How exactly was Lot distressed and tormented?

There is a lot of debate as to the exact nature of Lot’s distress. Some argue that it was a threat of physical violence (Genesis 19:9) and that Peter mentions these details because the heretics of his day had become aggressive toward those who did not go along with them.¹ Others, however, argue that it refers to an inward distress and outrage at the evil which he found around him (see Ezekiel 9:4) rather than the possibility of suffering at the hands of the wicked.² This understanding seems to be more in keeping with what is said in 2 Peter 2:8. Lot finds the behaviour of the ungodly people around him distressing rather than being the object of oppression himself.³ The temptations and difficulties that come from living in a sinful world amongst ungodly people is thus in view. Lot was upset as he dwelled among the people of Sodom, constantly witnessing their rampant immorality. Lawless deeds refers to those without moral restraint, an emphasis on the sexual nature of the people’s sin (see 2 Peter 2:18–19). Lot was rescued from the judgment which such sinners deserve and from the situation in which he lived. Believers can likewise look forward to rescue on the day of judgment and divine aid (help) in their conflict with the heretics.⁴