Luke 17:30-37 - Don't Look Back, Look Up!

32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will loseit, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  Luke17:30-36 describes what will occur when Jesus Christ returns in judgment todefeat His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6).Believers in every age of the church can take warning from these verses, butthey apply in a special way to Israel at the end of the age (see Matt.24:29-44). When Jesus comes for His church and takes it to heaven, it willhappen "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor.15:52). Nobody taking part in the rapture of the church need worry about beingon a housetop or in a field and wanting to get something out of the house!However, when the Lord returns to the earth, His coming will first be precededby a "sign" in heaven (Matt. 24:30-31), and some people might try tohurry home to rescue something. "Remember Lot's wife!" Theverb taken in Luke 17:34-36 does not mean "taken to heaven" but"taken away in judgment" (Matt. 24:36-41). The person"left" is a believer who enters into the kingdom. Noah and his familywere "left" to enjoy a new beginning, while the whole population ofthe earth was "taken" in the Flood. In spite of their sins, Lot andhis daughters were "left" while the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were"taken" when the fire and brimstone destroyed the cities. Thefact that it is night in Luke 17:34 but day in Luke 17:35-36 indicates that thewhole world will be involved in the return of Jesus Christ in glory. "Behold,He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him" (Rev. 1:7). Threetimes the disciples had heard Jesus talk about people being "taken"and "left," so they asked Him a most logical question: "Where,Lord?" Our Lord's reply has the sound of a familiar proverb: "Justas the eagles [and vultures, Matt. 24:28] gather at a corpse, so the lost willbe gathered together for judgment." The description of the last battlein Revelation 19:17-21 certainly parallels the image of carrion-eating birdsgorging themselves on flesh. Inother words, when the Lord Jesus returns to judge His enemies, there will be aseparation of the saved and the lost. Whether it be day or night, whetherpeople are working or sleeping, the separation and judgment will come. Thosewho are saved will be left to enter the glorious kingdom, while those who arelost will be taken away in judgment. Eventhough the primary interpretation of these verses is for Israel in the endtimes, they do emphasize for the church the importance of being ready whenJesus returns. We must not be like Lot's wife whose heart was so in Sodom thatshe looked back in spite of the angels' warning (Gen. 19:17, 26). There aremany professed Christians today whose plans would be interrupted if Jesusreturned! (note 1 Thes. 5:1-11) Our Lord's warning in Luke 17:33 findsparallels in Matthew 10:39; Luke 9:24; and John 12:25, and is a fundamentalprinciple of the Christian life. The only way to save your life is to lose itfor the sake of Christ and the Gospel. Jesuspictured civilization as a "rotting corpse" that would one day beripe for judgment. The discerning believer sees evidence of this on every handand realizes that the "days of Noah" and the "days of Lot"are soon on us. Our Lord can return for His church at any time, so we are notlooking for signs; but we do know that "coming events cast their shadowsbefore." As we see many of these things begin to come to pass (Luke21:28), we know that His return is nearing. Arewe looking for His return, and do we really want to see Him come? Remember, Lot’swife, and don’t look back but be looking up! Godbless.