Category: lot

Posted in lot, open door, prophecy, sin

A tale of two doors

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

EPrata photo

I was reading 2 Thessalonians and I read this verse from 2 Thessalonians 2:5-7,

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

I’d always focused on extracting the meaning from the part of the verse that says “he who restrains” but this time I was focused on the “mystery of lawlessness.” My mind began to question. “Why is lawlessness a mystery? The Bible speaks of sinfulness often. That’s what sinfulness is, lawlessness. So why is it a mystery? We’ve been living with it for 6000 years…”

I find that asking questions of myself about the meaning helps me dig deeper. I’m not speaking of doubting the meaning. Nor am I suggesting I am questioning God’s judgment. I am asking myself what, who, when, where, why questions like a journalist would do to get at the truth of a story. ‘Why is this word here? Who was Paul writing to? Why is his tone so abrupt? What is the city or geographical location? What was the context?’ Those kinds of questions.

So why is lawlessness a mystery? Let’s hold that thought while I take you down another line of inquiry and then I’ll tie the two together.

I was listening to a John MacArthur sermon last Saturday morning. It was titled, “Heaven: The Future of Christians.” In the sermon MacArthur was talking about salvation and the process of getting into heaven. He explained this verse:

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12)

He said of the narrow way, the small door of Matthew 7:14, that it’s hard to go through. “Why? Why is it so hard?” He’d said-

“First, it’s hard to find because it’s small, second, to go through you have to strive. You have to agonize. You have to be violent about it. You have to press into it…”

It is hard to go through the door of repentance. It is the most difficult thing a person will ever do. Turning your back on your own wickedness and lawlessness is agonizing over our sin nature and violence because one is turning one’s back on one’s self. It is hating not just the sin IN us, but our very selves because sin is our very nature.

In a different sermon but on the same verse, Matthew 7:13-14 and the narrow door, MacArthur paints a picture of the struggle to come to repentance and salvation-

So Jesus says in Matthew 11:12, “The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” What amazing words. There’s a certain violence in coming to salvation. You’re in the throes of a war and a battle with your own soul to release your love of sin and self and pride. It’s a wrenching experience. Luke 16:16 says, “Every man presses into it.”

Becoming a Christian is not easy. It’s hard. Another way to say all that is that the Kingdom opens up to those who seek with all their hearts. You’re not going to sleep your way into the Kingdom. The Kingdom requires earnest endeavor, untiring energy, utmost exertion.

Pressing into the door with all exertion and violence. His word-pictures brought to mind another door that people were pressing into.

The door to Lot’s house at Sodom.

The men who were deep in sin and given over to it were pressing into the door with violence and all exertion. Here is the scene at Genesis 19:9-11.

EPrata photo

But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

The men were immersed in their sin-nature and they exhausted themselves trying to go through the door to perform their sin. They wanted to go through the door from bad to worse. The penitent person wants to go through the door from worse to best.

In referring back to the Matthew 11:12 verse,

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

I’d always pondered over that scene at Lot’s hose. The men had obviously experienced something supernatural, they’d all just been struck blind. But their sin was so potent they still tried to beat down the door with violence. This is a peek at the mystery of lawlessness.

Lawlessness is a mystery because mystery means veiled from our full perception. We know that in 1 Corinthians 13:12 we see through a mirror dimly

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

We can’t fully comprehend the mystery of Jesus, the mystery of the heights and the depths of His glory, the mystery of his perfections. It is partly veiled from us. It is the same with sin. The full height and depth of sin is partially hidden from us. This fullness will come when the Man of Sin is revealed, who is the antichrist. We have a sense of the mystery of lawlessness now, because John said there are many antichrists. We know from history what Hitler did. But sin can be and will be so much worse than that when it’s full expression is revealed in the Tribulation, embodied by the man whose nickname IS sin.

Just as Jesus’ glory is infinitely beautiful, so is sin infinitely gross and putrid. The fullness of sin’s depravity is hidden from us and its full expression is not revealed … yet. We see sin through a mirror dimly.

This essay is the tale of two doors. The door to salvation which the penitent presses into, exerts himself toward with violence. Then there is the door to sin which the impenitent presses into, exerts himself toward with violence. They exhaust themselves groping for the door to the next layer of descending depravity, the depths of which is bottomless like the pit where the worst of the demons are being held in chains, restrained from expressing themselves until the time of Revelation 9:2 arrives.

The path is wide and leads to a big door, or the path is narrow and leads to a small door. My hope is that many more will press into the small gate and change from goat to sheep. Use all exertion, violence and pressing into repentance, forsaking all behind, even yourself.

Posted in lot, open door, prophecy, sin

A tale of two doors

Posted on by elizabethprata
EPrata photo

I was reading 2 Thessalonians and I read this verse from 2 Thessalonians 2:5-7,

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

I’d always focused on extracting the meaning from the part of the verse that says “he who restrains” but this time I was focused on the “mystery of lawlessness.” My mind began to question. “Why is lawlessness a mystery? The Bible speaks of sinfulness often. That’s what sinfulness is, lawlessness. So why is it a mystery? We’ve been living with it for 6000 years…”

I find that asking questions of myself about the meaning helps me dig deeper. I’m not speaking of doubting the meaning. Nor am I suggesting I am questioning God’s judgment. I am asking myself what, who, when, where, why questions like a journalist would do to get at the truth of a story. ‘Why is this word here? Who was Paul writing to? Why is his tone so abrupt? What is the city or geographical location? What was the context?’ Those kinds of questions.

So why is lawlessness a mystery? Let’s hold that thought while I take you down another line of inquiry and then I’ll tie the two together.

I was listening to a John MacArthur sermon last Saturday morning. It was titled, “Heaven: The Future of Christians.” In the sermon MacArthur was talking about salvation and the process of getting into heaven. He explained this verse:

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12)

He said of the narrow way, the small door of Matthew 7:14, that it’s hard to go through. “Why? Why is it so hard?” He’d said-

“First, it’s hard to find because it’s small, second, to go through you have to strive. You have to agonize. You have to be violent about it. You have to press into it…”

It is hard to go through the door of repentance. It is the most difficult thing a person will ever do. Turning your back on your own wickedness and lawlessness is agonizing over our sin nature and violence because one is turning one’s back on one’s self. It is hating not just the sin IN us, but our very selves because sin is our very nature.

In a different sermon but on the same verse, Matthew 7:13-14 and the narrow door, MacArthur paints a picture of the struggle to come to repentance and salvation-

So Jesus says in Matthew 11:12, “The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” What amazing words. There’s a certain violence in coming to salvation. You’re in the throes of a war and a battle with your own soul to release your love of sin and self and pride. It’s a wrenching experience. Luke 16:16 says, “Every man presses into it.”

Becoming a Christian is not easy. It’s hard. Another way to say all that is that the Kingdom opens up to those who seek with all their hearts. You’re not going to sleep your way into the Kingdom. The Kingdom requires earnest endeavor, untiring energy, utmost exertion.

Pressing into the door with all exertion and violence. His word-pictures brought to mind another door that people were pressing into.

The door to Lot’s house at Sodom.

The men who were deep in sin and given over to it were pressing into the door with violence and all exertion. Here is the scene at Genesis 19:9-11.

EPrata photo

But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

The men were immersed in their sin-nature and they exhausted themselves trying to go through the door to perform their sin. They wanted to go through the door from bad to worse. The penitent person wants to go through the door from worse to best.

In referring back to the Matthew 11:12 verse,

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

I’d always pondered over that scene at Lot’s hose. The men had obviously experienced something supernatural, they’d all just been struck blind. But their sin was so potent they still tried to beat down the door with violence. This is a peek at the mystery of lawlessness.

Lawlessness is a mystery because mystery means veiled from our full perception. We know that in 1 Corinthians 13:12 we see through a mirror dimly

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

We can’t fully comprehend the mystery of Jesus, the mystery of the heights and the depths of His glory, the mystery of his perfections. It is partly veiled from us. It is the same with sin. The full height and depth of sin is partially hidden from us. This fullness will come when the Man of Sin is revealed, who is the antichrist. We have a sense of the mystery of lawlessness now, because John said there are many antichrists. We know from history what Hitler did. But sin can be and will be so much worse than that when it’s full expression is revealed in the Tribulation, embodied by the man whose nickname IS sin.

Just as Jesus’ glory is infinitely beautiful, so is sin infinitely gross and putrid. The fullness of sin’s depravity is hidden from us and its full expression is not revealed … yet. We see sin through a mirror dimly.

This essay is the tale of two doors. The door to salvation which the penitent presses into, exerts himself toward with violence. Then there is the door to sin which the impenitent presses into, exerts himself toward with violence. They exhaust themselves groping for the door to the next layer of descending depravity, the depths of which is bottomless like the pit where the worst of the demons are being held in chains, restrained from expressing themselves until the time of Revelation 9:2 arrives.

The path is wide and leads to a big door, or the path is narrow and leads to a small door. My hope is that many more will press into the small gate and change from goat to sheep. Use all exertion, violence and pressing into repentance, forsaking all behind, even yourself.

Posted in encouragement, gay marriage, homosexual, judgment, lot, sodom, supreme court

Take comfort: God knows how to rescue the Godly from trials

Posted on by elizabethprata
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, John Martin, 1852.

if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. (2 Peter 2:6-10).

Imagine being Lot. A just and righteous man, he must have been greatly upset by what he saw all around him. We tease and laugh at Lot’s unwise decisions, choosing the city over the plain when separating from Abraham. We chidingly say, “Why didn’t Lot move out?” But by now he had a life there, economic entanglements, a family. He sat by the gate, which meant he was a town elder. Perhaps Lot thought he could do some good with what influence he had. Perhaps the slide toward almost total wickedness crept up on him. In the United States it really only took about 20 years for a reversal from east to west, from top to bottom, a change of nation-wide magnitude to happen.

Though many are mourning the Supreme Court’s decision to allow homosexual marriage in all the land, we aren’t righteous Lot. He had only two other truly righteous people around him, his daughters. His wife was later unmasked as false, unfortunately. Only Lot and his daughters. He did not have the Holy Spirit in Him, either, for comfort. Nor did he belong to the Body of Christ and thereby take comfort from fellow believers. It was just Lot, two daughters, and a city full of sodomites.

We are blessed! We have churches free and open (for now). We have blogs to express our thoughts and books we can be edified from and the Bible freely sold to learn about our holy God and brethren far away but as near as Skype to encourage and be encouraged by. We have prayer and a High Priest who intercedes for us!

SO! If the LORD God knew how to rescue righteous Lot, then He knows how to rescue the godly from trials. Our God is a God who sees the plight of the oppressed! (Genesis 16:13)

Our God is a God who hears!

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. (1 John 5:14)

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. (Psalm 66:19)

Our God is not a distant, unaware, aloof God! He is intimately involved with His people and with the world!

Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)

The Lord going down is explained in Jamieson-Fausset, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible:

language used after the manner of men. These cities were to be made examples to all future ages of God’s severity; and therefore ample proof given that the judgment was neither rash nor excessive (Ez 18:23; Je 18:7).

God is patient, but aware. The righteous will be rescued and the wicked will be punished. I glory in both of these attributes, His long-suffering and His holy justice to come. His patience is so that many will come to repentance. Therefore, far from crying today I am worshiping our Great God. He hears the cries of the oppressed and of the righteous. He is omnipotent, all-powerful the great Amen. He’s got this!

Posted in encouragement, lot, mockers and scoffers, sodom

Surely You’re Joking, Mr Lot!

Posted on by elizabethprata
Angels of Sodom, Gustave Moreau 1890

“Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.” (Genesis 19:12-14)

The scene is of Sodom, of course. The angels who had been sent by God were set to destroy the city are telling Lot to gather his family and get them out of the city. Its sins had reached an outcry ascending to heaven, and God had arrived at the limit of His longsuffering patience.

Lot was righteous (2 Peter 2:7–8, Genesis 19:7). Even though Lot had allowed his witness to become tarnished by living in the city walls with all that sin around him, and in so doing, failed to raise his family in a more Godly way, Lot knew the living God and was faithful to Him after all was said and done. Living in Sodom greatly distressed and tormented Lot as he saw and heard wicked deeds daily.

His sons-in-law no doubt would have heard Lot speak of sin and righteousness, and have begged them to do right in God’s eyes. After all, he said as much in Genesis 19:7.

So here’s the thing. When the angels came to the city, and Lot recognized them as angels right away, and they said they were going to destroy the city, Lot went and got his sons-in-law. Despite having seen Lot’s righteousness, outwardly flimsy or inconsistent though it may have been, it must have seen bright compared to the dark backdrop in Sodom. The men thought Lot was kidding, and refused to believe him.

In Romans we see a progression of sin and the point at which God gives a society over to it. First, you will see mass sexual immorality. (Romans 1:24). If they persist, then God will give them over to depravity in the form of homosexuality and lesbianism (Romans 1:26-27). If they continue and will not repent, the last stage is that God gives them over to a reprobate mind. (Romans 1:28).

Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, Joachim Patinir c.1520

The term depraved mind here actually means worthless, failing the test. In other words, their mind can’t think straight and they are futile. Gill’s Exposition explains:

“God gave them over to a reprobate mind; a vain empty mind, worthless, good for nothing devoid of all true knowledge and judgment; incapable of approving what is truly good, or of disapproving that which is evil; a mind that has lost all conscience of things, and is disapproved of by God, and all good men”.

This is clearly seen in the form of the lusty mob which had just been struck blind, still groping for the door to gang rape the angels! As a matter of fact, we see the mob scream at Lot in a way we see mobs (on comment streams and Facebook) scream today when someone tries to point to righteousness. In Genesis 19:9 we see that Lot had ascended to a position of responsibility, “sitting at the gate”. It was where the elder men sat and spoke of wisdom and judicial matters. Boaz went to the men at the gate to settle his marriage to Ruth. But even though Lot was an elder at the gate, he was still not seen as one of them.

“But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.””

They’re saying ‘You’re a foreigner, you have no right to judge us! Because you dared to speak, we will go after you and not let up!’

Don’t we hear that today?! ‘Who are YOU to judge?” And then they turn from their original discussion to go against the one talking of Jesus and deal worse with them.

Reprobate minds are seen in the form of sons-in-law, who, however minimally exposed to righteousness of God through Lot, thought Lot was joking when he spoke of imminent judgment. Their mind was so far from righteousness, they didn’t even think of God at all. They didn’t even for a moment believe there would be consequences to sinful actions. Connecting sin and judgment was so far from their conscience, they thought it was a joke.

Don’t we see that today? As in Sodom, our sins have piled up to heaven. As Lot did, many faithful pastors and watchmen speak of the coming judgment. As in Genesis 19, the society in which we live is full of sexual immorality, homosexuality, and people with seared consciences and reprobate minds doing what ought not to be done. If you speak of judgment to them, they think you’re joking. And then they rabidly claim you can’t judge and they go after you like mad dogs (or blind mobs).

In Romans 1:32 the terrible progression of sin concludes this way:

“Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Deep down they know it’s wrong but their mind is so futile they instead applaud the sin and joke about judgment. Jude 1:18-19 reminds us–

“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”

The section of Jude there is titled “A Call To Persevere”. That is our call. Despite the heavy weight of sin all around us, we must persevere. Lot persevered, though not without many stumbles. In the end he tried to get the mob to stop…he pleaded with his sons-in-law… he listened to- and believed–  the angels sent by God.

After reminding us that in the last days there will be mockers and scoffers, Jude gives us some practical advice:

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 1:20-23)

That’s a lot of great advice! As we wait for the Lord’s return, let’s unpack that list and see how rich it is with what we can and should do:

–build yourselves up in your most holy faith (read your bible, go to church, fellowship with brethren, repent daily)
–pray in the Holy Spirit, (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
–keep yourselves in the love of God (Psalm 119:11, 2 Timothy 3:16)
–wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Isaiah 40:31)
–have mercy on those who doubt; (Matthew 5:7; Colossians 3:13)
–save others by snatching them out of the fire (Matthew 28:16-20)
–to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh (Proverbs 8:13)

Jesus walks on Water, Ivan Aivazovsky, 1888

Our wonderful bible is so rich with instruction and comfort. Though you may be vexed by sin where you live, or even in your own family, the Word of God shows us that we are not alone. Abraham, Lot, Paul, Peter, Jude…all lived with the same circumstances. Paul sent letters to the Corinthians who lived in a culture of orgies and temple prostitution. He sent letters to the Romans, who were being burned alive as torches for Nero’s garden orgies.

 If you are in a sin-storm or are living in a sin-storm, look to Jesus, who saves, comforts, sanctifies. The first century churches had the letters from the Apostles to encourage them. And we have the entire word of God, where-

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16).

The greatest hope is that he is coming soon. Whether by death or rapture, we know this life is not the end, but a paltry and mean beginning of eternal glory with our Holy Jesus.