Ever since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, Satan has been influencing people and nations with various forms of deception.  Many times people think they are doing good, when in fact they are serving evil.

We live in a world of chaos and that chaos has shifted into high gear in the last few weeks.  I chose the word “cauldron” as an analogous replacement for the word “world” because of its secondary meaning:

“Cauldron: a situation characterized by instability and strong emotions.”

That definition certainly describes the nature of the chaotic events that are transpiring in our world right now.

In the past two weeks we have seen people protesting in the streets all over the world with emotions running high on both sides of the fence. One of the biggest common denominators in all of these protests is the presence of humanistic personal agendas and rebellion against God and His moral precepts.

“For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15b)

All of these immoral protests began the very moment that the Trump administration took office on January 20th.  The majority of the protestors were advocates of abortion, same sex marriage, women’s rights and Satan worshippers.  All anyone has to do is Google images of these protests and they will see the most vile abuse of freedom of speech that this country has ever seen.

When our founding fathers adopted the First Amendment, abortion and same sex marriage were not even a thought.  I’m sure their intentions were to uphold righteousness in the eyes of the Creator and the biblical morals our blessed country was founded on. While it’s true that we live in a free country where anyone can march for whatever cause they choose, every single person is still accountable to a Holy God and will have to give an account of “every idle word that came out of their mouths” (see Matthew 12:36).

Throughout the last few decades our nation has progressively waxed more and more immoral in every aspect of daily life and stirring up chaos in the most foundational areas of our society.  The LGBT agenda is being pushed in our elementary schools and as of last year a after school Satanist program has even slithered into the halls of our children’s schools!

This chaos is escalating at such a rapid rate that even as I write this I have just found out that the Boy Scouts of America is now going to allow transgender boys to join the organization, reversing a century old stance of it being strictly “boys!”  All of this because of one transgender from New Jersey that had joined without telling them that he was a she, so they threw her out. Now after consideration they are going to allow kids in with whatever gender that they identify themselves as.  Now what if that person decides they want to return to a “she”?  How confusing that will be to the other boys in the troop!

While unbelievers shake their heads and wonder what is going on, those of us that are born-again Christians and see the world through the lens of the Holy Spirit know exactly what is happening.  The Bible tells us that in the last days “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)

Satan has used the liberalism of our country to deceive and blind the minds of unbelievers and since the Bible was removed from our public schools four decades ago, we now live in a predominant society of unbelievers that were brought up being taught what the public school system considers “moral.” That generation is now marching and protesting for things that God opposes and considers an abomination and they are sadly marching themselves right into eternal damnation.

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

The Bible informs us that the “god of this age” is Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44) and the great deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9).  Satan has no sympathy for God’s creation.  He hates every one of us and yet the streets have recently been filled with hordes that choose to follow him! Why would anyone want to follow someone that hates them, and whose end is destruction?

“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

While not all of the protestors were Satanist, many are following him and don’t even know it.

I saw one woman holding a sign that said, “God is with us, and she is mad!”

“She” is mad?

Not only is this woman deceived as to who the Creator really is, but she clearly has never read the Bible which distinctly confirms all three Persons of the One Triune God as being masculine.

This does not mean that our Lord is a male chauvinist but rather that God created an order to His creation for God does all things “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).  He has ordained the woman to be submitted to their husbands and the husbands to be submitted to the Lord  (Ephesians 5:22-25).

If God did not have a chain of command in society, we would have chaos.  When this biblical precept is followed with loving leadership and not prideful lordship, the result is a happy home.

The women’s rights movement of the 1970s resulted in a record number of broken families and divorces because the biblical order of how a family should be structured was overruled by self-centered humanistic pride.  Today, the women’s rights movement is now tearing apart our society as Satan continues to instill pride in his cauldron of deception.

The deception of pride is never more evident in our society than with the LGBT community, (now considered to be LGBTQ which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer). Pretty soon they are going to run out of letters in the alphabet to abbreviate all of their identities.

These individuals have imposed their filthy lifestyles into the mainstream of our society at every chance they get causing chaos and confusion among our children to the point where many of them not only question their own gender but dictate which gender that they prefer to be!  This is Satanic!

All one has to do is look at the image of Baphomet, that Satan worshippers use, and one will see that this demonic image is transgender.  Those that advocate transgenderism are demonically influenced as this clearly goes against the natural order of creation and is an abomination to God.

Satan worshippers will say that the Baphomet image expresses equal duality, however, this is nothing but another deceptive trap from Satan himself.  Satan offers them a lie in the name of “equal duality” and “respect for diversity” which only leads to controversy and chaos. The Lord Jesus Christ does not promote controversy or chaos but rather He offers everyone and anyone eternal life with no partiality to any ethnic, race or gender.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

Another concerning aspect of the recent demonstrations that have been going on in our country is the fact that these protestors are so deceived that not only do they fail to realize that they are putting themselves in danger but also the rest of our nation.

For instance, I wonder how many of the participators in the women’s march on Washington D.C. realized that it was organized by a radical Muslim woman with suspected ties to the terrorist organization of Hamas. Her name is Linda Sarsour and she has been an advocate for Sharia Law in America for quite some time.

The fact that she is the organizer of the women’s march whose mantra was “women’s rights” is the epitome of deception as Sharia Law is responsible for the most abhorrent acts of violence  and abuse to women and children in the Islamic countries where it is sanctioned!  In fact, she wouldn’t even have the right to stand in front of a microphone and voice anything in any of the Islamic countries where Sharia Law is the law of the land.  That is how deceived she is!

Many of the people that lead people into deception are also deceived themselves (2 Timothy 3:13).  As Jesus said, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39).   These people are lost in the cauldron of chaos and they need our prayers.

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

While we are praying for these people to come to repentance and be released from the devil’s snare, we must at the same time be vigilant and cautious while they are stirring the cauldron of chaos.  We need to take Jesus’ advice and be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

As I am writing this there are myriads of protest going on all over our nation because President Donald Trump has enforced strict protective measures on our borders.  The liberal media and the deceived masses have twisted Trump’s motives to insinuate racism and unconstitutional measures, however, this is not the actual case.

Trump is doing what Obama didn’t do and that was protect our country from radical Islamic terrorist.  He is showing he has a backbone and not cowering to those that hate and want to harm the people of our nation.  What a concept!

The protestors in the streets are holding signs saying “Let Them In” without even acknowledging the real motive behind the cause.  They hit the streets quicker than the ink even dried on the executive order.  I’d like to know how many of these protestors would open the door and let a stranger in their own house without knowing that person’s motives.

Furthermore, the streets of our nation are loaded with domestic homeless people, many of them veterans, that are not being taken care of as it is and people want to allow more refugees into this country without the proper inspections and protective measures?  That is a recipe for more chaos.  All one has to do is take a look at many of the countries in Europe that have haphazardly allowed the influx of mass Muslim refugees and see how badly that backfired!

Trump is also receiving much backlash for moving forward with his plans to erect a wall at the border of the United States and Mexico despite the fact that illegal immigrants having been pouring into our country for the last several years, many of whom could very well be ISIS members.

In biblical times empires and kingdoms were always fortified with walls and their enemies and/or anyone that was a threat to that kingdom would not be able to just walk right on in.                 Even the kingdom of heaven itself, and the New Jerusalem has a wall, gates and an immigration inspection!

“The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels.” (Revelation 21:12)

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:27)

We need to pray for our new President Donald Trump and his administration.  For the first time in about thirty years we seem to have a president that respects the Constitution and the protection of our nation and has filled the White House with a cabinet of moral decency.  Vice President Pence has openly declared his faith in Jesus Christ and the new director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, recently stated openly that “Jesus Christ our Savior is truly the only solution for our world.”  I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that!

But it isn’t only the faith of these men that is important in their positions, but also the respect for the foundations that our nation was built upon.  Our nation was build upon biblical morals and foundations and the Godless generation that has developed since the Bible was removed from public schools forty years ago are hissing at them like vampires with a crucifix pressed on their foreheads.  Many of them are seething because they are afraid some of their evil practices will be revoked.  One of them being abortion!

It is no coincidence that both Satanist and abortion advocates were practically gathered together hand and hand at these recent protests since Satanist use baby fetuses for their sacrificial rites.  I’m not going to get into any of the horrific details of this wicked practice but just a little bit of research will expose this reality.  The Lord has seen it all and they will be severely judged unless they repent and turn to Christ.

These demon worshippers were probably already plotting and planning when Hillary Clinton publicly announced that she would allow the killing of a baby right up to the last day of pregnancy during the 2016 Presidential debate. This wicked and atrocious woman is the alternative that these liberal protestors would rather have running our country.  We are living in bizarre world.

There are several underlying agendas to all of these recent protests and one of the major ones from all the groups combined is opposition to Christianity.  I saw a picture of one woman holding a sign that said, “If Mary would have had an abortion, we wouldn’t have any of these problems.”  My goodness, may God have mercy on her soul!

The world is becoming so evil that Bible abiding Christians are now considered the ones causing the problems. This is yet another sign of how close we are to the Rapture.  The world is going to rejoice when the Christians have been removed from the earth and there will be no God fearing men to pass moral legislatures to interrupt their evil ways.

In Revelation 11, there will be Two Witnesses of God giving testimony of Him and when they are killed it says that the whole world will rejoice over their death (Revelation 11:10), because they were tormented by their testimony.  We are already seeing a preview of this scene on our news stations right now.

Being a Christian in this world today is burdensome.  Christians  are being physically persecuted in the Middle East and Christians  are being mentally persecuted here in the West.  If the wretched things going on in our world today do not affect you, then you are not a Christian.

Too many people are living for the things of this world and sadly many of them are even professing Christians.  Sports and entertainment are their gods and Jesus Christ is just a name that comes out of their mouths when the opposing team scores a touchdown.

Our time is quickly running out and every Christian has a friend, family or loved one that does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and they will be left behind to experience the most horrific seven years this world has ever seen.  If you think things are chaotic now, wait until the horrors of the Tribulation period kick in!  There will be no mercy for the wicked and Satan himself will be running rampant during his final curtain call.  This is not a show you want a ticket for!

If you are a Christian reading this, it’s time to preach the gospel to your loved ones like their lives depended on it, because it does!  If you are not a Christian reading this, you can be saved right now by calling on the Name and the only Name that all men under heaven are saved by, and that Name is Jesus Christ.

Simply confess that you are a sinner, ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to be your Lord and Savior right now.  Then thank Him for dying in your place and rising from the dead so that you won’t have to die and will have eternal life.

If you have done that then congratulations, you have just entered the family of God and have obtained a ticket to the kingdom of heaven, bought and paid for by the King Himself.  Now follow Him and be not of this world anymore.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

 

 

 

Throughout the gospels the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied about His Second Coming several times and He said that those days would be like it was in the days of Noah and also as it was in the days of Lot.

In Luke chapter 17 it is recorded that the Pharisees had asked Him when the kingdom of God would come and He told them that the kingdom of God does not come with observation but that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20-21).

But then He turned to His disciples and gave them a much more extended description about what to look for when He is about to return. Picking up in verse 28, He said:

Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot’s wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:28-33).

Many have mistakenly taken this passage to assume that the Lord was using this comparison as a description of the Rapture based on the next few verses, which say:

“I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:34-36).

While those verses sound very much like a description of the results of the Rapture, the next verse describes where those people went that were “taken” proving that this isn’t talking about the Rapture. The disciples ask Him, ‘Where Lord?’ And He answered: ‘Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together’” (Luke 17:37).

It is obvious that those that were “taken” were taken to be slaughtered when the Antichrist comes into the Holy Land after the mid-point of Daniel’s 70th Week (Matthew 24:15-20; Zechariah 14:2; Daniel 7:21; 11:41).  This is a description of an arrest, not a Rapture.

Even though the context of this passage is not describing the Rapture of the Church, there is still a warning that Jesus proclaimed that can be applied to the Church today, and that is when He said, “Remember Lot’s wife” in verse 32. In fact, a single verse is assigned to just that warning!

In the context of that statement, Jesus was warning the Jews not to turn back for anything in their homes when the Antichrist forces invade Jerusalem as Lot’s wife had stopped to look back at her hometown that the Lord was about to destroy with fire and brimstone causing her to turn to a pillar of salt due to her disobedience.  

Since Lot had obeyed the angel’s orders to not look back, it is quite likely that Lot’s wife was lagging far behind Lot without him knowing it due to her reluctance to leave her hometown. She may have even considered turning and going back at the moment that she was turned to salt.

The Hebrew word used in Genesis 19:26 for “look” is “nabat” (Strong’s # H5027) and can have an alternate meaning of “to show regard”. This may very well reveal Lot’s wife’s true mindset of her desire to “look” back. She had regarded her old life more than the next life that the Lord was leading them to. 

For the Christians living in the current Church Age, this same warning can be  heeded as to not be so attached to this world that we are not looking for the Blessed Hope of His soon appearing for His bride (Titus 2:12-13). 

This especially applies to the Church since the New Testament tells us that this world is not our home (Hebrews 13:14), and that we are only sojourners passing through this world (1 Peter 2:11), and that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).

Part of becoming a born-again Christian is realizing that we are not of this world and that our lives are a temporary assignment mission as ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). The first epistle of John warns us that this world is passing away, but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17).  In the same passage we are warned not to love the world:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).

It could very well be that Lot’s wife had loved her hometown of Sodom so much that she could not let it go and disregarded the angel’s warning to not look back (Genesis 19:17).  The real sad part is that her hometown of Sodom was about the most evil territory on the planet at that time.

One would have to wonder what was so intriguing that she would want to stay or go back? It could have been that their sons-in-law had ignored the warning to leave and decided to stay (Genesis 19:14).

This in itself is an example of the family division that can commonly occur when the Word of God is not taken seriously among family members and also demonstrates how important it is that we witness to our loved ones about the saving grace of the gospel of Christ while there is still time.

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).

Many of us have taken the steps to witness to our loved ones but they still do not want to listen or believe and sometimes we are even mocked by our own family members. It is interesting to note that the angels took Lot and his family “by their hands” to escort them out of the city, except for their sons-in-law. 

This is because they had mocked the warning that the angels had given, so the angels gave them what they wanted, and that was to stay! 

In Luke 17:28-30, Jesus said that it will be like the days of Lot when the Son of Man is revealed. He is speaking about the conditions of the world. The city of Sodom was plagued with sodomy, hence where the word gets its name.

Homosexuality is running like wildfire throughout our present world today and has even been used to redefine marriage right here in our own country. I don’t think our world could be anymore as it was in the day of Lot than it is right now!

When Lot’s wife looked back unto Sodom her heart was still attached to the people and things that remained there, even though she had physically left the city and was on her way to safety and refuge from the coming wrath.

How many Christians today have this same heart problem?  They have their ticket to heaven by trusting in Christ but yet they still cling to the many things of this world that are not of God, or they are complacent with the things that God opposes! 

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God” (James 4:4).

The wrath of God is approaching this world like a speeding freight train yet the majority of the world is so engaged in their lustful pleasures that not only do they not see it coming but they have no remorse in their sinful lifestyles whatsoever.

Homosexuality is being flaunted and celebrated on a global basis and sadly even many Christian organizations are in support of it. They are focused on their flesh and not their eternal souls.  The Word of God admonishes us to walk in the Spirit to combat the lusts of the flesh:

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things you wish” (Galatians 5:16-17).

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14).

.Whether it be homosexuality or any form of fleshly lust, if we are truly following Christ we certainly are not going to condone any sin of the flesh, let alone gloat in it as so many people are now doing in LGBT community, hence the term “gay pride!” 

We are all born with sinful desires of all sorts and they all need to be combated on a daily basis. That can only be done with prayer and obedience to the Word of God. To praise homosexuality the way that it is being praised is to be at enmity with God.  God loves the sinner but hates the sin. 

Sin is what separated humanity from God and Jesus Christ sacrificed His life on a Roman cross so that we could be reconciled back to God. When we profess to accept His payment for our sin, there is no room for compromise for any sin that may be in our lives and any sexual activity outside of a man and a woman in holy matrimony is sin. Period!

Our Lord’s warning in Luke 17:32 is an instruction for us to never look back or turn back from our profession of true faith that we have made and to follow Christ and abide by His truths and ordinances.

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Lot’s wife may have also regretted having being made to leave her hometown.  It has been surmised that Lot’s wife may have likely been a native of the city of Sodom since Lot did not have a wife when he left Abraham to go settle there (Genesis 13:8-12). 

Her allegiance was to her hometown more than it was to the Lord or even her husband!  This is also an example of the error and the cost of being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Many have wondered why Lot’s wife was turned to salt.  There are physical reasons as well as symbolic reasons and the Bible provides both. Lot’s wife was likely lagging so far behind Lot and their daughters that some of the effects of the city’s destruction may very well have affected her. 

Deuteronomy 29:23 graphically describes brimstone and salt as being an after-effect upon the land of Sodom and Gomorrah after He inflicted His wrath upon it.  So it doesn’t seem as though Lot’s wife traveled very far after leaving the gates of the city.

As for the symbolic aspect of her turning to salt, Lot’s wife was left behindafter Lot had made it to the city of Zoar where the angels told them to go for safety.  The angels also clarified that they could not do anything until they got there (Genesis 19:22). In the New Testament Jesus declared that the church is the salt of the earth.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” (Matthew 5:13).

Salt is a flavor enhancer and a preservative.  The Church’s role in this dispensation is to enhance the world around us with the Good News of Jesus Christ and help to get new believers preserved for that Day of redemption.

When this current Age of Grace ends there will be many people left behind that were “lukewarm” in their acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior that will finally realize that He is who He says He is and that the Bible is all truth. Some will perish while some will immediately convert and become believers.

Those Tribulation saints will then have to be the salt of the earth after the Church has reached its destination of safety via the Rapture!  In that context, Lot’s wife may be representative of people that profess to be Christians but their hearts are still tethered to this world and they have not truly surrendered themselves to Christ.

The Lord was merciful to Lot’s family and Lot’s wife had rejected that grace when she regarded her hometown of Sodom above the Lord’s mercy and grace.

I’d like to point out that just after Jesus said to remember Lot’s wife in Luke 17:32, He then said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33). This is the same statement He used when He declared that a man has no profit if he was to even gain the whole world:

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26)

This same exact admonishment is given in three out of the four gospels! The other two are found in Luke 9:24-25 and in Mark 8:35-37.  It certainly seems as though the Lord wanted this warning to be emphasized for it to be repeated so many times. 

There is one last thing I’d like to point out about Lot’s wife that is not only relative to the Church but also to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Many people that hold to a Mid or Post-Tribulation view, declare that the Lord will protect and preserve the Church through the Tribulation period leaving them unharmed from His wrath. 

However, Lot’s wife was not even allowed to “look” at it let alone be preserved through it, so why would the Church, who have been made righteous through Christ, be allowed to even see it?  

The worldwide cataclysmic events that are going to take place during the Tribulation period are going to be impossible to not see as Christians are scattered all over the world. 

Not only that, but how many Christians would be tempted to revel and cheer at the destruction of the many ungodly organizations and enemies of Christ?  But the Lord told us not to revel at our enemies demise (Proverbs 24:17 and that we are to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

If you are a Christian reading this and you think that the Church is going to have to endure the inescapable horrors of the Tribulation period, I’d like to remind you to remember Lot’s wife!

The overall message here for Christians today is that we should never place anything above the Lord and the grace and mercy that He has given us through His Son Jesus Christ. There is nothing in this world worth looking back at when He has given us so much to look forward to and our faith in that should be our driving force to abstain from all worldly lusts.

“Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:38-39).