The Last Days Repetition of  
The Days of Lot
                                                                                                   By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                                   April 30, 2018
     "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded:
     But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
     Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
                                                                                                   Luke 17:28-30
Introduction
     In the past few months, I have written several Bible Studies emphasizing that we believers, for the past 600 years, have been  living in a repetition of "the days of Noah."  This truth was stated by the Lord Himself in Luke 17:26-27.  And it was immediately followed up by this text statement about a repetition of "the days of Lot," 17:28-30.     
     I have been warned that if I wrote on "the days of Lot," I would find myself in a lot of trouble, due to the present laws in America approving and protecting those today who have adopted the lifestyle of the ancient inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.  
     So be it!  At this point in time, in view of the Lord's soon coming, and my age and fragile health, I am no longer concerned about protecting myself from the enemies of God's truth!  The Lord Jesus either will protect me, or will receive glory in my death.  
The Background
     According to the inspired Word of God, Lot was the son of Haran, Genesis 11:27.  Haran was one of the brothers of Abraham, making Lot Abraham's nephew. Haran died when Lot was still very young, and it appears that Abraham took Lot into his home, and looked after him almost as a son.  
     Therefore, Lot was well aware of Abraham's love of God, and God's czll of Abraham.  There is no question in my mind, that this close relationship between Lot and Abraham resulted in Lot's salvation.  Oh yes, in spite of the sordid events  recorded in God's Word about Lot's life, and what some "Bible teachers" today say about Lot, he was a believer in the God of Abraham, and a saved man.  How do I know this?  Simple!  The Holy Bible tells me so!  
     "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
     And delivered just [justified] Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation [manner of life] of the wicked:
     (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul  from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)," 2 Peter 2:6-8.  
     This inspired statement in God's Word should remove all doubt about Lot's salvation for any reader who truly believes and receives God's Word as literal truth.   
How Lot Became a Citizen of Sodom
     Since Lot was a saved man, according to the inspired Word, then how did he wind up living in the wicked city of Sodom?  I'm so glad you asked!  
     Due to Abraham's close walk with the Lord, the Lord abundantly blessed Abraham, Genesis 13:2.  And Abraham, being the Godly man he was, shared those blessings with Lot.  And Lot too, became wealthy in material possessions.    
     But there came a time when the two men could no longer dwell together, because the land they were living on simply did not produce sufficient grass to support their great herds and flocks, Genesis 13:6.  The situation became so bad that the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot begin squabbling over "grazing rights"  in the pastures, 13:7.  
     In order to quell the strife, Abraham then suggested that him and Lot part company, and he gave Lot the choice of which direction he would take his herds and flocks, 13:8-9.  
     The inspired Word then tells us that ".....Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord....," 13:10.  
     Then, without bothering to consult the Lord in prayer, or even to ask Abraham's counsel, Lot made a choice he would live to regret.  Lot ".....chose him all the plain of Jordan;.....," 13:11.  A bad choice!  
     Lot's choice was based strictly on the prospect of more monetary gain.  How much money he could make feeding his flocks on the rich pastures on the plain of Jordan.  I wonder how many of God's people have made similar bad choices for no other reason than the prospect of
making a lot of money?   I suggest reading 1 Timothy 6:7.     
     Abraham and Lot then separated from one another.  Lot left the only Godly fellowship and influence that he had at that time.  Another bad choice! God's people need the fellowship and counsel of brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is why the Word of God explicitly tells those of us who are believers, that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together with other believers, Hebrews 10:25.  
     For a while Lot dwelt in the cities which were on the plain of Jordan, but he ".....pitched his tent toward Sodom," 13:12.  For some reason Lot was apparently attracted to this large city.  Another bad choice!  The next truly revealing thing about Lot in God's Word, is found in Genesis 19, where Lot is no longer living in a tent, as a sojourner in this world, but in a house in the wicked city of Sodom. Yet one more bad choice!   
     And Lot had changed his occupation.  Instead of raising cattle and sheep, he had become a politician in Sodom.  The inspired Word says, "And there came two angels to Sodom at even: and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom.....," 19:1.  This expression, "sat in the gate" occurs several  times in the Old Testament.  According to Jewish scholars, this expression literally refers to city officials who have been chosen to serve as judges, to oversee the affairs of a city. In ancient times, the judges traditionally set in the gate or entrance way to a city.
      So Lot is a glaring example of "do gooders" who run for political office, thinking that if they can just get elected, they will   "clean up" the wickedness in a city or state.  Folks, it doesn't work that way!  In fact, usually those elected to office, with all their good intentions, become contaminated themselves.  Obviously, Lot had been elected. Still another bad choice on Lot's part.   But had Lot "cleaned up" Sodom?  Not hardly!  Rather, Sodom had contaminated Lot.  And so it is even today.  One bad choice after another  on Lot's part.  Take heed!  
     The fact that Lot had become a "judge" in the city of Sodom, is evident in the accusation of his wicked accusers, 19:9.  Had Lot changed them?  No, but they had sure changed Lot, 19:8.  Can decent people even imagine sacrificing your daughters to a raving mob to be repeatedly raped, and then murdered, in order to save your own life?    
     Surely, every true believer who seriously studies God's word knows the rest of the sordid story about Lot, his wife, and his daughters, as recorded in Genesis 19.  So let's just skip the rest of Genesis 19,  and go to the warning the Lord Jesus graciously gave to His people about the repetition of "the days of Lot."
The Lord's Description
     In Luke 19:28-30 the Lord Jesus Himself described "the days of Lot" in the wicked city of Sodom.  
     "...they did eat, they drank..."  In other words, the people of Sodom were given over to living what some today call "the good life."  They were indulging in all of "the pleasures of sin," never giving a thought that these pleasures will only last "for a season," and that they do have consequences, Hebrews 11:25; Romans 6:23.  
     "they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded."  Lust for money, the accumulation of wealth, and material gain literally ruled their lives.  They were taken up with buying and selling, trying to get rich, so they could retire wealthy and "live it up in style."    
     As soon as one crop was harvested, they started planning for the next  crop, always driven by their lust for money and more money.  Never a thought about God or eternity!   
      And they "builded."  Those among them who achieved wealth, had to do something with all of their money, so they built fine houses to live in, and fine buildings for their businesses and offices, and likely even memorials to testify to their "greatness."  Sic!
     Does any of this sound familiar?  It should!  It's all around us today in this present evil world.
Their Stench Before God
     Although the Lord didn't mention it in these Scriptures in Luke 17, the record given in Genesis 19 makes it quite clear that the whole city of Sodom was given over to the  homosexual lifestyle, 19:4.  The Lord God knew that fallen mankind would engage in this practice, so He forewarned man that such wickedness was an "abomination" to Him.  Read Leviticus, chapters 18 and 20.  The word, "abomination," literally means, "stench; to smell bad or stink."  In other words those men and women [lesbianism] who engage in this practice literally "stink" in the nostrils of God Himself.  And the whole cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were given over to such wickdedness.
      Oh yes, the people today who engage in such a lifestyle, want [demand] to be accepted as honorable men and women.  But God's inspired Word says that such people will never "inherit the kingdom of God," 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.  Anyone wanting to guarantee themselves a place in Hell for all eternity, can do so by engaging in these wicked practices.  
But It's All Legal!
     Yes, I am well aware that the practice of homosexuality was "legalized" by the Supreme Court of America in 1978, just as they "legaliized" the cold blooded, premeditated, murder of the innocent unborn in 1973.  And since America was looked upon as a moral example for the whole world, most nations followed America's example, and "legalized" these practices in their own countries.
      I cried back in 1973 when the murder of innocent unborn babies was made "legal" by the morally rotten Supreme Court.  But in 1978, I didn't cry!  I was just made to realize that America had written it's own death warrant, Jeremiah 30:11.  This "great nation" of America will be destroyed and cease to exist as surely as Sodom and Gommorah were destroyed.  
     The same day Lot was taken out of Sodom, fire fell from heaven and devoured the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and all of the inhabitants of those cities.  I highly suspect that the same day God's people are resurrected and raptured out of this present world, fire will fall from out of the heavens upon America, but likely by means of nuclear bombs. America, in it's departure from serving God, has made plenty of enemies. The stage is already set.  All that is yet holding back the righteous judgment of God is the sounding of the Trumpet, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.  Are our readers listening?
Conclusion
     Dear readers, while we in America are presently living in a repetition of "the days of Noah," we are at this same time also living in a repetition of "the days of Lot."  Just as the Lord God "saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth," in "the days of Noah," and saw that the sins of "Sodom and Gomorrah" was "very grievious" in "the days of Lot," what do you think He sees as He looks upon America and the world today?  God's righteous judgment is coming, and it is imminent.  I, and others like me, are being used of the Lord God to send out these warnings of impending judgment, as the Lord God gives to mankind one final opportunity to repent and receive Christ before it is eternally too late!  Are you listening?  
      If the reader of this study is a true believer, then prove it by the life you live before others.  Matthew 5:16 is still in the Bible!  
     If the reader is a lost unbeliever, but would like to leave that lifestyle and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then read and belieive the following Scriptures, and act upon them in prayer to God.  
     Read John 3:1-18, 3:36, 5:24, 14:6, Acts 2:38, 4:12, 10:43, 16:30-31, Romans 10:8-13, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Ephesians 2:8-10, Hebrews 9:22, 9:28, and 12:1.  
     I would like to meet every reader in glory when our Lord comes for His people.  Please don't disappoint me!  May the Lord God bless every reader with an outpouring of His wonderful Grace!  
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     Permission is granted to any true believer or Bible believing Christian ministry, to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written.  
     Those readers who would like personal contact with me, should choose one of the following methods to make such contact.  
     Postal:    Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 County Road 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
     Email:     francismriley34@gmail.com  
     Phone:    573-202-6493   
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