The Rapture in Genesis

“Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there” (Genesis 19:22).

THESE words were spoken to a worldly, carnal man of God by the name of Lot, just before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. They are probably the most remarkable words in this great nineteenth chapter of Genesis which records the second greatest catastrophe in the history of man upon the earth. The presence today of the great Dead Sea in Palestine and its surrounding deserts stands as an external testimony of the extent and severity of this tremendous stroke of God’s judgment upon this wicked cities of the plain of Palestine.

God had determined to destroy the wicked cities with fire from heaven and had already informed Abraham. His faithful friend about it. God delayed His actions and withheld His hand of judgment because of Abraham’s prayer, but now the time is come. However, God will not bring the fire of destruction upon the city one single family has first been taken out of Sodom. As long as Lot is there, God has promised that He will not, cannot send the fire from heaven. That is the force of the words of our text.

We must remember that Lot was a believer; he was a righteous man, though worldly, carnal, fleshly and entirely out of fellowship with His Lord. That Lot was a believer is without a single question in the light of what the Apostle Peter wrote, where he tells us that God:

“Rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard) . . .” (2 Peter2:7-8).

Lot, then, was a worldly believer, not walking in fellowship with the Lord. But he was still a believer; and it was as if God said, “Even though you were unfaithful, Lot, I am going to be faithful” for “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13)

This account, however, goes far deeper than only revealing God’s faithfulness to an erring child. Very true, Lot was saved, even though he had built only hay, wood and stubble; for God has said:

“If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15).

But our Lord Jesus Christ uses this incident for a much broader lesson. Speaking of His second coming—a time when He will judge the world for its iniquity by sending the great tribulation of which the destruction of Sodom is only a type—our Savior tells us definitely:

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. . . . Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26, 28-30).

The teaching here, of course, is unmistakable. God would not destroy Sodom until Lot was safely out. And, therefore, He says: “Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” So it was for Noah also, just as soon as Noah was safe in the ark, and just as soon as Lot was out of Sodom, the judgment of God fell without any delay.

These are the two historical incidents in the history of man, and the only two, which Jesus used to portray conditions as they will be at the end of the age and at His coming again. Countless are the lessons and suggestions here, but we are particularly interested now in the application definitely taught here by Jesus concerning who will be taken out at the rapture at Jesus coming. The two incidents of Noah and Lot should settle the question forever, if there were nothing else in the Bible.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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