2 Kings 1:10
And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
This verse belongs to the history of King Ahaziah turning from the living God to Baal-zebub, with Elijah making earnest protest against that sin, and that history of sin and punishment stands as a warning that none can disregard with impunity. Fire from heaven consumed the first captain and his fifty soldiers as judgment from God after Elijah declared that it would come if he was a man of God, when they had been sent to intimidate Elijah as the Lord's messenger. The same fire consumed the second captain and his fifty men as God's judgment on soldiers sent to intimidate Elijah. Their fate contrasts with the third company, whose captain humbled himself before God and pleaded for the lives of himself and his men.
James and John and the other disciples later invoked Elijah's calling down fire to consume the captains and their companies as a model for sending fire to punish the Samaritans. They did so because a Samaritan village had refused Jesus lodging and hospitality, slighted him, violated courtesy to travelers, and shown disrespect to their Master, which stirred their indignation. Jesus was pained by and rebuked their harsh spirit and desire for punishment, telling them in effect that they did not understand what kind of spirit was motivating them. Their wish to destroy did not fit his purpose, for he came to save lives rather than destroy them.
Elijah's act therefore gives Christ's followers no authority to answer rejection with destructive punishment. It does not justify cruelty or coercion in Christ's name, persecution, proscribing the faith of others, forcing the conscience, indulging revenge, or desiring that God's judgments and retribution fall on those who dishonor truth and its Author. Instead the rebuke shows that zeal for punishment reveals a need to learn Christ's meekness, humility, love, pity, and salvation. Those imbued with his Spirit will be kind even to enemies, returning grace for courtesy and bringing blessing wherever they go.
As a warning, Ahaziah's turning to a heathen god was worship at Satan's shrine. Though people today do not pay homage to heathen gods, thousands worship at the same shrine, and the very spirit of heathen idolatry is rife today under the more refined and attractive forms of science and education. Faith in the sure word of prophecy is fast decreasing while superstition and satanic witchery captivate minds. All who do not earnestly search the Scriptures and submit every desire and purpose of life to that unerring test, and who do not seek God in prayer for knowledge of his will, will wander from the right path and fall under Satan's deception.