Message of the Latter Rain - Kelvin M. Duncan

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 (Leviticus 10:1,
2).
On the surface, this is a startling, perhaps even perplexing story. The
punishment does not appear to f?it the offence. Why did God take such
sudden and drastic measures in punishing these two young men? The Spirit
of Prophecy illuminates the problem.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer,
and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, then offered strange fire before
the Lord, which he commanded them not. What could have come upon the
sons of Aaron, that they should thus transgress the requirement of God? The
sacred fire which God Himself had kindled and preserved was at their hand.
Direction had been given concerning it, and God had said: 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.[18]
This "ever burning" fire, which "God Himself had kindled," was the
only fire allowed for use in the temple. When the sacrifices were consumed
by this sacred fire, the symbolic process typified the fact that Christ would
not die because of what men would do to Him, nor would His life be taken
by Satan. He would be consumed by the "fire" which comes from "God
Himself." In pagan sacrificial rituals man kindles the fire and consumes the
sacrifice in order to appease an angry god. In God's system He Himself
provides the sacrifice and consumes it with His holy wrath against sin. Ellen
White describes what happened at the cross:
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