Sodom and Gomorra

Created Date: 22-Jul-2019
God Protected Abraham's Nephew, Lot

Last updated: 3-Feb-2024
Homosexuality Not the Cause of the Destruction!  
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Sections

1 What was the Sin of Sodom and Gomorra? 2 Location of Sodom and Gomorra
3 The Fate of Sodom and Gomorra 4 Something Amazing Overlooked?
5 God's City Jerusalem becomes like Sodom and Gomorra    

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorra?

Many Christians speak about the two cities of Sodom and Gomorra being destroyed with the belief that it was homosexuality that caused the destruction, but that is not true.  Furthermore, because there was the complete destruction of the two cities, the belief is God sees homosexuality as deserving of death and destruction, which again is not true.   Careful examination of the Scriptures shows us what were the real reasons, and that there were many problems in the two cities:

  1. Genesis 18:27-33 details Abraham trying to negotiate with a Theophany appearance of the Lord to not destroy Sodom and Gomorra.  At the end of the negotiation's requests from Abraham to the Theophany, Abraham asked the Lord to not destroy Sodom if there can be found at least 10 righteous people.  The problem was there was not even 10 with the exception of one family.
    (a) Note that the negotiations started off with 50 people and Abraham managed to get the number reduced down to 10. 
    (b) Abraham had concerns for the cities, because his nephew, Lot, along with Lot's family was in Sodom.
    Genesis 18:31-32 31 Abraham said, Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there? He said, For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it. 32 Then he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there? He answered, For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.
  2. In Genesis 19:4-11, the two Angels of God who were with the Theophany appearance of the Lord, went to Sodom to get Abraham's nephew Lot out of Sodom before it is destroyed.  While the two Angels were there:
    (a) The men of the city, that were young to old, tried to get to the two Angels at Lot's house, using force.  The scriptures states that the men had goals to have sexual relations with the two Angels, who they thought were men.  The scriptural text implies a gang forced rape.
    (b) Lot, offers his two daughters in place of the two Angels, which the men had no desire.
    (c) The two Angels, eventually struck the men with blindness to stop their attempted break-in of the house.
    (d) The two Angels take Lot and his family out of Sodom, because they tell Lot that the destruction cannot happen until Lot and his family are removed.
    (e) There is more to the incident that includes Lot's wife disobeying by looking back to Sodom, where she is turned into a pillar of salt in Genesis 19:26.
  3. In Jeremiah 23, we are given a comparison of the state of Israel where Israel is committing adultery, telling lies, worshiping false gods and many other forms of evil which God compares them to the people of Sodom and Gomorra.
  4. In Isaiah 36:8-9, we hear the people of Jerusalem and Judah are speaking and doing evil like the people did in Sodom and Gomorra.
  5. In Ezekiel 16:49-50, we learn that:
    (a) Pride,
    (b) Not helping the poor and needy,
    (c) Haughtiness, and
    (d) Abominations
    were amongst the foremost sins of Sodom and Gomorra.

Therefore, the major sin of Sodom and Gomorra was the items listed in point #5 that are highlighted in yellow.

Jeremiah 23:14 14 In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
Isaiah 36:8-9 8 For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. 9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. 

Location of Sodom and Gomorra

Many Biblical Scholars and archeologists, that have investigated the ancient location of cities, believe the two cities' ruins are located in the area or under the waters of the Dead Sea.   Some of the theories, which have some very strong evidence, have the two located on a Fault Line.  The theory is a massive earth quake with magma exploding into the air was a possible cause of the destruction.  This theory is not taking God out of the destruction, but rather it shows that the scriptures have collaboration and God often uses His Creation's natural phenomenon. 

The Fate of Sodom and Gomorra

The fate of Sodom and Gomorra was utter destruction that left nothing physically standing. 

Genesis 19:24-25 24 Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven; 25 and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 

Very important: God does not hate children, teenagers and young adults.  There was certainly children, teenagers and young adults in these cities which would be protected by the Age of Accountability.  It is often mentioned by many Biblical Scholars, that if God chooses to exercise a judgment that wipes out a group of people where children are also inhabitants, then there is Mercy in the Judgment that also allows the opportunity for Salvation for those under the Age of Accountability.

Regarding the destruction by the use of the "brimstone and fire from Jehovah", there are suggestions by some Biblical Scholars that the tar pits mentioned in Genesis 14:10 would have also caught on fire in the area, which would have caused the incineration of everything that could be burned which includes all humans and animals.

Genesis 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.

Something Amazing Overlooked?

An excerpt from the topic on Lot:

Notice in Genesis 19:20-22 that Lot and his family's presence in Sodom prohibited the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra.  This is amazing reassurance of God's love for all of us, who have faith in Him.

  1. God waited until the two Angels removed Lot and his family before the destruction.
  2. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorra could not happen until the only remaining righteous people were removed, which was Lot and his family.

This action by the Angels, showed that God:

  1. Had plans for Lot and his family, just like God has plans for all of us. 
  2. God loved Lot and his family.
Genesis 19:20-22

Lot is speaking to the two Angels.		 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me (Lot) flee to it it is very small, isn t it? Then my life will be spared. 21 He (one of the Angels) said to him, Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it. (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

(The key part is the Angels are not allowed to have Sodom and Gomorra destroyed until the Angels removed Lot and his family.  The two cities of Sodom and Gomorra had surrounding villages where Zoar is one of them ruled over by Sodom and Gomorra.)

Yes, we can experience suffering that might be unto death, but the Christian that experiences in any suffering or death that is not the result of sin, will be compensated.  Suffering from the results of sin can all be turned into a blessing with the correct response to God.  All undeserved suffering by the Christian will have the opposite effect on the Christian, when the Christian acts correctly, which will add glory to God and to the Christian. 

There is so much evidence in the scriptures, that point out that God is completely in charge of all things.  God has plans for every single one of us, where we only need to ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior and start growing in our Christian life. 

God's City Jerusalem becomes like Sodom and Gomorra

In the Book of Revelation, there is a reference to the Two Witnesses that are killed, but resurrected in 3.5 days as a pattern of Jesus Christ, to being in the city of Jerusalem where the city of Jerusalem had become like Sodom and Gomorra.

The key link between Sodom and Gomorra and the city of Jerusalem, where Jerusalem is God's City, is the Antichrist was in charge of Jerusalem in the Tribulation Period, where the Antichrist had made Sodom and Gomorra a city of every kind of sin against God and one another to be prevalent.   The sins under the Antichrist in Jerusalem contained the same as Sodom and Gomorra, with pride, haughtiness, oppression and the highest form of blasphemy against God.

Note that another of Lucifer's City that was already destroyed and judged by God during the Tribulation Period is the city of Babylon.
 

Revelation 11:7-8 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

What to read next?

What does the Scriptures tell us about Lesbianism and Homosexuality.  Because there is so much sexuality in advertising, entertainment industry and the Internet, consider understanding the problems of Pornography.  If you are in a marriage and need assistance understanding the needs of your spouse, consider reading the topic on roles in a relationship that we all require. 

Additionally: What is Salvation?  Is it possible to lose Salvation?  We have eternal life.  Evolution is not real.  When a Christian suffers is there benefits from it.  Rewards in heaven.  Do we Tithe?  What does the 3rd Commandment tell us?  What is Grace and Mercy?  Is there an Age of Accountability?  Is there a place of unending punishment and exile form God?