Judgment Upon Evil Cities
Book of Genesis Chapters 18 through 20
Today we will see that lightening is not the true fire of God, but the true fire of God is seen in the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah!
We must know that our personal choices bring consequences and some of those consequences can be very severe.
We must know that every person who ends up in Hell made a deliberate choice to be there, when they rejected the Word of God which states the consequences of sin plainly and earnestly.
God's hatred for sin is universal but God's love for people is also universal!
I had this thought yesterday. I just wonder just how many pages in the Lamb's Book of Life will be empty because of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
I know for certain that there will be none because we have an All-Knowing God, but If I had prepared that Book, I would have had enough pages to accommodate most of the world because I would never have thought so many would be foolish enough to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as the truth of salvation.
Knowing what I know now, my book would be full of empty pages, spaces where your name could have been written in.
There is no sin that the Blood of Jesus cannot take away and a full pardon granted!
We must clearly understand that because God is Holy, He must "judge" all that is unholy!
If God did not do this, then He would no longer be Holy Himself!
"Judgment" is the necessary expression of the "Righteous Character of God"!
All these things being true, God will be fair in His "Judgment"!
Rom 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
God has pronounced "Judgment" in every Age!
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
This being true, it still is not the "Final Judgment"!
The "Final Judgment" begins at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is still in our future!
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Let us begin.
*****Gen 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
Gen 18:21 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.
From this one Scripture, we can see that there was much turmoil in Sodom and the few that remained who rejected the gay lifestyle were making their voices heard and God was listening.
No doubt they had been martyred, because it is the blood that cries out to God after a murder.
Sodom was not a good place to live and there were no children living there.
We know this because young children are innocent, and the Lord did not find any that were innocent in Sodom, except for Lot when He destroyed that wicked city.
All around Sodom the blessings of God could be seen but this would soon change.
All the grazing land and beautiful gardens would soon be a desert wilderness.
Wickedness and sin will ruin even nature and we see this all around the world today.
We can easily see that the Lord values those who are righteous!
If as many as 10 righteous people had been in Sodom that wicked city would have been spared, which also shows us the power of 10 righteous people in any wicked city to make things better.
But there was only one righteous man Lot and his two virgin daughters were saved even though the minds of those two girls had been corrupted.
God did not have to come down from Heaven because He is all-knowing.
God came down to show the Christian that He will always take a firsthand look before He will cause such destruction.
It would take at least 2 righteous witnesses so God the Heavenly Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit count as 3 witnesses.
It was the Triune God who came to be sure no righteous person would be harmed.
We must understand that God is willing to show mercy right up to the time He causes destruction!
*****Gen 18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
We know the Bible says that there were three men who appeared to Abraham.
Gen 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
One of them had to be the Lord Jesus Christ before He was known as Jesus. We call this a "theophany".
Gen 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
Gen 18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
So, it was only 2 angels that appeared as humans who went onward to Sodom.
Abraham went to talk to the Lord who stayed behind a little longer to assure Abraham.
*****Gen 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Those who read these Scriptures may say this was only a man or an angel, but Abraham knew exactly who He was speaking to.
No angel has the power to do destruction upon this earth unless that command comes for the Almighty God!
Abraham loved the Lord but just like Job, he did not really know all the heart of God and our merciful God took the time to assure His child of the truth.
The truth is our God hates sin and says it over and over, but he has no hatred for the sinner.
God will never destroy a righteous soul but all those who reject the truth of God and cling to their sin will one day find themselves without a Savior!
Lot was wrong to have allowed himself and his family to be drawn into the wickedness of Sodom, but Lot had not been a part of that sin and clung to his righteousness.
Once we are "justified" by the Lord that means we will never be "judged" again by the Lord!
It is "Grace" that keeps us saved, but we must still repent of our sin daily and pray for forgiveness to show the Lord we love Him!
Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
There is no reason upon this earth that we should ever stop praying!
Prayer is talking to the Lord just like Abraham is talking to the Lord in this passage of Scripture.
The closer we draw near to the Lord the better those prayers will be!
Abraham was being an "intercessor" and we can learn many lessons in this passage about the work of the intercessor.
Abraham was aware that Lot was a righteous man even though he was wrong in placing his family in such a situation.
It maybe that Abraham could not believe that all the others in Sodom were unrighteous, but they were.
As Christians we had that same thought in our recent elections!
We could not believe there were so many corrupt politicians who had so many people willing to vote for them.
I still cannot fathom this thing as a reality. I live in a much-divided nation, many who have been brainwashed in our schools of higher learning.
I pray reality will set in, when they see their politicians were all liars and socialist mixed with communist with specific agendas.
God will never destroy the righteous with the wicked.
*****Gen 18:25 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?
Gen 18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
Notice Abraham is not asking for "Grace".
Abraham wanted to be sure that the "judgment" of God matched His Divine Righteousness.
God could not be "righteous" and destroy the righteous along with the wicked!
Jehovah was not unrighteous then, to do such a thing and He has never changed His position.
How could we ever trust such a God, who would do such a thing?
This is the whole purpose of the "Rapture" of the Church, for God to remove the "righteous" before He destroys the wicked!
As humans we do not see what God sees, and again, we cannot imagine that an entire city could be corrupt, but I am afraid this last election burst that bubble.
Even our capitol city Washington may be the most corrupt of them all.
Right can never prevail if our God does not allow it!
You see the innocent will never be consumed with the overthrow of those who do evil.
There is no doubt that the "Judge of the entire world" is the Lord Jesus Christ because all power of our Heavenly Father has been given to Him.
Mat_28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
It is Jehovah who has supreme authority over this created world.
Not Satan
Not Allah
Not any other false god.
Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Then the Lord of "mercy" listens to the words of Abraham, already knowing what He will do.
To Abraham this was answered prayer!
*****Gen 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;
We see that Lot had forsook looking for the Promised Land and settled for a city with the bright lights of wickedness.
Lot gave up his tent which made him a pilgrim and settled for what the world had to offer.
Lot had not lost his salvation, but he had forsook seeking a personal relationship with the Lord.
Lot knew how wicked it was in the city of Sodom.
Lot had also witnessed the immorality in this wicked city.
We now see that those two men who traveled with the Lord were actually angels.
As they approached Sodom, Lot saw them and knew that they were in danger if they came into Sodom especially late in the evening as it was.
Lot sitting at the gates of the city tells us he had become a leader in that city, he had not been a good witness, but he still had his inner goodness.
Most all city business was conducted at the gates of the city in those days.
Lot would have been considered a rich man in that city.
Lot stopped these two angels, not knowing they were angels, thinking they were only men.
*****Gen 19:2 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.
These two angels may have tested the hospitality of Lot and no doubt they would have been safe in the street but that was not part of the plan.
In many cities in that day, these two angels even as men would have been perfectly safe.
The Lord to be kind to the stranger.
The one thing Lot knew is no man was safe on the streets of Sodom and nighttime.
We are finding that our own streets in America are becoming unsafe at nighttime and even in the daytime, as wickedness has increased in our nation.
Look at Chicago where no one has been able to stop the murder and mayhem in that city.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities had already been set.
The only thing left to do was to get the righteous out of the city which was Lot, and he would have been allowed to take his family but the gay son in laws would not believe and their marriage was non-existent as those two daughters were still virgin as we will see.
The message of these two angels is the same message we should have for the lost today.
"You can only escape with your lives by Jesus Christ"
*****Gen 19:3 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.
Gen 19:4 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:
Gen 19:5 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.
Lot knew that the filth on the streets of Sodom could not be washed away like the dirt upon the feet of these two traveling men who were really angels come to remove the righteous.
As the meal ended and night came, the wicked immoral men of Sodom could sense the purity of God's angels and they came for them.
We can never understand how a righteous man could live in such filth, yet we see the compromising of the Word of God every day in our cites and in many churches.
We will see that these things took their toll on Lot and his family.
We can also see why Sodom had to be destroyed. It is because sin had become so grievous!
Today we see parents dictating to the child what sex they should be.
Encouraging them while just children to undergo surgeries in an attempt to transform their sexuality.
We see judges take children away from parents who try to stop their children from making these mistakes and making these decisions while they are too young to make these mistakes.
We see so-called counselors teaching children that they can decide their sex when their body says differently.
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and He will destroy this world we live in just as He says!
Sin in this world has become grievous!
I know God would never have allowed these angels to give in to these wicked men, but we can also be sure that these men had no fear of God.
And to show us why the word Sodomy came about, Lot offered his two virgin daughters who were actually married to two men from Sodom, but they were rejected.
What do we know?
Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
These inhabitants of Canaan Land were the worst of the population of Canaan, but the rest were not much better, but God gave them until the time of Israel before they were destroyed but the land was saved.
The land of Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities became wilderness and tar pits useless land.
Lot went out to talk with these men.
*****Gen 19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
Gen 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Again I ask myself, what was in Sodom that caused Lot to stay there with his family. He knew how wicked these men were.
The Apostle Peter put it like this.
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
2Pe 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2Pe 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are examples of the sin, that will cause God to destroy this world we live in today.
We see all these things today in America!
Lot was an example of how God will remove His righteous people, even those who have vexed their soul by living among such sin compromising the Word of God.
The soul of Lot was afflicted, while he suffered grief and distress, because Lot stayed because of his family.
His wife loved the bright lights and big city feel of Sodom.
His daughters had met men they for some reason married, but they were unable to change their ways, which is another type in the Word of God.
2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
While being married these two young ladies had remained virgins and returned home to live with their parents.
The angels caused blindness to happen to these wicked men and the night was spent in quietness.
They pulled Lot back into the house before he was injured.
Lot went out to speak to his sons in law, but they just laughed at him in unbelief.
In the morning these two angels urged Lot to take his family and get out of Sodom.
In fact they had to take Lot and his family by the hand and lead them out of Sodom.
Lot still argued with them for a time until he saw the hand of God bring destruction.
*****Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Gen 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
You want to see typology? This is an example of the coming destruction of this place we call Earth.
You want to see the true fire of God? It is not lightning though lightening is His creation.
There may be another reason we are experiencing Global Warming! It is not man-made!
God rained brimstone and fire down upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
The truth is sulfur is found in almost every region of this earth, and it is inflammable.
It is especially abundant near volcanoes and mineral wells.
Bitumen a substance that is mentioned as slime and other names, was used to make bricks, it coated the Ark of Noah and the Ark of Moses and it to, is flammable.
It hardens when exposed to air. When it is fluid it forms naphtha. It becomes oil as it thickens. The next stage is as asphalt.
The igniter of that day was sin. The igniter today is sin.
God rained brimstone down upon Sodom and Gomorrah and then ignited it and God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities of that plain.
There were no survivors!
It seems possible that God triggered an earthquake along that fault line in that day and what He used to trigger it can be used at any time and at anywhere else in this world or all over the entire world as He says in the Book of Revelation and even here in the Book of the beginnings it is said that God will destroy this world with fire and not use a flood again,
Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Eze 38:22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Psa 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
Psa 11:7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.
Psa 18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Isa 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Isa 30:30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
Say you do not believe what the Lord says, then trust in yourself and you will find these same things in Hell!
When this Scripture says God overthrew these cities that word "overthrow" gives us the idea of a people standing against the Lord, standing up in His face, cursing Him, standing up in their immorality, in their lawlessness, in their rebellion, daring God to do something about it.
We are fools to test God!
They were fools to ignore the truth of God!
Today this world is foolish to ignore the Word of God!
The day is coming and prophesied, when Jehovah will overthrow all the cities upon this Earth, when He "judges" the sin, and wickedness, and evilness, and the immorality and the corruption that exist today and getting worse.
I have been "judged" and "justified" and you can be too if you give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Do not wait until the "Fire of God" comes in "judgment"!
*****Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
When it comes time to be saved from the wrath of God, it is not time look keep that yearning to sin.
When with world becomes as the world of Noah full of sin and wickedness, God will destroy it again.
Before God begins His wrath upon the unrighteous, God will first place the righteous of Israel in a safe place all this according to Scripture.
Rev_12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
The Lord Jesus explains it like this:
Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luk 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Luk 17:31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
Then our Savior added these three words:
Luk 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.
It will not be time to look back on what is left behind, it will be time for true Israel to escape with their lives.
Abraham awoke at peace with himself because he knew the Lord always does right!
*****Gen 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
Gen 19:28 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.
Gen 19:29 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 the which Lot dwelt.
Abraham gave no thought to this thing because the Lord had promised that not one righteous person would be harmed.
Lot and his two daughters were saved because of the prayer of Abraham but the sin of Sodom was so engraved into their souls, that they could no longer think right.
Lot turned to alcohol and destroyed his own life even though his soul was saved.
Those two daughters were so messed up they did not understand the truth of God and sin just multiplied in their own lives.
In reality Lot was not a witness for the truth of God instead he damaged and shamed God's name.
He was a disgrace to others who trust the Lord.
He was a living hypocrite!
His only good was that he did not partake in this immorality himself.
Lot was a useless witness, and he began to realize it, but it never says that he repented.
Amen
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