#51 Salt Genesis 19

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! 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." So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "escape for your life! Do not look behind you or stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." And he said to him, "see, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. Genesis 19:12-29 NKJV

"Have you anyone else here?" Apparently not, and the ten that God and Abraham had earlier discussed    would be hard to find. Lot's son-in-laws do not take him seriously, and his daughters probably go more out of respect for Lot then for fear of God's certain wrath. Lot himself, is described as lingering when the men take hold of his hand and those of his wife and daughters. According to the people of the city he has acted as a judge, yet it would seem that he has possibly acted the hypocrite in this as well. His heart is lingering, his judgment is tainted, and he is in love with the things of the world. 

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 NKJV

This is another passage that has caused me to lean toward a Rapture. God removes Lot before He destroys the city, spares the city that Lot is going to and has spoken for, the angels pull him out of the city, and God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out. I believe that God will remember Jesus, and that He will pull His people out. It is then that sin will be unchecked by the Spirit of God and the testimony of those who believe. This will be a sign and those chosen will come to Him even in this, but the outcry against this world is great even now. Even now there are those who would like to profess with their mouth, but like Lot's wife, there heart is held by Sodom. 

Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 3:10 NKJV