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2 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 2 Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study Genesis 19 Series, Study 1 by Chris McCann, originally aired November 9, 2017 Good evening and welcome to ebible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is study #1 of Genesis, chapter 19. We are going to read 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 have been going along, verse by verse, in the book of Genesis. It has really been a wonderful blessing to see how God began to write the Bible and the information that God chose to give us in these early chapters. As we are reading these things, we realize that much of the later Scriptures that will be given by God of His divine revelation is built upon these early historical accounts of Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, and so forth. Therefore, it is very valuable for us to go, verse by verse, to see what God has to say to us. Again, it says in Genesis 19:1: 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; The first curious thing we recognize as we read this verse is that two angels came to visit Lot in the city of Sodom. This is curious because in the previous chapter, we read of three men that appeared unto Abraham, in Genesis 18:1-3: And JEHOVAH appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw *them*, he ran to meet

3 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 3 them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: We carefully looked at these verses and we saw that these three men were God, making an appearance and showing Himself to His servant Abraham. Later, it said in Genesis 18:16-17: And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And JEHOVAH said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Again, and again, we see references to the three men, but God is speaking because these three men represent the Triune God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As these men are about to leave, it says in Genesis 18:22: And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before JEHOVAH. Then Abraham made intercession for the righteous within the city to God, who was in the form of these three men that were going toward Sodom. After interceding in a very interesting way through a countdown of numbers from 50 down to 10, it said in Genesis 18:32-33: And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy *it* for ten's sake. And JEHOVAH went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. Where was JEHOVAH going? We read it earlier in verse 22 and verse 16. He was going toward Sodom. In the form of three men, God departed from Abraham and headed for Sodom, so it is not surprise that chapter 19 begins with these two angels. Remember that in both the Greek and Hebrew, the word angel can also be translated as messenger. The Lord Jesus is called the Messenger of the Covenant. God has given Himself many names and He is the angel or messenger of JEHOVAH. We find that word used repeatedly in the Old Testament. It says, angel of JEHOVAH. So, we must not think that two angels came to Sodom and it cannot be God Himself. Yes it can be God. God is not an angelic being, but He does identify Himself as the Messenger of JEHOVAH. As I said, it is not surprising that we read of these two messengers coming to Sodom because that was the direction JEHOVAH was headed in the previous chapter and now He has arrived. The surprising thing is that in the previous chapter He was identified as three men and now He comes as two messengers. The obvious question is to ask what happened to the third man or the third messenger. What happened to the third Person of the Trinity? On one level, we can understand it very well. The Father sent the Son. He did not go into the world Himself, but He sent His Son as His Messenger, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the Son sent the Spirit, so the Spirit of God is also a messenger of God. It is as though the Father stayed behind and the Son and the Spirit went to the city of Sodom. That is one way we can understand it. The Bible makes some interesting statements regarding two and three. We find one of these interesting statements in 2Corinthians 13:1: This *is* the third *time* I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. It mentions the numbers two and three. We have three witnesses in Genesis, chapter 18 and we have two witnesses that go to the city of Sodom. It does not disqualify that it is the Person of God and He is coming to

4 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 4 Sodom to reveal divine revelation to righteous Lot to warn him of the coming judgment, just as God warned Abraham: Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? No God did not hide it. And now God is going to Sodom. It is a picture of the Son and the Spirit of God going into the world to warn the righteous in the churches and the world of approaching judgment. Therefore, it is not surprising that God uses this picture of three witnesses and two witnesses. Remember, we read in Revelation, chapter 11 of the two witnesses that prophesied. It says in Revelation 11:3-4: And I will give *power* unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred *and* threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Then it says in Revelation 11:7-8: And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies *shall lie* in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. It goes on to say in Revelation 11:11: And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. The two witnesses were active within the churches and congregations. They represented the law and the prophets (Moses and Elijah), which typify the Word of God, the Bible. They witnessed the truth of the Word of God in the churches and congregations. Then they were killed at the point of Satan s loosing (in 1988) when God the Holy Spirit departed out of the midst of the churches, leaving the Bible behind. The Bibles remained behind, did it not? They still possessed Bibles even good translations like the King James Bible but because the Spirit of Life had left the churches, the two witnesses or the witness of the Bible in the congregations was now lifeless. As it says in Revelation 11:8, the two witnesses were lying dead in the streets, figuratively, for three and one half days. This happened in 1988 during the first part of the Great Tribulation during that grievous 2,300 evening mornings. Following this, the Spirit of life from God entered into the two witnesses or the Word of God, the Bible. They stood upon their feet. However, what we can glean from other parts of the Bible, they did not return to life within the corporate churches, but they stood upon their feet outside the churches during the Latter Rain period to recover the remnant of God s people to save the great multitude that were located among the nations of the world. So, again, the principal is that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word is established. It says in Deuteronomy 19:15: One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. For example, false witnesses rose up against Jesus. The problem that the rulers of Israel had when they desperately wanted to put Him to death was that their witness did not agree together. One would say one horrible thing, and another would say another horrible thing, but the witnesses could not agree together. This also teaches us concerning the study of the Bible. The Bible or the law and the prophets are two witnesses. The Bible must harmonize. If one part of the Bible says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but

5 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 5 another part of the Bible says that it is impossible for the natural man in his spiritually dead condition to believe, then these two witnesses do not agree. And that is the problem with every false gospel, especially the free-will gospel; their witnesses do not agree. That is why the Bible directs us to compare spiritual things with spiritual. Every time we read a Bible verse, it is a witness, is it not? Remember how the book of Hebrews speaks of the great cloud of witnesses, after discussing a great number of people of faith. Where is their witness found, but in the Bible? So, all the Bible is a witness. Yes it is possible to go to a Bible verse and read it superficially for the plain and literal statement. It can misdirect people. God does that all the time in the Bible. He will lead the casual reader of the Word of God astray and this person will fall into a snare or trap. But God s people are careful students of the Word of God. God causes His people to be careful with His Word. He will not put up with carelessness by His people. He will correct and chasten them. The Spirit of God directs us in to careful study of the Word: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We look up the words in a verse and find out where they are used elsewhere and then we start seeing (agreement of) witness with witness in the Word. Two witnesses agree, and three witnesses agree and there is harmony in the Bible. This is truth. It is just like the law God established that is used in a courtroom. If someone has done a misdeed and a neighbor has seen it, it is not sufficient because there is only one witness. But two or three neighbors can come forth and they all agree: Yes, we saw him take a pitchfork and run it through a fellow. They all have the same story and it is accepted as truth. On that testimony, someone could be put to death. That is how serious the matter is when two or three witnesses agree, but based on a single witness, you cannot put someone to death. No matter how desperate the leaders of Israel were to put Christ to death, it still required at least two witnesses that agreed. And that is how it is with the Bible and that is the problem with free-will doctrine and other false doctrines: the witnesses do not agree. But in Genesis 19, we have God coming to Sodom in the form of two messengers. Again, it is sufficient. It is more than adequate. God could have come with three witnesses, but two witnesses are adequate. What is God telling us? We are seeing that God is pointing to the fact that He is coming as a witness through His Word, the Bible. Yes, historically, He came in the form of two messengers to visit Lot, but it is teaching us about the end of time. You can read Luke, chapter 17 where God speaks of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and He says, Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. We have been learning that the Son of man has come in judgment. First, He came in judgment on the churches as a thief in the night, spiritually. Then on May 21, 2011 the judgment transitioned to the world, also in a spiritual manner. God has come in judgment and we are learning about that judgment through the testimony or witness of the Word of God, the Bible. It is being confirmed as Scripture agrees with Scripture that this is what God is doing. We also have an interesting confirmation here that God is focused on the Word of God coming to the city of Sodom. Spiritually, that is the picture. Again, it says in Genesis 19:1: 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; We see another curious and strange thing. Why is Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom? If you read the book of Ruth, you see that the elders would sit in the gate. Also, King David would sit in the gate. Here, we find that Lot is sitting in the gate of this city Sodom at even. Apparently, he is alone there. There is nobody else around. We do not read of others sitting with Lot. He is not sitting with the elders or the city of the people. The people of the city did notice that the two messengers came and went to Lot s house, so someone was paying attention. But, for the most part, Lot was an isolated figure as he sat in the gate of the city of Sodom. Yet, he was not a respected man in Sodom, from everything we can read in the Bible. He had no position of

6 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 6 authority. In Genesis 19, we will read that when the men of the city came to Lot s house and demanded he bring out his two guests, Lot said in Genesis 19:7-9: 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. Certainly, it does not sound like they were afraid of Lot. God has given us no indication that Lot possessed any kind of power and authority. As a matter of fact, they showed disdain for Lot. He was reviled by them: This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge. Do you see their problem with Lot? Why was one of such low esteem in their city sitting at the gate of their city, alone? This is an interesting way in which God is indicating that the gate of the city has to do with the entrance to the kingdom of heaven. Where is the entrance to the kingdom of heaven? In the day of salvation, the Word of God, the Bible, ministered entrance into the kingdom of God. We will take a closer look at this, Lord willing, when we get together for our next Bible study. We will look at the gate of an evil city. It is not the gate of Jerusalem. It is not the gate of a city in Israel. It is the gate of Sodom, a city that had the reputation for gross wickedness. And, yet, Lot sat in the gate of this city. It is a very interesting thing that God has written here, and He would have us to spend some time considering it. In our next study, we will pick up this topic. Genesis 19 Series, Study 2 by Chris McCann, originally aired November 13, 2017 Good evening and welcome to ebible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is study #2 of Genesis, chapter 19. We are continuing to look at 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. In our last study, we were looking at verse 1. First, we saw that God is the one who was coming to visit the city of Sodom in the form of two angels or two messengers, as the Hebrew word mal-awk can also be properly translated as messenger. Of course, it is the same God who visited Abraham in the previous chapter in the form of three men. Then we looked at how the Bible speaks of every word being established in the mouths of two or three witnesses. In other words, truth is confirmed when you can find agreement with two or three. This would have been true regarding cases of crime in Israel of old. One witness was not sufficient to put someone to death, but it required the witness of at last two or three witnesses. We see this, historically, with the Lord Jesus Christ when false witnesses rose up against Him. They were false witnesses and their witness did not agree together. Last time we discussed how this ties in with God s methodology for studying the Bible. Rather, we must compare Scripture with Scripture or witness with witness and there must be harmony within the witnesses as we go here and there in the Bible. If there is agreement, we can normally find truth, but we must note that we cannot just find two or three or four Bible verses that agree and ignore a fifth verse that does not agree. But it is a principal that God is establishing in which there must be agreement. If you have any

7 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 7 disagreement among the witnesses of the Word of God, then you do not have truth and you should not proceed as if you have found truth and develop your doctrine. You cannot do that. You must make sure your conclusions harmonize with all the Bible. We saw that the two messengers came to Lot in the city of Sodom at even and that is a picture of God coming through His Word, the Bible, to the righteous ones at the time of the end. The righteous are those that are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags and we are only made righteous by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The destruction of Sodom typifies God s end-time destruction during Judgment Day. The visit of God to the righteous one (Lot) within the wicked city of Sodom points to God s coming at the end as He shows Himself to His elect through His Word, revealing what He is about to do during Judgment Day. We saw these things clearly in our last study, but we ended our last study with the curious information that Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. I will read it again, in Genesis 19:1: 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; This is all we are told. We are not told that Lot sat in the gate with the elders of the city or a few other men. Only Lot is mentioned, and God made a point in 2Peter, chapter 2 to emphasize that Lot was just. Lot was righteous. So, it is as if the elect are sitting at this gate (and no one else) at the time when God will visit in judgment. We do not know the population of Sodom, but there were certainly a good number of people, perhaps thousands of people and, yet, no one else was at the gate at even except for Lot. We wonder why. I mentioned this last time, but let us look at Ruth, chapter 4 where Boaz went to the gate of the city to discuss with the elders or rulers of the land the situation regarding Ruth the Moabitess. It says in Ruth 4:1-2: Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. The ten men that were elders of the city and Boaz, a mighty man of wealth and his kinsman were all in the gate of the city to take care of important business. This highlights the fact that the gate of the city was a place where the elders and other people of authority would gather and where determinations and judgments would be made. And, yet, Lot was there, alone, and the people of the city did not respect Lot. I read this verse last time, but let us read, again, what the men of Sodom said in Genesis 19:9: 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. First, they are showing him no respect. He was a sojourner or a stranger, a late arriver to the city of Sodom. They were well-established there and, perhaps, they had grown up in the city and then came this sojourner. When people come from foreign lands, it takes a while to become respected in a city and to be well-thought-of and to rise to a position of authority. And, sometimes, that never happens. Here, the men of Sodom pointed out that he had only recently come there and then they said, and he will needs be a judge. Remember, the elders of the land in the book of Ruth sat in the gate to make judgments and determinations concerning Boaz and his situation. Lot is sitting in the gate and, in the Bible, sitting has to do with ruling. Lot is conducting himself in that way as he is telling them that they are doing wrong by demanding that the two messengers come out: And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. They are showing Lot very

8 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 8 little respect, if at all. He is lowly esteemed in their sight. We can understand why. Lot was a righteous man (through the righteousness of Christ) in a wicked city. In 2Peter, chapter 2 the Lord points out how wicked the people of this city were, as it says in 2Peter 2:6-8: 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; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation 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;) God points out that the wicked in this city had filthy conversation and they were full of unlawful deeds. If they are full of unlawful deeds, it means they were breaking the law and doing evil. This is the reason Lot is such an excellent example as he pictures God s elect, whom the Bible says shine as lights in the world in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. God s elect are also righteous through the righteousness of Christ; their sins are all paid for and washed away. It is not based on our own merit, but it is based on what Christ did for us in making us righteous. The rest of mankind are wicked because they do not have their sins washed away by Christ. Therefore, there are none righteous; no, not one. So, there was Lot in an extremely wicked place. The Bible emphasizes Sodom s evil, perhaps, like no other city. He is a righteous man, sitting in the gate. Why is he there? Why did they allow Lot to be there? They did not like him. They did not regard him or his opinion. He was lowly esteemed, but he is sitting in the gate of the city, a place where judges would sit to rule. He is all alone and there is nobody else there. Why are the people of Sodom permitting him to do this? Let us look at a couple of related verses. It says in Genesis 22:17: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which *is* upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; It says, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, and the seed of Abraham are God s elect. Remember, it said in Galatians, chapter 3 that all those that are saved are counted for the seed in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the seed (singular) and we are counted for the seed (plural) in Him. The seed are the elect of God and they will possess the gate of their enemies. It says a similar thing in Genesis 24:60: And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou *art* our sister, be thou *the mother* of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. Do you see how these verses fit perfectly with Lot sitting in the gate of the city Sodom? The people of the city were certainly not his friends. They were opposed to God. Lot was identified with God and aligned with God and, therefore, they hated him. It is very clear, as they push him and try to break into his house. They hated Lot, so these verses have everything to do with Lot sitting in the gate he is possessing the gate of his enemies. What does that mean? There is another interesting verse in Genesis 28:16-17: And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely JEHOVAH is in this place; and I knew *it* not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful *is* this place! this *is* none other but the house of God, and this *is* the gate of heaven. Jacob was sleeping in this place and God came to visit him in a dream. God was communicating with Jacob

9 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 9 there and Jacob was led to say, This is the gate of heaven. Where God communicates is the gate or portal. It is the entry way between heaven and earth. This is why I pointed out that when God came to Abraham in the form of three men or when he came to Lot in the form of two messengers, the spiritual picture is that God is communicating with the righteous through His Word, the Bible. It is very similar to Genesis, chapter 18 when the Lord showed Himself to Abraham in the form of three men, in Genesis 18:1: And JEHOVAH appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; A door and a gate are very similar, are they not? You open a door to enter in or you open a gate to enter in. Abraham was sitting in his tent door and then it said in Genesis 18:2-3: And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw *them*, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: JEHOVAH God had made an appearance in the form of three men, pointing to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we see Lot is sitting in the gate of the city of Sodom. Sodom was a wicked and evil place and, therefore, it is an excellent picture of this world, which is extremely wicked and evil; it is full of unsaved mankind. And, yet, in this evil world, there is a gate of heaven. There is a door that God opened to minister entrance into His heavenly kingdom in various times and seasons. He opened a path into the heavenly kingdom and individuals experienced eternal life as they entered. We read in John 10 that Christ is that door, but He is also the Word made flesh. We cannot emphasize this enough. Jesus completely identifies with the Word of God, the Bible, and it was through the hearing of the Word of God that people became saved: Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. People would hear, become saved and enter in they would go through that door God had opened. I think we can see how this all fits together. We can also see why the people of Sodom wanted nothing to do with the gate. They were not there when the two messengers came. They were not watching at the gate. Only Lot was watching. He was the only one that had his eye on the gate or the door. Lord willing, as we continue this study, we will see how this relates to Christ s command to watch, in relationship to the end of time. Lot was watching the unsaved inhabitants of the city of Sodom. Remember, Sodom is also identified with the apostate corporate church, according to Revelation, chapter 11 where the two witnesses were lying dead in the streets the city was called Sodom and Egypt. The churches refused to watch. They ridiculed and reviled those that were occupied in actively watching in the Word of God for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. They called the elect people of God apostates because we are date setters. However, they are like dumb dogs, ignorant of times and seasons. They could not warn anyone of judgment because they were blind watchmen that could not sound the trumpet because they insist that they cannot know anything about the day or hour. It is all foolish. It is all the doctrines of men that are designed to keep the focus on this world and not on the world that is soon to come, the new heaven and new earth. They keep their eyes firmly planted on this world that is passing away and the lusts thereof. That is why the churches and their members do not want to look seriously in to the Word of God, the Bible, to check these things out. So, Lot found himself all alone at the gate, keeping watch, when God came in judgment. There is so much more information related to this, so we will have to look at it during the next few studies. When we get together in our next Bible study, we will continue to look at why Lot is sitting in the gate by himself. Genesis 19 Series, Study 3 by Chris McCann, originally aired November 14, 2017

10 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 10 Good evening and welcome to ebible Fellowship s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is study #3 of Genesis, chapter 19. We are continuing to read 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 have been considering what God has said in the opening verses of Genesis, chapter 19. It is the beginning of the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Keep in mind that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ties in with Christ coming as the Judge at the end of time and the final judgment. We noticed that in Genesis, chapter 18 God came to Abraham in the form of three men and in Genesis, chapter 19 He appeared to Lot in the form of two messengers. The emphasis on three witnesses or two witnesses cannot be missed, as it identifies with the witness of the Word of God, the Bible. God has come to Lot as he is sitting in the gate of Sodom. We were looking at that in our last study and we noticed from other Scriptures that to sit in the gate has to do with ruling, like elders or kings would sit in the gate to judge. And here is Lot, who was lowly esteemed in the eyes of the people of Sodom, but he is the only one sitting in the gate of the city. We went to a couple of verses that indicated that God s elect (the seed of Abraham) would possess the gate of their enemies and the gate of those that hate them. That is the case with Sodom. They were enemies of the kingdom of God. They had set themselves against God through their evil deeds and their many transgressions and, yet, Lot is sitting in the gate of a city that was in opposition to God and His kingdom. Certainly, we can see the connection in those Scriptures with why Lot was sitting in the gate of the wicked city of Sodom. We also went to Genesis 28 where the Lord appeared to Jacob in a vision of the night. Jacob declared, and this is the gate of heaven. The gate of heaven, therefore, became tied to the idea of the place where God communicates and brings revelation, as He did through the dream that Jacob had. When we put it all together, we saw that the gate is like the door, which is Christ. It says in John, chapter 10:7-9: Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. Christ is the door, but Christ is also the Word made flesh. The door to heaven throughout the church age and throughout the Latter Rain (during the second part of the Great Tribulation) was the portal by which a sinner could enter into heaven, in the sense of being seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus in salvation. That entrance point (the door) was ministered to people through the Bible, the Word of God. The Bible, for all intents and purposes, is the doorway to heaven. So, Lot was sitting in the gate or the door of Sodom, which is pointing to God s elect (that are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ) taking a position of watching in the Bible. They are keeping their eyes peeled, as it were, for what God will declare to them in His Word. If you do not believe me and we should not trust any man, no matter who he is; we trust a man only insofar as he is faithful to the Word of God, the Bible. If an individual is teaching faithfully, we follow him only as far as he follows the Word of God.

11 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 11 That is what the Apostle Paul was led to say. The Lord s people will only follow the teaching of another man if the individual is teaching faithfully. If the person veers off course, he is put to the test. Anyone that is following the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, will pass the test. The elect always pass that test and they will continue to follow the Word of God, the Bible, and they will no longer follow the person that has gone off course. So, here, Lot is sitting in the gate, like the elect are seated (in authority) as they look to the Word of God, the Bible. We read an interesting passage in Habakkuk, chapter 2. It says in Habakkuk 2:1: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. The prophet Habakkuk is standing upon his watch. This is similar to the command Christ gave in the New Testament on occasion. He commanded, Watch ye, therefore. How do we watch? Are we to look up at the sky? No there is no point in doing that because God will not give physical signs like that. The way to keep the watch is to read and study the Bible. In due time in the proper time and season God opens the Scripture at the time of the end to reveal things that were sealed until the time of the end. As God s people faithfully watch in the Bible, comparing Scripture with Scripture and harmonizing everything, when the proper time comes, we will see. Notice the language in this verse: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower. That would be like watchman of old would sit in a high tower and watch for the approaching enemy army. Then it says, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. God is using the visual illustration of a watchman in a tower as he is looking to see. Then it suddenly switches from watching and it says, watch to see what he will say unto me. Where does God speak? He speaks only in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Once the entire Bible was completed, God determined to no longer break the barrier of the supernatural to bring revelation in any other form than the written Word of God, the Bible. And this is where Habakkuk is watching. Then God speaks to him. It is not anything physically visible that Habakkuk is seeing as he watches upon the watch tower, but he is hearing. In the Bible, to hear and to see are basically the same thing, as the Lord declared, Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? Both seeing or seeing not and hearing or hearing not have to do with seeing the Word of God or failing to see the Word of God or the truth of the Scripture. Then it says in Habakkuk 2:2: And JEHOVAH answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. This, of course, then becomes part of the written Word. As far as the idea of running, we read in the Psalms that we run the way of thy commandments. We begin to understand a doctrine and then we begin to perform the doing of it and we keep the Word that God has said. Then it said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables. For example, the Ten Commandments were written on two tables of stone and the tables points to the Scripture. Then it goes on to say in Habakkuk 2:3: For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie The pronoun it should be the masculine pronoun he. Then it says in Habakkuk 2:3: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

12 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 12 Again, though he tarry, wait for him; because he will surely come, he will not tarry. It is pointing to the Holy Spirit coming at the end of the world and opening up the Word of God to speak to us. Mark 13, verses 10 and 11 tie in with this, as God has opened the Scriptures to reveal tremendous amounts of Biblical truth at the end of time. Going back to Genesis 19, Lot is seated in the gate of Sodom. Notice what it says next, in Genesis 19:1: and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing *them* rose up to meet them Only Lot is there. The rest of the people of Sodom are not at the gate because this gate has to do with the Bible, the meeting point between God and man. The problem with the people of Sodom is that they have no ability to perceive spiritual things because their sins are evidence they are still unsaved. They have no spiritual sight or spiritual ears, so that leaves only the righteous, typified by Lot, at the meeting place between God and man, the Word of God. The rest of the men of the city ignore that gate. It is just like most people of today. Are they watching and concentrating on the things the Bible says? No it is the opposite. They ignore the Bible. They dismiss it. They mock it. It is nothing to them. Anyone who spends his time focused on the Word of God (believing and trusting in it) are lowly esteemed, just like Lot was lowly esteemed by the rest of the inhabitants of Sodom. They were too busy. They were occupied with their evil desires and their evil deeds, so they had no time for the holy Word of God. Lot had time. He knew what was really important, because God had saved him. So, he sat in the gate. We are not told how long he sat at the gate. Was it customary for him to do this? Yes it was probably a customary thing with him. It would be unusual that the one time God visited the city in judgment would be the day that Lot would change his routine and go down to sit in the gate. It was probably a habit with Lot. For a time each day, he would go to the gate and sit. This points to God s people that have a habit of spending their time, day after day after day, sitting at the gate of heaven, the Word of God, the Bible. We read it and study it and we watch and wait in the Word. You know, the Lord Jesus said that you know not the time He comes, whether in the second watch or the third watch or the fourth watch and we did not know for much of history, so God s people were to keep watch in the Bible. Then in the proper time and season we would know, because God would cause His people to know time and judgment. We were given discernment of these things. So, Lot is where he is accustomed to being, as he is seated in the gate of the wicked city. Again, God s people are focused on the Word of God as we live among the people of a wicked world. It is a very wicked world. Lord willing, we will pick this up again when we get together in our next Bible study. Genesis 19 Series, Study 4 by Chris McCann, originally aired November 15, 2017 Good evening and 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.

13 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 13 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

14 ebible Fellowship Genesis 19 Series Page 14 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.