REMEMBER Lot's Wife!

While chatting with my husband about the things of God this past Saturday, out of my mouth came, “Jesus said, ‘Remember Lot’s wife’.” As soon as I spoke that I felt the Holy Spirit emphasizing those words to me.

“Jesus said that?” Tom queried.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure that is who said it,” I answered, “But I will go look it up.”

As soon as I sat down to pray and seek the Spirit of the Lord I felt as though He led me on a special path through His Word. I remembered from the Book of Genesis that:

Lot and his family were plucked out of the Sodom and Gomorrah area to save them from coming ‘sudden destruction’:

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, 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 19:15-16 KJV

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 19:22 KJV

Notice that the angel said sudden destruction could not come until Lot and his family were escaped! [Excerpt from Saved from Wrath]

In the Book of Luke Jesus reminded His disciples of this account:

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all.

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

Remember Lot's wife.

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Luke 17:29-33 KJV

What we are to remember is that Lot’s wife looked back at the city after being warned not to:

And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. - Genesis 19:17 KJV

Lot’s wife looking back was an indication of two things—of disregard for the angel sent to them by God and of her heart’s desire to not leave Sodom!

We are living in the days of Lot. Is our heart’s desire to leave with the Lord, our Heavenly Bridegroom, should He appear this Feast of Trumpets or is our desire for the things of this world? If you were a Groom looking forward to your wedding day, but your Bride did not desire to go with you, would you want to marry her?

The Hidden Wedding Day

Holy Spirit led me to look up what ‘Lot’ meant. I was stunned when I found out that one of the meanings for that name is “concealed” (Youngs Analytical Concordance p. 622).

It reminded me that one of the names for The Feast of Trumpets is Yom Hakeseh—“The Hidden Day”—the time many believe Christ will come to catch away His Bride. In fact, another name for The Feast of Trumpets is Kiddushin/Nesu'in  or “The Wedding Ceremony”!

Isaiah Chapter 26

Next thing I knew I was in the Book of Isaiah.

With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments [are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. - Isaiah 26:9 KJV

This verse reminded me again of how our desire must be for our Bridegroom for He desires us! I continued to look at the entire chapter and realized there were many parallels to the last days and the wedding of the Messiah.

Verse 1—In that Day

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will [God] appoint [for] walls and bulwarks. - Isaiah 26:1 KJV

The Book of Micah prophesied that though national Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, His attention would turn back to her at an appointed time:

Therefore will he give them up, until the time [that] she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. - Micah 5:3 KJV

This, of course, points to the time of September 23, 2017, when the Great Sign will appear of the woman in travail (Revelation 12:1-2)!

Verse 2—The Opening of the Gates

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. - Isaiah 26:2 KJV

The gates of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 26:2; Psalm [Tehillim] 118:19-20). Because the gates of Heaven are understood to be open on Rosh HaShanah, this is further evidence that the rapture (natzal) of the believers in the Messiah Yeshua will take place on Rosh HaShanah. The Seven Festivals of the Messiah

First Thessalonians chapter 5 illustrates the day of the Lord and how “they shall not escape” but those who are looking for Him will escape (Hebrews 9:28) (to learn more read By the Skin of Our Teeth).

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. - 1 Thessalonians 5:3 KJV

The festivals will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, tell you that the resurrection of the dead precedes the time of Jacob's trouble (the tribulation). Sharing Biblical Truth 

Verse 17—As a Woman with Child

Like as a woman with child, [that] draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, [and] crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. - Isaiah 26:17 KJV

Here again we are given the picture of the woman in labor as is depicted in Revelation 12:1-2 and being fulfilled on September 23, this Saturday. This time of travail is referred to as Chevlai shel Mashiach—The Birthpangs of the Messiah—and is yet another reference to The Feast of Trumpets!

Verse 19—Resurrection in Christ

Thy dead [men] shall live, [together with] my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. - Isaiah 26:19 KJV

This, of course, speaks of resurrection. Notice the phrase “together with my dead body shall they arise”—this reminded me of how Christ as the Head of the Body has already arisen but one day the “dead in Christ” (His Body) will arise!

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. - 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 KJV

From the rib of Adam, G-d made Eve. Likewise, by the death of Yeshua and faith (emunah) in Him, G-d established the assembly of believers known in Hebrew as the kehilat. The believers in the Messiah, His bride, become wedded to Him by faith (emunah) …

Adam is a type of the Messiah Yeshua. Adam was made after the likeness of Yeshua (Romans 5:14) …

G-d gave the wedding customs, service, and ceremonies to the Jewish people (Romans 3:2; 9:4) to teach us about the Messiah Yeshua (Colossians 2:16-17) …

In the mind of the bride, the bridegroom could come at any time, even in the middle of the night or at midnight. Therefore, she had to be ready at all times. Yeshua referred to this in Mark 13:32-37 and Matthew 25:1-13. The Seven Festivals of the Messiah

It is my belief that the Bride of Christ is represented by His rib. Just as Eve was formed from Adam’s rib, so does the Bride come from Christ’s Body. The Bride of Christ is the overcoming remnant of the Church Body who is caught up by the Bridegroom.

Verse 20—The Shout, the Trump, the Chamber

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. - Isaiah 26:20 KJV

The time of the return of the bridegroom was usually at midnight. When the bridegroom did come, he came with a shout (Matthew 25:6) and with the blowing of a shofar (trumpet) (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 4:1)

… He would abduct his bride, usually in the middle of the night, to go to the bridal chamber where the marriage would be consummated. This is the full marriage, known in Hebrew as nesu'in …

The marriage between the bride and the groom will take place under the chupah or wedding canopy. Since Heaven is a type of chupah, we can see that when Yeshua gives a shout for His bride, accompanied by the blowing of a shofar (trumpet), the marriage between Yeshua and His bride will take place in Heaven …

… The bride and groom will go to the wedding chamber, or chadar in Hebrew, where the marriage will be consummated. They will stay in that wedding chamber for seven days, or a week …

The word week in Hebrew is shavuah. It means a "seven." It can mean seven days or seven years. An example of the Hebrew word for week (shavuah) meaning seven years can be found in Daniel 9:24 … The week referred to in Daniel 9:27 is known to Bible believers as the tribulation period. The Seven Festivals of the Messiah

The abduction of the Bride reminds us of the harpazo of 1 Thessalonians 4 or the snatching out of the path of danger which is to occur “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV).

Verse 21—Indignation to Inhabitants of Earth

For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. - Isaiah 26:21 KJV

The end of verse 20 reads “until the indignation be overpast”. The word “indignation” is translated from the Hebrew word zaam. It is the same word as used in Psalm 78:49 referring to God’s punishment to Egypt when their pharaoh refused to free God’s people!

It appears to me that God is indicating in this chapter of Isaiah that those who are hidden in Christ will be taken out of harm’s way before God punishes the inhabitants of the earth just as Lot and his family were taken out of harm’s way before the sudden destruction of Sodom!

Verse 8—We Wait for Him

IF WE REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE AND NOT LOOK BACK, BUT LOOK FOR HIM (Hebrews 9:28), HE WILL REMEMBER US on Yom HaZikkaron, the Day of Remembrance—yet another name for The Feast of Trumpets!

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of [our] soul [is] to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. - Isaiah 26:8 KJV

Caveat: I do not necessarily agree with all the beliefs of anyone whose material I reference. I seek to be led of the Spirit of God as to the sources I use, however, even Spirit-filled Christians only 'see in part' as it says in 1 Corinthians 13:12.