There is debate among Christians about an end times event called the rapture, which is the instant removal from the earth of all true believers in Christ when the mission of the church on earth is complete.

So what in the world does an account of Sodom and Gomorrah have to do with the rapture of the church?

The word “rapture” is a Latin word translated from the Greek word “harpazo” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and is used to encapsulate what is actually a fairly well defined doctrine in the Bible. The word itself is pretty strong in its meaning: to snatch away…forcefully. Many Christians are not familiar with this important doctrine because biblical end times prophecy and eschatology are not widely taught in the church.

The rapture is depicted in scripture as an entirely supernatural event. The debate among those who accept the rapture as a concept clearly taught in the bible has to do with its timing, i.e. when it will happen relative to the 21 judgements described in the Book of Revelation. I won’t go into the various viewpoints here because there is such a volume of information out there already by experts who can explain it far better than me. I would encourage you to do the research yourself.

Futurists like myself (those who believe end times prophecy fulfillment is happening now and in the soon coming future), believe the rapture will occur sometime prior to a seven year period of God’s judgements released upon the earth, a time referred to as the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation, spoken of by Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24. There are also parallel passages in the gospels of Mark and Luke. The book of Revelation, some of the epistles of the New Testament, and several of the Old Testament prophets describe in detail what will happen prior to and during this period. These are worldwide events that have not yet happened.

As I have said before, biblical prophecy is always fulfilled literally. The pattern of literal fulfillment of prophecy should then be applied to the upcoming prophecies. As such, you do NOT want to be on the earth during this period. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you have nothing to fear; the bible teaches that the rapture will happen and we who believe will be taken off of the earth – removed out of the way before judgement comes upon the wicked.

The good news for you if you do not yet believe is: there is still time. If you repent now and place your complete trust in Christ, then I believe the scriptures teach you will not go through these judgements, since you will taken into the clouds in the rapture. There you will meet your Savior.

Regardless of when the rapture happens, the chances of survival during the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation are not good, maybe 50% since about half of human population will perish in just 7 short years. Some people will repent and come to faith in Christ, which will cost most of them their lives. Unfortunately, due to powerful demonic deceptions and on-going rebellion against God, most people will not repent and will experience the wrath of God poured out upon the earth. Even now, the seeds of those deceptions are at work in the world today.

I understand there are true believers who have a different viewpoint about when the rapture will occur but I’d like to present one reason why I am a pretribulation believer, why true believers will not be subjected to the Tribulation because they will be taken into heaven before it begins.

There are passages in the Bible that I can use to support this position but I will use the example of God’s judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah to support my position that believers will go up in the rapture before the Tribulation. For the argument to make sense, you must understand that the Tribulation is a series of God’s judgements poured out upon the wicked – just like what happened at Sodom and Gomorrah. The judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah is a good example because it is very similar to the Tribulation in both the reasons for judgement and the form of judgement. So if you want a glimpse of what the Tribulation period is going to be like, read the account of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Intercession of Abraham

Genesis 18:20-33 is a discussion between the Lord and Abraham about the coming judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities had become so wicked that the Lord had to come down and see for Himself. Wickedness, in the form of violence and sexual immorality, takes over in a culture that has rejected God. Kind of like the world culture today.

So the Lord sends two angels to Sodom and Gomorrah to investigate, although the Lord already knows what they will find: wickedness so pervasive that there is not a single righteous person left except Lot, Abraham’s relative. Abraham tries to interceded with the Lord on behalf of the cities, perhaps unable to believe that there is none righteous left among the people.

Abraham has a conversation with the Lord to find the threshold at which the Lord will bring judgement. He cannot accept that the Lord would bring judgement against the wicked if, hypothetically, there were just 10 righteous people left in the cities. The Lord indicates that for the sake of just 10 righteous people left in the city, he would spare the cities and not bring judgement.

The Rescue of the Righteous

Fast forward to the next chapter, to Genesis 19:15-26. The angels find none righteous at all except for Lot. So they warn Lot to get his family out of the region before destruction comes. The angels even tell Lot to bring along his daughter’s future husbands. Now this is interesting since it would seem that these two men did not appear to be believers. But they were connected to Lot’s family and so the mercy of God was extended to them although they refused.

Here is the key to understanding the rapture: The angels then take Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and placed them outside the city because it says “the Lord had compassion on them”. The way the passage reads hints at a supernatural removal of Lot and his family, instantly taking them from the city and setting them on a path to safety outside the city. There are 3 words used to describe the angel’s interaction to get them out of the city: grabbed, led away, and placed.

When Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the LORD had compassion on them. They led them away and placed them outside the city.

Genesis 19:16 (NET Second Edition)

Details in scripture are always important. It says the angels grabbed the hands of all of them, all four people. These three words when taken together carry a meaning similar to the Greek word “harpazo” (to snatch away) from whence we get the word “rapture”.

I believe this was a supernatural “forceful” removal of Lot and his family instantly from a place where judgement is decreed to a place of safety. Why? God had compassion on them. Lot was considered righteous. This removal of Lot and his family is an old testament example of a rapture. (A rapture does not necessarily have to be from earth to heaven. It is a removal away from the coming judgement of God, in this case, getting these people out of town.)

The Judgement of the Wicked

So, with Lot and his family removed, there was no righteous person left in the cities. The only righteous people left in the cities forcefully and supernaturally removed – raptured – before the judgement.

Following the removal of Lot and his family to safety, the cities and all of its inhabitants were then completely destroyed by fire and burning sulfur raining down from the sky.

How complete was this destruction? The region was once described as well watered, like the garden of the Lord, all the way to Zoar (at the southern most tip of what is now called the Dead Sea). So the implication is that the Dead Sea was once a beautiful body of water and the land around it was lush and fertile. After the destruction of the area by fire that rained down in judgement, it became desolate as it remains to this day.

Key point: the righteous were supernaturally rescued and removed to a place of safety.

Paul writes the following to believers in an ancient, first century city:

For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

1 Thessalonians 5:9

Lot and his family were not destined for wrath because they were counted righteous by God who had compassion on them. That’s the crux of my argument; its based on the compassion of God towards the righteous. The righteous shall be forcefully removed to a place of safety before the judgement of the world. Since the entire world will be under the Tribulation judgements, the only place of safety will be off of the earth. Here is what the Apostle Paul wrote:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 (KJV)

In the clouds of heaven with the Lord. This is not the Lord returning to the earth, this is the church returning to the Lord.

There is only one way to be counted among the righteous. Those who trust in Christ are declared righteous. As it was with the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah, so shall it be at the Tribulation. Judgement is coming – make sure you are one of the righteous. How? Place your complete trust in Messiah, Jesus Christ.