Agape Christian Center

R E M E M B E R L O T ‘ S W I F E

Luke 17:26
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

1. Jesus is being pressed upon to disclose information about His return.

2. He likens it to the time of Noah.

a. for this studies sake, I just want to point out that Noah had years to prepare before the floods came.

b. but, let’s take a brief look at Noah

Genesis 7:1
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

3. So, as in Noah’s day, there will be a great shortage of people living righteously.

a. that means believers living a compromised lifestyle

Genesis 7:4
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

4. Since God told Noah exactly when judgment was coming, in seven days, we can also conclude the same since Jesus said as it was in the days of Noah...
5. Meaning, since a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, God was showing us that since Noah’s time, several thousand years will pass.

6. We have begun to enter into that 7th thousandth year since Noah.

7. Another interesting thing about Noah is that his name in the Hebrew (noakh) means “ rest “.

8. The rapture will bring us into our “rest“.

a. let’s look at what else was going in Noah’s time

Luke 17:27
They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

9. Now remember, for years was working on the ark and not one person responded to his message of repentance and the coming judgment.

10. But, it was life as usual.

a. we can go into more detail here, but for this teachings sake we will move on

b. it makes me wonder how many people God has been trying to reach for years as well and they still haven’t responded either

c. but, Noah and his entire family was saved because they had been at it for years

Luke 17:28
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
11. Now, Jesus compares His return to the days of Lot.

12. Notice before His return, the world has to shift back to an economic stability and even a time of prosperity. How can you tell?

13. It says they bought, sold, planted and builded. Those are signs of prosperity, especially the building part.

Luke 17:29-30
But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. [30] Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

14. Now, here’s the difference.

a. now we are focusing on the very day of the incident.

15. On the very day, it rained fire and brimstone upon them all.

a. does that mean that the world will entire a time of prosperity

b. only to have it interrupted by some nuclear war

c. current behaviors regarding some nations suggest that it could be possible

16. Notice verse 30 “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. “

a. that means just like it happened back then, so will it be at the time of the Lord’s return



Luke 17:31
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

17. We are cautioned not to be distracted by the little things that we deem so important.

a. houses b. luxuries c. creature comforts

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.

17. What is it about Lot’s wife that we should remember?


18. Let’s recap :

1. Two angels go to Sodom to investigate the condition of the city.

2. Lot meets and greets them and insist that they stay at his house.

3. At night, the homosexual men of the city bombard Lot’s house in an effort to rape the two angels that they believe are mere mortal men.

4. After a confrontation, the angels blind the men and they bar the door shut.

Genesis 19:11
And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

19. Let’s pick up the incident from here.

Genesis 19:12
And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

20. The night before the time of judgment, there is a sense of urgency to minister to the family.

Genesis 19:13
For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

21. They are told that God has:

a. sent them to destroy the area

b. because the cry of the victims who have been sexually abused had gone up before God

c. interesting.......the cry of the sexually abused caused God to respond

d. the cry of those who had been molested, raped and abusedset it off

e. and so it is today

Genesis 19:14
And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

22. So Lot ministered to his sons in law who treated it as a joke, thinking Lot had lost is mind.

23. Very similar to us today:

a. we would never think that fire and brimstone, or a weapon of mass destruction would ever reach out soil

b. most people reject the gospel message and tell preachers to get lost, especially men

c. and, like Lot’s sons in law, most men won’t respond to the gospel message much less take it serious

d. they are usually in church to make their wives happy

Genesis 19:15-16
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. [16] And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

24. Within a twenty four hour time frame:

a. Lot knew judgment was coming

b. he had time to convince his family

c. he lost his daughters to their heathen husbands

d. he himself hesitated as the angels gave him a boost

Genesis 19:17
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

25. They are warned not to look back.

Genesis 19:23-25
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. [24] Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; [25] And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26. Finally, at sunrise, it all came down. Destruction everywhere.

Genesis 19:26
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27. Why did she look behind ?

a. was she grieving for her daughters and her sons in law

b. was she considering everything that she was losing, house and home, friends or social ties, business ventures or what not

c. had she become so attached to her world that she was willing to disobey a word from heaven’s messengers themselves

28. Historically, there is to this day a peculiar crag at the south end of the Dead Sea, near Kumran, which the Arabs call Bint Sheik Lot, or, Lot's wife.
a. it is "a tall, isolated needle of rock, which really does bear a curious resemblance to an Arab woman with a child upon her shoulder“

29. It would seem as if she had gone back:

a. or tarried so long behind in the desire to save some of her stuff

b. she became involved in the destruction which fell on the city

c. became a stiffened corpse, fixed for a time in the saline incrustations.

d. she became "a pillar of salt", or as some think, of asphalt

30. In The Book of Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 11 we find written :

But Lot, upon God's informing him of the future destruction of the Sodomites, went away, taking with him his wife and daughters, who were two, and still virgins; for those that were betrothed

(21) to them were above the thoughts of going, and deemed that Lot's words were trifling. God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; and laid waste the country with the like burning, as I formerly said when I wrote the Jewish War.

(22) But Lot's wife continually turning back to view the city as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, although God had forbidden her so to do, was changed into a pillar of salt;

31. John Bunyan, in writing the classic The Pilgrims Progress wrote :

Remember Lot's Wife. So he read it to his fellow; after which they both concluded that that was the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife was turned, for her looking back with a covetous heart, when she was going from Sodom for safety.

32. Why salt, why not sulfur?

Luke 9:62 (KJV)
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

33. Here it symbolizes several things:

a. here it symbolizes God’s power to change a blessing into a curse

- as when a person is taken out of this life and sent into eternal darkness

b. salt is also a preservative.......

- here it shows us that the actions of this woman and her act of rebellion / disobedience were to be preserved for future generations as a sign of the integrity of God’s word

c. salt is also a permanent chemical.......

- it shows that the punishment of this woman was to be permanent reminder

34. So we discover two things about society during Lot’s time that will be evident in our time when Jesus returns :
a. men won’t

- take the gospel serious

- and deem preachers to be a joke as they focus on selling, building and making a profit.......money, money, money

b. women will

- be caught up in things; makeup, hair, jewelry, body size and shape, homes, material goods, opinions of others

35. Let’s finish it off using the Message Bible.


Luke 17:26-27 (MSG)
26 "The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah— 27 everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.

36. This translation states it will be exactly like it was back then.

Luke 17:28-30 (MSG)
28 "It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual 29 right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. 30 That's how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.

37. Right up to the day, society will be unaware and un assuming.

Luke 17:31-33 (MSG)
31 "When the Day arrives and you're out working in the yard, don't run into the house to get anything. And if you're out in the field, don't go back and get your coat. 32 Remember what happened to Lot's wife! 33 If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you'll lose it, but if you let that life go, you'll get life on God's terms.

38. Notice what verse 33 says : If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you'll lose it, but if you let that life go, you'll get life on God's terms

39. The sad thing is, believers today are doing the very same thing.
Walking with God on their own terms.

a. calling the shots, when, where, how much, how often

b. will it make my husband mad ( not God ) , will she be upset ( not the Holy Spirit )

c. pastors too judgmental, he could ease up, First Lady takes it too far and too serious

d. don’t they realize there is life outside of church.......yes, it’s called hell on earth

40. Notice what else does that verse say :but if you let that life go,

41. Let “that” life go, the life where you call all the shots. Why?

Isaiah 1:19
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

willing- Hb - abah - to consent, to set your will in agreeance

obedient- Hb - shama - to hear intelligently, to be attentive

42. Meaning ( abah shama ) that you consent

a. given permission to and desire to agree what you have heard or read regarding God’s word and commandments.

good- Hb - tuwb - the best, glad, joy, and to go well with you

43. But that means we can’t call the shots anymore !

44. What has the Lord been speaking to you lately ?

45. Remember Lot’s wife.

a. she had an angelic encounter

b. she recieved a personal word to move on

c. but somewhere along the way...


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