The Wrath of God

I. Introduction (Romans 1:18)

• The one big subject in the Bible everyone rejects and denies and makes light of…
• The righteous wrath of Almighty God against both sin and sinners

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” - Romans 1:18

• We all know it is coming
• But we close our ears and close our eyes, and ignore the warnings, to our own destruction
• My job as a preacher is to tell the whole story — the good, the bad, and the ugly
• And that includes WARNING about sin and God’s righteous wrath against it!

II. Background

A. Lot is Living in the City of Sodom (Genesis 19:1-3)

• Remember that he is the nephew of Abraham, and used to walk with God like Abraham
• But not anymore!

“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.” - Genesis 19:1-3

• He is a judge, a wealthy and powerful leader of the people of Sodom
• He has a family now, a wife, and at least 4 daughters — two of them are married to men of Sodom
• He is visited by two men who are actually angels, sent from God
• Lot has no idea what was about to happen — two things:

1. They are in the city of Sodom to expose just how depraved and evil the entire population was, and to destroy it!
2. And they are there to save Lot and his family from God’s righteous wrath

B. The Violent Attack (Genesis 19:4-9)

“But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.” - Genesis 19:4-9

• Surrounded Lot’s house (19:4) — “compassed”
  • A power move — a threatening move — terrifying to everyone in the house
  • Pumped up all the people outside, like a riot building minute by minute
  • Were violently trying to break down the main door into Lot’s house!
• Wanted to do something to those two men (19:5)
  • Yelled Lot’s name!
  • Screamed, “Give those men to us”, give them up to us. “That we may ‘KNOW’ them”
  • All the men, young and old, from every corner of the city came and surrounded Lot’s house so they could violently attack and violate those two men for fun!
  • We learned about this last week!
• Today, is judgment day for those men!

III. Message - The Angels Act (Genesis 19:10-13)

“But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.” - Genesis 19:10-13

• The two angels grabbed Lot and pulled him in to the house and closed the door
• They then immediately smote (struck) everyone outside with blindness, and now they were feeling their way around the house, trying to find the door
• Blindness didn’t stop the men of Sodom
  • You would think the blindness would have scared them, or shocked them
  • But these wicked men ignored their blindness, and still wanted to find the door and get in, and get those two men and violate them!
  • This is proof of a mental illness beyond repair — a spiritual condition that was beyond hope

A. “Is Anyone Else Here We Should Save?”

• The angels asked Lot if there was anyone in that house that Lot wanted to be saved
• What a question! “Do you have anyone in your home that you want saved from the coming wrath on this city?”
• Lot was not the only person who could be saved!
• His relationship with God as a righteous man, covered his family in a special way
• There is a principle here: the unbelieving are protected by the saved

“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” - 1 Corinthians 7:14

• Rahab the harlot was able to save all her family and extended family simply because she believed God’s warning, and compelled the people she cared about to get to safety with her, and they did!
• There are people who are covered by Christian wives, and by believing husbands, and they don’t realise how many times they have been saved from disasters!

B. “We Will Destroy This City”

• Jehovah God has sent them to destroy this city
• Two simple angels were going to destroy an entire region, with tens of thousands of people, and buildings and streets and bridges and walls
• If you will remember, 185,000 soldiers were killed by one angel in 2 Kings 19:35

C. The Cry of the Wicked (19:13)

• The destruction was coming because the cry of them has grown loud enough and reached heaven
• “Because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD”
• What was their cry? Their cry was the cry of:
  • A culture of violence, and hurt, abuse and heartache, depression and death
  • Sounds like all the Rock music I used to listen to growing up!
  • All are the result of that lifestyle that was now at its END
  • Everyone was now part of the cycle of violence
• There is no possible recovery of anybody else in this city
• There were not even ten righteous in the city
• And the 1 that was righteous, was leaving!

IV. Lot’s Failures (Genesis 19:14)

“And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which 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

• Lot warned his sons in law — but it was too late
  • They were sodomites who had married his daughters — what a sad thing!
  • He tells them the entire city of Sodom was about to be incinerated!
• His family laughed at him and was upset at him
  • He cared about his daughters, and tried to bring their families out with him
  • But his warning had no effect
  • He had no respect by his sons in law
  • He seemed as someone mocking them, not caring about them
  • So, they were upset at Lot for making them feel uncomfortable
• Most of you would be very offended if I came, and I said, Let’s get out of the pub, this is a cursed place
• Remember that Jonah was told to tell Nineveh the very same thing — and at least THEY all took Jonah’s preaching seriously and repented in ashes, instead of becoming ashes! THINK ABOUT THAT!
• No one cared about the coming judgment — it is basically the same today!

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also 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 Noe 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 same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” - Luke 17:26-30

• Marrying, buying, selling, building, accumulating stuff… all normal things…
• But not taking God’s wrath serious
• It is so easy to live like there is no God, and no judgment day, but not for long

A. Lot Should Have Had a Strong Testimony

• Lot’s lack of godliness was now coming back to haunt him
• He had bought into the culture, and was the same as them
• Dressed like them — talked like them — acted like them — no differences
• They noticed NO difference in Lot
• It could have made the difference to their souls!
• Jesus said, You are a bright light in this world
• You probably are the only Bible people will ever read
• Are you a filthy story? Or are you easy to read, and exalting only the Lord Jesus?
• Your children are watching you — reading you!

V. Lot’s Lingering (Genesis 19:15-16)

“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered…” - Genesis 19:15,16

• It is Judgment Time!
• The angels have a deadline, when God’s wrath and judgement must fall, and they commanded Lot to:
  • Grab his wife
  • And grab his remaining two daughters
  • And flee from Sodom and get as far away as possible
• Because if he doesn’t grab them and bring them out, they will all experience the judgement and the wrath of God

A. Yet, Lot Lingered!

• Lot hesitated

• He did not refuse to obey — he simply DELAYED to obey

• Lot lingered at the warning and the bad news — started walking around the house in a daze, unconcerned, numb, disconnected

• Why would he do that?

  • Was he just in shock?
  • Was it because he didn’t believe it was actually going to happen?
  • When people face bad news, they often hesitate and have to process it
  • Maybe you hear of bad health and cancer
  • Or maybe you hear of a weather warning
  • I read of a man at Mount St. Helens, named Harry S. Truman, who did not believe that he was in danger, and he stayed behind when everyone else fled

• I know this, 99% of the people who have heard the gospel, linger

• They delay, they put off, they neglect to get saved

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him” - Hebrews 2:3

• More people are in hell today, not because of some deep, wicked sin, but because they kept putting off repentance, and fleeing from the wrath to come!
• And then time ran out for them!

VI. Pulled Out by Force (Genesis 19:16-20)

“And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” - Genesis 19:16

• The angels PULL Lot and his family out of town
• Lot did not grab his own wife and his daughters… The angels did!
• The angels start to drag him and his wife and 2 daughters to get out of the house and down the road and out the gate and away from Sodom!

A. This Was the Mercy of God (19:16)

• THIS IS THE FIRST TIME MERCY SHOWS UP IN YOUR BIBLE!
• Not getting what they deserved! That’s salvation — deliverance, when we definitely do not DESERVE it, and don’t even WANT it like we should!

B. When Told to Go to the Mountains, Lot Argues!

“And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord” - Genesis 19:18

• He was afraid of LEAVING? So backwards!
• Always thinking he knew better
• Lot wanted to stay in a SMALLER nearby city — Zoar
• Lot had chosen the plains of Sodom as a rich and prosperous man, but was now fleeing empty-handed! Now, THAT’S the cost of sin!

C. Picture of the Rapture

• This was a picture of the rapture, before the coming tribulation, when judgement falls
• The rapture is the forceful pulling out of God’s people, as wicked as we may be, out of this world BEFORE the judgement of the Tribulation falls!

D. God Accepts the Request of Lot (19:21-22)

“And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.” - Genesis 19:21,22

• The power of prayer… and the stupidity of wasting it on such foolish requests!

VII. Sodom’s Destruction (Genesis 19:23-29)

“The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” - Genesis 19:23-25

• At Sunrise… as the sun was beginning to rise, Lot and his wife and his two daughters are entering the gates of Zoar

A. Hell Fell From Heaven

• And it was at that moment, as the sun began to rise, chunks of brimstone (sulphur), that were on fire, begin falling from the sky, like hail!
• Hell fell from heaven that morning over the entire region!
• Bible preachers used to be known for preaching hellfire and brimstone judgment! Amen! Not all the time, but enough to keep people awake to the wages of sin!

B. Sodom and Gomorrah Exploded!

• All the oil pits of that area begin to ignite and explode
• Entire houses, structures and roads were exploding and flipping over
• And all of Sodom became Hell on earth

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” - Revelation 20:10

C. No More Life There at All — To This Day!

• It is devoid of all life, and all evidences of the wealthy and powerful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are gone
• No trace of Sodom or the other cities of the plain has ever been discovered, because their destruction was absolute and complete
• Brimstone — a flammable mineral found in quantities all along the southern shores of the Dead Sea

D. This IS the Wrath of God (NOT “WAS”)

• What was happening was the wrath of God, against living, breathing people, who had gone so far away from God
• The wrath of God was poured out on them

“And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath” - Deuteronomy 29:23

“And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly” - 2 Peter 2:6

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” - Jude 1:7

• Because God abhors (loathes, hates, is repulsed by) sodomy/homosexuality

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” - Leviticus 18:22

• Not just unnatural — not just wrong
• It is the worst thing to do with your body
• And should be hated with extreme hatred — never tolerated on TV, etc

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” - 1 Corinthians 6:9,10

• No one is righteous — all need to be saved!

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” - John 3:36

• Those of us who have been saved, KNOW what we are saved from!

“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.” - Deuteronomy 32:22

“For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” - Psalm 86:13

E. Abraham Saw it All (Genesis 19:27-29)

“And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.” - Genesis 19:27-29

• And so will every believer one day!

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” - Revelation 20:11-15

VIII. Remember Lot’s Wife (Genesis 19:26)

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” - Genesis 19:26

• Here was Lot’s wife
  • She was married to a man who knew God and at one time followed God
  • But she herself was not a believer
  • We don’t know her name — it has been lost forever
  • We know that Lot’s wife was from Sodom
  • She was a woman of high stature, in wealth, and that was what mattered to her

A. On Her Way to Freedom

• She was on her way to having a second chance
• And yet she did not want to leave Sodom
• She had been forced to leave — dragged kicking and screaming
• You cannot do that to people and it help them!

B. She Looked Back, Yearning to Go Back

• She was warned, but she didn’t care
• She loved her old life, her sinful life
• She loved her world, her religion, her culture, even as it was burning
• And in that moment she became a pillar of salt — a life-sized pile of salt, with every bit of water burned away, leaving a warning to us today!
• Jesus said, don’t forget Lot’s wife — learn everything you can from her wrong choice!

“Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” - Luke 17:32,33

• That is a warning to us, that, when we get saved, we don’t look back
• Whatever we may lose when following Jesus, let it all go! It isn’t worth having

IX. What Lot Lost (Genesis 19:30-38)

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.” - Genesis 19:30

A. His Wealth

• In that instant, Lot left behind everything he had worked so hard to get
• All his wealth… his big house, and his powerful position in government
• He is now living in a cold, dark, damp CAVE, alone, with only his 2 daughters

B. His Wife

• His marriage was over — in an instant she was gone!

C. His Wits — His Sanity

• Living in fear from now on
• He has fled to the very mountains the angels told him to go to, even though Zoar was spared from hell-fire
• He never recovers
• Lot became a DRUNKARD — easy to convince to get drunk night after night
• Too many Christians have so much sin in them they cannot sleep, rest, pray, find it impossible to read their Bible! And cannot stop drinking or doing drugs!
• God didn’t make you that way, SIN did!

D. His Daughters — Messed Up for the Rest of Their Lives

• Lot’s 2 daughters believe they and their father are the only three people left alive in all the earth
• Lot was USED by his daughters to get them pregnant!
• Two nations are born that are enemies of Israel for the next 1,000 years: The Moabites and the Ammonites
• That is how Lot will be remembered!

E. His Legacy — He Lost His Place in God’s Plan

• In the end, Lot lost everything, except his soul
• And it was all because of a series of proud, selfish choices

X. Conclusion

• Are you afraid of the wrath of God?
• You should be!
• We are made of the same clay
• Our world is promoting the same sins still today! “As it was in the days of Lot…”
• God’s judgment is coming
• He is not an angry God — just angry at our wickedness and sinfulness
• You need to be saved, today!
• There is no salvation except through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ!
• He took the righteous wrath of Almighty God on Himself!
• And if you don’t accept it, then YOU will face that wrath yourself, alone!