Jesus Christ said that in the days before He returns the destruction of the world’s system will come quickly, just as it was in the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

Luk 17:26  And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
Luk 17:27  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
Luk 17:29  but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Luk 17:31  “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.
Luk 17:32  Remember Lot’s wife.
Luk 17:33  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

There is a parallel between Lot and the coming destruction of modern day Babylon or the world’s system.  Lot had to leave Sodom to escape its plagues.  In the same way, God tells us to come of modern day Babylon lest we receive her plagues.

Rev 18:4  … “Come out of her, my people, [God’s people] lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

But why did Jesus say, “Remember Lot’s wife”?  Let’s turn to the story of Lot.   Abram and Lot had too many flocks for them to live together so they decided to go separate ways.

Gen 13:5  Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
Gen 13:6  Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.

1) First Lot relocated his family in the plain of Jordan.  Sodom and Gomorrah were in the well-watered, fertile plain of Jordan.  It was a prosperous region with a thriving economy.

Gen 13:10  And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
Gen 13:11  Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.

2) Later Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. 

Gen 13:12  Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
Gen 13:13  But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

3) Later still Lot dwelt in Sodom.

Gen 14:12  … Abram’s brother’s son [Lot] who dwelt in Sodom,…

4) Finally Lot sat in its gate.

Gen 19:1  … and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. …

The gates of the city were a hive of activity.  It was the equivalent of today’s town hall and law courts. 

Lot and his family moved closer and closer to Sodom until he was right in the middle of it, being thoroughly involved in its day to day life.  Was this a problem?  Potentially, yes, because Sodom was very wicked

Gen 13:13  But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

Yet, Lot was not wicked like the men of Sodom, but righteous.

2Pe 2:7  …delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
2Pe 2:8  (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

Because Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked God decided to destroy them.  Much like God will destroy modern day Babylon.  Before God destroyed Sodom He sent two angels to get Lot out of the city.

Gen 19:15  When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.”
Gen 19:16  And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Gen 19:17  So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

Gen 19:24  Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
Gen 19:25  So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Gen 19:26  But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot escaped with his life and two unmarried daughters.  But he lost his wife, sons and married daughters and his house.  He suffered great personal loss and tortured his soul by living in Sodom.

That’s what happened to Lot.  But why did Jesus say in Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife”? Why remember her?  Because she didn’t really come out of Sodom.  Her heart was still there.  That’s why she looked back.  We should remember Lot’s wife as a warning to stir us to action to come out of Babylon.  Jesus explained Himself more fully in the next verse in Luke.

Luk 17:33  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

What is the spiritual lesson for us?  There are two ways of understanding this.

1) The first way of understanding Luke 17:33 is physically.

Just as God sent two angels to tell Lot to leave Sodom before its destruction, perhaps God people will tell his people to leave modern day Babylon before its destruction.  Lot’s wife longed for the life she had in Sodom.  She wanted to go back to it.  She no doubt enjoyed the luxuries it had to offer.  In looking back, she sought to save her lifestyle, but lost her physical life.  Lot, on the other hand, was prepared to lose his lifestyle, and preserved his physical life.  And just as Lot’s wife lingered and looked back, perhaps some of God’s people will not leave Babylon and be caught in her plagues.

2) The second way of understanding Luke 17:33 is spiritually.

Just as Lot and his family were attracted to Sodom, likewise, we can look towards modern day Babylon, the world’s system, and be attracted to its prosperity: its technology, its goods, its luxury, its glamour.  There is nothing wrong per se with these things, but there is a danger of being sucked into the system.  The day may come when we are persecuted.  If we seek to save our physical life by compromising the truth we might lose out on salvation.  We might have to lose our physical life for Christ’s sake to gain eternal life. Lot was sucked into Sodom.  Lot and his family went from being outside the city of Sodom, to living in it, and then to being thoroughly involved in its day to day life.  In the end Lot had to be dragged out of Sodom by the angels.  Lot escaped with his life, but at great personal cost.

We need to heed the words of Jesus Christ, “Remember Lot’s wife”.