Isa 24:13-18 Glorify Ye The Lord In The Fires

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Isa 24:13-18 - Glorify Ye The Lord In The Fires

Isa 24:13  When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
Isa 24:14  They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
Isa 24:15  Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
Isa 24:16  From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
Isa 24:17  Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Isa 24:18  And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

We have been blessed to know that no man can "sing for the majesty of the Lord, [and] glorify... the Lord in the fires" without first experiencing 'treacherous dealers dealing very treacherously, leanness, fear, and the pit and the snare'. We know this to be true because, according to Jesus Christ, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God":

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

These verses in 1 Corinthians will help us understand the depth of the truth of Matthew 4:4:

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

These verses all confirm the words of Job to his wife who was urging Job to "curse God and die" to escape the misery he was suffering from his loss of all of his physical possessions and of all of his children. Suffering all of that loss in one day was then compounded by being afflicted with boils from his head to his toes.

When urged by His wife to "curse God and die", Job's response is very revealing for those who have been given eyes that see and ears that hear:

Job 2:9  Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

It is very few sermons which have ever been preached about 'receiving evil at the hand of God', and yet that is exactly what the scriptures teach us.

Another way of saying what the book of Job is telling us is that "man shall... live... by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God... all things are [ours]... the world... life... death... things present, [and] things to come; all are [ours]".

1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

That all-encompassing statement includes the last three verses from our last study:

Isa 24:10  The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
Isa 24:11  There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
Isa 24:12  In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

As we saw in our last study, "the city of confusion" is the Biblical symbol for the religions of this world with all of their conflicting and confusing doctrines. We are all snared by those doctrines in our own time until that city begins to be besieged and broken down and made desolate, and is in time utterly destroyed.

It is "when" it is becoming obvious that the siege of the city of our rebellious, Babylonian old man is succeeding and "the gate [of] the city... is smitten with destruction" that we continue our study of how the Lord is dealing with each of us. Remember from our past studies how we have demonstrated that we are "the land" with which the Lord is working His work in our lives. It is "the land" with its "city" and the city's "gate" which is being "smitten with destruction" and is "left desolate".  It is when we are brought to that helpless, prostrate and hopeless state that the Lord's fiery work within us is just beginning, as we are told with these words:

Isa 24:13  When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

To understand what we are being told here we must ask, "What is being signified by the shaking of this olive tree and the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done and the grapes are gathered?" The answer is that this is the same shaking as the shaking of the "great earthquake" of these verses:

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [Isa 24:23]
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

In spiritual terms, the shaking of "a fig tree" is the same as "the shaking of an olive tree". Both cast their fruit as a result of this "shaking" which is caused by "a great earthquake", which symbolizes the same thing as being "shaken of a mighty wind". The message of Revelation 16:12-14 is taken in its entirety from right here in Isaiah 24, including the darkening of the sun, the confounding, or 'becoming as blood', of the moon:

Isa 24:23  Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

These verses concerning the casting of the fruit of the fig and olive trees and the darkening of the sun and the confounding of the moon, are the negative application of all of these words because the verses we have just read all symbolize the revealing to us of the false doctrines and the traditions and practices of our time in Babylon. These are the things which nourish and bring Babylon's food and light to us while we are smitten with her blindness and with the fruit of her olive tree and her grapes and the fruit of her fig tree. However, the fruit of her ways is being shaken and cast down to the earth in a mighty work of the spirit of the Lord. Even her "stars... [her false prophets] fall unto the earth... as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when shaken of a mighty wind". That 'wind' IS "the spirit of the Lord... the words [Christ spoke - Joh 6:63]" doing its mighty work in our lives, and when we finally are given to see the good that comes of destruction wrought by that "great earthquake", then we will "lift up [our] voice, [and we] shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, and... cry aloud from the sea" which 'sea' symbolizes the flesh in which we already possess the spirit, in down payment form, "until the inheritance of the purchased possession" (Eph 1:11):

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Finally, being made aware of the deception in which we were living brings us to our next verse:

Isa 24:14  They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

That is exactly what we can do even now simply because we have been given faith in these inspired words:

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

We are merely "the first to trust in Christ... the first fruits unto God and the Lamb".

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

We are not the only ones to trust in Christ, neither are we the only fruits "unto God and the Lamb". As His "kind of firstfruits" we are the Lord's anointed who will rule with Him during the thousand year reign, and then we will also judge angels in the lake of fire. There is a "harvest at the end of the year" as well as a firstfruit harvest:

Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep the feast of [Passover and] unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, [the summer Pentecost harvest] which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Jas  1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

What a wonderful relief, what peace of mind it is to finally be made to know that the Lord is working His Work in everything in our lives for our good. What a blessing it is to understand that all the pain which accompanies the loss of our children and the loss of our families and all of our possessions, and the excruciating pain of all of our afflictions, is "all... working together for [a very good] purpose (Rom 8:28). We must remember that the physical loss of all of Job's possessions, and the physical death of all ten of his children, along with the affliction of boils from his head to his feet, all symbolize the agony we endure in the loss of our own false doctrines we so long cherished, along with the rejection by our own families and friends, as we refuse the demands made upon us of maintaining the lifestyle of our own materialistic flesh, as well as the lifestyle and traditions of our physical families and friends.

If we are obedient to His words, this is what we told will happen to us:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

These are but some of the fiery trials which are upon all who will "take up his cross and follow [Christ]", but these trials are not worthy to be compared to the glory which will be revealed in us if we are granted to "follow after [Christ]":

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Knowing and having faith in this Truth gives us the ability to "glorify the Lord in [our] fiery [trials]" and to bring to Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving even in the midst of our severe trials of life:

Isa 24:15  Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

David glorifies the Lord in the fires in Psalm 107.

Psa 107:19 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psa 107:21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Psa 107:23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

We have demonstrated that "the sea" is the symbol for the clay vessel of flesh and blood into which we are all born and out of which we all arise (Rev 13:1). Our fiery trials are all experienced in this age while we yet dwell "in the isles of the sea", meaning in these vessels of clay in which Christ dwells.

Paul elaborates on the message of "glorify the Lord in the fires" in 2Co 4:

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels ["isles of the sea"], that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
2Co 4:12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
2Co 4:13  We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
2Co 4:14  Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Being 'troubled on every side... perplexed... persecuted, and cast down are "the fires" in which we are to "glorify the Lord", even when all these trials cause us to feel at times that God has forsaken us, as did both King David and as the Lord Himself:

Psa 22:1  To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

That is our flesh crying out to let Ishmael be the heir (Gen 17:18), but that was never meant to be. Only Isaac will be the heir because he symbolizes the new man who is 'the Lord's Christ'. For that very reason the natural man persecutes the man of the spirit:

Mat 26:39  And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Joh 12:27  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers [symbols of our flesh] were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

For Christ to pray "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" helps us to understand the meaning of this next verse:

Isa 24:16  From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

This is exactly how we all treat Christ before we are given His spirit and become "His Christ":

Luk 22:47  And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
Luk 22:48  But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

We do not know it, but our every day in Babylon is spent there denying and betraying our Lord who told us to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, and follow in His footsteps.

Joh 13:18  I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
Joh 13:19  Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

Like the apostle Peter, we are made to look back and see our own denial of our own Savior:

Luk 22:33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34  And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

We are all aware of the fact that Peter did indeed deny his Lord thrice before the cock crowed, and he went out and wept bitterly because he was forced to admit that he was not willing to die with Christ:

Luk 22:56  But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
Luk 22:57  And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
Luk 22:58  And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
Luk 22:59  And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
Luk 22:60  And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

Peter is each of us while we are denying Christ, which we all do. In time, if it is to be so in this age, the Lord turns and looks upon us as we are in the very process of denying Him as we teach and act contrary to His doctrines. When that happens we are guilty of dealing with Christ in a treacherous way, and like Peter, who was made to face his own treachery, and like Paul on the road to Damascus, we will be struck down by Christ turning and looking upon us and bringing us see ourselves as He sees us. Christ sees our old man as His adversary, because that is what we are by nature (Rom 7:17-25).

But after we "[go] out and weep bitterly" and repent, we then become "the Lord's... Christ" (Act 4:26). Notice how quickly we transition from praising the Lord to bemoaning treachery as we see in verses 16-18. That is because we are passing from our part in denying Christ to repenting of that sin and now becoming the recipient of the hatred of all men. Now it is our turn to experience the many Judases, the Hymaneaus, and Alexanders, the Phygelluses and Hermogenes, the Alexander the coppersmiths (perhaps the same 'Alexander' of 1 Timothy), as well as Diotrephes, who turned on the apostle John, one and all being from within the very body of Christ, the very churches which were raised up by the apostles themselves.

This is what the apostles endured, and this is what we, too, are enduring and must continue to endure to the end of this age:

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

2Ti 4:9  Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2Ti 4:11  Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
2Ti 4:12  And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.
2Ti 4:13  The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
2Ti 4:14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
3Jn 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Notice what we are being told. What is revealed in these verses is much more far reaching than most realize. There are eight names Paul and John mention as men who "concerning the faith have made shipwreck": 1) Hymenaeas, 2) Alexander, 3) Phygellus, 4) Hermogenes, 5) Philetus, 6) Demas, 7) Crescens, and 8) Titus. We are told these men "blasphemed... are turned away from me... concerning the truth have erred... have forsaken me... did me much evil, [and] has greatly withstood our words". These are all prominent men within the very body of Christ who the Lord gave the task of causing "all them which are in Asia... the seven churches of Asia", in other words the whole church, including you and me, to turn on their own apostles, the body of Christ Himself, and "cast them out of the church". "No man stood with me but all men forsook me." The apostasy of the church was completed before the apostles had all died. That is why the book of Revelation and all of its judgments of seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials, is addressed to "the seven churches of Asia":

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Once again, this is not a history lesson. This is what we all do when we are deceived by the doctrines of these false prophets; by the doctrines of the "great harlot". When we do this we are denying Christ just as surely as Peter and all the other apostles did.

All of this treachery was prophesied in these verses here in Isaiah 24, which are words that have 'proceeded out of the mouth of God'. The Lord's words are "a two-edged sword", which means they are the death of our old man, while at the same time being the life of our new man. So we read that even as we glorify God in the fires, and sing songs of glory to the righteous, we also experience the leanness and the treachery of treacherous dealers as did the apostles. It was all prophesied to be so.

I want to read verses 16, 17 and 18 all together:

Isa 24:16  From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

Isa 24:17  Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Isa 24:18  And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

Our service to Christ was never intended to be a pleasurable experience:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

We are called to be "hated of all men" and to have "all men for[sake us]", but that is the very best experience any man will ever have if he is granted to "endure to the end". To get to be granted that honor, we must first be taken in the Lord's judgments, and we must flee from the noise of the fear of the Lord  and fall into the Lord's pit. Then we climb out of that pit only to be taken in another snare, simply because the windows from on high are opened, and the seven last plagues are being poured out upon us as the very foundations of our earth are being made to shake violently.

Mat 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

All of this is just part of experiencing the seven plagues of the seven angels. It sounds as if nothing good can come of having those plagues poured out of the heavens upon us. There is no denying that this is a time of great fear. Our earth itself is being shaken violently, but this is the fact of that matter:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

This is "the revelation of Jesus Christ"! It is the revealing of our old man's ways and his Babylonian doctrines, which make us flee from the truth, as it did to Adam and to Cain, and as it did to Peter when the Lord turned and caught Peter's eye just as he was denying his own Savior "with an oath".

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Gen 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

Peter fled from fear of dying at the hands of the mob, and then he found himself snared by his own conscience, which made him "weep bitterly". The foundations of his earth shook, and it was the worst day of his entire life to have to face the fact that he was not really willing to die with Christ as he had so proudly proclaimed that very same evening. In Truth that day was the best day of Peter's life because, like Job, Peter finally stopped thinking so highly of himself and came to realize what Job eventually realized:

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Here now is this very same message of these first 8 verses of Job 40 in the New Testament. Here is how Christ deals with us when we think we can serve Him in our own strength:

Luk 22:60  And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
Luk 22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

These stories of Job and Peter are not just history lessons. Job and Peter typify you and me. There was no way Job could keep the Lord's "hedge [up] about him", and there was no way Job, of himself, could have kept from condemning God for what the Lord had done to him. There was no way Peter could avoid denying the Lord. There was no way Paul could have avoided persecuting the saints and being struck down on the road to Damascus, and there is no way you or I can avoid being ruled over by the law of sin and death which operates within our members:

We are expressly just that:

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

It is all a  matter of the seven last plagues having to be fulfilled before any man can enter into the temple of God in heaven (Rev 15:8). All of this being said, it is equally true that there is no way any man can avoid, in the end, being dragged to true, heart-felt repentance and being "made alive... in Christ":

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6  Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, ["all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth"] even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

That is our study for today. Lord willing we will finish chapter 24 next Sunday, which I have entitled: The Lord Shall Punish The Host of The High Ones On High and The Kings of The Earth Upon The Earth.

Isa 24:19  The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
Isa 24:20  The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Isa 24:21  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
Isa 24:22  And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
Isa 24:23  Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.