“The Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will bring judgment,’ but Abraham went before the Lord and asked, ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous? Will you still sweep them all away? Far be it from You to destroy the righteous with the wicked! Will not the Judge of the whole earth do right?’
The Lord responded, ‘I will not judge if there are fifty righteous among them.’ Abraham then said, ‘What if there is forty-five? Or forty?’ The Lord responded that He would not do it. ‘But what if there is thirty?’ The Lord says He would not do it. ‘How about twenty?’ Abraham asked. ‘I will not do it,’ said the Lord. ‘May I be so bold to ask if You will withhold judgment for ten righteous?’ Abraham continues. ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it,’ said the Lord. (Genesis 18)
As the story continues, (Exodus 19) the angels were sent by God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, BUT, not until Lot and his wife and daughters were removed.
God is a God of His word, and that won’t change. Today, there’s a popular (trendy) view that the church will have to go through the tribulation. This is not based on Scripture but on the belief that the “church deserves to be disciplined.” Our Groom has promised to “Keep us from (not through) the hour of testing that shall come upon the whole world.” He will not permit His bride to show up to the marriage supper of the Lamb bloodied and bruised. Deliverance comes before judgment.
May we find great comfort in His protective love. Judgment will be withheld until we are safely Home. And may we be wise to recognize that these present days are full of testing and discipline, and if we respond as we should, we will be found of Him (at His trumpet’s call), refined, mature and complete in Him.
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