Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

loved father. Though Lot had chosen to live in Sodom, he did not
join in the sins of its inhabitants. Abraham thought that there must
be other worshipers of the true God in that large city, so he pleaded,
"Far be it from You ... to slay the righteous with the wicked. ... Shall
not the Judge of all the earth do right?" As his requests were
granted, he gained the assurance that if even ten righteous persons
could be found in Sodom, the city would be spared.
Abraham's prayer for Sodom shows that we should cherish
hatred of sin but pity and love for the sinner. All around us people
are going down to ruin. Every hour some are passing beyond the
reach of mercy. Where are the voices of invitation, urging sinners to
flee from this fearful doom? Where are those who are pleading with
God for them?
Who Prays for "Sodom" Today?
The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ, who is the great
Intercessor in the sinner's behalf. Christ extended a love toward the
sinner that only infinite goodness could imagine. In the agonies of
the crucifixion, burdened with the awful weight of the sins of the
whole world, He prayed for His murderers, "Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34).
The testimony of God is, "Abraham obeyed My voice and kept
My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. ... I have
known him, in order that he may command his children and his
household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do
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