A friend e-mailed some time ago with a statement I found quite interesting. The person, a citizen of Australia, first reported catastrophic wildfires burning in her country. She informed that many of these were set by arsonists. The few and far between rains had, she wrote, been mostly along the coasts, and when the rain fell further inland, most missed the catchment areas, the basins for catching and storing rain water. The situation was dire, due to many months of drought-exacerbated fires. Much prayer was needed to bring God’s intervention into the situation.

She then said the following, which particularly got my attention:

“We are not only facing a water and fire crisis and a future food shortage. The increase in violence has been great in the last few years. Regular home invasions, street killings and drive-by shootings were not heard of over 5 years ago here in Sydney. The increase in terrorist threats, racial hatred, etc., all add up to an uncertain and unstable future. Despite all this, people have still been flocking to the New Year’s store sales and going on holidays. (School resumes here at the end of January). There is little fear of God or desire to return to godly morals. It is disturbing to me how blind and rebellious, are the people of this nation…”

My friend then thanked me for prayers for her country, then said:

“I’m now praying Lord Jesus please come soon. I’m more than ready to leave. I’m spiritually tired and I am constantly upset by the wickedness that surrounds me each day…”

My thoughts turned immediately to one word that is seldom used in modern times to describe total exasperation with life’s circumstances. The word was used in reference to Lot, during his time living in the infamous ancient city of Sodom. My friend’s words: “I’m spiritually tired and I am constantly upset by the wickedness that surrounds me each day,” were substantially the feelings of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, just before the Lord rained wrath upon Sodom.

The Apostle Peter wrote about this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 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;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pet. 2: 4-9).

Jesus prophesied that it will be just like those days of Lot in Sodom, just before He comes to take His Church to Heaven.

“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. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Lk. 17:28-30).

My friend in Australia is not alone in the frustration she feels. Looking around us today, I certainly do get vexed, don’t you?

Horror stories inundate our hourly news. More and more those reports involve the most heinous type of activity. Pedophiles and other perverts seem to be proliferating within our supposedly “civilized” society. Terrorism is on the rise, while most Americans seem to be happy with their shopping trips and living in their bubbles of relative affluence. Children are murdered in the womb for convenience, then their remains are sought for use to prop up the rest of us lucky enough to have survived the abortionists.

Israel is at the center of world controversy –even hatred—and no one seems to make the correlation between the fact and the lateness of this prophetic hour.

The name of Jesus is becoming hated and mocked, while false teachers and false gods are aggrandized by Satan-controlled news and entertainment media. It’s all, well, vexing. This is a sure sign we must be nearing that moment Christ will call us to be with Him forever. Certainly, while we must be reaching those around us with the message that Jesus Christ is the only salvation for them, it is time that those who belong to Christ look for the Blessed Hope (Titus 2: 13).