Thursday, August 19, 2010

Sodom in Prophecy

Sodom in Prophecy
By Stephen Flurry
August 13, 2010 | From theTrumpet.com
The debate over same-sex “marriage” is merely a symptom of a society that has already cast off moral restraint.

Those who defend same-sex “marriage” often argue that whether homosexuals marry or not has absolutely no impact on traditional families—that is, the rest of society. But they miss the point—as do most opponents of same-sex “marriage”: The homosexual cause has already impacted our society. A debate over homosexual “marriage” would only be possible in a society that has already cast off moral restraint.

The reality is, as I wrote last week, that same-sex “marriage” is even being debated perfectly illustrates how steep our slide into deviant behavior has been. And it’s only getting worse. Ten years ago, for example, 62 percent of Californians were against same-sex “marriage.” Two years ago, with the passage of Proposition 8, it was 52 percent.

Where will we be 10 years from now?

And remember—whether homosexuality is or is not morally right is not up for debate. That matter has already been mostly settled, with a host of laws prohibiting anything that might be construed as discrimination against homosexuals.

Fact is, while “conservative” media pour scorn on Judge Vaughn Walker for his ruling to overturn California’s ban on same-sex unions—for being anti-democratic, anti-intellectual, anti-law, anti-tradition—they are often very quick to defend the rights of homosexuals in general. The horse has long bolted.

When society turns into Sodom and Gomorrah, ultimately, it does impact everyone. A biblical example is instructive in this area.

Ancient Sodom

The word sodomy is derived from a Latin phrase meaning the “sin of Sodom,” which is vividly discussed, as most people know, in the biblical book of Genesis. Ancient Sodom, like its neighboring city Gomorrah, was well-known for its widespread practice and acceptance of homosexuality. Jude 7 says that besides going after “strange flesh,” the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were “giving themselves over to fornication.” Ezekiel tells us that Sodom was a prosperous area, with an abundance of idleness. But it was also full of pride and abominations (Ezekiel 16:49-50).

In the Genesis 19 account, the men of Sodom wanted to sodomize two visitors, actually angels, who had come to see if the city should be spared God’s wrath. While these two angels remained locked inside the home of Lot, an angry mob outside cried out for the new flesh. Inside the home, the angels proceeded to give Lot and his family clear and precise instructions concerning the future welfare of Sodom and neighboring Gomorrah. “Then the men said to Lot, Have you any one else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any one you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it” (verses 12-13, Revised Standard Version).

Lot relayed this sobering message to the two young men who were to marry his daughters. Now these were two decent men—heterosexuals who had not taken advantage of Lot’s daughters. There had probably been numerous instances where they sat around the table with their future father-in-law decrying the evils and perversions of society. And yet, without realizing it, much of that evil had rubbed off on them! They might have recognized many of the more extreme evils in Sodom, but they had grown accustomed to living there—and actually enjoyed much of it.

How strong society’s pull must have been for these two men, at this most critical hour, to mock God’s warning, as it was delivered through His servant Lot.

Their ridicule even caused a seed of doubt to sprout in Lot’s mind. The next morning, even after the constant prodding from the two angels, Lot began to linger, delaying his departure—so much so that the angels seized Lot and his wife and two daughters by the hands and forcibly led them out of the sinful city! Upon leaving the city, the angels shouted at Lot’s family, Run for your lives! And don’t even stop to look back, lest you be consumed as well!

“Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground” (verses 24-25, rsv).
And yet, we somehow think we are so far superior to these ancient societies and that there is no way universal destruction could ever happen again—even though it’s prophesied.

Even Thus Shall It Be …

The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah compares our peoples to those of Sodom and Gomorrah, describing us as being “sick” from head to toe. He prophesied of our eventual ruin and desolation as a result of our universal sin and rebellion against God’s laws.

The Apostle Peter also issued a grave warning for our present day, drawing on the lesson from Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that God turned them into ashes, “making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6).

The epistle of Jude, another New Testament message, speaks of these two cities as suffering the “vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude also wrote that God set them forth as an example for our day.

Jesus Christ described our latter-day society as being exactly like Sodom and Gomorrah—abundantly prosperous, yet exceedingly wicked. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded” (Luke 17:28). They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building—right up to the day God destroyed their cities (verse 29). “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (verse 30).

Even thus shall it be. History, in other words, is repeating itself. This is why Jesus warned, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).

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gay

God and the Gays: To Be or Not to Be (Chapter 1)
God and the Gays: All that Glitters isn't Gold (Chapter 2)
God and the Gays: Once Gay, Always Gay? (Chapter 3)
God and the Gays: A Time to Heal (Chapter 5)
Related articles of interest:

Scarlet Letter: A Christian With AIDS

Does God Heal Today?

Straight Talk about David and Jonathan

Brokeback Mountain Blues

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