Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.—Haggai 2:4–5

Satan is always doing his utmost to obstruct the work of God. He hindered these Jews from building the temple, and today he endeavors to hinder the people of God from spreading the Gospel. A spiritual temple is to be built for the Most High, and if by any means the evil one can delay its uprising, he will stop at nothing. If he can take us away from working with faith and courage for the glory of God, he will be sure to do it. He is very cunning and knows how to change his argument and yet keep to his design. He cares little how he works so long as he can hurt the cause of God.

In the case of the Jewish people on their return from captivity, he sought to prevent the building of the temple by making them selfish and worldly so that every man was eager to build his own house and cared nothing for the house of the Lord. Each family pleaded its own urgent needs. In returning to a long-deserted and neglected land, much had to be done to make up for lost time; to provide suitably for itself, every family needed all its exertions. They carried this thrift and self-providing to a great extreme and secured for themselves luxuries while the foundations of the temple that had been laid years before remained as they were or became still more thickly covered up with rubbish. The people could not be made to bestir themselves to build a house of God, for they answered to every exhortation,

“The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built” (Haggai 1:2).

A more convenient season was always looming in the future, but it never came. Just now it was too hot; further on it was too cold. At one time, the wet season was just setting in, and it was of no use to begin. Soon after, the fair weather required that they should be in their own fields. Like some in our day, they saw to themselves first, and God’s turn was very long in coming. Hence, the prophet cried,

“Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?” (Haggai 1:4)

By the mouth of His servant, Haggai, stern rebukes were uttered, and the whole people were aroused. We read,

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. (Haggai 1:12)

All hands were put to the work, course after course of stone began to rise, and then another stumbling-block was thrown in the way of the workers. The older folks remarked that this was a very small affair compared with the temple of Solomon of which their fathers had told them. In fact, their rising building was nothing at all and not worthy to be called a temple.

The prophet describes the feeling in the verse which precedes our text.

“Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?” (Haggai 2:3).

Feeling that their work would be very poor and insignificant, the people had little heart to go on. Being discouraged by the humiliating contrast, they began to be slack. As they were quite willing to accept any excuse, and here was an excuse ready-made for them, they would soon have been at a standstill had not the prophet met the wiles of the archenemy with another word from the Lord.

Nothing so confounds the evil one as the voice of the Eternal. Our Lord himself defeated Satan by the Word of the Lord, and the prophet Haggai did the same. Twice the voice was heard:

“I am with you, saith the LORD” (Haggai 1:13; 2:4).

They were also assured that what they built was accepted and that the Lord meant to fill the new house with glory; yes, He meant to light it up with a glory greater than that which honored the temple of Solomon. They were not spending their strength for naught but were laboring with divine help and favor. Thus, they were encouraged to put their shoulders to the work. The walls rose in due order, and God was glorified in the building up of His Zion.

The present times are, in many respects, similar to those of Haggai. History certainly repeats itself within the church of God as well as outside of it, and therefore the messages of God need to be repeated also. The words of some almost-forgotten prophet may be redelivered by the watchman of the Lord in these present days and be a timely word for the present emergency. We are not free from the worldliness which puts self first and God nowhere, or else our various enterprises would be more abundantly supplied with the silver and the gold that are the Lord’s but that even professing Christians reserve for themselves. When this selfish greed is conquered, then comes in a timorous depression. Among those who have escaped from worldliness, there is apt to be too much despondency, and men labor feebly as if working for a cause which is doomed to failure. This last evil must be cured. I pray that our text may flame from the Lord’s own mouth with all the fire which once blazed about it. May faint hearts be encouraged and drowsy spirits be aroused as we hear the Lord say,

“My spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not” (Haggai 2:5)

I will enter fully upon the subject, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, by calling your attention to discouragement forbidden. Then I will discuss encouragement imparted. Having done so, I will linger with this blessed text which overflows with comfort and will speak, in the third place, of encouragement further applied. Oh, that our Lord, who knows “how to speak a word in season to him that is weary” (Isa. 50:4), may cheer the hearts of seekers by what will be addressed under this last point of discourse!

Discouragement Forbidden

Discouragement comes readily enough to poor mortals like us who are occupied in the work of God, seeing that it is a work of faith, a work of difficulty, a work above our capacity, and a work much opposed. Discouragement is very natural; it is a native of the soil of manhood. To believe is supernatural; faith is the work of the Spirit of God. To doubt is natural to fallen men, for we have within us an evil heart of unbelief. It is abominably wicked, I grant you, but still it is natural because of the downward tendency of our depraved hearts.

Discouragement may come and does come to us, as it did to these people, from a consideration of the great things which God deserves at our hands and the small things which we are able to render. When in Haggai’s days the people thought of Jehovah and of a temple for Him and then looked upon the narrow space which had been enclosed and the common stones which had been laid for foundations, they were ashamed. Where were those hewn stones and costly stones which, of old, Solomon brought from afar? They said within themselves, “This house is unworthy of Jehovah: what are we doing by laboring thus?” Have you not felt the depressing weight of what is so surely true? Fellow believers, all that we do is little for our God, far too little for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. For Him that poured out His soul unto death on our behalf, the most splendid service, the most heroic self-denial, are all too little, and we feel it is so. Alabaster boxes of precious ointment are too poor a gift. When we have done our utmost in declaring the glory of Jesus, we have felt that words are too poor and coarse to set before our adorable Lord.

When we have prayed for His kingdom, we have been disgusted with our own prayers, and all the efforts we have put forth in connection with any part of His service have seemed too few, too feeble for us to hope for acceptance. Thus have we been discouraged. The enemy has worked upon us by this means, yet he has made us argue very wrongly. Because we could not do much, we have half resolved to do nothing! Because what we did was so poor, we were inclined to quit the work altogether! This is evidently absurd and wicked. The enemy can use humility for his purpose as well as pride. Whether he makes us think too much or too little of our work, it is all the same so long as he can get us away from it.

It is significant that the man with one talent went and hid his Lord’s money in the earth. He knew that it was but one, and for that reason he was the less afraid to bury it. Perhaps he argued that the interest on one talent could never come to much and would never be noticed side by side with the result of five or ten talents, and he might as well bring nothing at all to his Lord as bring so little. Perhaps he might not have wrapped it up if it had not been so small that a napkin could cover it. The smallness of our gifts may be a temptation to us. We are consciously so weak and so insignificant, compared with the great God and His great cause, that we are discouraged and think it vain to attempt anything.

Moreover, the enemy contrasts our work with that of others and with that of those who have gone before us. We are doing so little as compared to other people; therefore, let us give up. We cannot build like Solomon; therefore, let us not build at all. Yet, fellow believers, there is a falsehood in all this, for, in truth, nothing is worthy of God. The great works of others and even the amazing productions of Solomon all fell short of His glory. What house could man build for God? What are cedar and marble and gold as compared with the glory of the Most High? Though the house was exceedingly magnificent, “of fame and of glory throughout all countries” (1 Chron. 22:5), the Lord God has of old dwelt within curtains, and never was His worship more glorious than within the tent of badgers’ skins. Indeed, as soon as the great house was built, true religion declined. What of all human work can be worthy of the Lord? Our little labors do but share the insignificance of greater things, and therefore we ought not to withhold them. Yet, here is the temptation from which we must pray to be delivered.

The tendency to depreciate the present because of the glories of the past is also injurious. The old people looked back to the days of the former temple, even as we are apt to look upon the times of the great preachers of the past. What work was done in those past days! What Sabbaths were enjoyed then! What converts were added to the church! What days of refreshing were then bestowed! Everything has declined, decreased, degenerated!

But, fellow believers, we must not allow this sense of littleness to hamper us, for God can bless our littleness and use it for His glory. I notice that the great men of the past thought of themselves even as we think of ourselves. Certainly they were not more self-confident than we are. Let us throw our hearts and souls into the work of the Lord and yet do something more nearly in accordance with our highest ideal of what our God deserves of us. Let us excel our ancestors. Let us aspire to be even more godly, more conscientious, and more sound in the faith than they were, for the Spirit of God remains with us.

Wherever discouragement comes in, it is dreadfully weakening. I am sure it is weakening because the prophet was bidden to say three times:

“Be strong” (Haggai 2:4)

to the governor, high priest, and people. This proves that they had become weak. Being discouraged, their hands hung down, and their knees were feeble. Faith girds us with omnipotence, but unbelief makes everything hang loose and limp about us. Distrust, and you will fail in everything; believe, and “according to your faith be it unto you” (Matt. 9:29). To lend a discouraged people to the Holy War is as difficult as for Xerxes’ commanders to conduct the Persian troops to battle against the Greeks. The vassals of the great king were driven to the conflicts by whips and sticks, for they were afraid to fight. Do you wonder that they were defeated? A church that needs constant exhorting and compelling accomplishes nothing. The Greeks had no need of blows and threats, for each man was a lion and courted the encounter, however great the odds against him. Each Spartan fought con amore (with love, devotion); he was never more at home than when contending for the altars and the hearths of his country.

We want Christian men of this same sort, who have faith in their principles, faith in the doctrines of grace, and faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We want men who therefore contend earnestly for the faith in these days when piety is mocked from the pulpit and the Gospel is sneered at by professional preachers. We need men who love the truth, to whom it is dear as their lives, men into whose hearts the old doctrine is burned by the hand of God’s Spirit through a deep experience of its necessity and of its power. We need no more of those who will parrot what they are taught, but we want men who will speak what they know. Oh, for a troop of men like John Knox, heroes of the martyr and covenanter stock! Then would Jehovah of hosts have a people who would “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10) to serve Him.

Discouragement not only weakens men, but it takes them away from the service of God. It is significant that the prophet said to them,

“Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work” (Haggai 2:4).

They had ceased to build; they had begun to talk and argue, but they had laid down the trowel. They were extremely wise in their observations and criticisms and prophecies, but the walls did not rise. It is always so when we are discouraged; we cease from the work of the Lord and waste time in talk and nonsensical refinements. May the Lord take away discouragement from any of you who now suffer from it. I suppose some of you feel it, for at times it creeps over my heart and makes me go with heaviness to my work.

I believe that God’s truth will come to the front yet, but it has many adversaries today. All sorts of unbeliefs are being hatched out from under the wings of “modern thought.” The Gospel seems to be regarded as a nose of wax, to be altered and shaped by every man who wishes to show his superior skill. Nor is it in doctrine alone, but in practice also, that the times are out of joint. Separateness from the world and holy living have given way to gaiety and theatergoing. To follow Christ fully has gone out of fashion with many of those from whom we once hoped better things. Yet are there some who waver not, some who are willing to be in the right with two or three. Blessed is the man who will be able to stand fast by his God in these evil days. Let us not in any way be discouraged.

“Be strong...be strong ...be strong” (Haggai 2:4)

sounds as a threefold voice from the triune God.

“Fear ye not” (Haggai 2:5)

comes as a sweet cordial to the faint; therefore, let no man’s heart fail him.

The Encouragement Imparted

“According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not” (Haggai 2:5).

God remembers His covenant and stands on His ancient promises. When the people came out of Egypt, the Lord was with them by His Spirit; hence, He spoke to them by Moses, and through Moses, He guided and judged and taught them. He was with them also by His Spirit in inspiring Bezaleel and Aholiab as to the works of art which adorned the tabernacle. God always finds workmen for His work and by His Spirit fits them for it. The Spirit of God rested upon the elders who were ordained to relieve Moses of his great burden.

The Lord was also with His people in the fiery cloudy pillar which was conspicuous in the midst of the camp. His presence was their glory and their defense. This is a type of the presence of the Spirit with the church. At the present time, if we hold to the truth of God, if we live in obedience to His holy commands, if we are spiritually minded, if we cry unto God in believing prayer, and if we have faith in His covenant and in His Son, the Holy Spirit abides among us. The Holy Spirit descended upon the church at Pentecost, and He has never gone back again. There is no record of the Spirit’s return to heaven. He will abide with the true church evermore. This is our hope for the present struggle. The Spirit of God remains with us.

To what end, my brothers and sisters, is this Spirit with us? Let us think of this, that we may be encouraged at this time. The Spirit of God remains among you to aid and assist the ministry which He has already given. Oh, that the prayers of God’s people would always go up for God’s ministers, that they may speak with a divine power and influence which none will be able to contradict! We look too much for clever men; we seek out fluent and flowery speakers; we sigh for men cultured and trained in all the knowledge of the heathen. However, if we sought more for unction, for divine authority, and for that power which does hedge about the man of God, how much wiser should we be! Oh, that all of us who profess to preach the Gospel would learn to speak in entire dependence upon the direction of the Holy Spirit, not daring to utter our own words but even trembling lest we should do so. Oh, that we would commit ourselves to that secret influence without which nothing will be powerful upon the conscience or converting to the heart.

Do you not know the difference between the power that comes from human oratory and that which comes by the divine energy which speaks so to the heart that men cannot resist it? We have forgotten this too much. It is better to speak six words in the power of the Holy Spirit than to preach seventy years of sermons without the Spirit. He who rested on those who have gone to their reward in heaven can rest this day upon our ministers and bless our evangelists if we will but seek it of Him. Let us cease to grieve the Spirit of God and look to Him for help for the faithful ministers who are yet spared to us.

This same Spirit who of old gave to His church eminent teachers can raise up other and more useful men. The other day, a brother from Wales told me of the great men he remembered. He said that he had never heard such a one as Christmas Evans who surpassed all men when he was in the hwyl. I asked him if he knew another Welsh minister who preached like Christmas Evans. “No,” he said, “we have no such man in Wales in our days.” So also in England, we have neither Wesley nor Whitefield nor any of their order, yet as God is the residue of the Spirit, He can fetch out from some chimney-corner another Christmas Evans or find in our Sunday school another George Whitefield who will declare the Gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.

Let us never fear for the future or despair for the present since the Spirit of God remains with us. What if the growing error of the age should have silenced the last tongue that speaks out the old Gospel? Let not faith be weakened. I hear the tramp of legions of soldiers of the Cross. I hear the clarion voices of hosts of preachers.

“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Ps. 68:11).

Have faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ! When He ascended on high, “He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Eph. 4:8). He then “gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11), and He can do the like again. Let us fall back upon the eternal God and never be discouraged for an instant.

Nor is this all. The Holy Spirit being with us, He can move the whole church to exercise its varied ministries. This is one of the things we want very much, that every member of the church should recognize that he is ordained to service. Everyone in Christ, man or woman, has some testimony to bear, some warning to give, some deed to do, in the name of the holy child Jesus; and if the Spirit of God is poured out upon our young men and women, each one will be aroused to energetic service. Both small and great will be in earnest, and the result upon the slumbering masses of our population will surprise us all.

Sometimes we lament that the churches are so dull. There is an old proverb which says of So-and-so that he was

“as sound asleep as a church.”

I suppose there is nothing that can sleep so soundly as a church. Yet, the Spirit of God still remains, and therefore churches can be awakened. I mean that not only in part but as a whole a church may be quickened. The dullest professor, the most slovenly believer, or the most critical and useless member of a church may yet be turned to good account. I see them like a bundle of sticks, piled up, dead, and dry. Oh, for the fire! We will have a blaze out of them yet.

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, brood over the dark, disordered church as once You did over chaos; order will come out of confusion, and the darkness will fly before the light.

Only let the Spirit be with us, and we have all that is wanted for victory. Give us His presence, and everything else will come in its due season for the profitable service of the entire church.

If the Spirit is with us, there will come abundant conversions. We cannot get at “the lapsed masses,” as they are pedantically called. We cannot stir the crass infidelity of the present age. No, we cannot, but He can. “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). If you walk down to our bridges at a certain hour of the day, you will see barges and vessels lying in the mud, and nothing can stir them. Wait until the tide comes in, and they will walk the water like things of life. The living flood accomplishes at once what no mortals can do.

And so today our churches cannot stir. What will we do? Oh, that the Holy Spirit would come with a flood tide of His benign influence, as He will if we will but believe in Him, as He must if we will but cry unto Him, and as He will if we will cease to grieve Him. Everything will be even as the saints desire when the Lord of Saints is with us. The hope of the continuance and increase of the church lies in the Spirit remaining with us. The hope of the salvation of London or any other city lies in the wonder-working Spirit. Let us bow our heads and worship the omnipotent Spirit who deigns to work in us, by us, and with us.

Then, fellow believers, if this should happen—and I do not see why it should not—then we may expect to see the church put on her beautiful garments. Then will she begin to clear herself of the errors which now defile her; then will she press to her bosom the truths which she now begins to forget; then will she go back to the pure fount of inspiration and drink from the Scriptures of truth; and then out of the midst of her will flow no turbid streams but “rivers of living water” (John 7:38). If the Holy Spirit will work among us, we will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the name of our God.

When once the Spirit of God puts forth His might, all things else will be in accord with Him. Notice that in the rest of the chapter—not relating to that temple at all but to the church of God—there is great comfort given to us. If the Holy Spirit is given once, then we may expect Providence to cooperate with the church of God.

“Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations” (Haggai 2:6–7)

Great commotions will cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We may expect that God will work for His people in an extraordinary fashion if they will but be faithful to Him. Empires will collapse and times will change for the truth’s sake. Expect the unexpected; reckon upon that which is unlikely, if it is necessary for the growth of the kingdom. Of old the earth helped the woman when the dragon opened his mouth to drown her with the floods that he cast forth (see Revelation 12:16); unexpected help will come to us when affairs are at their worst.

And next, the Lord in this chapter promises His people that they will have all the supplies they need for His work. They feared that they could not build His house because of their poverty, but, says the Lord of Hosts,

“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine” (Haggai 2:8).

When the church of God believes in God and goes forward bravely, she need not trouble as to supplies. Her God will provide for her. He that gives the Holy Spirit will give gold and silver accordingly as they are needed; therefore, let us be of good courage. If God is with us, why need we fear?

One of our English kings once threatened the great city of London that if its councilors talked so independently, he would—yes, he would, indeed he would—take his court away from the city. The Lord Mayor on that occasion replied that if His Majesty would graciously leave the river Thames behind him, the citizens would try to get on without his court. If any say, “If you hold to these old-fashioned doctrines, you will lose the educated, the wealthy, the influential,” we will answer, “But if we do not lose the godly and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are not in the least alarmed.” If the Holy Spirit remains with us,

“there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God” (Ps. 46:4)

Fellow believers, my heart leaps within me as I cry,

“The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Ps. 46:7, 11).

“Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Ps. 46:2).

The best comfort of all remained:

“The desire of all nations shall come” (Haggai 2:7).

This was in a measure fulfilled when Jesus came into that latter house and caused all holy hearts to sing for gladness, but it was not wholly fulfilled in that way, for if you notice in Haggai 2:9 it is written,

“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former...and in this place will I give peace,”

which the Lord did not fully do to the second temple since that was destroyed by the Romans.

However, there is another advent, when “the desire of all nations shall come” (Haggai 2:7) in power and glory, and this is our highest hope. Though truth may be driven back and error may prevail, Jesus comes, and He is the great Lord and Patron of Truth.

“With righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity” (Ps. 98:9).

Here is our last resource; here are God’s reserves. He whom we serve lives and reigns forever and ever, and He says

“Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev. 22:12).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Encouragement Further Applied

I would be done if it had not been that this text seemed to me to overflow so much that it might not only refresh God’s people but give drink to thirsty sinners who are seeking the Lord. It is at the beginning of every gracious purpose that men have most fear, even as these people had who had newly begun to build. When first the Holy Spirit begins to strive with a man and to lead him to Jesus, he is apt to say, “I cannot; I dare not; it is impossible. How can I believe and live?” Now I want to speak to some of you who are willing to find Christ and to encourage you by the truth that the Spirit lives to help you. I would even like to speak to those who are not anxious to be saved.

I remember that Dr. Payson, an exceedingly earnest and useful man of God, once did a singular thing. He had been holding inquiry meetings with all sorts of people, and great numbers had been saved. At last, one Sunday, he publicized that he should have a meeting on Monday night for those people who did not desire to be saved. Strange to say, some twenty people came who did not wish to repent or believe. He spoke to them and said, “I am sure that if a little film, thin as the web of the gossamer, were let down by God from heaven to each one of you, you would not push it away from you. Although it were almost invisible, you would value even the slightest connection between you and heaven. Now, your coming to meet me tonight is a little link with God. I want it to increase in strength until you are joined to the Lord forever.” He spoke to them most tenderly, and God blessed those people who did not desire to be saved so that, before the meeting was over, they were of another mind. The film had become a thicker thread, and it grew and grew until the Lord Christ held them by it forever.

Dear friends, the fact of your reading this discussion is like that filmy thread; do not put it away. Here is your comfort: the Holy Spirit still works with the preaching of the Word. Do I hear you say, “I cannot feel my need of Christ as I want to feel it?” The Spirit remains among us. He can make you feel more deeply the guilt of sin and your need of pardon. “But I have heard so much about conviction and repentance; I do not seem to have either of them.” Yet the Spirit remains with us, and that Spirit is able to work in you the deepest conviction and the truest repentance. “Oh, sir, I do not feel as if I could do anything.” But, the Spirit remains with us, and all things that are needed for godliness He can give. He can work “in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). “But I want to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Who made you want to do that? Who but the Holy Spirit? Therefore, He is still at work with you, and though as yet you do not understand what believing is—or else I am persuaded you would believe at once—the Spirit of God can instruct you in it. You are blind, but He can give you sight. You are paralyzed, but He can give you strength. The Spirit of God remains.

“Oh, but that doctrine of regeneration staggers me; you know, we must be born again.” Yes, we are born again of the Spirit, and the Spirit remains still with us. He is still mighty to work that wondrous change and to bring you out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. The Spirit remains with us, blessed be His name! “Ah, dear sir,” says one, “I want to conquer sin!” Who made you desire to conquer sin? Who, but the Spirit that remains with us? He will give you the sword of the Spirit and teach you how to use it, and He will give you both the will and the power to use it successfully. Through the Spirit’s might you can overcome every sin, even that which has dragged you down and disgraced you. The Spirit of God is still waiting to help you.

When I think of the power of the Spirit of God, I look hopefully upon every sinner I see. I bless His name that He can work in you all that is pleasing in His sight. Some of you may be very careless, but He can make you thoughtful. I hope you may yourselves become an exhibition of divine grace. You think not about things, but He can make you feel at this moment a sweet softness stealing over you until you long to be alone and to get in the old armchair and there seek the Lord. You can thus be led to salvation.

Wherever you come from, I want you now to seek the Lord. He has brought you to this point, and He means to bless you. Yield yourselves to Him while His sweet Spirit pleads with you. While the heavenly wind softly blows upon you, open wide every window. You have not felt that you wanted it, but that is the sure proof that you need it, for he that does not know his need of Christ is most in need. Open wide your heart that the Spirit may teach you your need. Above all, breathe the prayer that He would help you right now to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, for there is life in a look at the Crucified One; there is life at this moment for you.

“Oh,” you say, “if I were to begin, I should not keep on.” No, if you began, perhaps you would not, but if He begins with you, He will keep on. The final perseverance of saints is the result of the final perseverance of the Holy Spirit. He perseveres to bless, and we persevere in receiving the blessing. If He begins, you have begun with a divine power that “fainteth not, neither is weary” (Isa. 40:28). I wish it might so happen that not the prophet Haggai but I, God’s servant, may have written to you such a word as you will never forget. And, may the Lord add to the word by the witness of the Holy Spirit,

“From this day will I bless you” (Hag. 2:19).

Haggai 2:13:
DEFILED AND DEFILING
by C H Spurgeon

NO. 2495 A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, DECEMBER 13TH, 1896, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, APRIL 19TH, 1885.

“Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, so is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.” — Haggai 2:13, 14.

THE prophet Haggai very wisely drew out from the priests a definite answer to certain questions which he put to them. Then, upon their authority, he could say to the people, “This is what your own priests say; and this is what you yourselves believe.” This was taking them by a kind of sacred guile, and it was a powerful means of forcing home the truth to their heart and conscience.

According to the twelfth verse, Haggai first put to the priests this question, “If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered, and said, No.” Here is a man who is holy — I mean, ceremonially holy, — and he is carrying in his skirts part of a holy sacrifice. Now, if he touches anything, will he make it holy by that touch? The priests said, “No,” they could not say otherwise. So, if a man be himself holy, however holy he may be, can he make another man holy simply by touching him? If he speaks of good things, or does good actions, will it be certain that he will thereby affect others by his good words and good works? Oh, no! There does not seem to be that spreading power in holy things that there is in unholy things; at any rate, not in those that are merely ceremonially holy. Here, then, is a man who is, in a legal sense, clean before God, and he is carrying a holy thing in his skirts, but he does not therefore make that which he touches to be clean or holy.

Then the Spirit of God, having by the mouth of the prophet put the truth in that way, suggested to him to ask this priests another question. “Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.” There is such a terrible contagion about uncleanness that he who is affected by it spreads it wherever he goes. Whatever he puts his foot upon, or touches with his hand, becomes thereby defiled. We cannot communicate holiness, but we can communicate unholiness. It will cause us labor and agony and anguish of spirit to impart to another even one right idea, and then when it is imparted it is not fully fixed in the hearer’s heart till the Spirit of God comes and works a miracle of grace; but it is easy enough to communicate evil. A lewd song may have but one auditor, and yet never be forgotten. A wrong action may never be chronicled by the public press, yet some little eye that saw it shall have learned from the ill example something that shall never be unlearned. The horribly contagious and infectious power of sin, wherever it is displayed, is terrible.

But the thing to which I want specially to call your attention is this. See what a picture is before us. Here is an unclean man; he has touched a dead body, and so become unclean, therefore whatever he touches also becomes unclean. There is a loaf of bread; he has cut a slice off it, and all that loaf has become unclean. Here is a mess of pottage on the table; he has taken a portion from it, and so made it all unclean. There is a cup of wine; he has sipped it, or he may have only touched the vessel that contains it, but the whole of the wine is unclean. Here is oil, which one would think would be medicinally useful without being at all harmful; but this unclean person has put his finger to it, and it is unclean. Here is meat, or vegetable food of any kind; he has touched it, so it is all unclean. I should not like to be that man; — to make unclean even a chair that I might touch, to pollute the very house in which I dwelt, to be unable to shake hands with a friend without making him defiled through contact with me because I was myself unclean. I say again, that is a dreadful picture; and you must bear with me when I tell you my fear that it is not only the portrait of the erring people in Haggai’s day, but also a life-like representation of some who are now present, and of multitudes who pass for very good people in these our days. It can still be said with utmost truthfulness, “So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.”

I. So this is my subject. First, The Terrible Uncleanness. And here I will keep to my text.

If you want fully to understand the text, or to have it put into New Testament language, you must look at Paul’s Epistle to his son Titus; for there, in the fifteenth verse of the first chapter, you get this same picture in other colors: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” They are themselves so impure that everything becomes impure to them. Every man whose heart is not renewed by grace is in this sad and terrible condition.

Here note, first, that common things are polluted by men of unclean nature. The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, says, “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself.” Nothing that God has made, and that sin has not marred, is common or unclean of itself, “for every creature of God is good.” From that day when Peter, at Joppa, saw the great sheet let down to the earth, wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air, he was taught a lesson that he needed to learn, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” In and of itself, there is nothing that God has made which ought to be described as common. To the pure heart, everything is pure, but unclean men may make unclean every common or everyday thing of life. They can not only make wine to be unclean, as, alas! is all but universally the case; but even bread, pottage, oil, meat, or anything that is in itself harmless, can be rendered impure when it comes to be touched by impure men, and used wrongfully.

Perhaps someone asks, “How can that be?” Well, common things can be rendered unclean when you make gods of them. If the most important questions of your life are, “What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed?” — if you seek first of all in this life merely these things, though they are not in themselves evil, they will become idols, and so will be unclean, for every idol is a defiling thing to those who bow down before it. Anything which takes your attention away from your God, is an idol; it is another god, a rival god, and so it is the most unclean thing possible. I mean just this, that, although your ordinary pursuits may be in themselves perfectly innocent, and may be commendable if they are followed out to the glory of God, yet if your first object in life be yourself and what you can get out of the common things of this life, you defile them by putting them into the place which belongs alone to God.

Next, common things may be defiled by an excess in the use of them. This may be done by gluttony. What a defilement it is of bread, the staff of life, and of those comforts which God gives to us for food, when a man makes his own belly into a god, whose temple is his kitchen. I know not that the worst of the heathen can possibly degrade themselves more than epicures and drunkards do when they make those things, which in themselves are not evil, to become their Rods, and indulge in them until, by their excess, they sink below the ever of the beasts that perish. You can go to this excess with all kinds of things. The commonest and most apparent case is that of the man who indulges in strong drink; but all other common things are capable of being polluted in the same way, and they are continually being so polluted.

Others pollute common things by excess in the keeping of them. The miser’s gold is cankered by his avarice. He who must ever be getting more land, even if he has to banish everybody from the range of his windows, defiles his possessions. He who in trade is exacting towards those who labor for him, demanding more and giving less than is their due, defiles his trade; he makes a dunghill of his shop, and turns his traffic into treason against God. I need not go into particulars, because the thing is apparent to all men, and you can see how a defiled man, coming into a business which in itself is perfectly right, nevertheless defiles it by excess in the keeping of the goods which God has entrusted to him as a steward to use for the good of others.

I am sure that we can also defile the common mercies of this life by ingratitude in the enjoyment of them. Are there not many, who eat and drink, yet never bless God for what they have; or who abound in riches, and yet out of all their wealth there never comes from their hearts any thanksgiving to God? They are, as good old Rowland Hill used to say, like the hogs under the oak, which eat the acorns that fall on the ground, but never lift up their thoughts to the tree from which the acorns come. These ungrateful people are willing to receive all the good things which God may give them, and they are greedy to get more; but the Lord never receives from them even the peppercorn rent of a word of thanksgiving. Their hearts are set upon the gifts of God, and they care nothing for the gracious Giver. O sirs, when you sit down without thanksgiving to your meats and to your drinks, your tables are defiled, your platters and your cups are defiled, and every mouthful that goes down your throats is defiled, because you do not eat and drink to the glory of God!

See, then, in how many ways common things may be polluted by men of unclean nature.

But, even worse than that, holy things are polluted by men of unclean nature. It is a very sad thing to see how the most sacred things can be spoiled by the touch of unholy hands. You have all heard of Voltaire, and you know something of the character of the man. I should think that nobody ever excelled Voltaire in a clever kind of blasphemy; yet I find him writing to a lady, — a lady of whose character the less said the better, — ”My friends say everywhere that I am not a Christian. I have just given them the lie direct by performing my Easter devotions (mes paques) publicly, thus proving to all my lively desire to terminate my long career in the religion in which I was born.” Only fancy a man like Voltaire, after blasphemously saying of Christ that he would “crush the wretch,” then going to eat “the sacrament,” as some call it; and I am afraid that, every Easter, there are many people of that sort, who have no respect for the Lord’s day, but because their “priests” choose to call the day “Good Friday,” they have great respect for that day, and they will come then to the communion table, though all the year long they have never had a thought concerning him whose death they profess to celebrate. It is a terrible thing that the innermost mysteries of the Church of Christ are often polluted by a godless, thoughtless man, who, nevertheless, for some hypocritical or formalistic reason, will come even to the table of the Lord, not hesitating to break through that guard of fire, “he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Brethren, it is not merely the Lord’s table that an unclean man defiles, but he pollutes the gospel by using it as an excuse for sin. Listen to him. He says, “the preacher proclaimed the mercy of God, so I am going to live in sin.” Brute beast art thou to talk like that! Another says, “the minister told us that salvation is all of grace, and that a great sinner glorifies God when he is converted; so why should not I be a great sinner?” O horrible wretch, art not thou accursed indeed, when thou canst turn the very grace of God into an excuse for thy wantonness and sin?” Oh, but!” says a third, “you say that salvation is all of the sovereignty of God; therefore I cannot do anything in the matter.” I know you, sir; you are in your own heart so defiled that you use the blessed gospel itself as the instrument of your rebellion against God. Such people are, alas! all too common; they touch with defiled hands the holiest thing, and so pollute it.

But what happens if these defiled people pray? Oh, how many prayers there are which only insult the Most High God! If you sit, down, or stand up, or kneel, and yourself “a miserable sinner,” when you neither believe that you are a sinner, nor suffer any misery because of your sin, what are you doing but provoking the Lord to anger by virtually lying in his presence? Is not much so-called praying just of that sort? It is an awful thing to repeat a form of prayer when your heart does not mean it. What is it but a direct insult to the Lord? Yet how can men who are defiled pray such a prayer as God will accept? They must be themselves cleansed first before their prayers can be accepted. There is nothing so holy, in earth or in heaven, but a man of defiled heart and conscience will pollute it if he can but lay his hand upon it.

Further, even good works are polluted when they come from evil men. See what it says in the text: “So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands.” Here is a charitable man, he has been giving away a great deal of money; yet see how he has defiled his liberality. He sounded a trumpet before him, he was ostentatious, he desired to be thought very generous; and thus, every penny that he has given to the poor has been defiled. “Take heed,” says our Lord, “that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” There is no reward reserved for them at the resurrection of the just, for they have had their reward already.

Here is another man, and though he is not renewed and regenerate, he is in his way a very religious man. But why is he religious? Partly, out of fear; still more, from custom; possibly, just to please his friends, or to stand well with his neighbors. Is not all that simply defiling religion?

I have also known some men appear very humble just to gain their own ends; and when an unrenewed man puts on humility merely as a cloak, I was going to say that he is devilish, for the very humble man who aims at making some gain by it — the Uriah Heep of the novelist, — is one of the most despicable of all people beneath the sky. When even that precious grace of humility is touched by his hand, class he not defile it till it appears loathsome in the eyes of men?

I have seen that same man become sternly righteous in order to be revenged upon his enemy “I must do the right thing,” he says; and he speaks as if it was most painful to him to have to do it; but all the while there is somebody whom he hates, and he is determined to crush him. He will have his pound of flesh, or the uttermost farthing of his debt, and he tries to excuse his malice by saying, “You know, we must sometimes make an example of wrongdoers.” Yes, other people have been very foolishly charitable, and have passed by wrongs done to them; but he is going to be a defender of everything that is upright, yet he does it merely to gratify his desire for vengeance. Is he not defiling holy things and good works by touching them? Yet is not this often the case with bad men? They defile to the last degree even things that appear to be good.

And, dear friends, the text adds that even sacrifices are polluted when offered by unclean men: “that which they offer there is unclean.” Their lamb, their bullock, their fine dour, their oil that they pour out at the foot of God’s altar, — all becomes defiled. There is what professes to be a public thanksgiving to God; and it is turned into a show to the glory of men. Whenever the unregenerate world brings anything to God as a sacrifice, what a wretched mess it makes of it! It becomes only another occasion for sinning against the Most High. Supposing a heathen should come in, on Christmas night, when professedly Christian people are supposed to be celebrating the birth of Christ, and all their cups are full of wine, they can scarcely stand for staggering, what would he think the Christ must be whose birthday they are celebrating? An unrenewed man cannot touch anything without spoiling it; wherever he goes, he is a spoiler. The sea has often been strewn with wrecks which have been occasioned by the cupidity of merchants, and the world is full of the tombs of men who have been hurried to their graves by other men. Truly did the poet sing, —

“Every prospect pleases, And only man is vile.”

It is a mercy that unrenewed men cannot enter heaven; if they could, heaven would not last as heaven for even five minutes. There would be another hell created if unrenewed men could walk among the palms and harps of the glorified. You may do what you like with a man, but as long as he is unclean he communicated his defilement wherever he may lay his hand.

That is a picture of every man who has not been born again; it is not a pretty picture, is it? Did you come here expecting me to say pretty things to you? I have not learnt the art of doing that; but in the -tame of God I assure you that this is true, and I pray his Spirit to convince every unregenerate person that it is true. In your present condition you cannot do any good works, you cannot serve God; what have you to do to declare his statutes? You cannot do anything but what will displease him until you are born again. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God;” — he cannot even see it; — and further, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” He will have to stand shivering outside its walls, but of that kingdom he cannot be a subject until he has passed from death unto life, and has been made a new creature in Christ Jesus, and so has been cleansed from his sinful defilement.

II. Thus I have kept to my text; but now I am going to run right away from it, to speak upon The All-Sufficient Remedy.

Where can we find a better type and figure of that remedy than in the chapter which I read to you just now from the Book of Numbers? In Numbers 19 we have a type of the great remedy, and a striking account of the uncleanness which it removed. I shall not attempt a full exposition of the rites used for purifying the unclean; but I would have you notice that, first of all, in order to the removal of uncleanness, there was a sacrifice. There was a red heifer, without spot, which had to be slain. There could be no sort of purification except through death; and there can be no cleansing of thy defilement, my brother, except through the sacrifice of the Son of God. The red heifer and the lambs and the bulls under the old covenant died to teach people that the punishment of sin was the forfeiture of life, and these creatures died in the stead of the offender, that he might live. They were all types pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God who, in the fullness of time, came and took upon himself his people’s sin, and stood in his people’s place, that he might die “the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God.” There is no hope of your ever being made clean except through the blood of him whom God has set forth to be the propitiation for sin. Kick not at this doctrine, I pray you; for why should Jesus die at all, if you could be saved without his death? And if there be not everything in that death that is necessary for your cleansing, what do you propose to add to it? It seems to me to be sheer blasphemy to think that anything you can feel, or do, or give, can be worthy to be added to the great sacrifice of Christ. I wish you would say, “If this be the way of salvation, by a sacrifice offered in my stead to be accepted by me, I will gladly and joyfully accept it.” This is the great truth: “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” There is no other cleansing, and there is no need of any other; just listen to this text, and believe what it says: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Is not that enough for you?

Turning again to this Book of Numbers, you will notice that there was a burning; for this heifer, after being killed, was burned outside the camp. This burning signified that sin was very hateful to God, that be could not bear to have it where his people lived. Sin must be put outside the camp, and then as a dead thing it must be burned with fire; and the heifer which was supposed to bear that sin must suffer that doom. Jesus also, when he took our sin, suffered without the gate. I want you, dear friends, to feel that sin is a hateful thing; you can never be purged from it while you love it. Shut it out from your heart; as much as possible, shut it out from your thoughts. Since it put Christ without the camp, you must put it without the camp. There is no cleansing a man from sin while he lives in sin; and there is no possibility of forgiveness while sin is indulged in and delighted in. You must quit it; it must be burnt as offal, over the wall there among the filth and refuse of the city, and be put away altogether from you; in type of which you see your Lord thus slain upon a cross, as if he, too, had been a felon, “made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

Looking again at the type, you will see that there was a water of separation. The ashes of this red heifer were to be put into running water; — not stagnant, but lively, running water; and a mixture being made therewith, it was to be sprinkled upon the people as a water of separation, or purification. And, dear friends, you and I must have the Holy Spirit pouring in upon us the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ to make us clean. There is no purification for you, my friend, except by the Holy Ghost. There must be the water as well as the blood; they must both come to purge the conscience from dead works that we may be clean, like the priests of old, and go into the holy place, to present acceptable sacrifices unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. You must have the blood to take away the guilt of sin; and you must also have the water to wash you from the pollution of sin, that you may be sanctified and set apart unto the living God.

You will notice, too, that there was an application of all this with hyssop. Hence David says, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. “Faith is, as it were, that little bunch of hyssop. Hyssop was a small plant, as I suppose, insignificant enough in itself, and of no use except for use in sprinkling. It was dipped into the blood, and then the guilty one was sprinkled; or into the water with the ashes, and with it the unclean one was sprinkled, and made clean. You must have this faith if you would be saved. The blood of the paschal lamb would not have saved the Israelites in Egypt if it had not been smeared on the lintel and the two side posts. The scarlet line would not have saved Rahab if she had not fastened it in the window, to be the mark that her house, with its inmates, was to be spared. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” It is all thou hast to do, and this he enables thee to do. Just simply believe that Christ is able to save thee, and repose thyself on that dear heart which was pierced for thee. Put thyself into those blessed hands that were fastened to the cross, and thou art saved. The moment thou believes in Jesus, thy sins are gone, — all of them, for there is no halving sin. There is a solidarity in sin, it is one great mass; so that, the moment a sinner believes in Christ, all his sins, past, present, and to come, are gone, and gone for ever. “To come,” say you, “how can that be before they are committed?” Did not Christ die, not only before we committed any sin, but before we had any existence, and yet even then, in his death, he put away the sin of his people. If thou believes, thy transgression is forgiven; thou art “accepted in the Beloved;” and, as surely as thou livest, thou shalt one day stand before you burning throne, “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,” and thou shalt have no fear.

“Bold shall I stand in that great day, For who aught to my charge shall lay? While through thy blood absolved I am From sin’s tremendous curse and shame.”

See, beloved, how simple is this deliverance from impurity. If the impurity was terrible, yet the remedy is go perfect, so complete, so available, that my heart dances while I talk of it to you.

Finally, this remedy must be applied to our whole nature. Remember that nineteenth verse that we read: “And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.” If thou, dear friend, wouldst be clean in God’s sight, thou must be washed from head to foot; not merely with the washing of water, but with the washing of the Holy Spirit. “What is holiness?” said a clergyman to a poor Irish boy. “Please, your reverence,” he said, “it is having a clean inside.” And so it is, and you have to be washed that way, — washed inside, washed in your very nature. The fountain of your being has to be cleansed, the source of all the pollution is to be made white; and how can this be done by any man for himself? This great purification can only be wrought by a wonderful work of grace, by the power of the Holy Ghost; but then the Holy Ghost is pledged to do this to everyone who believes in Jesus. It is a part of the covenant: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.”

“Oh!” says one, “that would be delightful; but I am afraid that I should fall away, after all.” That you shall not, for here is another covenant promise: “I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” O glorious promise! That crowns it all. I want you, dear friends, to have a faith that can believe God, and say, “I have given myself over to Christ to save me to the end, and he will do it; and I commit to him my soul, not for this next year only, but for all years and all times; and I give myself up never to have any claim to myself again, to be his for ever and ever.” What does he say to that? He answers, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” You see the double picture; Christ has his people in his hand, and then his Father comes, and puts his hand over the top of Christ’s; and all who believe in Christ are in that double hand of the Son and of the Father, and who shall pluck them thence? We defy earth, and heaven, and hell, ever to tear away any soul that is once in the grip of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who would not have such a glorious salvation as this?

DISCLAIMER: Before you consult commentaries, sermons or other resources, first consult the Word of God, studying the Scriptures diligently (2Ti 2:15-note) and inductively (See inductive Bible study) in dependence on your Teacher, the Holy Spirit, Who Jesus promised would guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
 

THOUGHTS ON
INTERPRETATION
OF PROPHETIC BOOKS

In regard to the OT Prophetic books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and the 12 "Minor" Prophets, remember that the most accurate interpretation is derived by applying the following principles:

(1) Read the Scripture literally (unless the text is clearly figurative, e.g., Jesus said "I am the door..." Jn 10:9). If one interprets a text symbolically (allegorically, figuratively, spiritualizing) when that text makes good sense literally, one potentially opens themselves to the danger of inaccurate interpretation, for then the question arises as to who's "symbolic" interpretation is correct and how imaginative one should be in evaluating a "supposed symbol"? Many of the commentaries and sermons on the OT prophetic books unfortunately are replete with non-literal interpretations (except when it comes to Messianic Passages, which are usually interpreted literally). Therefore the watchword when reading any commentary on Old Testament prophecy is caveat emptor ("buyer beware"). Read all commentaries like the Bereans (Acts 17:11-note).

(2) Study the context which is always "king" in interpretation (don't take verses out of context.)

(3) Passages addressed to Israel should be interpreted as directed to the literal nation of Israel and should not be interpreted as addressed to the NT Church, an entity not mentioned in the Old Testament. The promises of Jehovah to the nation of Israel (e.g., see Millennial Promises) remain valid (Jer 31:35, 36, 37, Nu 23:19, Lk 21:33) and have not been passed on to the NT Church because Israel has "defaulted" (See study Israel of God). Remember that while Scripture has only one correct interpretation, there can be many legitimate applications (See Application), and therefore the OT prophetic books are extremely applicable in the lives of NT believers.

(4) Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture. While an attempt has been made to list resources that adhere to these basic interpretative guidelines, not all the works listed in these collections have been read in detail. Therefore should you discover a resource you feel is conservative and/or orthodox, please email your concerns.

Related Resources:

Inductive Bible Study - Guidelines to Assure Accurate Interpretation

Inductive Bible Study Interpretation of Prophetic Scripture

Interpretative Views of the Revelation of Jesus Christ
Allegorical Interpretation - Tony Garland
Interpreting Symbols - Tony Garland
Basic Considerations in Interpreting Prophecy - John Walvoord