2 Kings 1:12
And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
The verse belongs with 1 Kings 21 to the record of the fall of the house of Ahab, showing Ahab as naturally covetous, strengthened and sustained in wrongdoing by Jezebel until fully controlled by selfishness, unable to bear refusal of his wishes and feeling that the things he desired should by right be his. It is part of that history of the fall, when the evil influence Jezebel had exercised over Ahab from the first continued during the later years of his life and bore fruit in deeds of shame and violence seldom equaled in sacred history. It belongs to Elijah's earnest protest when King Ahaziah turned from the living God to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, and to the history of that sin and its punishment. That sin and punishment of Ahaziah stands as a lesson of warning that none can disregard with impunity.
The fire from heaven consumed the second captain and his fifty after they came to seize Elijah and intimidate him as God's messenger, as an act of God's judgment. The repeated destruction of the first two companies contrasts with the humility of the third captain and his plea for mercy; the third company was spared, and Elijah then delivered God's message to Ahaziah. The victims were Samaritan captains and their companies, sent to seize Elijah, destroyed by fire from heaven at Elijah's call. Those who held them to be Syrian understood the same calling down of fire to have consumed the Syrian captains and their companies.
James and John recalled this calling down of fire that consumed a captain and his fifty as a model and precedent, wanting fire to punish and destroy the Samaritans and the Samaritan village that had refused Jesus lodging and hospitality. Jesus' response and rebuke shows that Elijah's judgment was not a warrant for His disciples to destroy or punish people who rejected Him. He rebuked the disciples' indignation because they did not understand what kind of spirit they were showing, for His mission was to save lives and not to destroy them. Christ does not compel people to receive Him but seeks willing service through love, and the disciples needed to learn His meekness, humility, and love. The verse gives no authority for persecution, for proscribing the faith of others, for forcing anyone's conscience, or for revenge and desire for retribution against those who dishonor truth; those imbued with the Spirit of Christ will be kind to enemies.
Turning to Satan's shrine for information instead of God is worshiping Satan just as the King of Israel did, and the very spirit of that heathen idolatry is rife today, though under science and education it has assumed a more refined and attractive form. 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 surely wander from the right path and fall under Satan's deception.