“Every House…”

(Training message for House Church and individual use: preached 10/18 – 10/24/2020)

According to Merriam-Webster.com, the “definition of wake up and smell the coffee/roses” is

“To realize the truth about one’s situation: to become aware of what is really happening.” (“Wake up and smell the coffee/roses.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake%20up%20and%20smell%20the%20coffee%2Froses. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.)

Is the Christian church in the West – specifically: are the called out ones of Jesus Christ, who live right here in the United States, are they, are we… awake? Are we able to “smell the coffee?” Are we able to smell the roses? Or, to be more exact, to smell, to sense, to see that judgment is all around us and increasing every day?

And what is wrong with, not all, but with so many of our leaders? Why is it so glaringly, so embarrassingly evident that so many of our “pastors”, of our “bishops”, of our “doctors” and the like; why are the ones who have the largest to lose (financially and etc.); why are so many of these “great” men so set on defying natural law, defying medical reality, defying the fact of the steadily increasing deaths of others by risking the lives of the sheep that they are supposed to protect? Why… do… you (brother minister)… demand (whether by direct statement or strongly pronounced insinuations), why do you coerce your people into a situation that places their life at increasing risk? Just so that you could speak to them as a crowd, pass the plate, take up the offering, provide them with a few moments of “fellowship” and then dismiss them back out to spread, not only whatever love they had hoped to gain, but also the microscopic germs they had collected? Yes, that’s right: spread: now shared with others, and now able to multiply out into the midst of a death producing global pandemic? 

(Readers and listeners in Europe – and we do have some – we pause for  a moment to acknowledge you, and to feel your even greater wonder at this occurrence among our people. Yes, we can almost hear you saying, “How appalling! How horrifying! There, in the United States? There in one of the three countries, in the world, whose citizens are now barred from entering our borders? There, of all places? There, in the U.S.? There, where you have the highest rising numbers of COVID-19 related infection and death? There?!?” Yes, here. Here they are. Here they appear: the shepherds who shear their sheep to keep… to keep… to keep.)

How then shall these shepherds wake up? Perhaps they never will. But… What of the sheep? And what of those among us being prepared to lead the people of God into – whatever comes next? 

We need an answer. And we are going to gain an answer from the only place that we can; from the Bible. And since the “word of God is quick and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12), we are going to obtain this answer, primarily, with only one verse of Scripture. Here it is.

“The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10)

However, first let us finish quoting the verse that we began quotinghat we began earlier,

“The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

In reviewing this divine statement, we find that God’s word is as sharp, in fact the sharpest sword of all. Elsewhere, as many know, it is plainly stated as being “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” And so, this mightiest of weapons, this sharpest of all swords must be handled carefully, used properly, and swung and thrust with precision.

They call it… hermeneutics. According to Charles C. Ryrie in his classical work, Basic Theology, 

“Hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation. Exegesis consists of the actual interpretation of the Bible, the bringing out of its meaning, while hermeneutics establishes the principles by which exegesis is practiced.” (“Chapter 16: The Interpretation of the Bible.” Basic Theology, by Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1996, p. 110.)

Brother Ryrie then goes on to clearly define the “Principles of Normal Hermeneutics.” Please observe these principles carefully as we give them in the following summarized quote from Ryrie’s Basic Theology book. Why will we give this detailed quote? Because, in this message, these principles will be used to both outline and to explain our topic: our one now-needed-more-than-ever heaven-sent sentence from  the Word of God.

Here then are those guiding Principles of Normal Biblical Hermeneutics.

1. Principle Number One: “Interpret grammatically. 
   • “Words are the vehicles of thoughts. 
   • “The meaning of any passage must be determined by a study of the words therein and their relationships [within] the sentences.
   • “Determining the grammatical sense of the text must be the starting point of normal interpretation. 
2. Principle Number Two: “Interpret contextually. 
   • “Words and sentences do not stand in isolation;
   • “Therefore the context must be studied in order to see the relation that each verse sustains to that which precedes and to that which follows.
   • “Involved are the immediate context and the theme and scope of the whole book.
3. Principle Number Three: “Compare Scripture with Scripture. 
   • The dual authorship of the Bible makes it necessary not only to know the human author’s meaning but also God’s. 
   • God’s meaning may not be fully revealed in the original human author’s writing but is revealed when Scripture is compared with Scripture.
4. Principle Number Four: “Recognize the progressiveness of revelation.
   • To be able to interpret plainly consistently, it is imperative to recognize that revelation was given progressively. 
   • This means that in the process of revealing His message to man, God may add or even change in one era what He had given in another. 
   • Obviously the New Testament adds much that was not revealed in the Old. 
   • What God revealed as obligatory at one time may be rescinded at another (as [for example] the prohibition of eating pork, once binding on God’s people, now rescinded, 1 Tim. 4:3). … 
   • Those who will not consistently apply this principle of progressive revelation in interpretation are forced to resort to figurative interpretation or sometimes simply to ignore the evidence.” (Ibid, pp. 114-115.)

Let us then, let us now, take up the sword: “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Having gained a correct fighting method, a correct and precise use of this greatest weaponry of all – having found the basic methods, the basic techniques of such spiritual swordsmanship wherewith we may properly swing, and cut, and thrust, and severe where and how such holy and truthful aggression need be applied – having gained a proper usage, let us pick back up this sword and allow God’s word to do whatsoever it will do.

As it is written in Isaiah 55:11,

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

So let us begin by allowing God’s word to do just that; to “accomplish that which [he] please[s]”, and to “prosper in the thing whereto [he] sent it.” Let us read again the selected sentence from the pages of his word; and then let us continue by allowing the first Principle of Normal Biblical Hermeneutics to be our starting guide.

“The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10, KJV)

I. Principle Number One: Grammatical Interpretation: What exactly is this verse saying?

     A. The verse plainly stated (in four different word-for-word translations):

• “It was broken down — a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance.” (Isaiah 24:10, YLT: Young’s Literal Translation)
• “The city of chaos is broken down; every house is shut up so that none may enter.” (Isaiah 24:10, NASB)
• “The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter.” (Isaiah 24:10, ESV)
• “The city of chaos is broken down; every house is shut up so that no one may enter.” (Isaiah 24:10, AMP)
• “The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10, KJV)

     B. The three phrases in the verse:

• “The city of confusion is broken down:”
• “Every house is shut up,”
• “That no man may come in.”

     C. The key words within each of those three phrases:

We give the verse again:

“The city of chaos is broken down; every house is shut up so that none may enter.” (Isaiah 24:10, NASB)

(https://biblehub.com/lexicon/isaiah/24-10.htm)

And so ends the use of our introductory principle: Grammatical Interpretation. Having examined five different word-for-word translations; and having broken the sentence structure into its three parts; and having confirmed the exact meaning its original Hebrew words and idioms, by way of Lexicon; all doubts may now be put aside: the verse really says what we see that it says when we read it.

But we go on to confirm what God is saying to us, as we again read the verse and then delve deeper into its message with our second guiding principal.

It is written:

“The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10)

II. Principle Number Two: Contextual Interpretation: What is the exact context of this verse, as given within both the theme of the book it is in, and in the section of the book in which it is contained?

     A. The theme of the Book of Isaiah:

The essence of the book of the Bible, which contains our verse, may be gathered from a summarization of The MacArthur Study Bible English Standard Version’s  “Introduction to Isaiah”;  parts of which are given as follows.

• “Title. The book derives its title from the author [Isaiah], whose name means “The Lord is salvation,” and is similar to the names Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus. Isaiah is quoted directly in the NT over 65 times, far more than any other OT prophet.”
• “Author and Date. … When called by God to prophesy, in the year of King Uzziah’s death (c. 739 B.C.), he [Isaiah] responded with a cheerful readiness, though he knew from the beginning that his ministry would be one of fruitless warning and exhortation (6:9-13).”
• “Interpretive Challenges. … Literal fulfillment of many of Isaiah’s prophecies [have] already occurred. … [However,] to contend that those yet unfulfilled [prophecies] will see non-literal fulfillment is biblically groundless.”
• “Historical and Theological Themes. Isaiah prophesied during the period of the divided kingdom, directing the major thrust of his message to the southern kingdom of Judah. He condemned the empty ritualism of his day (e.g. 1:10-15) and the idolatry into which so many of the people had fallen (e.g., 40:18-20). He foresaw the coming Babylonian captivity of Judah because of this departure from the Lord (39:6-7). …

“Isaiah provided data on the future day of the Lord and the time following. He details numerous aspects of Israel’s future kingdom on earth not found elsewhere in [either] the OT or NT, including changes in nature, the animal world, Jerusalem’s status among the nations, the Suffering Servant’s leadership, and others.

“Through a literary device called “prophetic foreshortening,” Isaiah predicted future events without delineating exact sequences of the events or time intervals separating them. For example, nothing in Isaiah reveals the extended period separating the two comings of the Messiah. Also, he does not provide as clear a distinction between the future temporal kingdom and the eternal kingdom as John does in Rev. 20:1-10; [and] 21:1-22:5. In God’s program of progressive revelation, details of these relationships awaitied a prophetic spokesman of a later time.” (MacArthur, John. “Introduction to Isaiah.” The MacArthur Study Bible, Personal Size, English Standard Version (ESV), Crossway, 2010, pp. 934–935.)

Next…

     B. The theme of the 24th chapter of Isaiah:

Matthew Henry, in the 4th volume of his most popular commentary provides us with this as the opening introduction to this 24th chapter of the book of Isaiah, wherein our verse is contained.

“It is agreed that here begins a new sermon, which is continued to the end of chap. 27. And in it the prophet, according to the directions he had received, does, in many precious promises, “say to the righteous, It shall be well with them;” and, in many dreadful threatenings, he says, “Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with them” (3:10, 11); and these are interwoven, that they may illustrate each other. This chapter is mostly threatening; and, as the judgments threatened are very sore and grievous ones, so the people threatened with those judgments are very many. It is not the burden of any particular city or kingdom, as those before, but the burden of the whole earth. The word indeed signifies only the land, because our own land is commonly to us as [if it were] all the earth. But it is here explained by another word that is not so confined; it is the world (v. 4); so that it must at least take in a whole neighbourhood of nations.” (Henry, Matthew. “The Book of the Prophet Isaiah.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 6th ed., vol. 4, Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 1991, pp. 99–100.)

     C. The context of the verse:

And now, in keeping with the contextual method of interpretation, let us examine our verse within the context, within the framework, of the verses surrounding it. WE will therefore be able to see, not only this one verse, this one sentence, but also all of the verses of this particular portion of the Word of God, here Isaiah 24:1-12, where Isaiah 24:10 is contained.

We now review the entire context of Isaiah 24:1-12, while taking time along the way to pause and quickly point out where verse 10 occurs. As we do so, please observe how very plain the language is here, leaving little to interpret and very much to make note of and fearfully respond to.

“Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants. And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

The new wine mourns,

The vine decays,

All the merry-hearted sigh.

The gaiety of tambourines ceases,

The noise of revelers stops,

The gaiety of the harp ceases.

They do not drink wine with song;

Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

The city of chaos is broken down;

Every house is shut up so that none may enter. (v 10)

There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;

All joy turns to gloom.

The gaiety of the earth is banished.

Desolation is left in the city

And the gate is battered to ruins.” (Isaiah 24:1-12, NASB)

This is the Contextual Interpretation in its three parts: 

1. The theme of the Book of Isaiah,
2. The theme of Isaiah chapter 24, and
3. Isaiah 24:10 given fully within the clear context of Isaiah 24:1-12.

So it is written, and now how shall we, shall you so respond? This question we pray will remain at the forefront of your heart. Meanwhile, before allowing principal number three to carry us further,

We continue broadcasting to you God’s message from Heaven by reading his sentence again:

“The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10)

III. Principle Number Three: Scripture Comparisons: What exactly is God saying in this verse as revealed in a comparison to other Scriptures.

     A. “The city of confusion is broken down.”/ Comparatives:

• Introductory Comparative: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17)
• Comparative Scripture Regarding the Whole World (judged by a global flood): “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
• Comparative Scripture Regarding an entire nation (Egypt: judged by multiple plagues):: “And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (Exodus 10:7)
• Comparative Scripture Regarding the Coming Judgements (occurring almost certainly during our lifetime and or directly afterwards): “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Revelation 14:7-9)

     B. “Every house is shut up.”/ Comparatives:

• Comparative Scripture Regarding the Whole World: “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.” (Genesis 7:16)
• Comparative Scripture Regarding an Entire Nation: “And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.” (Exodus 12:22)
• Comparative Scripture Regarding the Coming Judgements: “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;” (Revelation 6:15)

     C. “That no man may come in.”/ Comparatives:

• Comparative Scripture Regarding the Whole World: “And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” (Genesis 7:23) 
• [Note that, despite what so many seem to insinuate – and have even portrayed in movies and on TV – there was no, “Hey everybody, come get on the Ark!” No, the Lord was exclusive, and was clear in being so when he said, “the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” (Gen. 7:1)]
• Comparative Scripture Regarding an entire nation: “That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.” (Exodus 12:27)
• Comparative Scripture Regarding the Coming Judgements: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:14-16)

So it has been written, and so we have confirmed by comparing Scripture with Scripture. God… is… saying to our hearts what we are hearing with our ears.

“The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10)

We are clear, yes, even three times clearer in our understanding of what God speaks to us today. Ah, but there is a fourth and final enclosing upon our hearts and minds and souls. There is bringing forth into the center of our very lives, today, at this time, right now. There is the use and direct application of…

IV. Principle Number Four: Progressive Revelation: How does this biblical statement, which was given in the past, apply to us today?

     A. What happened in and after Isaiah’s lifetime?

The answer to this question is very well written, presented, and documented by the faculty of Moody Bible Institute in their popular publication, known as the Moody Bible Commentary, from which we now quote as follows.

“The first six chapters of the book of Isaiah function as a prologue to the entire book, introducing the relationship between God and Judah. its main [the entire book of Isaiah’s] emphasis is an indictment of Judah for sin. God offered a message of impending doom and future hope for Israel by describing the nation’s identity in the present and the future. Their ignorance of God and His desires would result in disaster, but that disaster was restore Israel, but only through judgment and discipline. As a culmination of the indictment, the story of the call of Isaiah was recounted. Having indicted Judah, demonstrating a need for a prophet, God called Isaiah to bring His message to His wayward people.” (Rydelnik, Michael, and Michael Vanlaningham. “Commentary on Isaiah: Prologue: The Indictment of Israel and Cal of Isaiah.” The Moody Bible Commentary, Moody Publishers, 2014, p. 1011.)

     B. What happened in and after the lifetime of our Lord, Jesus Christ?

To gain this answer, in all its awful truth, we begin by listening in to the heartbroken lament of our precious Savior, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 23, verses 37 through 39.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew 23:37-39)

Allow Adam Clarke, the primary historian and theologian of the early Methodist Movement (after John Wesley, of course), please allow brother Clarke to help bring us into what was meant, here in Matthew 23:37-39, by our Lord, and to demonstrate how it directly applied to fate of this major city, shortly after the end of our Savior’s physical ministry on Earth. Listen then – to this quote from that premier work, collectively known as Adam Clarke’s Commentary.

“Verse 37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

“1. It is evident that our blessed Lord seriously and earnestly wished the salvation of the Jews.

“2. That he did every thing that could be done, consistently with his own perfections, and the liberty of his creatures, to effect this.

“3. That his tears over the city (see Luke 19:41) sufficiently evince his sincerity.

“4. That these persons nevertheless perished.

“And 5. That the reason was, they would not be gathered together under his protection : therefore wrath, i. e. punishment, came upon them to the uttermost. 

“From this it is evident that there have been persons whom Christ wished to save, and bled to save, who notwithstanding perished, because they would not come unto him, John 5:40. 

“The metaphor which our Lord uses here is a very beautiful one. When the hen sees a beast of prey coming, she makes a noise to assemble her chickens, that she may cover them with her wings from the danger. The Roman eagle is about to fall upon the Jewish state – nothing can prevent this but their conversion to God through Christ – Jesus cries throughout the land, publishing the Gospel of reconciliation – they would not assemble, and the Roman eagle came and destroyed them. The hen’s affection to her brood is so very strong as to become proverbial.” (Clark, Adam. “St. Matthew XXIII, Verse 37.” The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorized Translation, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts: with a Commentary and Critical Notes; Designed as a Help to a Better Understanding of the Sacred Writings [the Title of This Book Is Now More Commonly Referred to as “Clarke’s Commentary”, Volume V: Matthew to the Acts., Abingdon, pp. 223–224.)

     C. What will happen in and after your lifetime?

That is what we have been progressively approaching, progressively leading up to, isn’t it? Yes, and now, utilizing this final guide to receiving God’s message from Isaiah 24:10; in allowing the fourth and final Principle of Normal Biblical Hermeneutics, the one so very aptly named, Progressive Revelation to, as they say, bring us home, I beg you to listen with both caution and care to what your hear next, as quoted from the Liberty Bible Commentary. Hear now this quote!

“Looking down through the corridor of time, Isaiah sees an era when the entire world shall come under the judgment and retribution of a righteous God. The inhabitants of the earth are spoken of as being desolate and burned (haru, meaning charred). As a result of universal transgression, mankind is almost totally obliterated from the face of the earth. Whether this has direct implication to the potential of the earth. Whether this has direct implication to the potential of nuclear warfare is certainly not made clear in the passage; but in light of the modern situation, it must be taken as a definite possibility. The city of confusion (qiryah tohu) should be translated “city of chaos” or “emptiness.” Note that tohu is the same word that is used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the desolation of cities in general. Notice the more common word ‘iyr for city in verse 12. The ideal conveyed in the passage is that the cities of the earth will be wasted and empty as a result of this universal destruction.” (Faldwell, Jerry, et al. “Isaiah 24:1-12.” Liberty Bible Commentary, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983, p. 1336.)

What is the conclusion?

Ryrie’s Study Bible says,

“[Regarding Isaiah] 24:1-13 The coming judgment will be on the entire earth (vv. 1, 4), on all classes of people (v. 2), and will remove all pleasures (vv. 7-13). Only a small remnant will survive (vv. 6, 13).” (Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. “The Book of Isaiah.” The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, Moody Publishers, 2012, p. 834.)

Jesus warned us, in Matthew 24:44,

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

What did he mean by this statement? If you are asking that, then, sadly perhaps you have still not received what God has been saying all along in Isaiah 24:10; neither before you were born, before this message was just given to you, nor, even more sadly, now. 

With one last moment, then, of mercy, we turn to another Old Testament prophet of God, in hopes that through him, the truth, the warning will finally be heard and responded to.

We now again quote from the pages of Scripture.

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.” (Jeremiah 7:1-7)

“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 7:8-11)

“But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer, therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.” (Jeremiah 7:12-15)

OUTLINE:

“Every House…”

(A Message to the Ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ)

“The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.” (Isaiah 24:10)

I. Grammatical Interpretation: What exactly is this verse saying?

II. Contextual Interpretation: What is the exact context of this verse, as given within both the theme of the book it is in and the section of the book in which it is contained?

III. Scripture Comparisons: What exactly is God saying in this verse as revealed in a comparison to other Scriptures.

IV. Progressive Revelation: How does this biblical statement, which was given in the past, apply to us today?

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44)

WORSHIP:

Michael W. Smith – Surrounded (Fight My Battles)

Opening:

We Rest on Thee (444)

Lead On, O King Eternal (451)

Message:

“Only A Holy God” Praise And Harmony from Resurrecting God

The Cause of Christ | RESOLVED