Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is study #4 of Genesis, chapter 19. We are reading Genesis 19:1-3:

And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

We are taking our time in this study because it is a very important truth the Lord is showing us through the fact that Lot sat in the gate of the city Sodom. It was at that gate that God appeared in the form of two “angels” or “messengers.” That was the meeting point, was it not? Lot did not meet them on the road. Lot did not meet them on the streets of the city, but they met at the gate of Sodom. The gate is the “door.” Let us ask the question: What is the door between heaven and earth in this wicked world?

You know, in past generations people would have read of this exceedingly evil city and they would have shook their heads: “How could mankind sink so low? How could people sink in to the depths of depravity to such a degree?” I am sure they would have thought of it this way in generations past when God was still holding back the enormous wickedness of man’s heart. Men in times past were evil, but God was suppressing sin, to a large degree, in the hearts of men. The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things and that sinful heart was always there in unsaved mankind, but throughout much of the history of the world God held back their evil to allow the world to function and for history to be carried out. Time had to continue for thousands of years. In other words, we could not have had the desperately wicked world we have today as we live in a time when the Holy Spirit has lifted His hand of restraint from the evil hearts of men in this end stage of the earth’s history. The sins of the world of today dwarf anything that may have gone on in Sodom and Gomorrah. The city of Sodom might be a nice town to spend your vacation in today, even with its homosexuality. Today, it would be considered just a “little homosexuality,” but we have every sin under the sun going on all over the earth today.

We should never think that a particular person, a particular city or the time before the flood were more evil than people, cities or the world today. That would be a mistake. The evil that mankind does today (and which we see on a regular basis) has always been in the hearts of every unsaved individual. In other words, what we are seeing today is the true “heart condition” of man coming to the surface. Again, in times past, rampant sin was held back to a greater extent. It does not mean that men of old were not wicked, because they were wicked.

Again, Lot was seated in the gate of Sodom. God’s people are positioned at that portal or meeting place between heaven and earth. We have been stationed there as God has given us our “marching orders.” He has set up His people as watchmen in a place like this. God’s elect would have been seated all through history, whether it was on a chair or a couch, as they began to read and study God’s Word, the Bible. God would control the level of understanding of His people and guide them in to truth. The Holy Spirit has done this. to a large extent, at the time of the end to open the Scriptures because the Word of God has been unsealed. So, here we are, stationed at the Bible like Lot was stationed in the gate of Sodom.

Then it says in Genesis 19:1:

… and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them…

This is an important fact. God’s people are given eyes to see. We can see in the spiritual realm through eyes of faith because God has blessed us by giving us “eyes to see” and “ears to hear,” as the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 13. This wonderful chapter really explains much of the Bible. Anyone wanting to know the whole of Scriptures needs to spend a good amount of time in Matthew 13, especially regarding what the disciples asked Jesus, in Matthew 13:10-11:

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

In the Bible, “to know” is the same idea as “to see,” spiritually. It is given unto us to see spiritual things or to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. This was the reason Christ spoke in parables: to teach His people how to understand the whole Bible. The whole Bible is a parable, full of hidden truth, and “it is given unto you,” the child of God, to know the mysteries or hidden things.

However, to the unsaved people of the world, it is not given. This is the reason that many Bibles are purchased, only to be placed on a shelf and rarely picked up again. When the natural-minded man picks up the Bible, he sees a book of ancient history. He sees a book with difficult language that is confusing to him and he does not understand or comprehend. Without question, he would see no real importance in this book. He does not see how it has any bearing on the life he is living in this world, so the Bible remains on the shelf.

But, for God’s people, we have been given eyes to see. We understand how the things God has written thousands of years ago are for us today; they impact us and direct the course of our lives. They give us guidance regarding what we are to do on Sunday, the Lord’s day, or what we are to do when it comes to marriage and regarding how we are to work heartily as unto the Lord, and so forth. We are given instruction regarding the Biblical calendar of history and the timeline for the world from creation to Judgment Day. And we have been gaining understanding and the Biblical evidence is mounting that points to the year 2033 A.D. as the possible end of the world. It is all found in this book, the Bible. It is incredible that most of mankind still wanders around in the dark with no understanding; they do not know where we came from and when it all began. Men act like they know, and they speak of billions of years (of evolution), but they do not have a clue. They do not have the slightest clue because they are like blind men in the dark. It is a double calamity – they are in darkness and they are blind. They have removed themselves from the source of life and they try to live their lives in that condition.

But by the grace and mercy of God, He has granted His people life and understanding and sight. And that this is how Lot “sees” God in the form of two messengers at the gate of Sodom. He sees with eyes of faith, as it says in Hebrews 11:1:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Then it says in Hebrews 11:7:

By faith…

Remember, “by faith” means “by Christ” or “by the Word of God,” as Christ is the Word made flesh.

Again, it says in Hebrews 11:7:

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house…

You see, God told him. The Bible is God telling us spiritual things. Noah was warned, not having seen with his physical eyes, but with spiritual eyes of faith. This is the big difference between saved and unsaved men. It is the difference between the true elect of God and those that are not elect, even though some may call themselves a child of God, but they are not truly saved. The elect child of God sees things in the spiritual realm with the eyes of faith that have been given to him through the gift of salvation. Therefore, he can see when God comes in judgment and that is what Lot is seeing, is it not? Lot is seeing God at the gate of Sodom. And what is God’s intention when these two messengers come to Sodom? We read about it in the prior chapter as the three men came to Abraham; he was interceding that God not destroy the righteous with the wicked because God had revealed His intention to destroy the city of Sodom and, therefore, Abraham was interceding for the righteous.

Now God has come to Sodom with that intention. It is time. The time has come of the end of the world and for the judgment of “Sodom.” The judgment began at the house of God, which is spiritually called “Sodom” in Revelation, chapter 11 and then the judgment transitioned to the time of the judgment of the world. So, the elect (as represented by Lot) are seated at the gate of the world and we are watching in the Bible when God comes in judgment. He is coming to destroy the earth and God’s people are right there to receive the information. First, we have seen God coming in the Bible. And as Lot will soon find out, he will receive details concerning the destruction of Sodom.

Do you see how this ties in with God’s opening of the Scriptures at the end of time to reveal these things and to show His people “time and judgment”? It says in Ecclesiastes 8:5:

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.

The word “discerneth” is the Hebrew word “yaw-dah,” and it is the word translated as “to know.” So, the wise man’s heart knows both time and judgment. It goes on to say in Ecclesiastes 8:6:

Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

It said earlier in Ecclesiastes 3:1:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

There is a time to plant and a time to pluck up. There is a time to live and a time to die and a time for judgment. To everything there is a time and a purpose and there is a time for God’s judgment. And a wise man’s heart knoweth time and judgment. We know both “time and judgment.” The word “both” is an important word because prior to May 21, 2011, it appeared that many knew the time. They seemed to believe it. They gave of themselves and they were very active in declaring it to the world. They knew the time, but then came the judgment on May 21, 2011 and they did not know or understand that the judgment would be spiritual in nature. So, it did them no good to know the time, without knowing the judgment. We need to know both and a wise man’s heart “discerneth both time and judgment.” So, God’s people today know the time of Judgment Day and we have since learned of the judgment itself, the time of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. We have learned it is spiritual and we have learned a great many things about it. Where did we learn this information? We learned it in the “gate of Sodom” because this world is typified by wicked Sodom, and the Bible is the gate in this evil world. It is the doorway between heaven and earth and it is the place where God’s people meet God. That is where we learned it. We do not know anything of ourselves, but we are able to know as God causes us to know. Then we can know the “day and hour” and “both time and judgment.”