Brought Out

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

BROUGHT OUT

Gen 19:27-29

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. 29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

NIV

When the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was finished and both the cities, and the plains around them, with all the wicked people within, were completely consumed by the fire, the burning sulfur, that was rained down from heaven, from God, all that was left was a dense smoke rising from the land. We understand that the revelation given to John talks about those who take the mark of the beast will be tormented with burning sulfur and the smoke, the dense smoke will rise forever and ever, much like this smoke rising from Sodom because of the complete destruction of everything. Can that be the same for eternity for those thrown into the lake of burning sulfur? Will that torment be forever and there will be no rest day or night. However, in eternity we understand that there will be no day and night, at least for those who get to live in the new city of Jerusalem, for it will always be day as God will be the Light. Does “no rest day or night” mean forever, or that fact they will not find or enter into the rest of God, because they were tormented or vexed with pain body and mind, or completely destroyed, like all those in Sodom? God did remember Abraham and saved Lot because both Abraham and Lot were righteous men. The righteous will always be remembered by God and will be saved, although our righteousness is because we are in Christ. In some sense, it does not matter if the wicked who are tossed into the lake of burner sulfur are tormented day and night, or forever, or if they are burned up, completely gone, perished, are no more. What matters is that anyone can find the rest of God through faith in Jesus. This is a free gift from God, for he does not desire that anyone perish. Lot attempted to share the righteousness of God with the people of Sodom, but they would have no part of God, for they burned with the lust of their own desires. We are blessed beyond measure that we were found by God, that the Holy Spirit convicted us of our sins, and we became born again, or born from above because we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have eternal life and will live within the rest of God, forever and forever, we have been brought out from the catastrophe that happened to them and will happen to anyone found to be wicked on that last day. In fact, we use the term rapture, but more correctly, we will be brought out.