So said the Lord of all. Have you borne His words in mind? How solemn the lesson 1 Mercy visited the city of destruction before the righteous blow fell. Lot was rescued, and his two daughters who were with him, not those who were married any more than their husbands. Mercy thought of them and of any besides. But they would not hear. Lot seemed to his sons-in-law as one that mocked, when he said, “Up, get you out of this place; for Jehovah will destroy this city." They were neither shocked by the extreme lawlessness of Sodom, nor did they believe that ruin from God was at their doors. They perished in the awful catastrophe.
Do you know, my reader, that the Lord Jesus is now warning you? In the scriptures it is written indelibly. Be not deceived by such as say that He here (Luke 17:22-3722And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27They 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. 28Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31In 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. 32Remember Lot's wife. 33Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. (Luke 17:22‑37)) spoke of the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Romans. Of this He did speak in Luke 19:41-4441And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:41‑44), and in Luke 21:20-2420And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:20‑24); and His predictions have been punctually fulfilled. But here He warns of that far larger judgment which He will execute on the living, when He returns in power and glory, as the Son of man in His day. It concerns all the inhabited earth.
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the Son of man: they did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all. 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 day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Thus shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. In that clay he who shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take it away; and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose it shall preserve it. I say to you, in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be let go. Two [women] shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken and the other shall be let go. Two [men] shall be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other shall be let go. And they in answer say to him, Where, Lord? And he said to them, Where the body is, there also will the eagles be gathered together" (vers. 26-37)
By those two witnesses, one of universal ruin by water, the other of a more sudden though limited visitation by fire, the Lord speaks in mercy to you. Not a word of His was spoken in vain. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words" said Himself, "shall in no wise pass away." Do you believe Him? Are you taking heed to them? The time is at hand. It is quite as distinct from the judgment of the dead, as from the sack of Titus. There was no discrimination between men or between women when the Jews fell by the edge of the sword and were led captive into all the, nations. There will be none abed or in the field, or grinding at the mill; no thinking of goods in the house, nor of turning back, when the great white throne is set up, and the earth and the heavens are fled. There is besides an inevitable judgment of living man on the earth, to surprise the race in its busy life of every day, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, planting and building, just as we see to-day.
How would it be with you? In the end of this age (not of the world) the Son of man thus comes. All for your soul turns on believing in Him now. Thus alone can a sinner honor the God Who sent His Son into the world, not to judge the world as He will in that clay, but that the world, not Jews only, should be saved through Him. There is no other way. This way is not for a while merely but for eternity. He means that you should know your salvation now. "By grace have ye been and are saved through faith." “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.'' "These things have I written to you, that ye may know that ye have life eternal-you that believe on the name of the Son of God." Thus honoring the Son you can alone honor the Father. If not, the wrath of God abides on you; and it is, your own willful unbelief, your own love of darkness and sin. You may join for a while those that escape. But "remember Lot's wife" who looked back, where her heart was, and had no real sense of either sin or grace. Have you? How blessed, if you believe God about His Son!
How wretched now and evermore, if you defy His word or only keep up appearances, to perish all the same for evermore!