MIKE BICKLE WAS FOR THE FIRST TIME MEDITATING ON SONG OF SONGS 8:6.
So my big question was: What was so special about this verse, what is it all about?

The Great Commission and the Great Commandment

God has given us the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The Great Commission we find in Matthew 28:18-20: "Go make disciples of all nations".
That is our commission, but who of us can do that? None of us, on our own. We can't fulfill the great commission unless the Lord enables us to do it. That is why he commanded the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, that would enable them to fulfill the Great Commission. (Acts 1:4-8).
Jesus did not give them a commission, and then leaving them without giving them the ability to fulfill it.
Understanding this, let us look at the Great Commandment.
Mark 12:30-31 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength". The second part if this commandment is "to love your neighbor as you love yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
Who of us can fulfill this? None of us, at least, not in our own strength, so the big question is: as He gave the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to fulfill the Great Commission, what did he give to enable us to fulfill the great Commandment? I would suggest to you that he gave the fire of love, the flame of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to fulfill the Great Commandment.

God is love, you see, but at the same time, He is fire!

" In Hebrews 12:29: "For our God is a consuming fire".
" Deuteronomy 4:24: "For the Lord Your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God".
" Exodus 3:2: "The Lord appeared in flames to Moses in the bush".
" Exodus 14:21: "Pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire".
" Rev 1:14: "His eyes were like blazing fire" (John's revelation of Jesus).
" Ezekiel 1:27: "I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up He looked like gloving metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire, and brilliant light surrounded him." (Ezekiels vision of God.)

So, how do we reconcile these two - love and fire? God is love, but that love is so strong and passionate, that when He is going to express the deep love and yearnings of His heart, the only way that it can be fully brought forth is as a burning flame of fire. God's love is so intense and hot that it has taken fire, it burns. He burns because He is love; He burns with love for His bride, for you and me. And this love that burns is a jealous love that doesn't want to share the one He loves with anyone else.
And if that is how He loves us, when he then commands us to love Him back. That is the love He calls us to love Him with. He is looking for that fiery love that He has for us, if it also is burning in our heart for Him.
John 17: 26: "I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them".
This is Jesus finishing his highpriestly prayer, and he ends it with the incredible request to the Father, that the same fiery love that the Father has for Him may be in the disciples. And He also explains how it will start to burn there. It is by Him making the Father known to them, or in other words, when the Holy Spirit starts to reveal the beauty of God to our hearts, our hearts will be captured by Him and start burning.
But we also receive this flame of fire through prayer, and that is what Song of Song 8:6 is all about. It is a prayer that the flame of love may be like a seal on the heart of the believer. The enabling fire, to enable us to be fiery lovers of God.
And then when this fire of love burns in our hearts, verse 7 tells us that many waters cannot quench this love. Rivers cannot wash it away:
"Many waters cannot quench love; Rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of His house for love it would be utterly scorned". (Song of Songs 8:7)
Water naturally quenches fire, but this is a supernatural fire, and when it burns in the heart, the waters of pain and difficulties and the rivers of persecution can not wash it away.
As we pray for this flame of fire to burn in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will come upon us and seal our heart with the fire of love.
"Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit." (Ephesians 1:13)
This seal, the same seal that Song of Songs 8:6 talks about, was what the disciples received on the day of Pentecost.
As I have come to understand, the disciples received the Holy Spirit in three different forms at the day of Pentecost: the wind, the fire and the wine. I believe the wind represent the power of God to enable them to be witnesses. The wine represents the joy of the Lord to gladden their hearts; and finally the fire was the flame of love that would enable them to be fiery lovers of God.
I believe that we may have misinterpreted the tongues of fire that was descending on them. We have thought this was tongues of fire, as a sign that they would be fiery preachers, but "tongues of fire" is an expression to describe what fire looks like and it was maybe not about their tongues that would be set on fire.
If we let the Bible interpret the Bible, which I believe is an important principle, we find that the only other place it speaks about "tongues of fire" is in connection with burning up straw, meaning it is a way to describe what fire looks like when it burns.
In Isaiah 5:24 we can read that "therefore as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust."
So at the day of Pentecost, or the P-Day, the disciples received the 3 P's:

Power - the wind to enable them to fulfill the Great Commission.
Passion - the fire of love, to enable them to fulfill the Great Commandment.
Pleasure - the wine to gladden their hearts and enable them to enjoy God.

Finally, we may also receive this fire of love through meditating on the Word of God.

- The disciples on the road to Emmaus asked each other "were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32). This was Jesus revealing the word to them, and as a result their hearts were burning. The scripture has the ability to set our hearts on fire, because it is fire itself.

- Jeremiah 20:9: "But if I say, "I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name"; His word is in my heart like a fire. A fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, indeed, I cannot."

- John 1:1 "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God". The word was God - and God is fire, which means that the word is fire.

- In John chapter 1, verse 4, "In Him was life and that life was the light of men." We have mostly looked at the fire of God as the fire of judgement, and that is one side of it. Fire can destroy, but the other side of fire is to bring life and light. What makes the light shine? It shines because something burns. God shines because He burns.
You see, without light we would not exist. But what is the source of light? Fire - as we know the sun is a ball of fire. So we can rightly say that fire then becomes the source of life. So it is both the source of life and destruction. So with this understanding, the words in John 1:4 "In Him was life and that life was the light of men," takes on a deeper meaning because we could also say, "in him was fire and that fire was the light of men".

So, how do we receive this fire in our heart? We now understand that the word is fire. It dwelled in eternity, in the past. Then it was clouded with words and syllables and put in the pages of a book. But it was not meant to stay there. These eternal burning truths and realities about God are longing to break forth from these pages to again become flames of fire. These eternal burning realities that dwelled outside time and space, but for a moment needed to be wrapped in words and syllables so it could enter this world, longs to be unwrapped again from its package, so it again can become fire, but this time, not outside time and space, but in our hearts.

Dana Candler expresses this very well in her excellent book "Deep unto Deep", writing about this eternal spiritual realities she says:
"They begin as words and end as burning realities. They start as concepts but become experiences in God. They expand within us and stretch their boundaries far beyond the natural confinement of time and space. They are without limit, for they are living truths of love that eternally remain. They begin as words, for syllables and concepts are the package surrounding very real realities. Yet when these fiery realities wrapped in words are accepted into the chamber of our beings, they find their rightful vessel, and in time, the titles that once held them are cast aside and no longer needed. The living substance now abides within the human heart. The reality of "God is love" is eternal, yet the words and syllables come only as a temporary service to tote the reality around until it finds its home within the secret place of the human heart."

Then she goes on to write:

"I imagine the Holy Spirit, the wind of God, catching up these words and concepts into His wings and rushing them into the center of my being. There He breathes upon them, and as I ponder them, mulling over them with much love and meditation, they eventually ignite into a living flame. At this point, there is no longer need for words or concepts. They have already done their duty. Language is left behind smiling, for she has accomplished her God-ordained responsibility, and now the flame burns on its own. She remains within the boundaries of what can be communicated while the burning reality that once required ideas and concepts to be understood now takes me upon its wings into the realm of love far surpassing knowledge and ascends eternally into the great Beyond."

Our goal is trough prayer and meditation that this word becomes fire in our hearts. Let me give you an example how that may happen. The sun burns and gives light, but if you concentrate that light under a magnifying glass, it transforms to fire. In the same way, the word that once burned as the sun, was given into this world through the Bible, and it became the light of the world. But if we then concentrate that light, like under a magnifying glass, and this happens as we meditate on the word, that is the way God has given us to concentrate the light of the word and directing it towards our heart, it takes on fire and will burn in our heart.
This is our call and our destiny. We talk much about being the light of the world and even makes songs about it, but we also need to talk about why we shine, and that is because we burn. John: 8:12 says "when Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." In Matthew 5:14 we can find Jesus saying "you are the light of the world".
When Jesus was describing John the Baptist, he said that he was the greatest born of a woman (Matthew 11:11). "John was a lamp that is burning and gave light and you chose for a time to enjoy his light." (John 5:35). To put it differently, John gave light because he burned. Our focus is usually that he was a shining lamp.
But the reason John shined was that he burned. He was one of the burning ones.
John was a forerunner for Jesus' first coming. To prepare people for the coming of the Lord. But just as he was raised up as one voice that burned to prepare the people for the 1. Coming of Christ, we believe that God is raising up an army of forerunners to prepare the people for the Second Coming. He is raising up many burning ones at the end of the age. And one of their main characteristics, I believe, will be that they are burning.
Like the apostles of old, have you noticed that they were always painted with a halo? Why? They were shining, and they shined because they burned. We also read that Peter's shadow healed the sick- but if we look at the original Greek it says it was an outshining that came from Peter that healed the sick, this has been translated to be his shadow, but for me it is more correct to say that the light shining out from him, since Peter was one of the burning ones, healed the sick.
To illustrate this point I want to share a story that a friend of mine experienced some years ago during a YWAM gathering. One of those present where asked to pray and as he prayed, my friend saw that his whole face started to shine and fire went out of his eyes, and she saw a wind around his mouth, a person that happened to pass by the room as this took place, told afterwards that as he heard this person pray the Holy Spirit came over him and he experienced that he was healed from a sickness he was suffering from at that time. He did not see anything, he just experienced it. But my friend had her eyes opened for a little while to the activity of the Holy Spirit, and there she saw the fire and the wind going out to heal this person. The interesting thing was that the fire did not come from the mouth but the eyes, and it was the wind, which is the power of the Spirit she saw around the mouth. And I believe it was the same light and power that went out from Peter and healed the sick. Sometimes the eyes of people were opened to see what happened in the spiritual world, and then they saw the disciples surrounded with light and that was why they eventually was painted that way, with light shining around them, especially coming from their face.
This was also what Peter, James and John experienced when they where taken up to the Mount of Transfiguration. Their eyes where opened to see Jesus like He really is: "There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light." (Matt: 17:2).
So are we also called to burn and shine and this is not just symbolic. Literally flames of fire came on the disciples, it was not a natural flame or a natural light, but nevertheless it was still very real.
It is a spiritual reality, an actual flame and an actual light and on occasions our eyes will be opened to actually see it, as my friend experienced. And Jesus is longing to come to His church to find this fire burning. In Rev. 1:12-13 it says that "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven lampstands and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man" dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest."
Here we find Jesus where he loves to be, among His lampstands. And the lampstands are, according to verse 20, the seven churches. Why are the churches pictured as lampstands? Probably because they were to be lampstands, so that the flame of the Holy Spirit could burn in them. And as we se in Rev. 2:4, Jesus is rebuking the church in Ephesus. For what? She had forsaken her first love, and what was her first love other than the fire of love burning in her lampstand. We see that very clearly in chapter 2:5, where it says that if she does not repent he will come and remove the lampstand. Why would he do that? Because if the fire of love is not burning anymore, there is no need for the lampstand.

As we are approaching the end of the age, I believe that the issue of the believers being burning and shining lamps will become a very central theme.
In Matt 24 Jesus is talking about the end times, then he goes on in Matt 25 saying: "at this time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet their bridegroom." At this time, meaning the end of the age, the focus will be on the bridal message and about having the fire of love burning in our lamps.
This is about the ten virgins, five were wise and five were foolish. But the issue is really about burning and shining. Why were they to have oil on their lamp, which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit? The point was that they were to have oil, so that the flame of love could burn in their lamps, so that they could be among the burning and shining ones.
We can also see that this is the issue in Daniel, chapter 12, the theme is the end of the age. In verse 3 we read about what will characterize the believers at this time: "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens…" (Dan. 12:3).

Why will they shine? Because they have been wise and bought oil for their lamps, so that the fire of love could burn in their hearts.

And in Isaiah 60:1-3 we have a great promise, which many believe speaks prophetically about the end of the age, and that is also the name the Lord has given for our ministry.

"Arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

This tells us that at the end of the age when darkness covers the earth, the church will arise and shine, because she is burning.
In his book "The Days of His Presence", Francis Frangipane shares about a prophetic experience that confirms this understanding: "Much of what I believe concerning the end of the age comes from a vision the Lord gave me in 1971. In it I saw a city blanketed by a deep, thick darkness. A feeling of great hopelessness and desolation prevailed over the region. Like the darkness that descended as a judgment over Egypt, this also was a darkness that could be felt (Ex. 10:21).
Those whom I was with were outside the city. We had been "baptized" in a glorious and powerful light. In the vision, I actually experienced the power of this light surging up from my innermost being and out through my hands. A visible splendor shone from our bodies, especially our faces.
Suddenly, people by the tens of thousands started streaming out of the darkness. As they approached, they were calling on the name of the Lord. We prayed and laid our hands upon them and they, too, received the light.
I lay awake until dawn pondering the vision. It had been my habit to read the word of God immediately upon waking. As the morning light began to enter my bedroom, I opened my Bible to begin my next reading. There, for the first time in my young spiritual life, I read Isaiah 60….
It said darkness would cover the earth, but the glory of the Lord will rise upon His people! The words bolted into my eyes like lightning, then shook my insides like thunder. It was as though I had actually stepped into a Bible verse and seen its fulfillment. The Holy Spirit and the Word working together revealed that, at the end of the age, the glory of the Lord would be manifested in His people - and multitudes would come to the Lord as a result!"
So this will be the mark of the believers in a special way at the end of the age. But it is also our eternal destiny to shine.
It is our destiny to live with the Godhead who shines and burns. Isaiah saw this and wrote in Isaiah 33:14: "who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?". (Revised Standard Version)
Who can dwell with those everlasting burnings, meaning the Trinity. Those who from ages past have dwelled together in burning passion for each other, with fiery love for each other but also for us, are longing for us to join them. But how can we live there? Only when we have become flames ourselves. Only when we become one of the burning ones ourselves, can we dwell with the everlasting burnings. Because it is only flames of fire that will survive fire, for everything will burn up, except the living flames. And remember we are talking about loves burning flame, it is love that will remain, and this love is so strong that it burns as a flame.
And finally, in Rev. 22:5 we read "There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. For the Lord God will give them light."
How will He give them light? Because he shines, and he shines because He burns.
In Rev. 21:23 it says "the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp."
And then we have Jesus last description of himself in the word of God: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright Morningstar". His last description of himself is that He is the bright Morningstar. How is the bright, shining light blazing from the star? Because it burns.

But it does not stop there. Look at Matt. 13:43. "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He, who has ears, let him hear".
It also says that we will shine like the sun. How does the sun shine? It shines because it burns.

Brothers and sisters, this is our destiny: To burn in the kingdom of our Father forever and ever.

But even today, the everlasting burnings are calling us, those who are burning with the flames of holy passion and love for each other. They are calling you and me to become one of the burning ones.
To become one of those who burn with the holy flames of love, so that we can be a light and give life in this sick and dying world, and eventually join them and burn with them forever and ever.

With this new understanding our prayers becomes Song of Songs 8:6 - That he will seal us with the seal of fire upon our hearts, that we my become wholehearted lovers of God, so that we can love him with the same fiery love that he loves us with.

Amen.