Genesis 19:17, 26 records:
“Escape for thy life; look not behind thee… But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Christ Himself solemnly applied this lesson to the last days:
“Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32).
Her action is more than a glance—it reveals a divided heart, a warning to the final generation.
Attachment to Material Possessions
She had wealth, property, and comfort in Sodom. Looking back revealed her regret for the things left behind.
“Lot’s wife looked back, in regret to Sodom, thus showing that she was not worthy of being saved.” (Christ Triumphant, p. 79).
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Hebrews 3:15. {CTr 79.1}
Who will describe to you the lamentations that will arise when, at the boundary line that parts time and eternity, the righteous Judge will lift up His voice and declare, “It is too late.” Long have the wide gates of heaven stood open, and the heavenly messengers have invited and entreated: “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”“To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” But at length the mandate goes forth: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” {CTr 79.2}
The heavenly gate closes, the invitation of salvation ceases. In heaven it is said, “It is done.” Such a time is not far distant. I plead with you to make sure work for eternity, to lay hold on the hope set before you in the gospel. Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for if you merely seek, you will not be able. {CTr 79.3}
The world is loaded down with the curse that sin brings. It is literally deluged with sin, with violence and corruption, as in the days of Noah. And yet at this fearful period of our world’s history many are asleep. They cease to make efforts to become Christians. Self-gratification and carnal security still imperil the eternal welfare. Is not this foolhardy? Satan’s followers may call it honorable, praiseworthy, to manifest that independence of mind that will lead you to regard with indifference your former instructions and make you think you have found a better way. As you listen to these suggestions, you are becoming hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. . . . {CTr 79.4}
What shall worldly pleasures avail you when all the world shall be overwhelmed as was Sodom and destroyed like Gomorrah? These cities are set forth as examples to other sinners that they may know that their day is coming. {CTr 79.5}
Love for Society and Relationships
Her heart was bound to the friends, lifestyle, and society of Sodom. She could not leave behind the life she had cherished.
“Her heart was in Sodom, and she was lost with it.” (PP 161).
Again the solemn command was given to hasten, for the fiery storm would be delayed but little longer. But one of the fugitives ventured to cast a look backward to the doomed city, and she became a monument of God's judgment. If Lot himself had manifested no hesitancy to obey the angels' warning, but had earnestly fled toward the mountains, without one word of pleading or remonstrance, his wife also would have made her escape. The influence of his example would have saved her from the sin that sealed her doom. But his hesitancy and delay caused her to lightly regard the divine warning. While her body was upon the plain, her heart clung to Sodom, and she perished with it. She rebelled against God because His judgments involved her possessions and her children in the ruin. Although so greatly favored in being called out from the wicked city, she felt that she was severely dealt with, because the wealth that it had taken years to accumulate must be left to destruction. Instead of thankfully accepting deliverance, she presumptuously looked back to desire the life of those who had rejected the divine warning. Her sin showed her to be unworthy of life, for the preservation of which she felt so little gratitude. {PP 161.2}
Unbelief in God’s Judgment
Though she fled physically, she doubted the finality of God’s destruction and entertained the thought of returning.
Her backward look symbolized lack of faith in God’s word of warning (cf. SRod, Vol. 1, p. 108).
Influence of Lot’s Hesitation
Lot lingered (Gen. 19:16), and his hesitancy weakened her resolve. Ellen White observes that if Lot had been decisive, his example could have saved his wife.
We should beware of treating lightly God's gracious provisions for our salvation. There are Christians who say, "I do not care to be saved unless my companion and children are saved with me." They feel that heaven would not be heaven to them without the presence of those who are so dear. But have those who cherish this feeling a right conception of their own relation to God, in view of His great goodness and mercy toward them? Have they forgotten that they are bound by the strongest ties of love and honor and loyalty to the service of their Creator and Redeemer? The invitations of mercy are addressed to all; and because our friends reject the Saviour's pleading love, shall we also turn away? The redemption of the soul is precious. Christ has paid an infinite price for our salvation, and no one who appreciates the value of this great sacrifice or the worth of the soul will despise God's offered mercy because others choose to do so. The very fact that others are ignoring His just claims should arouse us to greater diligence, that we may honor God ourselves, and lead all whom we can influence, to accept His love. {PP 162.1}
“We cannot serve God and mammon. We are either wholly the Lord’s or we are the world’s.”
Again and again has the voice from heaven addressed you. Will you obey this voice? Will you heed the counsel of the True Witness to seek the gold tried in the fire, the white raiment, and the eyesalve? The gold is faith and love, the white raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the eyesalve is that spiritual discernment which will enable you to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, to detect sin and abhor it, to see truth and obey it. {5T 233.2}
Lot’s wife represents professed Christians who outwardly separate but inwardly remain bound to the world’s pleasures and riches.
Lot’s wife prefigures those in the church purification (Ezek. 9) who will perish because of divided loyalty:
“Her heart was still in Sodom, although her feet were outside. She represents a class in the church who start out with the truth but their affections are still in the world.” (SRod, Vol. 1, p. 108).
The backward look shows unfitness for deliverance—hesitation, unbelief, and worldliness will bring destruction when judgment falls.
This is the searching question. Humanly speaking, we are not better—we face the same temptations, distractions, and worldly attractions as she did. In fact, our dangers are greater:
Greater Light, Greater Responsibility
Lot’s wife lived in a corrupt city, but we live in the last generation with greater light from Scripture, SOP, and Present Truth.
To turn back now is more dangerous, for rejecting greater light brings greater condemnation (John 15:22).
More Subtle Worldliness
Sodom’s sins were open; today, worldliness seeps into the church in refined, attractive forms—materialism, digital distractions, compromise in dress, diet, and worship.
Direct Warning of Christ
Jesus did not say “Remember Sodom”—He said “Remember Lot’s wife.” Why? Because her failure is more relevant to the church today than the blatant wickedness of the world. She symbolizes those who profess to flee but perish because of divided hearts.
So—are we better than Lot’s wife? No, unless we learn from her lesson.
If we cling to worldly affections, we will share her fate.
If we fully separate and trust God’s word, we can escape her doom.
Lot’s wife = Laodicea’s danger. Half in, half out, still looking back, still undecided.
Her backward glance = hesitation at the final call. The purification of the church (Ezekiel 9) will find many like her—physically among God’s people but spiritually tied to the world.
Christ’s solemn reminder = warning to us: Hesitation is fatal; obedience must be prompt and complete.
Lot’s wife perished not because she was in Sodom, but because Sodom was in her. Her story is a mirror to the last generation.
We are not better than Lot’s wife in ourselves—but through Christ’s power, and by heeding the prophetic warnings, we may succeed where she failed.
The eternal counsel still speaks:
“Escape for thy life; look not behind thee” (Gen. 19:17).
“Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).
Only the wholehearted, undivided, forward-looking faith will survive the coming judgment.
Genesis 19:17, 26
“Escape for thy life; look not behind thee… But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Luke 17:28–37 (focus vv. 32–37):
“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot… Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed… Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it… I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto Him, Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”
Here Jesus connects Lot’s wife with the end-time separation—a sudden and decisive judgment where the faithful are preserved and the unfaithful are left to destruction.
Attachment to Possessions – Her wealth and comforts tied her heart to Sodom (Christ Triumphant, p. 79).
Attachment to Society – She could not sever ties with friends and a worldly lifestyle (PP 161).
Lack of Faith – Her backward glance expressed unbelief in God’s judgment (SRod, Vol. 1, p. 108).
Influence of Lot’s Hesitation – Lot’s delay weakened her resolve (PP 161).
Her glance was more than curiosity—it was a revelation of a divided heart.
“Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt because she looked back in regret… Her heart was in Sodom, and she was lost with it.” (Christ Triumphant, p. 79).
“We are either wholly the Lord’s or we are the world’s.” (5T 233.2).
Her story warns against half-hearted Christians who profess to flee but long for the world’s pleasures.
“Her heart was still in Sodom, although her feet were outside. She represents a class in the church who start out with the truth but their affections are still in the world.” (SRod, Vol. 1, p. 108).
The warning applies to the purification of the church (Ezek. 9), where those who hesitate or look back will perish.
“The act of looking back shows lack of faith in God’s word, and it shows also that the heart is not fully separated from the condemned city.” (Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 21, p. 9).
Lot’s Wife = Warning for Laodicea
Christ places “Remember Lot’s wife” in the middle of His last-day discourse. It is a call to break fully from worldliness.
Losing or Saving Life (v. 33)
Those who seek to preserve their life (like Lot’s wife clinging to Sodom) will lose it. Those who surrender all for Christ will be preserved.
Separation at the End (vv. 34–36)
In ordinary activities—sleeping, grinding grain, working in the field—two people appear the same outwardly, but inwardly one is ready, the other is not. Lot’s wife reminds us that proximity to the righteous (Lot) does not guarantee salvation.
Where, Lord? (v. 37)
The disciples asked “Where, Lord?” Jesus answered, “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered.”
This symbolizes a place of judgment—where corruption is, there the instruments of judgment gather (cf. Ezekiel 9; Matthew 24:28). It teaches that the “leaving” or destruction is not random, but directed where apostasy is ripe.
Thus, Luke 17:32–37 teaches that Lot’s wife is the prophetic symbol of the final separation—when Christ begins judgment among His professed people and later in the world.
In ourselves, no. We face even greater danger than she did:
We have greater light (Bible, SOP, Present Truth). Rejecting it brings heavier responsibility (John 15:22).
We face subtler temptations—modern Sodom is refined, digital, and fashionable, making worldliness more alluring.
Her story is our warning. If we still cling to the world while professing Christ, we prove no better.
But by grace, we can be better—not in pride, but in faith. If we yield wholly to Christ, obey without hesitation, and keep our eyes forward to Mount Zion, we will not share her fate.
Lot’s wife = the undecided Laodiceans in the church, who hesitate at the final call.
Her backward look = those who resist reformation and sigh and cry (Ezek. 9).
The “one taken, one left” = separation of true and false believers when judgment begins in the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17).
Lot’s wife did not perish because she was in Sodom, but because Sodom was in her heart. Jesus says:
“Remember Lot’s wife.”
This is not history only, but prophecy. Her story lives again in the last church. Are we clinging to the world, or pressing forward to the kingdom?
The choice is before us: to look back and perish, or to look up and live.