Lot’s Wife
Genesis 19:26 ESV
But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Jesus Coming Again
Luke 17:20-37 ESV
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
Luke 17:32
- “Remember Lot’s wife.”
- She looked back as Sodom was being destroyed and turned to salt.
- The context suggests that she was too attached to her world.
Luke 17:20-21 – When?
- vs. 20a – when will the Kingdom of God come?
- vs. 20b – not the way you expect it!
- vs. 21 – You missed it, because the kingdom his here (present in Jesus).\
Luke 17:22-37 – When and how?
- v. 22 – A time will come when Christians will look for Jesus’s return to happen in a certain way (rapture before judgment?).
- v. 23 – There will be people who take advantage of this (date setters, sign pointers, etc…)
- v. 24 – Jesus will come when and the way he wants, and when it happens it will be unmistakable.
- v. 25 – The focus should always be the task on hand.
- vv. 26 -30 – The use of the “days” of Noah and Lot equate his 2nd coming with judgment which will take place when people least expect it.
- vv. 31-33 – This is a warning not to become too attached to this world.
- vv. 34-37 – Those who are will be taken and cast into hell.
Is there a rapture before the 2nd coming?
- Luke 17:22 is about Jesus’s second coming and it coincides with final judgment.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 (the classic rapture passage) parallels Luke 17.
- The idea seems to be manmade.
Comparison
Luke 17:22-23…. 1 Thess 5:1 Luke 17:24………. 1 Thess 4:16-18 Luke 17:26-30…. 1 Thess 5:2-3 Luke 17:31-37…. 1 Thess 5:4-11
Matthew 24?
- Jesus reveals signs of when the end is approaching, but we still don’t know the “day and hour.”
- The purpose the signs serve is to spur us to urgency in spreading the good news.
- The way a person prepares for the 2nd coming is to do God’s work.
What can we learn?
- Don’t worry about the when or how of Jesus’s second coming!
- He says he’s coming!
- Be sure and concentrate on the now!
- Don’t become attached to this world!
- Make disciples before it is too late!