Written By J.C.
Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash; Graphic Design by Justin Graphics
Yahushua forewarned that the day of His Return would be like the days of Lot.
Luke 17:28a “And likewise, as it came to be in the days of Lot…”
Luke 17:30 “It shall be the same in the day the Son of Adam is revealed.”
The days of Lot are upon us! Lot’s story is an example for the End Days generation. It reveals something significant about the salvation of the righteous in our day. What were the days of Lot like? Who was Lot? What was he called to do? What do we need to know about Lot’s wife? How is Lot’s story a warning for YHWH’s people today?
The answers to these questions are important to ponder. In this post, I will share thoughts about what it means to be living in the days of Lot.
Lot Was Righteous
2 Peter 2:7-8 And [YHWH] rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed with the indecent behaviour of the lawless (for day after day that righteous man, dwelling among them, tortured his righteous being by seeing and hearing their lawless works)
The above verse testifies to Lot’s righteousness. We can find further confirmation from other Scripture.
Lot sojourned for several years with his uncle Abraham (Gen. 12:1-5). Abraham’s household walked with Elohim. Surely Lot learned YHWH’s commandments through Abraham; he was influenced by Abraham’s strong faith. We can gather that Lot was righteous and walked in submission to Elohim’s ways while living with Abraham. Lot must have continued walking in Elohim’s ways because 2 Peter affirms Lot’s righteousness even after he separated from Abraham.
Lot’s soul was vexed by the wickedness around him. I can relate. For example, I have witnessed my neighbors rigging a system to bypass their water meters and steal city water. I know this is wrong. I have struggled with whether it is my place to confront this. I have heard people try to justify stealing in my presence which indicates their conscience bothers them. Maybe they would feel better about their lawlessness if I validated them. I am not tempted to participate with them, and yet I feel aggravated by their behavior. This is a small example, but believers are confronted with these situations from day to day living among lawless people.
Lot knew the commands and had convictions about behaving righteously. Living in a society where the people lived contrary to the commands of Elohim, Lot likely had to compromise his faith at times. He lived with an oppression with which many of YHWH’s people can relate. This oppression worked both ways. The townsmen of Sodom did not seem to like Lot either. Lot probably was some type of judge or ruler among them (Gen. 19:9), and Lot’s standards of righteousness convicted and aggravated the men of Sodom who persisted in their evils.
Further, Elohim Himself considered Lot righteous. When He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, what did Elohim do? He commanded Lot to flee. We will see that this command to flee was pivotal in Lot’s story.
Lot Was Called to Flee
YHWH does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets (Amos 3:7). As a close friend of YHWH, Abraham was told about His plan to destroy Sodom. Concerned for Lot, Abraham pleaded with YHWH for the sake of the righteous in the city. YHWH’s plan was firm—He was going to overthrow the wicked city. Yet, for the righteous, He would provide an escape.
Lot was called to flee! YHWH could have chosen to save Lot and his family another way—perhaps by miraculously sparing them and their home while destroying all others. However, this is not how YHWH chose to save Lot. Instead, YHWH gave a higher test of Lot’s faith. It was necessary to get out of dodge; Lot was commanded to leave Sodom urgently. The command was for Lot and his family. They were told to flee and NOT look back. Obeying the details of YHWH’s instructions would prove to be a matter of life or death.
Genesis chapter 19 tells of the two messengers who traveled to Sodom to warn Lot before the surrounding cities were bombarded with fire and sulfur.
Genesis 19:12-13 And the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city – bring them out of this place! For we are going to destroy this place, because the cry against them has grown great before the face of יהוה, and יהוה has sent us to destroy it.”
Lot believed the message from YHWH and took it upon himself to warn his family that night. To flee, his wife and daughters needed to trust that Lot had correctly heard from YHWH. His sons-in-law thought he was crazy; they did not respond to Lot’s warning.
There was no time to hesitate or question the commands. And yet, Lot did not immediately surrender to YHWH’s exact instructions. When morning came, Lot delayed fleeing Sodom.
Genesis 19:15-16 And when morning dawned, the messengers urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he loitered, the men took hold of his hand, and his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, יהוה having compassion on him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Genesis 19:17 And it came to be, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed.”
When Lot was told to escape to the mountains, his response was, “Oh no, YHWH!” He did not want to go to the mountains because he was afraid that YHWH’s place of refuge would not save his family. Instead, Lot suggested another city: Zoar.
Zoar was a small city located in the same plain as Sodom and Gomorrah. The Hebrew word zoar means small or insignificant. Lot may have thought that YHWH was NOT going to judge such an insignificant place that was removed from the bigger cities. Fear kept Lot from going to the place YHWH had commanded. He requested to flee to Zoar, and his request was granted.
Many people surely can relate to Lot in thinking that their family will be safe in a more remote town away from the big cities when destruction comes. Also, they can understand Lot’s fear of going directly to the place YHWH commands. Some have already taken a step to go to their ‘Zoar.’ By following the pattern of Lot’s story, we will see that Zoar was not the final destination.
Five Wicked Cities
The very next morning when Lot entered Zoar, fire and sulfur rained on Sodom and Gomorrah, including the surrounding area of the plain. This killed all the inhabitants of the cities and parched the vegetation of the landscape. The smoke of this catastrophe was seen for miles!
Sodom and Gomorrah are remembered as the two cities which Elohim annihilated for their wickedness. Did you know three other cities were also destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah? The five wicked cities of the plain were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. (These five cities are also grouped in Genesis 14:2.)
Deuteronomy 29:23 “All its land is sulphur, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sedom and Amorah, Admah and Tseboyim, which יהוה overthrew in His displeasure and His wrath.”
The above verse mentions four cities and excludes the city of Zoar. Because Lot had arrived in Zoar at the destruction of the other four cities, Zoar was temporally spared for his sake. It was at this point that Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked behind her towards Sodom. Witnessing his wife’s death may have motivated Lot to take all of YHWH’s original instructions seriously. There is also reason to believe from Genesis that Lot knew Zoar was also wicked and that Elohim was about to destroy it too.
Lot remembered YHWH’s command to flee to the mountains and decided this was the best refuge after all.
Genesis 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
From the extra-biblical Book of Wisdom, we see that Elohim also destroyed a fifth city, presumably Zoar.
The Book of Wisdom 10:6-7 While the ungodly were perishing, wisdom delivered a righteous man [Lot], when he fled from the fire that descended out of Heaven on [the] five cities—to whose wickedness a smoking waste still witnesses, and plants bearing fair fruit that does not ripen, a disbelieving soul [Lot’s wife] has a memorial: a standing pillar of salt.
Remember Lot’s Wife
Elohim’s extreme compassion and patience towards Lot are seen throughout this story. At many points, YHWH waited for Lot. If Lot had delayed any longer, he might have perished in the judgment of Sodom, as did his sons-in-law. Lot was righteous because he finally obeyed the command to take refuge in the place YHWH chose. Ultimately, this led to Lot’s salvation.
Sadly, Lot’s wife is a different story. She directly disobeyed YHWH. This was her downfall. After arriving in Zoar, Lot’s wife turned back, maybe with a desire to return, maybe wanting to see what was happening. Obviously, she was not in submission to YHWH.
Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a post of salt.
What is the significance of salt? Salt is an effective preserver. It preserves food. Salt is also an essential and healthful seasoning. In Scripture, salt is used as a sign of covenants made with Elohim (e.g. Lev. 2:13, Num. 18:19, 2 Chron. 13:5). So salt represents preserving the covenant with YHWH. In other words, it represents keeping His commands and preserving His righteousness on Earth.
The wife of Lot died and became a pillar of salt! Her death became an important memorial. The testimony of her life and death will save some today! It reminds us to fully revere and obey YHWH’s commands, particularly regarding commands to flee before impending judgment.
Preserving Your Life
Yahushua told us to remember Lot’s wife in the context of End Days instructions. These next two verses from Luke have profound implications for our lives today! Thus, I encourage you to read this passage in context and consider the significance of Yahushua’s words.
Luke 17:32 “Remember the wife of Lot.”
Luke 17:33 “Whoever seeks to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it.”
Lot’s wife did not heed YHWH’s commands in fleeing for her life. Understand: to flee is the primary warning of Luke 17:28-37.
I will propose an interpretation of this verse.
When fleeing, Yahushua did not mean one must literally die to live; He was not speaking about death and resurrection here. His command is about sacrificing (or losing) one’s life as one knows it—their possessions, home, vocation, plans, friends, and possibly even their family. If a person remains perusing these things and is unwilling to let go of them when YHWH has given the command to flee, this person will lose all, with great suffering, including their life. However, if a person is willing to give up their life as it exists in their homelands, and heed Yahushua’s call to flee, they will preserve their physical life.
This message is very difficult to embrace. And yet, it is in line with everything that Messiah taught. He often requires His followers to drop everything to follow Him. Just like it was hard for people to accept Yahushua’s call when He came to Earth, it is hard for people today.
Yahushua’s words about preserving one’s life are strongly connected to the story of Lot. What are we told about the days of Lot?
Luke 17:28 “And likewise, as it came to be in the days of Lot: They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building.”
The people of Lot’s generation were occupying themselves with the normal ways of life. They ate and drank; they worked their trades; they continued to plant and build. They were completely ignorant about the desolation coming their way.
This is how the modern world operates, even followers of Yahushua. People live as though destruction is not coming very soon. They apply for jobs. They start businesses. They pursue college degrees. They date. They buy homes. They raise their families. They seek the world’s forms of entertainment—baseball games, movies, restaurants, vacations, etc. They build up their social media platforms. They busy themselves with ministry activities. It is not that these activities are inherently bad, but they are distractions, to say the least when it comes to fleeing to escape YHWH’s judgment.
No doubt the activities above will be available to our generation until the day YHWH judges the Earth as they were in the days of Lot.
Luke 17:29 But on the day Lot went out of Sedom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all.
The questions become: Are we living in the days of Lot? Should we heed YHWH’s instructions throughout the Scriptures to flee in the End Days? Though Lot was righteous, he barely made it out. Is it time to flee?
It is time to take inventory of your homeland.
Are you living in an unrighteous place? Does your country act contrary to the laws of Elohim? Is there corruption in the government? Do you see an increase in evil in the place you currently live? Do you constantly hear reports of unimaginable evils, near and far? Does the evil around you aggravate your soul? If so, you are like Lot. Do you see many people unaware of the coming destruction? Do you think your country will be treated as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar?
Yahushua said the days of His return would be like the days of Lot. The following things are true of the days of Lot and the days upon us:
- Righteous living among the unrighteous
- Prophesied destruction of the wicked
- YHWH calling His people to flee
- Those not fleeing will perish
- No time to delay
- No looking back
- Prophesied place of refuge in Jordan (under the eagle’s wings)
- To save your life, you must lose it
- Salvation of the righteous
- It is time to flee!
Wrapping it Up!
If you have stayed with me up to this point, thank you for considering my thoughts. You may agree that we are in the days of Lot, and you may have many more thoughts and convincing proofs that I did not address in this article.
It is hard to deny that these are the days of Lot. Yahushua’s instructions for these days are to flee. Fleeing requires a high level of faith. For many, it is a question of when and where.
Some people are waiting for direct instructions from YHWH to obey the command to flee. If this is something for which you are waiting, I challenge you to consider if we have already received this command from the written Word. Further, has the written Word of Elohim revealed the place to which we are called to flee?
It is my opinion that the Scriptures do reveal the place. When it is revealed to each of us, we are accountable to the truth that we understand.
I encourage you to study this topic as a high priority! Our most extensive study is our book, The Call to Jordan: An Invitation for Messiah’s Bride. It is an easy read and addresses the most important things you need to know about fleeing to Jordan.
