ajdiamond said:
There were burning coals on the altar in the temple (Lev 16:12). Because we are the temple of God, there are coals or burning coals within us too. Others (our "enemies") are a temple of God as well. The passage indicates that the act of kindness is like us giving burning coals to another. In that, if their coals are not burning, our burning coal will kindle the coals in them. Or, if their coals are weakly burning, our burning coal will strengthen the fire within them. Burning coals in the temple seem to be a "good" thing and part of normal temple operations.
We are the temple, so they should be burning in us. The heaping of coals is beneficial, not "God's wrath".
You need to look at the scripture in context
Paul starts off by talking about us needing to love our enemies, which then leads directly in to the leaving of room for Gods wrath.
If that was not surposed to be a part of what he was talking about then why is it there?
This then leads in to his quote from Proverbs
Proverbs 25:21-22
New International Version (NIV)
[SIZE=.75em]21 [/SIZE]If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
[SIZE=.75em]22 [/SIZE]In doing this, you will heap burning coals[SIZE=.65em](
A)[/SIZE] on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.[SIZE=.65em](
B)[/SIZE]
So there is really only one natural conclusion to what Paul is saying here
I dont see how you got what you said from Leviticus 16-12
Leviticus 16:13
13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover(A) above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.(B)
Numbers 16:46-50
[SIZE=.75em]46 [/SIZE]Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer[SIZE=.65em](
A)[/SIZE] and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly[SIZE=.65em](
B)[/SIZE] to make atonement[SIZE=.65em](
C)[/SIZE] for them. Wrath has come out from theLord;[SIZE=.65em](
D)[/SIZE] the plague[SIZE=.65em](
E)[/SIZE] has started.” [SIZE=.75em]47 [/SIZE]So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,[SIZE=.65em](
F)[/SIZE] but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. [SIZE=.75em]48 [/SIZE]He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.[SIZE=.65em](
G)[/SIZE][SIZE=.75em]49 [/SIZE]But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.[SIZE=.65em](
H)[/SIZE][SIZE=.75em]50 [/SIZE]Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped
It seems to me the only purpose of the hot coals in is in the use of burning incense, there is nothing said about the burning of incense in Pauls teaching