“Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city-take them out of this place!” (Genesis 19:12 NKJV)
When God was set to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He showed great mercy to Lot, Abraham’s nephew. God sent His angels to bring Lot and his family out of the evil city before raining brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.
While bringing Lot out of Sodom, the angels asked Lot a crucial question and gave him wise counsel, which is still relevant today.
Genesis 19:12-13 – NKJV
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city-take them out of this place!
13 “For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”
The crucial question is, “Have you anyone else here?”
The wise counsel is, “Take them out of this place!”
Knowing the fierce wrath of God that was about to befall the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot immediately went out to warn and rescue his sons-in-law.
That is also what is expected of the believers today who know the fierce wrath of God that is about to fall upon the ungodly in this generation. Paul said, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (2 Cor. 5:11 NKJV).
If you also truly know God’s terror or severe judgment reserved for the ungodly men, you will passionately warn them to flee from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7).
How could you claim to love your family and friends and yet not passionately warn and persuade them to flee from the wrath of God that is coming upon the sinners who despise, ignore, and reject the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Sadly, Lot’s son-in-law didn’t take his warning and persuasion seriously, for they thought he was merely joking. So, they all perished with the rest of the ungodly people in the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:14).
Similarly, many scoffers today jeer, mock, or treat the Gospel of Christ and the warning about the coming judgment of God upon the world with contempt. They will weep, mourn, and perish with the rest of the ungodly men, just as the sons-in-law of Lot (Prov. 19:29, 2 Pet. 3:3-7).
After Lot and his wife and two daughters had been brought out by the angels of the LORD from the city, the LORD unleashed His fierce judgment upon the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:17, 24-25).
Likewise, after the rapture of the saints from this world at the return of the Lord Jesus, God will begin to unleash His severe judgment upon the ungodly people and everything in the world.
According to God’s Word, the vegetation will be struck by a torrent of hail and fire mingled with blood, thereby burning up all green grass and a third of the trees (Rev. 8:7). The seas will be struck, and a third of all the living creatures in the sea will die (Rev. 8:8-9). The waters also will be struck and made bitter, and many men will die from the water (Rev. 8:10-11).
The heavens also will be struck; a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars of heaven would be darkened (Rev. 8:12-13). Terrible and poisonous locusts will also be released from the bottomless pit to invade the earth and torment men. Their torment would be like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
Paul writes, “For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” (1 Thess. 5:3 NKJV).
John also writes, “In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.” (Rev. 9:6 NKJV).
Finally, after the great tribulation, the unrepentant sinners who shunned the gift of eternal life God offered them in Jesus Christ will appear before the Great White Throne of God to be sentenced to everlasting torment, pain, and sorrow in the furnace of unquenchable fire. (Mark 9:46. Matt. 22:13, Rev. 20:11-12).
Unfortunately, many ungodly people in our cities and communities today are oblivious or unaware of God’s fury they would experience after the rapture of the saints, just as the ungodly men in Sodom and Gomorrah were unaware of the wrath of God that was about to be unleashed upon them until Lot went out to warn them.
Who can warn or alert sinners today about the imminent fierce judgment of God if not the believers who know the terror of God?
Paul said, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (2 Cor. 5:11 NKJV)!
God is not slack concerning His promise to punish and overthrow the ungodly in this evil world, but He is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any man should perish but that all men should come to repentance. But one day, God will inevitably pour His fury upon this world (Rom. 2:4-6).
Beloved, as the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God against scoffers and sinners draws near, just as the angels asked Lot before destroying and overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah, the Holy Spirit is asking and instructing you today, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city-take them out of this place!” (Gen. 19:12 NKJV).
Therefore, as Lot did, you also must go out now to warn and persuade them to believe, receive, and surrender to Christ Jesus and thus escape the impending fierce judgment of God.
Don’t postpone this!
Friend, it is not good enough to escape the coming judgment alone. Your loved ones should also escape with you. Therefore, you must persuade and pull them out at all costs.
Give it all that it takes!
Your spouse, children, relations, and friends must not perish with this evil world but must escape with you.
Have you anyone else here?
Go out now and get them saved before the coming Great Tribulation and revelation of God’s severe judgment!
Prayer:
My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for saving me from the wrath to come. Holy Spirit, teach and help me to warn and show others how to escape from the impending fierce wrath of God upon the unbelieving world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.