A FEW SHALL ESCAPE!

     The ancient prophets of God painted a depressingly gloomy picture of death and destruction. Several large end-time nations will experience the judgment and wrath of God as He withholds His restraining power from the hearts of sinful men, and they begin to hurl their weapons of mass destruction at one another.

     One of those nations, without dispute, is the northern kingdom of Russia who will invade the Land of Israel with a gigantic army of Islamic soldiers. The other nation is called the "daughter of Babylon", and “the glory of kingdoms”.

     “Babylon”, the great end-time nation is described as the youngest, most wealthy and powerful nation that ever existed.  She is a nation born from a "mother land" and is a melting pot of all nationalities.

     Is it possible that the ancient prophets were describing the land that many of us love, the United States of America?  There are over 70 vivid descriptions that are remarkably like America! No other nation on earth so perfectly fits all of the descriptions found in the Scriptures. If it were another nation from another time, or if the prophecies had already been fulfilled, we would all be relieved. However, the word pictures of the prophets are remarkably descriptive of modern-day America.

     Our presentation of this material is not meant to alarm or depress; but to warn. Hopefully the things described can be delayed through a national awakening and repentance.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS:

     There were a few fortunate people were delivered from the fiery destruction of Sodom. Lot and his two daughters escaped because of the direct intervention of God.

      Just as a few escaped the downpour of burning sulfur of Sodom’s judgment, so a few can confidently expect to be evacuated before the fires fall upon the unsuspecting end-time nations.

     Let’s take a closer look at Sodom and Gomorrah and see how this confidence of deliverance can become ours as well:

“As it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:28-29) 

LOT WAS NOT A PERFECT, SINLESS MAN.

     Perfect?  Far from it!  Lot had subjected his entire household to the influences of an immoral and corrupt society. We learn from Genesis 13: 10-11 that he chose to lead his clan to the “plain of Jordan” because it was “well watered everywhere before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.”

     Any man seeking the welfare of his family would have chosen a bountiful land that would sustain their herds. But Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom”, perhaps to be close to the markets where he could buy and sell. The conveniences of the city would be appealing to any man and his family.

     The next downward step for Lot was to be in Sodom. And soon Sodom was in the hearts and lives of most of the family that he loved. Obviously, the love of Sodom caused Lot’s wife to look back (perhaps longingly). She was destroyed in an area that today is a massive salt deposit.

     Lot’s sons-in-law and hired workers apparently embraced the wicked lifestyle of the Sodomites. When Lot was told by the angels that destruction was imminent, he went out to warn his family – “And Lot went out, and spoke unto his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.” (Genesis 19:14)

     The men that married Lot’s daughters thought that their father-in-law had lost his mind. Was he drunk? What was wrong with this man?

And they all perished in the blazing inferno.

     You may feel the same way as you read an expose’ like this. God would surely never condemn a great place like America! Anyone who would even suggest such calamity for a modern nation as great as the United States must have lost some of his marbles. He must be “playing with half a deck”! Maybe his batteries are low!

     Lot led his family into harm’s way. What an epitaph for a man who had experienced the redeeming grace of God. No, Lot was not a perfect, God fearing man.

BUT LOT WAS A GOD-FEARING MAN:

     Lot was NOT PERFECT, but Lot was forgiven! The testimony of Scripture is that Lot was declared righteous by God. This is hard to understand because Lot didn’t live righteously.

     God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes and made them an example to the rest of the world. But God – “. . . delivered just LOT, vexed with the filthy 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 2:7-8)

     There are two important truths that we can learn from the Scriptures regarding this “just man” whose name was Lot:

GOD DELIVERED THE RIGHTEOUS, BEFORE HE DESTROYED THE UNRIGHTEOUS:

     Lot’s deliverance from Sodom before the blazing fireballs fell is a pattern that was first seen in a previous episode in the Bible. The first example of God’s deliverance before destruction was demonstrated with Noah.

     “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the day 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.” (Luke 17:26-28)

     What happened during the days of the flood will be repeated again in the future. After Noah and his family were DELIVERED into the ark, the floods came and DESTROYED the ungodly.

     Lot and his two daughters were believers in Jehovah. As soon as the angels had delivered them from the city of Sodom, the brimstone began to fall and destroyed the ungodly. The New Testament Scriptures tell us that deliverance is the direct act of God.

     “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” (2 Peter 2:9) I am convinced that this Biblical pattern of deliverance of the godly before the destruction of the ungodly will be repeated when “the daughter of Babylon” is destroyed. Isaiah chapter 13 relates the fall of Babylon with the “Day of the LORD”. “Wail; for the Day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty . . . and Babylon, the glory of kingdoms . . . shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 13:6 and 19)

     The “Day of the LORD” is the time when God will once again intervene directly into the affairs of His people, the nation of Israel. This is the topic found throughout the Prophecy of Joel. It is not just a twenty-four hour day, but the beginning of God’s work of bringing His people to repentance and renewal.  “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” (Joel 1:15)

     “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is near at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness . . . a fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth . . . “ (Joel 2:1-3)

     The New Testament reaffirms that the Day of the LORD will come suddenly as a day of great destruction. “For yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the LORD so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.”(1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)

     In the midst of such overwhelming calamity, God says “Blow the trumpet . . . sound an alarm . . . “  There is deliverance for those who will heed the warning.

NOT JUST WISHFUL THINKING:

     The LORD made it very clear in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 that “darkness shall come upon them” and that “they shall not escape.” But there are some that will be delivered.  “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.” (vs.4)  “They” (the unbelievers) shall be overcome with darkness and destruction, but “ye” (believers) will be delivered. The Book of First Thessalonians was written to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to alleviate their fears that they had been left behind and would suffer the trials of the Day of the Lord.

     What a great encouragement this is to every person who has placed his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! This is the same “hope” that is referred to in chapter four of the same epistle of First Thessalonians –

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede them who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

     The Day of the LORD is not just a day of destruction. It will also be a day of deliverance. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to deliver His blood-bought people from this sinful earth is one of the foundation stones of Biblical Christianity. The Lord is coming to DELIVER His people. He reinforces that truth in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Following the biblical pattern as seen in the days of Noah and Lot, after God delivers those who trust Him and know Him, the fires of destruction will fall.

There is another truth we need to learn from Lot: What makes any man "righteous"?

THE INNOCENT DIES FOR THE GUILTY:

      Throughout the Scriptures, God used the sacrifices of innocent animals to illustrate and emphasize several important truths:

1. The death of an innocent animal in place of the sinner was a terrible thing to witness.
     Death is never pleasant. Imagine watching the helpless animal die because of your iniquities. I’m sure that Adam and Eve were shocked and grieved when the LORD Himself slew the first animal to ever die to make coverings for them. They had never seen death before, and now they witnessed the shedding of blood because of their sinful disobedience.

     God had warned Adam that there were dire consequences to sin, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)

The death that man experienced was threefold:

a) Man was immediately separated from fellowship with God. He no longer thought like God thought, and his sin became a terrible barrier between him and his Creator – “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)

We often refer to this broken fellowship with God as spiritual death. Adam and Eve died spiritually the moment they disobeyed.

b) Man began to die physically. He was created by God to live in eternal fellowship. But now physical death would be the experience of every man.

c) The ultimate curse of death is eternal death, or separation from God forever. None of us can even imagine what it would be like to live eternally, consciously miserable and separated from the God of life and light.

Jesus spoke frequently about Hell. In fact, He spoke more about Hell than He did about Heaven. Understand this: the raging fires of Hell are worse than any fire imagined by man. The fiery brimstone that rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah was nothing in comparison to the anguish of living eternally apart from the God of love, joy, peace, light and life. Imagine living in a total vacuum where God is not present. God is love. In this vacuum you would exist with absolutely no love. God is light. In the vacuum of eternal hell you would live in total darkness.

Death, in all of it’s grizzly forms, was passed on from generation to generation. What an incredible blight and curse upon mankind. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

Later, after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of God because of their rebellion and disobedience, they would be overwhelmed in grief as their sinful natures were passed down upon their children, and Cain would murder his brother Abel.

The death of the innocent animals taught man just how terrible sin is, but there was another valuable lesson.

2. When a person would bring his sacrifice to the priest, he would place his hand upon the head of the animal and confess his transgressions. The animal would die as his substitute. The Bible teaches that there is no forgiveness apart from the shedding of blood – “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)

     The blood sacrifices of the Old Testament all pointed to one event, the sacrifice of The Perfect Lamb of God upon the cross in payment for the sins of all men, past and present. Jesus Christ, the virgin-born Son of God, came to this earth to die as a sin substitute for all men. What an incredible thing that God, Himself, would offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. What kind of love would cause the Eternal Creator to become man and die in order to save us from the eternal ravages of hell and separation from God?

FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE:

     When we believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ upon that cross and invite Him to be our Savior and Lord, we are given the gift of God which is eternal life. How can this be? How can it be so simple?

     A remarkable thing occurred on the cross as Jesus was dying in our place. He was bearing the sins of the world, as Isaiah said – “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) The Savior died, not as a martyr or victim of Roman brutality. He died willingly, lovingly, in our place!

Isaiah continued – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on Him, the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

TRANSFERENCE:

     Not only were our sins all transferred to the Lord Jesus Christ as He hung upon that Roman cross, but something else remarkable happened.

When we place our complete faith in what He did for us, His righteousness is transferred to us. Isaiah foresaw that wonderful truth when he declared– “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)

     Covered over with a robe of righteousness: that is salvation based entirely on what God did for us! There is no human merit involved. There will be no boasting among the recipients of God’s grace. Genuine praise and thanksgiving will flow from the hearts of those who are redeemed!

The Lord’s mercy is truly beyond human comprehension!

     His mercy is also beyond human compensation, because we cannot pay for it! His mercy, grace and the gift of eternal life are all free. Not cheap, but free! The death of the Son of God was the highest debt that God could possibly pay, so that we who trust Him and receive Him as Savior and Lord, can enjoy the gifts of His grace for eternity.

     All of this is available to anyone who will call upon Him in simple faith. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed . . . . . for whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Roman 10:9-10, 13)

What grace! What mercy! What love!

     No wonder Isaiah could plead with the nation of Israel to repent and return to the LORD. With a broken heart, he cried out – “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

ONLY ONE SIN CONDEMNS MANKIND:

     There is no sin that God cannot cleanse and forgive except the sin of unbelief.

     The worst criminal can receive the grace of God by simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and turning away from sin to the Savior.

Mass murderer Ted Bundy received the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior before he was executed in Florida for his many crimes. God’s grace and mercy know no limit . . . except unbelief.

     Won’t you trust Him today and be born into His eternal family?  “But as many as received Him, to them gave he the power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His Name.”

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