The New Sodom and Gomorrah
By
Gary Primo
Sept. 17, 2011
Matt. 10:15 - Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
The above passage is talking of what society will be like when Yahshua returns. What does that mean? What was Sodom and Gomorrah like? What exactly was their sin? Why does our society keep returning to this type of depraved condition? These are the questions that will be addressed in this article.
Genesis 18:16 - And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 - And YHVH said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 - Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19- For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of YHVH, to do justice and judgment; that YHVH may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20 - And YHVH said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 - I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 - And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before YHVH.
23 - And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 - Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 - That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26- And YHVH said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27- And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto YHVH, which am but dust and ashes:
28- Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29 - And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
30 - And he said unto him, Oh let not YHVH be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 - And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto YHVH: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32 - And he said, Oh let not YHVH be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33 - And YHVH went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Four messengers came to talk to Abraham. The one called YHVH was not the Father, for no man has ever seen the Father save Yahshua, who came from Heaven. The being talked about here was Yahshua in his pre-incarnate form – that of the Archangel Michael, also known as the great prince (Dan.12:1) and the Angel of YHVH. All the angels who remained steadfastly loyal to the Father following the Satanic rebellion are referred to throughout the OT as “sons of Elohim”. One was chief amongst them and referred to as the great prince and the angel of YHVH. He is also known as the Word and the Spokesman of YHVH. He fully represented the Father before the men of the Earth. He came in the express image of the Father, just as the son of any earthly king would fully represent his father before the world. Being the eldest brother of all his angelic brethren, he was naturally the heir to the throne. He would have thus been respected as such by all the other angels, save those who rebelled. HaSatan: however, believes that this right should be his.
In this passage one of the four “men” who visited Abraham is identified as this all powerful angel and called YHVH because that is who he represents. He does all of the talking and all present regard him as fully representing the Father. He announces to Abraham his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and all the people dwelling in that area. Today this location is believed to be where the Dead Sea now lies. In those days it was a booming area for trade and commerce and the people were prosperous and lived luxurious life styles for that time. Yet there was something amiss; something that did not please YHVH. That, of course was their moral condition. We do not find out what that was till the next chapter. All we know here was that their depravity had reached a level the YHVH could no longer tolerate.
Abraham attempted to plead for the lives of those people to be spared. Chief amongst his reasons was that his brother Lot lived there and all of his family and servants. He starts by asking that if 50 righteous people were found that the entire population be spared for the sake of the 50. Abraham then whittles this number down to ten. At that point the Angel of YHVH and his companions depart to deal out their justice.
Genesis 19:1 - And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 - And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 - And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4 - But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 - And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 - And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 - And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 - Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
9 - And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 - But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 - And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
12- And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 - For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of YHVH; and YHVH hath sent us to destroy it.
14 - And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for YHVH will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
15 - And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 - And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; YHVH being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17 - And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 - And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Master:
19 - Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
20 - Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
21 - And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
22 - Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 - The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
24- Then YHVH rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from YHVH 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.
26 - But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 - And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before YHVH:
28 - And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29- And it came to pass, when Elohim destroyed the cities of the plain, that Elohim remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
As it turned out, only two angels were sent into the city. The Angel of YHVH and his third companion were likely somewhere outside the city. Lot would sometimes wait at the city gates to welcome strangers and offer them a place to stay and something to eat. This was likely because he knew what the men of the city were like and he wanted to protect the strangers coming there. His may have been the cry that went up from Sodom to YHVH concerning their depravity. At first the two angels declined his hospitality, likely wanting to witness the depravity of the people first hand, but eventually they accepted his offer. This was obviously not because they feared the men but because they wanted to determine the degree of righteousness the Lot possessed. They entered Lot’s house, ate a meal and were about to turn in for the night when the men of the city surrounded the house and demanded that Lot turn the two angels over to them. The term, “that we might KNOW them” means to know them carnally or have homosexual relations with them. As is stated here, “the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: “ What you have here is every man in the city, from every age group and every station is life turning out to either participate in the rape of the two angels or to watch. It is possible that all the women came out as spectators as well. Can you imagine such a depraved spectacle? The entire society was as morally corrupt as any society can become. Even as immoral as our society is today, we have not yet reached this degree of depravity. Yet Yahshua prophesied in Matt. 10:15 that this would be the condition of man when he returned. What on earth are we in for?
As much as Lot loved his two daughters, he also recognized who his guests really were and feared allowing anything to happen to them. Also, some of the people standing outside his door were likely related to him (sons, son-in-laws, and daughters and daughter-in-laws, even grandchildren); and Lot was likely seeking to save their lives. He offers his two daughters to the men of the city in place of the two angels, but the men refuse. They wanted nothing to do with the women. They could rape them any time they wanted, but the two men were special. They might never come back again and they didn’t want to pass up on such an opportunity.
Verse 9, in the New International Version reads as follows; “Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
It is unclear if the men of the city recognized the two strangers as angels or not, but they did recognize the fact that they had come to judge the city and pass condemnation on them for their corrupt behaviour. They felt indignant that any stranger would come to their city to pass judgment upon them. They felt that they had every right to do whatever they pleased to the strangers and act according to their lusts. Sexual depravity had become the norm for that society and they loved dwelling in their sin.
The men of the city threatened Lot, that if he did not turn the men over willingly to them they would take them by force and do even worse things to Lot. I feel that the people of the city either did not know or did not believe that the two strangers were angels, since they did not fear them. The angels pulled Lot back into the safety of the house and struck those outside with blindness. However, even in their blindness, their lusts for perversion was so strong that they continued to seek the door to Lots house.
The angels then asked Lot if there was anyone else, besides those in the house, whom he wanted to save from the coming destruction. Lot appealed to his fellow family members (who were likely stumbling around blind outside his door) to repent and be saved. They refused and even mocked him, not believing that what they were doing was wrong and that they were about to suffer dreadful punishment for their sins. Therefore only 4 were saved from the destruction and they were transported by the angels safely outside of the city and warned to flee to the wilderness. However. Lot preferred to go to a small nearby city, rather than to face the hardships of living in the wilderness and was granted permission to flee there. The city was afterward named Zoar.
Parson’s Bible Dictionary states the following;
Zoar SMALL, A TOWN ON THE EAST OR SOUTH-EAST OF THE DEAD SEA, TO WHICH LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS FLED FROM SODOM (Gen. 19:22, 23). It was originally called Bela (Gen. 14:2, 8). It is referred to by the prophets Isaiah (Isa. 15:5) and Jeremiah (Jer. 48:34). Its ruins are still seen at the opening of the ravine of Kerak, the Kir-Moab referred to in 2 Kings 3, the modern Tell esh-Shaghur.
Once Lot and his family were safely out of the area, the destruction of the two cities came swiftly. Some think it was the result of a volcanic eruption. However, it could have also been a meteor shower, an atomic type explosion or something purely supernatural (not known to mankind). Although they were warned not to look back, Lot’s wife did so and paid with her life. Only Lot and his two daughters escaped. But life did not go well for them in the town of Zoar.
Gen. 19:30 - And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
The residents of Zoar likely blamed Lot for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and feared that he would bring destruction upon their heads next. They wanted him gone and likely threatened his life if he did not leave. So Lot took his two daughters and went off to live in a cave in the wilderness.
The smoke from the two cities were seen afar off by Abraham. This is not difficult to picture as we have seen it ourselves in recent years with the volcanic eruption in Iceland, where the smoke covered the UK and parts of Europe. It was so dense even the airplanes couldn’t fly or land. I can’t remember if the cloud of smoke ever reached North America.
How does the above scenario compare with our society today? Certainly we are not that bad yet, but are we heading in that direction? I certainly believe so. I am presently about 3 months shy of my 61st birthday and have witnessed many changes in our Western society over the years. In my younger years, homosexuality was viewed by society as a mental disorder and treated as such. Homosexuals kept their depravity secret for the most part and did not draw a whole lot of attention to themselves. One estimate that I heard was that only about 4% of the population was homosexual. However, I would classify homosexuality and lesbianism as a spiritual disease. The Sacred Scriptures clearly denounces the practice and lists homosexuality as a condition for ending up in the Lake of Fire at the end of days. According to YHVH it is unnatural, immoral and clearly a sin. It contradicts the Law of YHVH, which teaches us how we are to become righteous and qualify for the Kingdom of YHVH and advancement to eternal life.
However, as the homosexual population continued to grow, they started lobbying the governments of all western nations to legalize the practice. They infiltrated government offices, acquired teaching positions and started popping up more frequently in the entertainment industry. They gained the support of the media and gradually swayed public opinion, first towards tolerance and eventually toward acceptance. It was at a convention of American psychologists that this condition was changed from a mental disorder to a genetically disposed one.
Here are a few facts concerning that conference. First of all, only about 14 % of the 2500 psychiatrists practicing in the U.S. at the time, showed up for the conference. About 11% voted in favour of re-classification. Most of them later revealed that they only voted so because of the crowds of homosexuals demonstrating outside of the convention facilities who were threatening them with violence and even death if they did not vote according to their wishes. And so it was passed into law that homosexuality was a natural and acceptable condition of society and that they were not to be discriminated against. Now we have large segments of the population turning out for Gay parades in every city and cheering them on. The newly elected mayor of Toronto refused to attend the parade in that city and was strongly chastised for his decision. However, he stuck to his guns and did not attend. Good for Mayor Bob Ford.
In our present school systems, the students are taught in their sex education classes that homosexuality is normal and acceptable. Of course once one taboo is socially lifted, many individuals want to give it a try. Whether they are simply rebelling or are actually gay, many students are starting to experiment in this depravity. Many swing both ways and are quite open about and proud of their inclination. As a society we are not allowed to say anything negative about this condition. Anyone who is anti-gay is branded in the same category as a racist. Any true reports concerning this condition is classified as hate literature and one can go to jail for it. Any derogatory comments made by a politician or any other government official can lead to the loss of their job. The situation is getting steadily worse. In Canada the government has legalized gay marriages. Gay couples are allowed to adopt children and raise them in an openly gay household. Normally sexually oriented citizens are becoming more and more accepting of the gay community. Even the churches (which, of course, are sanctioned by the government) are not only tolerant of homosexuals and lesbians, but are even ordaining them as ministers. This should have been the last segment of society that one would expect tolerance but here they are bowing down to their true master, the government.
Where is this all going to end? You just read it for yourselves in the above passages. Homosexuality and other sexual depravities are classified by YHVH, the Creator of all life, as sin (a violation of the law), and YHVH is not going to tolerate it for much longer. It will reach the same level as Sodom and Gomorrah someday soon. Punishment from YHVH will follow. That is not an opinion but a scripturally verifiable fact.
Another example I can give you is that every world dominating empire that has ever existed started off as an ultra moral society and over years of growing in power and feeling above any type of moral code, became highly immoral. In ancient Rome, for example, it became fashionable for the Roman politician to have their “boy toys” accompany them everywhere they went. They would frequently conduct grand orgies where all manner of sexual depravity was practiced. Because they were the leaders of the world and no one would dare condemn them, their condition simply got worse and increasingly outlandish. This was the prime reason that YHVH brought about their demise.
The surprising hold out at this time is the Roman Catholic Church. However, although they may condemn the practice openly, they do not do so in private. More and more Catholic priests are getting caught “with their hands in the cookie jar”. Pedophilia tends to be their prime depravity of choice. When caught, the church tries to cover up their sin by calling the culprit back to the Vatican for “counseling” and then allowing them (once they are “cured”, say a few hail Mary’s and count their rosary beads a few hundred times) to simply head up another church. If this condition ever indeed left them, it soon returns once in their new environment. This is an act that causes serious psychological problems in the victims that haunt them for the rest of their lives.
The present legal and court systems, while coming down hard on child pornographers, hand out ridiculously light sentences. My own eldest daughter was the victim of such a pervert ( a friend of her mother) and when caught and tried, he only got 3 months in jail. That’s right, 3 months. He was out after one month with good behaviour. Was I angry? You’d better believe it. Did I want to take the law into my own hands and murder the guy? You bet I did. However, the police warned me that if I tried anything I would receive a much longer sentence than the pervert.
I had the opportunity in the court house. I had just come out of the washroom and he went in while I was standing outside. I already knew that the washroom was empty. If not for my wife and kids jumping in between me and the door, I would have gone in and did my best to beat him to death. Afterward my daughter attempted suicide 7 times. If she had of succeeded, I doubt if any power on this earth would have stopped me from killing him. Was my anger justified? I believe so.
Does the social acceptance of homosexuality lead to even greater depravity? One only was to take a close look at the present-day society to answer that question. Young girls now-a-days seem to be more sexually driven than the guys. In my day, most girls clung to their virginity much more aggressively. Now virginity has become a social stigma and virgins are scorned and ridiculed by their peers. What chance does a child have of remaining morally intact? Even the school systems treat parents of morally upright children as if they are some relic from the past and try to turn the children against their parents. If one has any spiritual inclination at all, they are shunned by society. Some laws have already been passed and others will soon follow where one risks getting their children taken away from them and even landing in jail for teaching their children the moral definition of scriptural law as opposed to the laws of our present society.
The end is not going to be pretty for our society. YHVH will bring punishment upon the earth, just as he has in the past. YHVH is the same today as He was from the beginning and will be in the future. He does not change, neither does the Law. The law had to be implemented to teach us righteousness. Only the righteous will inherit the Kingdom of YHVH. All others will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
That is exactly where the vast majority of mankind (past, present and future) are headed; for mankind refuses to repent, and as long as YHVH withholds His punishment, they will only climb deeper and deeper into the abyss of depravity until we are even worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. The end is not far off. The curses of YHVH are going to be visited upon mankind over a very short period of time.
Dan. 12:8 - And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Master, what shall be the end of these things?
9 - And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 - Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11 - And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 - Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13 - But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
The wicked do not understand the danger they are end. They seldom do until they are caught, tried and punished. However, there will also be “many” who do turn away from the sins of this world and have their blood-drenched robes washed white by the trials that they endure for YHVH’s name. The catalyst for the countdown to the end of days will be the setting up of the abomination of desolation on the Temple Mount- some sort of statue or pagan monument. 1290 days will follow before the return of Yahshua HaMashiyack. Those who survive the anger of his wrath for 45 days will be blessed with progression into the new creation as eternal-living, spirit beings of the YHVH kind.
Only the true servants of YHVH are presently standing for YHVH. We are the modern-day “watchmen” looking for the signs in heaven that tell us the end is near. It is our job to sound the trumpets and warn the world of their peril. Whether they listen or not, this warning must be sounded so that none are without excuse. If we fail to perform this task, we will be held accountable by YHVH for our disobedience. Therefore, we must continue to speak out against the transgressions of this age and do our utmost to convince the population of the earth of the grave peril they are in. Failure to do so will result in the loss of our own reward. Fear not for our mortal lives and stand up for YHVH.
YHVH Bless
Gary Primo