D13- Discovering Sodom and Gomorrah

4 The Invitation

This is the extension of D!2 to equip us in  discerning  the validity of archaeological  discoveries  using the case of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah  where there are  at least three claims that are accessible by the internet search engines. We will also want to know what actually happened in Sodom and Gomorrah that warrant their historical record in the Bible and also the mention by the Sumerian as inscribed in the Ebla tablet. We will also be reviewing whether the condition of our present world in any way is a repeat of the lifestyle and behavior of Sodom and Gomorrah and how there is a lesson in their destructions for us today.

Take for instance the ancient city of Nineveh, discovered on the outskirt of Mosul, Iraq. (See D12, par 2.2.). There is a shrine of Prophet Jonah in Mosul dedicated to him but which was recently destroyed in July 25, 2014 by ISIS. The next day, the Imam of Arahma mosque in Mosul, Sheikh Riad Wasif Ghurairy, said that the terrorist gangs from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant flogged 23 young men who led demonstrators criticizing the bombing of the shrine of the Prophet Yunus.  

The Bible tells us that Jonah ran away from God when told to convey a message to the wicked people in Nineveh. He was swallowed by a giant fish for three days and spilled out onto land directing him to preach in the city of Nineveh who listened and heeded the warning, and repented of their evil ways resulting in averting the divine judgment for that generation. But Nineveh was eventually destroyed  about 150 years later in 612 B.C. as the later generations reverted to their wicked ways again and Assyria is no more. The story of Jonah was taken by scholars and critiques to be a fable  inspite of the  fact that Jesus referred to the story of Jonah as historical ( Mat !2:38-41; Luk 11:29-30, 32)  The history of the date of Nineveh destruction with respect to Jonah’s visit in the reign of Jeroboam II (793-752 B.C.)  and the shrine of Prophet Yunos is another evidence of the authenticity of this biblical story of Jonah.( The story of Jonah is discussed  at http://www.wakeupow.com/159912051 F 12 Tales of unbelief, par 3.2.3 Jonah the Disobedient Prophet – par 3.2.3.4.1 Proclamation for the Second Coming.)

CONTENTS

4 The Invitation; 4.1 Discovery D13 Overview; 4.2 Has Sodom and Gomorrah been found? 4.2.1 The Biblical Account of Sodom and Gomorrah; 4.3 Sodom at Tall el Hammam, Jordan; 4.3.1 What about the other Cities of the Plain? 4.3.2 Features of Ancient f Sodom; 4.3.3 Sins of Sodom & its Destruction; 4.3.4 Season Activity Report, 2015; 4.3.4.1 Reoccupation after divine Destruction; 4.4 Sodom Located in Bab edh Dhra; 4.4.1 Evidence of the Claim; 4.4.1.1 Corroboration from Institute for Creation Research; 4.4.2 Evaluation of Biblical Authenticity; 4.4.2.1 Bible Based Geographical Location; 4.4.2.2 Comparison of Tall el-Hammam with Bab edh-Dhra; 4.4.2.2.1 Geographical Location Consideration; 4.4.2.2.2 Biblical Timeframe Consideration; 4.4.2.2.2.1 Confirmation of Bible Chronology- Early Exodus; 4.4.2.2.2.2 Late Exodus by Archaeological Data; 4.4.2.2.3 Evidence of Fiery Destruction; 4.4.2.2.4 The Science in Archaeology; 4.4.2.2.4.1 Dating of Archaeology Site; 4.4.2.2.4.1.1 Stratigraphic Dating; 4.4.2.2.4.1.2 Typology; 4.4.2.2.4.1.3 Radiocarbon Dating; 4.4.2.3 Scientific Evidence by John Black; 4.5 Visible Sodom and Gomorrah Sites – Discovery of Ron Wyatt; 4.5.1 Ron Wyatt’s Discovery Story; 4.5.1.1 The Preliminary Investigation Described by Mary Wyatt (some excerpts; 4.5.1.1.1 Additional Supporting Bible Verses; 4.5.1.1.2 Visible Evidence for Posterity; 4.5.1.2 Location of the Five Sites; 4.5.1.2.1 Zoar; 4.5.1.2.2 Sodom; 4.5.1.2.3 Gomorrah; 4.5.1.2.4 Admah; 4.5.1.2.5 Zeboim; 4.5.1.3 Criticism of Ron Wyatt  Discovery; 4.5.1.4 Ron Wyatt Deathbed Confirmation; 4.5.1.5 Guided Tour of Ron Wyatt Discovery; 4.5.1.5.1 Visible Reminder of Sodom and Gomorrah; 4.5.1.5.1.1 Hell Fire and Eternal Suffering; 4.5.2 The LGBT Influence; 4.5.2.1 The Rainbow Flag Gay Movement; 4.5.2.2 The Root Cause- Tavistock; 4.5.2.3 Pedophile Criminal Case in NZ4.5.2.4 Reformed Gay Testimony; 4.5.2.5 The Modern Day Sodom; 4.5.2.5.1 Promotion of Equality to LGBT by US Government; 4.5.2.5.1.1 Testimony of Deposed Moldavian Deputy Prime Minister; 4.5.2.5.1.2 Wiki Leaks, Dec 6, 2011; 4.5.2.5.1.2.1 Torture of Protesters in Tbilisi, Ukraine; 4.5.2.5.1.2.2 The Strategy; 4.5.2.5.2 Deadly Incurable Disease- Grid; 4.5.2.5.3 Rewrite Bible Removing “Clobber” Texts; 4.5.2.5.3.1 Love Letter to Pope Francis; 4.5.2.5.3.2 The Sermons of Pr. McDonald; 4.5.2.5.3.3 The False Prophets and Agents; 4.5.2.5.3.4 Removal of Clobber Texts; 4.5.2.5.3.5 No Reprimand for Rebellion;  4.5.3 End-time Significance of Sodom and Gomorrah; 4.5.3.1 Divine Mercy and Space for Repentance; 4.5.3.1.1 The Intercession of Abraham; 4.5.3.2 The City of Sodom; 4.5.3.2.1 The Destruction of Sodom; 4.5.3.2.1.1 The Granting of Lot’s Request; 4.5.3.2.1.2 Lot’s Wife Became a Monument; 4.5.3.2.1.3 Sodom Became A Witness to All Generation; 4.5.3.2.2 Heed Christ’s Offer of Love and Forgiveness; 4.5.3.2.2.1 Present Condition of the Religious World; 4.5.3.2.2.2 The Prescribed Remedy; 4.5.3.2.2.2.1 Deception in “Prosperity and Peace” Preaching; 4.5.3.2.3 The Faith of Abraham; 4.5.3.2.3.1 The Knowledge of God Imparted; 4.5.3.2.3.2 The State of Parents Today; 4.5.3.2.3.2.1 Location of Home; 4.5.3.2.3.2.2 Our Inheritance is an Eternal City; The End.

4.1 Discovery D13 Overview

1. There are three main claims in the discovery of the ancient site of Sodom and Gomorrah.  The latest site of Tall el Hammam, Jordan  (TeH)  in 2013 tends to supersede the first claim in1980 at Bab edh Dhra ( BeD)and Numeira in terms of geography and chronology as professed by the claiming archaeologist, Dr. Collins.

2. The archeological data of Collins team  says the destruction of Sodom occur around 1700 BC by taking a late Exodus (~1250 BC) and a short sojourn of 215 years. Collins posits that the ages of the patriarchs contain an honorific value, or perhaps a symbolic value. This is relying on the artefacts found at a site in order to match similar archaeological era rather than solely taking the historicity and chronology of the Bible as the standard and yardstick. This is the strongest argument against TeH being biblical Sodom. For not a few scholars, the chronology does not seem to fit the biblical record.

3. Tall el-Hammam was a very large city— larger than Hazor for most of its existence during the Bronze Age—located approximately 8.5 miles northeast of the Dead Sea. Bab edh-Dhra was, at best, a small town located near the southeast quadrant of the Dead Sea.

4. On the evidence of fiery destruction, Tall el-Hammam has a thicker destruction layer over a much greater area than both Bab edh- Dhra and Numeira combined. It is TeH that has destruction that cannot be explained as a human attack, but not at BeD. The ashes consisted of some skeletons which is strange as human bodies are incinerated to ashes at crematorium.

5. The visible sites, located southwest of the Dead Sea  and stretching up to the north, is the  discovery by Ron Wyatt, the second claim after the first discovery at Bab edh Dhra and Numeira. The remains of Gomorrah can be seen near Masada at the south western end of the Dead Sea. This is in biblical accordance to being an example for all generation (2Pet 2:6,7: Jud 1:7). (The location of the five cities is in the guided tour by Ross Patterson (at 39:06 minute mark))

6. The wrong understanding has been preached that the Bible says there is the hell fire that burns the wicked forever and ever. Over the centuries in the dark ages, there were horrific pictures painted of God – about torment and torture for those lost. Lots of people rejected God on that basis.

7. The world is repeating the lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah (some 4000 years ago which brought about their destructions by fires from heaven according to the Bible account) based on the documentary made in 2014 revealing the LGBT agenda .The apostasy within the remnant church surfaced in 2016 and getting worse in 2017.

8. Hillary Clinton on human rights day, in 2011, delivered a speech in the palace of nations saying everything is great, we need to further promote the rights of LGBT that homosexual rights equal human right. Certain instructions are sent to all American embassies worldwide and this toolkit says to change cultures and what is necessary to change the system of values, and the culture of the country. Behind it is the big money of the billionaires.

9. The purpose of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a message for end-time and judgment. It is clearly given in Scriptures. The signs of the times tell us we are on the brink of the end of the world. The message on the destruction of Sodom as amplified in “The Patriarch and Prophets” by Ellen G. White – Chapters 12,14  are reviewed.

10. Our only chance to escape the fire of Sodom which is inevitable is to accept Jesus offer of His righteousness, who loved us and bore all our sins and took it to the cross, “that whosoever believedth in Him should not perish, but have  eternal life.“ (Jn 3:15) We are commissioned to proclaim the three angels’ messages as the last warning to the world before the close of the investigative judgment and after which will be the time of trouble that will culminate with the second coming of Jesus to deliver His people.

11/.We must in our discovery tour searching for the true ruins of the sin cities of the plain have found the faith in the word of God. The spiritual discovery (message) of Sodom and Gomorrah far outweighs the physical signs which in this case is to be an example for all generations like the fourth commandment to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exo 20:8).

4.2 Has Sodom and Gomorrah been found?

By typing this question in Google, you will be given at least three claims of three different sites located around the Dead Seas in Israel. Our discovery journey is to consider the information on each of the three sites to form your own opinion as to which discovery is in alignment to the truth in God’s word. We will need to be briefed on the dating of archaeology in order to discern whether the method used is full proof to warrant questioning the historicity of the Bible. We would be discussing about the validity of a lesson for us today by reviewing a documentary on the legalisation of gay marriages that is gaining acceptance in other nations since its implementation by Obama in the U.S in June 25, 2015.

4.2.1 The Biblical Account of Sodom and Gomorrah

(Source: http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/sodom-and-gomorrah.html)

This is a summary on the Biblical account of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. ..The Bible story about the city of Sodom and Gomorrah is a terribly sad story that reminds us just how much God hates sin. During the time of Abraham, three angels came to visit him and two of the angels decided to go visit Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord told Abraham that he was going to destroy the city because of the people’s sin. God also told Abraham that because of his repeated intercessions He would spare the people and not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if he was able to find even 10 people who were righteous. ( Gen 18:1-33)

When the two angels arrived in Sodom and Gomorrah, a man named Lot invited them to stay at his home. Some men from the city came to Lots home demanding to be given the two visitors so they could have sex with them. Lot, trying to defend and protect the angels, offered the men his virgin daughters in their place. As the angry men tried to break into Lot's home, the angels struck the men blind and then the following morning led Lot and his family out of the city. ( Gen 19: 1-11)

As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” 18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” 21 He 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. ) ( Gen 19:17-22)

As Lot's family fled Sodom and Gomorrah, God rained down burning sulfur onto the city. All man, animals and vegetation were destroyed. The angels warned Lot and his family to not look back but his wife did not listen and was immediately turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back. ( Gen 19:23-25)

 27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. 29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. 30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. ( Gen 19:27-30 )

4.3 Sodom at Tall el Hammam, Jordan

http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/has-ancient-biblical-city-of-sodom-been-found/ - Has ancient biblical city of Sodom been found? American archaeologist: 'The site is monstrous'; published: 10/14/2015 at 2:03 PM by Joe Kovacs. This article is reproduced for your reading.

The ancient city of Sodom, which the Bible says was destroyed by God for its wickedness, may have been found according to a team of American archaeologists. This is the third claim, the latest  made public in 2005.

Popular Archaeology reports a 10-year dig headed by Steven Collins of New Mexico’s Trinity Southwest University “has unearthed a goldmine of ancient monumental structures and artifacts that are revealing a massive Bronze Age city-state that dominated the region of Jordan’s southern Jordan Valley, even during a time when many other great cities of the ‘Holy Land’ region were either abandoned or in serious decline.”

The site on the northeastern side of Israel’s Dead Sea is known as Tall el-Hammam.

“Very, very little was known about the Bronze Age in the Middle Ghor (southern Jordan Valley) before we began our excavations in 2005,” Collins told the magazine. “Even most of the archaeological maps of the area were blank, or mostly so. What we’ve got on our hands is a major city-state that was, for all practical purposes, unknown to scholars before we started our project.”

4.3.1 What about the other Cities of the Plain?

Collins says in comparison to the remnants of other ancient cities in the region, Tall el-Hammam is likely the best candidate for the lost city of Sodom, which God firebombed in the Book of Genesis for its astonishing breaking of God’s law.

“Tall el-Hammam seemed to match every Sodom criterion demanded by the text,” Collins explained.

“Theorizing, on the basis of the Sodom texts, that Sodom was the largest of the Kikkar (the Jordan ‘Disk’, or ‘well-watered plain’ in the biblical text) cities east of the Jordan, I concluded that if one wanted to find Sodom, then one should look for the largest city on the eastern Kikkar that existed during the Middle Bronze Age, the time of Abraham and Lot. When we explored the area, the choice of Tall el-Hammam as the site of Sodom was virtually a no-brainer since it was at least five to ten times larger than all the other Bronze Age sites in the entire region, even beyond the Kikkar of the Jordan.”

4.3.2 Features of Ancient Sodom

“The site is monstrous,” Collins added, noting it includes evidence from the Early Bronze Age (3500-2350 B.C.) of a 17-foot thick city wall made of mudbricks that possibly stretched 32 feet high.

There are also associated gates, towers, at least one roadway and plazas.

Collins’ team believes new construction took place during the Middle Bronze Age between 2000 and 1540 B.C. to build a massive defensive rampart system out of mudbricks.

“It was a huge undertaking, requiring millions of bricks and, obviously, large numbers of laborers,” Collins said.

4.3.3 Sins of Sodom & its Destruction

Genesis notes that homosexuality was among the sins of Sodom as two angels who appeared in the form of men were nearly gang-raped by the men of Sodom.

Once the angels struck the attackers with blindness, the Bible says, “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24 King James Version).

Scripture says after God firebombed the region, the patriarch Abraham “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” (Genesis 19:28 KJV).

Jesus Himself spoke of Sodom during His ministry on Earth, and the apostle Peter said the city’s complete destruction is an example of what will happen to those who continue to disobey God’s laws.

“Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people” (2 Peter 2:6 NLT).

4.3.4 Season Activity Report, 2015

This is the concluding section of the tenth report since the archaeological work  began in 2005 at the Tall el Hammam - - http://www.tallelhammam.com/reports.html -season  activity report 2015.

Given its apparently long and stable history as the region's dominant city-state (even flourishing through the catastrophic climatological changes that brought an end to the Levantine Early Bronze Age, ca. 2500 BCE), it's remarkable that Tall el-Hammam and its neighbors (notably Tall Nimrin, likely center of the city-state to Hammam's immediate north) suffered a civilization-ending calamity, uniquely their own, toward the end of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA). While cities to the west (Jerusalem, Bethel, Hebron), north (Deir 'Alla, Pella, Beth Shan), and east (Rabbath-Ammon, Tall al-Umayri, Nebo) continued in the Late Bronze Age, the cities, towns, and villages of the eastern Jordan Disk did not. In fact, from the time of their destruction toward the end of MB2, the eastern Jordan Disk sites remained unoccupied for the next five-to-seven hundred years.  The phenomenon resulting in the destruction of the MBA the well watered plain (= kikkar, disk) of the Jordan" and repelling re-occupation for so many centuries is now coming to light through analyses performed by 'impact' researchers from seven participating universities (multiple publications pending). That the most productive agricultural land in the region, which had supported flourishing civilizations continuously for at least 3,000 years, should suddenly relinquish, then resist, human habitation for such a long period of time has begged investigation. Research results concerning the "3.7KYrBP Kikkar Event" are presently being compiled for publication and presentation.

4.3.4.1 Reoccupation after Divine Destruction

After that long occupational  gap, about 1000 BCE (Iron Age 2, IR2), a few, much smaller towns began to be built over parts of some of the long-buried and overgrown Bronze Age ruins. One such Iron Age town was built on the top of the upper tall at Tall el-Hammam, along with a large number of stone-lined agricultural silos signalling the return of productive farming to the area. Although diminutive in comparison to its predecessor of the distant past, IA2 Tall el-Hammam was fortified, and sports a monumental, four-chambered gateway. No doubt, the readily-available water resources and the commanding views from its heights both played major roles in the selection of Tall el-Hammam as an Iron Age town-site. That occupation ended in late IA2 possibly due to the Babylonian invasion of the region (ca.600 BCE).
 
During the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods, a few structures were built on and around Tall el-Hammam, including what appear to be military garrisons, a water-retention system and/or bath complex and/or palatial residence, and an aqueduct system. It is possible that Hammam marked the eastern entry-point of the city known in Roman and Byzantine times as Livias.
 
All in all, Tall el-Hamman is a magnificent archaeological site that's shedding a great deal of light on the archaeology and history of the southern Jordan Valley and the region.

(The third discovery at Tall el-Hamman brings to question as to whether the first discovery at Bab edh Dhra is not true. We will need to know about the first claim in order to make a right assessment as to the authenticity of either as there is also a second claim.)

4.4 Sodom Located in Bab edh Dhra

http://christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a007.html - Is there any evidence for the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction by fire and brimstone (sulfur)?

This is an earlier claim ( the first one) before Tall el Hammam that the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead Sea. The modern names are Bab edh-Dhra, thought to be Sodom, and Numeira, thought to be Gomorrah. Both places were destroyed at the same time by an enormous conflagration. The destruction debris was about three feet thick. What brought about this awful calamity? Startling discoveries in the cemetery at Bab edh-Dhra revealed the cause. Archaeologists found that buildings used to bury the dead were burned by a fire that started on the roof.

4.4.1 Evidence of the Claim

What would cause every structure in the cemetery to be destroyed in this way? The answer to the mystery is found in the Bible. “Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens” (Genesis 19:24). The only conceivable explanation for this unique discovery in the annals of archaeology is that burning debris fell on the buildings from the air. But how could such a thing happen?

There is ample evidence of subterranean deposits of a petroleum-based substance called bitumen, similar to asphalt, in the region south of the Dead Sea. Such material normally contains a high percentage of sulfur. It has been postulated by geologist Frederick Clapp that pressure from an earthquake could have caused the bitumen deposits to be forced out of the earth through a fault line. As it gushed out of the earth it could have been ignited by a spark or surface fire. It would then fall to Earth as a burning, fiery mass.

It was only after Clapp formulated this theory that Sodom and Gomorrah were found. It turns out that the sites are located exactly on a fault line along the eastern side of a plain south of the Dead Sea, so Clapp's theory is entirely plausible. There is some evidence for this scenario from the Bible itself. Abraham viewed the destruction from a vantage point west of the Dead Sea. The Bible records what Abraham saw: “He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace” (Genesis 19:28). Dense smoke suggests smoke from a petroleum-based fire. Smoke rising like smoke from a furnace indicates a forced draft, such as would be expected from subterranean deposits being forced out of the ground under pressure.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah became an example in the Bible of how God judges sin. “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before Me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49-50).

FOR FURTHER READING (available from Associates for Biblical Research): “The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,” by Bryant G. Wood, Bible and Spade, Summer 1999, pp. 67-80.

4.4.1.1 Corroboration from Institute for Creation Research

http://www.icr.org/article/have-sodom-gomorrah-been-discovered/ - Have Sodom and Gomorrah Been Discovered? by John D. Morris, Ph.D. * Evidence for Creation

Scripture contains several “stories” that have been ridiculed more than others. Of these, the six-day creation, the global Flood, the parting of the Red Sea, the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ, and other spectacular works of God receive special criticism. Another mighty act of God that tends to be disbelieved is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Scoffers, both Christian and secular, have a field day with this biblical event because it not only involves God’s supernatural workings and cataclysmic acts of nature, it also represents God’s righteous judgment of sin. This is hard for people to think about, especially today when the specific sin being judged is homosexual behavior. Did the destruction of these cities really happen? Is there archaeological and geological evidence to support it? Do other ancient writings mention it? Yes, to all.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a certain fact of history. The Genesis account is written in narrative form and alluded to by several other Old Testament writers. Jesus Himself obviously believed it and in fact was an eyewitness as the pre-incarnate Lord. Extra-biblical writings (including tablets unearthed at Ebla) mention Sodom and even give specific references to its location along the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea.

Genesis uses Hebrew action verbs such as “destroy” and “overthrow” to describe the destruction. This does not necessarily infer total annihilation, and thus some remains might have survived. In the early 1970s, Jordanian authorities noticed well-preserved artifacts from ancient times flooding the black market. An investigation led them to an Early Bronze Age graveyard on the southeastern side of the Dead Sea that was in the midst of being plundered. Along five “wadis” (dry riverbeds) flowing westward into the southern Dead Sea, an archaeological survey identified five ruined cities that appear to be the cities of the plain mentioned in Genesis 14:8. The most prominent and northerly one was in ancient times called Bab edh-Dhra, which seems to be the Arabic rendering of Sodom. Next in line was Numeira (Gomorrah), then the modern city of Safi (Zoar or Bela, to which Lot fled and which was not destroyed), then Admah and Zeboiim. The key was finding Zoar. Mentioned in other Scriptures and ancient maps, it led to the discovery of the other nearby ruins.

These five cities had all been situated along the Dead Sea Rift, a major plate boundary. At God’s command the rift ruptured, spewing great quantities of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons high into the atmosphere. These ignited, setting the whole region ablaze and covering it with “fire and brimstone.” Abraham saw the conflagration from Mamre, about 20 miles away. The fiery mixture almost certainly didn’t come from a point source, such as a volcano, but destroyed the whole area along the linear fault. The cities were crushed and burned, just as the Bible describes. The city of Sodom actually straddled a fault, causing half of it to fall about 100 meters. No one survived. Today, numerous bodies remain trapped in the rubble.

Biblical archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood of Associates for Biblical Research located city gates, crushed graves, towers, a temple, the water supply, and thick city walls. Uninhabitable since the destruction, the remains were identified by Dr. Wood as Sodom and Gomorrah. Creation geologist Dr. Steve Austin studied the geological evidence, including the fault zone, the burn layer, the bitumen that erupted, and the city’s calamitous fall to its ruin. Together, they have confirmed the truthfulness of the Genesis account.

4.4.2 Evaluation of Biblical Authenticity

This is a compilation of selected passages from quoted references that are in harmony with the Bible account of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Comments are added in parenthesis regarding any deviation from biblical understanding.

4.4.2.1 Bible Based Geographical Location

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO8t-jDrF7E -Dr. Steven Collins - Confirming the Bible Through Archaeology Apologetics Canada Published on Aug 31, 2012 Apologetics Canada Conference 2011.)

Sodom and Gomorrah is the evidence of the judgment of God against wickedness. It isused by all religion. Koran mention fire came out of the sky on the evil cities at the time of Abraham. Stories of him and Lot are mentioned fifteen times in the Bible.  But Israel archaeological society don’t take it seriously and looking for these cities ( myths and legends) is a waste of time.

The Cities are facts based on geographical location in the Bible that include the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah (SG), no matter what happened. The cities on ancient maps in the Bible are for a reason to enable scholars to use the known from the Biblical text to work on the unknowns using geography to find the location.

Historically SG was considered located north of the Dead Sea in 1888, but modern scholars lined up cities of the plain south of the Dead Sea by completely ignoring Genesis.  William Albright put SG underneath the sea south of the basin. But no cities were found there. He created his own etiological history according to Collins.

Genesis 13, is the only scripture that specifically says Lot claimed the whole land of Jordan, set out towards the East, and lived among the cities of the plain. He pitched his tent near Sodom.

Bible chronology is then converted to archaeological dating system saying that Abraham lived in the Middle Bronze Age (MBA (MB1(1950-1800 BCE; MB2 (1800-1540 BCE))). Gen 10 gives us SG as early Bronze Age (3600-2500 BCE).  According to Collins, these cities were destroyed in the MBA and did not rebuild until 5-7 centuries later in the Iron Age (IA) based on the   9 feet of IA stratum sitting on ash debris.  There was a Sulfurish stench in the ash (desert glass and glaze pottery –cosmic impact and intense heat, bones signifying violent death, but instant death), and MBA potteries.  He confirmed that TeH was destroyed at MB2 ((1800-1540 BCE.) It lived for 2500 years as the cultural centre of the region before God destroyed it.  (Should there be any bones at all, because only ashes remain in the incineration of dead bodies at Crematorium?)

Collins says that the answer to why the fertile region was unoccupied for 5-7 centuries was the Biblical story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Collins says that BeD was destroyed in 2350 BC, well before the time of Abraham. Numeira , founded after 2800 BCE was destroyed in  2600 BCE ( not the same time). They are in the wrong place and the wrong time.

Jericho and Tall el Hammam are exactly on the same elevation  and  equidistant from the Jordan River, one west, the other east. Moses camped at Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab (Num33:49) before crossing the Jordan River to Jericho. This should identify TeH as the site of Sodom. He also pointed out the site of Canaanite temple in Sodom where they were excavating.   He emphatically speculated that it was this spot where Moses placed the ark of the covenant.

Collins maintains that if we can’t trust the Bible on what we can see and test and dig up, then, any other revelation can’t be trusted.

4.4.2.2 Comparison of Tall el-Hammam with Bab edh-Dhra

(Which Site is Sodom? A Comparison of Bab edh-Dhra and Tall el-Hammam (BRB XIV.1) by Craig Olson, Ph.D.( Article from http://www.tallelhammam.com/home.html  in Related Publications – the last article.)

This is Olson’s quest to discover and evaluate the relative merits of these two sites. He posed that a positive identification of Sodom would help confirm the historicity of one of the most infamous episodes in biblical history. But a premature identification that later turns out to be false could destroy people’s faith in the accuracy of the Genesis narratives. The discovery of Sodom could enhance our knowledge and understanding of the patriarchal geography and chronology. Such a discovery might reveal new information that challenges long-held assumptions. This article is an attempt to determine which of these two sites is the best candidate for Sodom. (It could be that both may fall short of the biblical account.)

In Genesis 13:5, the dispute between Abram’s men and Lot’s men is over grazing land. Why would Lot’s party bypass the abundant fertile grazing land around TeH for the arid region of BeD where grazing land is sparse at best?

4.4.2.2.1 Geographical Location Consideration

Certain traditions have long pointed to the southern end of the Dead Sea as the location for Sodom, including the fact that there is a Mount Sodom to the south west of the Dead Sea, and several pillars of salt in that area that have been called “Lot’s wife”. However, there is no evidence that any population has ever lived on or around that area. Not to mention the fact that the area is not “well watered,” nor is it a “plain,” nor is it east from Bethel/Ai,

So in the “Text” category, Tall el-Hammam is easily favored. Genesis 13 is very clear, and TeH fits every detail. The other passages (Gen 10, 14, 19) are not as clear, and they do not favor BeD in any case.

4.4.2.2.2 Biblical Timeframe Consideration

Does the Date of the Occupation/ Destruction Favor One Site? This is the strongest argument against TeH being biblical Sodom. For not a few scholars, the chronology does not seem to fit the biblical record. TeH was destroyed in the Middle Bronze age—ca. 1700+/–BC.

This final destruction occurred “before 1600 BC.” After the massive destruction of TeH and all the cities surrounding it, the area was unoccupied for about 700 years, though a walled town was built atop the upper tall during the Iron Age II. There was also a small “garrison” and bathhouse built during the Greco-Roman period. This vast destruction seems to fit the profile described in Genesis 19 for the destruction of Sodom. But E. Merrill and others assert that the chronology does not fit with the biblical timeframe for Abraham’s life. For Merrill the issue concerns the priority of evidence from either the biblical text, or the archeological Tall. He sees this as an either/or situation. If the two are in conflict, the priority must go to the biblical text.  There is the need for proper methodological analysis and interpretation.

4.4.2.2.2.1 Confirmation of Bible Chronology- Early Exodus

It is because we believe in the truthfulness of Scripture that we seek to align it with known facts. So, which is more likely to be in error, the identification of TeH as Sodom, or our interpretation of the numbers in the Bible? The argument involves the numbers in Genesis- Exodus for three events: the date of the Exodus, the length of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, and the length of lifetimes for the patriarchs. It must be admitted that taking these numbers literally does seem to indicate Abraham lived closer to the year 2000 BC than to 1700+/– BC. This is not an insignificant discrepancy, so we will examine each set of numbers individually. The Date of the Exodus The early Exodus view takes the numbers in 1 Kings 6:1 (480 years from the Exodus to the 4th year of Solomon’s reign) and Judges 11:26 (300 years from just prior to the conquest until his day) at face value. The fourth year of Solomon’s reign can be dated with the help of the Assyrian Eponym Canon to 966 BC. Once that date is known, adding 480 years gives a date of the Exodus at 1446 BC. That would mean the Pharaoh of the Exodus is Amenhotep II (1450-1425 BC). This corresponds with Jephthah’s comment that the Conquest occurred 300 years prior to his days in the 11th century BC. These two biblical references seem to present a solid biblical case for this view. (This serves as a true datum in dating the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah)

4.4.2.2.2.2 Late Exodus by Archaeological Data

The archeological data also lean toward the late Exodus. Actually it is possible to keep the unusually long patriarchal lifespans and still have the destruction of Sodom occur around 1700 BC by taking a late Exodus (~1250 BC) and a short sojourn of 215 years. Collins opts for what he terms a middle date for the Exodus (1406 BC), though it is essentially in agreement with the early date (1446 BC). He also holds to a short sojourn in Egypt. However, Collins posits that the ages of the patriarchs contain an honorific value, or perhaps a symbolic value. (This is relying on the artefacts found at a site in order to match similar archaeological era rather than solely taking the historicity and chronology of the Bible as the standard and yardstick. (See par 4.4.2.2.4 The Science in Archaeology). 

For many scholars the time frame that fits Abraham’s life best is the Middle Bronze Age (1950–1540 BC), not the earlier Intermediate Bronze Age (2350– 1950 BC). K. A. Kitchen has listed many lines of external evidence that “tie Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/Joseph to the overall period circa 1900-1600 (2000-1500 at the outermost limits).”

“The excavator of Tall el-Hammam insists that by identifying the site as Sodom he is supporting the historicity of the Bible. In fact, if his theory is true, we cannot trust the Bible for accurate details about times and places.” But this overstates his case. If TeH is Sodom, we can absolutely trust the Bible about places, but we may need to reexamine our assumptions about how the ancients used numbers. (This is doubting the truth in the inspired word of God.)

4.4.2.2.3 Evidence of Fiery Destruction

Both Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira show signs of violent destruction at the end of the Early Bronze III period, as do the other towns at the southern end of the Dead Sea.

Schaub and Rast believe Bab edh-Dhra was destroyed by a human assault, not an earthquake or a spontaneous ignition.

Tall el-Hammam has a thicker destruction layer over a much greater area than both Bab edh- Dhra and Numeira combined. It is TeH that has destruction that cannot be explained as a human attack, not the other sites. The evidence unearthed at TeH displays an incredibly consistent “Late Bronze Age gap.” The pottery and other artifacts show constant occupation through the Middle Bronze age, then complete abandonment of the entire area for 600-700 years, until Iron Age II. So if the evidence of a fiery destruction is the best archaeological evidence for BeD being Sodom, then the debate is already lost.

When Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira were proposed as locations for Sodom and Gomorrah there were no other acceptable options. In 1924, when the renowned archaeologist W. F. Albright advocated the southern end of the Dead Sea as the best option to locate the Cities of the Plain, that seemed the most likely area to search for them. Since Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira are the only cities of any size in this region, their identification is understandable. Add to that the fact that they were destroyed by fire, within a few hundred years of an early date for Abraham’s life, and one has the makings of a match.

For many archaeologists Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira are too small, not in the right geographical area, and were not destroyed in the appropriate time frame to be considered as Sodom and Gomorrah. However, if a northern location for Sodom is not ruled out a priori, then we have a much more likely candidate for Sodom at Tall el-Hammam. It is instructive to note that even among those who disagree with Collins’ identification of TeH with Sodom not everyone is convinced BeD is Sodom.

In 1980, the site of Bab edh-Dhra was proposed as a possible site for Sodom. And in 2013, Tall el-Hammam was proposed as the site of Sodom. Both sites display evidence of a fiery destruction. Both are near the Dead Sea, and have smaller satellite towns. Bab edh-Dhra has a nearby town called Numeira that some identify as Gomorrah, while for Tall el-Hammam the most likely candidate for Gomorrah is Tall Kafrayn. However, there are significant  differences  between these two sites. Tall el-Hammam was a very large city— larger than Hazor for most of its existence during the Bronze Age—located approximately 8.5 miles northeast of the Dead Sea. Bab edh-Dhra was, at best, a small town located near the southeast quadrant of the Dead Sea.

4.4.2.2.4 The Science in Archaeology

(http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dating-in-archaeology/ - Dating in Archaeology, article by Michel Gagné published 01/23/13, last edited 03/04/15)

This is a short review of Archaeology in order to understand that it is not an exact science. Natural sciences Like Geology, Biology, Anthropology, Archaeology, etc. are founded on the Darwin’s Theory of Evolution which is not biblical. ( See D2 –Darwinism; and Wp5c Day of the Lord, par5.4.2.5.1.1.2.1 Famous “Evolution Theory” Perpetrators of Satan; 5.4.2.5.1.1.2.2 Jesuit formulated“Big Bang Theory” at http://www.wakeupow.com/159912050). The discipline of Archaeology involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research.

4.4.2.2.4.1 Dating of Archaeology Site

For those researchers working in the field of human history, the chronology of events remains a major element of reflection. Archaeologists have access to various techniques for dating archaeological sites or the objects found on those sites. There are two main categories of dating methods in archaeology: indirect or relative dating and absolute dating. Relative dating includes methods that rely on the analysis of comparative data or the context (eg, geological, regional, cultural) in which the object one wishes to date is found. This approach helps to order events chronologically but it does not provide the absolute age of an object expressed in years. Relative dating includes different techniques, but the most commonly used are soil stratigraphy analysis and typology.

On the other hand, absolute dating includes all methods that provide figures about the real estimated age of archaeological objects or occupations. These methods usually analyze physicochemical transformation phenomena whose rate are known or can be estimated relatively well. This is the only type of techniques that can help clarifying the actual age of an object. Absolute dating methods mainly include radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology and thermoluminescence. Inspired by geology, stratigraphy uses the principle of the superposition of strata which suggests that, in a succession of undisturbed SOILS, the upper horizons are newer than the lower ones.

4.4.2.2.4.1.1 Stratigraphic Dating

Stratigraphic dating remains very reliable when it comes to dating objects or events in undisturbed stratigraphic levels. For example, the oldest human remains known to date in Canada, found at Gore Creek, have been dated using soil stratification. The bones were buried under (and are therefore older) a layer of ash that resulted from a volcanic eruption dating back to 7000 years BP (Before Present; "present" indicates c. 1950). Subsequently, radiocarbon dating, an absolute dating technique, was used to date the bones directly and provided a date of 8250 BP, showing how useful the combined used of relative and absolute dating can be.

4.4.2.2.4.1.2 Typology

Typology is a method that compares reference objects in order to classify them according to their similarity or dissimilarity and link them to a specific context or period. This technique is frequently used when it is impossible to make use of absolute dating methods; it generally allows archaeologists to identify the period to which a cultural site or object belongs, without specifying the date of occupation.

4.4.2.2.4.1.3 Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon dating is the most widely used dating technique in archaeology. It relies on a natural phenomenon that is the foundation of life on earth. Indeed, carbon 14 (14C) is formed from the reaction caused by cosmic rays that convert nitrogen into carbon 14 and then carbon dioxide by combining with carbon 12 (12C) and carbon 13 (13C ), which are stable carbon isotopes. (The inaccuracy in this method is shown in dating Granite rock by Dr Robert V. Gentry  in  D11,Discovery of Earth’s Age, par  3.1 The Work of Dr R.V. Gentry at http://www.discoverylifediy.com/432560781)

4.4.2.3 Scientific Evidence by John Black

http://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-science/sodom-gomorrah-scientific-evidence-00358?nopaging=1 - Sodom & Gomorrah - Scientific Evidence , 19 April, 2013 - 16:55 John Black

The Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of greatest mass destructions caused by God. The question remains, is it a true story or not? Biblical Archaeologists believe that it is a true story, but either internal earth gasses or the impact of an asteroid has always substantiated their reasoning. We have already analysed the story from Bible’s perspective. Now we will investigate the story from science’s perspective to see where the truth may lay.

To recap, the men of Sodom were wicked and disobedient to God, defying his power and his authority. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was thus the result of this behaviour. According to Biblical archaeologists, the story must have happened near the Dead Sea or the ‘cities of the plain’ as mentioned in Genesis (13:12), as Abraham could look upon the two prehistoric cities in ancient Israel from the area of Hebron.

Archaeologist Steven Collins, using information from the Bible and archaeological evidence from the site of Tall el-Hammam in Jordan, suggested that he located Sodom to the northeast of the Dead Sea. However, his suggestion has not been accepted by other biblical archaeologists for two reasons: a) geographical misplacement and b) chronological misplacement. Therefore, if Tall el-Hammam is indeed Sodom then the Bible cannot be used as a rule for accurate dates and locations. (The geographical location of Tall el-Hammam actually align with some of the bible verses relating to the site.)

Another, more popular, opinion is that the cities of Bab dh-Dhra and Numeira, which are the only known inhabited towns in the region of the Dead Sea for the period of time between 3000 BCE and 1000 BCE, could be the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah respectively. Both of these towns were simultaneously destroyed at the end of the Early Bronze III( EB3 -  period by an enormous fire so big as to create debris three feet thick. The question here is what could have caused such destruction? The excavations in the area point to falling burning debris. This is where geologist Frederick Clapp suggests that a release of the subterranean substance called bitumen (a derivative of petroleum) during an earthquake may account for the debris. According to his theory, it ignited in the air and led to a shower of flaming debris that destroyed both of the cities.( This is not in agreement with Gen 15:24,25)

Another theory that has created debate between archaeologists is based on an Assyrian clay tablet showing that an asteroid may have destroyed the two cities. A Sumerian astronomer inscribed this Cuneiform clay tablet around 700 BCE. It shows the trail of an asteroid hitting Kofels in Austria around 3000 BCE, which also may account for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (The Sumerians lived in the same period as the Sodomites. To the Sumerian who wrote this he must have heard of the destruction and based on his understanding about asteroids  thought it was so. This is scientific assumption devoid of spiritual understanding  on God’s divine judgment)

He concluded by saying: In both suggestions, the descriptions of such events by ancient people could very well identify with the description in Genesis:

“Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” Genesis 19:24

Yet until definite proof is presented, we must ask ourselves if the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah could have been the result of ‘God’s’ actions? ( On this stand the test of our faith in the word of God.)

(This leads us to consider the third claim, the discovery by Ron Wyatt, a layperson’s private archaeological search), that therofessional archaeologists would not consider as it was to them unscientific and not in accordance to archaeological protocol and standard.)

4.5 Visible Sodom and Gomorrah Sites – Discovery of Ron Wyatt

(http://www.ronwyatt.com/sodom_and_gomorrah.html - Ron Wyatt's Discovery of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the Cities of the Plain)

This discovery by Ron Wyatt is the second claim (after the first discovery at Bab edh Dhra and Numeira, located southeast of the Dead Sea). Ron Wyatt was a lay person who diligently studied the Bible that led him and his wife on a private quest in search for the truth in the Middle East, particularly in Israel. One of the outcome is the visible sites of the five cites. They are found on the western side of the Dead Sea and the best preserved one just below Masada is Gomorrah , Sodom below and the other two to the north.

In the early 1980's Ron Wyatt noticed the strange appearance of some "formations" as he passed along the shores of the Dead Sea. They looked to him like city walls and buildings, only whitish in color. For many years, he did nothing about his suspicions but in 1989, Ron discovered something that convinced him that these whitish colored formations weren't just geological formations.

Ron found a road that had been cut through some of the whitish material and the freshly exposed interior of the material displayed a layering effect which swirled in such a manner as to make it obvious that these were more than geological layers.

In searching the Bible for clues to their locations, Ron and his wife Mary Nell found scripture references that mention four of the cities as forming part of the boundaries of the Canaanites:

"And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha." ......Genesis 10:19

It would be strange for Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim to each be listed as boundary markers if they were all in the same general location, at the south end of the Dead Sea. It is logical that the cities would be located at some distance from each other in order for it to be necessary to include each of them as boundary markers.

Ron's location of the sites he had found were, indeed, scattered over a distance of over fifty or more miles. One of them was located North of Jericho which was in perfect accord with scripture which indicates that Zeboim would be located North of the Dead Sea.

Later in 1989, Ron and Mary Nell Wyatt visited the site just below Masada and took samples of the whitish material which broke right off in their hands and disintegrated into particles the consistency of talcum powder.  At that time, Mary Nell actually found one of the brimstone capsules imbedded in a piece of compacted ash, however, no conclusion was drawn, at that time, as to what it was.

Read “The Amazing Story of Ron Wyatt's Discovery of the Cities of the Plain” by Mary Nell Wyatt at  http://www.ronwyatt.com/s_g_the_story_of_the_discovery.html (Originally published in Newsletter # 10, January 1995.)

4.5.1 Ron Wyatt’s Discovery Story

This is the account firstly on the study of bible verses that will point to the likely sites and the ensuing investigation of the likely sites that are most likely by Ron Wyatt and his small team. The sites are against the prevalent theories of Bible scholars and archaeologists who have are located 5 archaeological sites on the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea.

4.5.1.1 The Preliminary Investigation Described by Mary Wyatt (some excerpts)

- These 5 sites are 500 feet above the plain on a plateau, not the plain as is so specifically stated in the Bible. Also, they are far too small to have been cities- the largest was 10 acres and the next was 2 acres.

- The sites were not concentrated at the southern end of the Dead Sea but instead were spread out over many, many miles,- from just below the southern tip of the Dead Sea to about 10 or so miles above the northern tip.

-It seemed logical that the cities were to be located along at least "some" distance to all be included in this Biblical description of the borders of Canaan. (Based on Gen 10:19 - And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Adnah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.)

- The location of the last site, which would have been Zeboim, that I found the most incredible. He had said it was several miles above the northern end of the Dead Sea, past Jericho. I searched the Bible for any clues and found a most exciting one in 1 Samuel 13:16.

- Zeboim, the name of the city was preserved throughout the years even though the city was long ago destroyed, just as Mt. Sodom even today still bears the name "Sodom". Israel had displaced the Canaanites- Zeboiim was a border city of Canaan, and now it's ashen remains were a border of Israel.

- Later in 1989, we visited the site just below Masada and took samples of the whitish material which we all discovered broke right off in our hands and disintegrated into particles the consistency of talcum powder. It certainly LOOKED like ash! But what to do about this information was a puzzle. After all, these sites have been right out in plain sight since their destruction in about 1897 BC.

 4.5.1.1.1 Additional Supporting Bible Verses

- Abraham when he returned from Egypt went to the region of Bethel. And with him was Lot, his nephew. At this time, the decision is made that they should split up because the land simply wouldn't accommodate all of their herds, along with the herds of the native inhabitants of the region. So, Abraham asks Lot what land he wants, giving him first choice.- Gen 13:2

- While standing in the region of Bethel, obviously high on a hilltop, Lot looked and saw the Jordan Valley. Now this is quite a distance away, and because of the mountains, only the northern end of this valley could be seen-certainly not as far south as Sodom or Gomorrah. – Gen 13:10

- So, as Lot journeyed through the plain, he had to travel slowly, taking his flocks with him. Wherever he stopped along the way, he had to have enough pasture land for the animals. And when he finally settled in Sodom, he still had to have pasture land for his flocks. This indicates that there was pasture land near the city. The sites Ron located are all several miles apart, with plenty of land between them.

4.5.1.1.2 Visible Evidence for Posterity

- The Biblical account tells of a conflagration in which balls of brimstone (sulfur) rained down from heaven (the atmosphere), completely burning the cities up.- Genesis 19:24

- the 5 sites on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea (Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira, etc.) have failed to note that they are NOT ashen. They contain some burnt artifacts, but they also contain food-stuffs and other articles that are still intact.

- Peter said they were ashes, and he also states that the cities were an "ensample" ("that is shown or visible")  to those "that after should live ungodly."

- Jude also writes along those same lines, presenting these cities as proof of the reward of the wicked -JUD 1:7

4.5.1.2 Location of the Five Sites

Each of the 5 sites were finally checked for sulfur balls.- Ron and his team completed this except for one site- the site of "Zeboim", north of Jericho. In January of 1991, we found the site was now off-limits, behind the fencing that comprises the "neutral zone" along the Jordan River. With 3 strands of barbed wire running along the top, we decided we had better just wait for a better time.

4.5.1.2.1 Zoar

The site, "Zoar", is located just below a checkpoint, and we didn't want to bring a lot of attention to our being there, so we quietly explored this one, finding the sulfur balls plainly exposed in the ashen structures.

4.5.1.2.2 Sodom

Sodom was by far the largest site, and a bit more difficult to get to. It is located behind Mt. Sodom in the plain that extends right up to the mountains, and it requires more walking and difficult climbing to get to. But, the sulfur balls were there also.

4.5.1.2.3 Gomorrah

The sites have suffered a tremendous amount of erosion and the best preserved, by far, is "Gomorrah".  (Gomorrah is located on the shoreline south of Masada.)

4.5.1.2.4 Admah

The site, "Admah", at the northern end of the Dead Sea, is exposed to a great deal of wind as it is located in an area not as well protected by the mountains. Also, its ash has turned sort of brownish on the outside, probably due to something in the wind settling on it. Whenever a section breaks away, the pure white color can still be seen inside.

4.5.1.2.5 Zeboim

 As mentioned earlier, Zeboim, the name of the city was preserved throughout the years even though the city was long ago destroyed, just as Mt. Sodom even today still bears the name "Sodom". Israel had displaced the Canaanites- Zeboiim was a border city of Canaan, and now it's ashen remains were a border of Israel.

These cities, with the exception of "Zoar", were not small- they were very, very large with populations in the thousands. We know that the entire plain was a lush, beautiful area, compared with the Garden of Eden in the Bible. We also know that the Jordan River most likely, at that time, flowed all the way down to the Gulf of Aqaba. All rivers, with the exception of one that we know of in Africa, flow to either a sea, ocean or at least a lake. At the time Sodom and Gomorrah existed, we are told that where the Dead Sea now is, was a "vale" or valley that was full of "slime pits", meaning it oozed bitumen. Since the cities were said to be in the plain, not in the valley, this proves that they were not covered by the waters of the sea. It also explains something else.

There are a lot more written to substantiate that the sites are in harmony with biblical accounts. Go to http://www.ronwyatt.com/searching_for_the_city_of_the_plains.html ,to  see some of the aerial views of the sites.

4.5.1.3 Criticism of Ron Wyatt Discovery

(Have the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah been found? Lorence G. Collins November 15, 2015 - www.csun.edu/~vcgeo005/Sodom.pdf )

November 15, 2015 INTRODUCTION Ross Paterson, Ron Wyatt, and other young-earth creationists (YEC), claim in four videos that they have found the remains of five ancient cities (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah) that were destroyed by a biblical “fire and brimstone” storm (Genesis 18:16 to 19:29).

Observations and geologic evidence presented in this article do not negate the possibility that some kind of catastrophic event occurred in biblical times that destroyed these cities, but the data show that the supposed buildings, temples, sphinxes, and ziggurats do not exist in this part of Israel. Therefore, what YEC suggest are the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah is incorrect. YEC, who have no training in basic geology, chemistry, and microbiology and imagine processes that are impossible, break the natural laws that the Creator made.

4.5.1.4 Ron Wyatt Deathbed Confirmation

https://jonah135588.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/deathbed-confession-of-ron-wyatt-discoverer-of-the-ark-of-the-covenant/

Ron Wyatt died after a lengthy battle with cancer last Wednesday, (August 4, 1999, aged 66 ) but his quest to provide information that would lead to more people accepting the teachings of the Bible continues at Wyatt Archeological Research, a non-profit, non-denominational organization in Tennessee.

Wyatt was working as a nurse anesthetist in a hospital in Madison, Tennessee,[1] when in 1960, he saw a picture in Life of the Durupınar site, a boat-like shape on a mountain near Mount Ararat. The resulting widespread speculation in evangelical Christian circles that this might be Noah's Ark started Wyatt on his career as an amateur archaeologist. He made quite a number of sites related to the Bible.

Reached just before his death, the telephone interview with Wyatt was to last only a few minutes because of his very weak condition. He actually spoke for nearly an hour. A few days later, Wyatt succumbed to the disease.

Wyatt was asked to describe his spiritual growth since his discoveries. What is the difference in his gospel understanding before the discoveries and since?

Wyatt added that it has been his role to do more than just dig up interesting artifacts. He accepted the added responsibility to explain the religious significance of the items he found.

Ron’s main goal in life was to “help somebody get to heaven.” When considering an archaeological project, Ron’s main consideration was “Will it help somebody get to heaven?” He would always say: “If it won’t help somebody get to heaven I don’t want to do it."- Richard  Rivers , President WAR

The Wyatt Archeological Research (WAR) group maintains a small museum in Tennessee where the evidence and work of Ron Wyatt can be examined and studied. The death of Mr. Wyatt is not expected to stop the effort of telling the world about the findings, according to a spokesman. There are independent ministries and websites promoting Wyatt's discoveries outside the framework set by WAR.

WorldNetDaily has examined extensive evidence regarding the various claims and discoveries made by Wyatt for several weeks. Several critics have been found who have voiced their opinion that the work of Wyatt Archaeological Research is fraudulent, but evidence to support those charges cannot be found.

The evidence is sufficient to conclude that Wyatt’s team conducted the claimed archeological digs and investigations. WorldNetDaily is not qualified to determine the value of the evidence.

Wyatt was given a deathbed opportunity to either reaffirm or recant his claims. He chose to reaffirm all that he has claimed without hesitation.”

4.5.1.5 Guided Tour of Ron Wyatt Discovery

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBCs4wexgRk  (1:18:46)– “Sodom & Gomorrah - true location found” by Ross Patterson, published on Feb 28, 2014

Ross Patterson is one of team members who is active in proclaiming that Ron Wyatt discovery is the original site of the sin cities of the plain.

Patterson main purpose is to tell the sceptics who treat bible as fairy tales that God has left behind some very compelling evidence for his miracles. The Bible story on the divine judgment and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in particular, is important for us to take heed of, as if we don't we may have the same fate.

Of the critics, two renown professors  are cited: Theodor Noldeke (1836-1930 Prof of Oriental studies , Germany -“The whole story of Sodom and Gomorrah is unhistorical and comparatively late in origin.”; and J Maxwell Miller  Prof. Emeritus at Emory University , author of A history of Ancient Israel and Israelite and Judean History– “These narratives of Sodom and Gomorrah are purely products of the storyteller’s art, which of course raises serious questions about their usefulness for historical reconstruction”

Apart from the Bible, the other source was from Josephus: “The country of Sodom .. be now burned up.. there are still remainders of that Divine fire, and the traces of the five cities are still to be seen” -Josephus- Wars of the Jews, Bk 4, Ch 8, pt 4 ( 2000 years ago).

“I have seen it , and  the pillar of salt, which was Lot’s wife)  remains to this day” - Antiquities of the Jews, Bk 1, Ch 11- Josephus ( Possibly this pillar is still there at the site.)

The discovery in 1975 of the Ebla tablets (written in cuneiform) in Tell Mardikh, Syria, dated 2400-2500 BC about the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, provided the other source. There is the mention of Sodom and Gomorrah as the two sin cities. One tablet stated that Ebla had a population of 260,000. One tablet listed Sodom. Gomorrah, Admah, Zebolim, and Zoar in the same order as the Bible ( Gen 14:2)  This finding revived the trust in the Bible.

See the illustrated narrative of Ron Wyatt’s main findings in Gomorrah which will go over the main points already discussed but in greater details. (14:17-41:46)  The map showing the five cities  is at 39:06. The volcanic destruction of Pompeii which still retained all the buildings intact and preserved, including human skeletons It is unlike Sodom and Gomorrah where everything was incinerated. There is only ashes with some pieces of embedded charcoal (39:35- 41:22) Then there is a video (16 min. duration ) which shows some of the sites  of Ron’s discovery ( 41:37- 57:46)

Clarification of the “cooked brimstone from Gomorrah ( 32:55-35:20; 56:41-57:18)  is provided by comparing it with the geothermal region Sulphur, whose crystal structure is rhombic ( yellow Sulphur) very different from brimstone. The white colour of the brimstone is the result of intense heat for a period of time as it happened in Gomorrah. The city built of limestone (CaCO3) had Sulphur and fire rained upon the buildings and the CaSO4 is the by product, the white ashen remains ( monoclinic Sulphur) . This is the bible account in 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;” and Jud 1:7  “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

4.5.1.5.1 Visible Reminder of Sodom and Gomorrah  (57: 50 )

The most important lesson about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah  by divine fire is taught here The Bible use Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of what will happen to the wicked who will be suffering the vengeance ( hell) of  eternal (divine judgment) fire. These fires are no longer burning after all matters are burnt. The wrong understanding has been preached that the Bible says there is the hell fire that burns the wicked forever and ever. Over the centuries in the dark ages, there were horrific pictures painted of God – about torment and torture for those lost. Lots of people rejected God on that basis with the question, “How could God be so cruel to punish for a short life of sin?” It is Satan, the adversary of Christ, the dark prince of this world, who deliberately spread the distorted picture of God as an eternal torturer. Will God be responsible for continuing sin and even increasing it by continuing torment?  The Bible never says that the wicked go directly to hell when they die and is suffering unending punishment before the judgment day, the day of the Lord.

The Good news in the Bible is all about the God of love who has sent His only Son to reconcile us to Himself through Jesus who has borne all our sins and died on the cross to redeem us from the second (eternal) death.  The Bible is clear that there is a heaven to win and a hell to shun.

4.5.1.5.1.1 Hell Fire and Eternal Suffering (1:00:37)

The final section is the explanation on the distorted interpretation about Hell fire in the Bible. Nobody is in any Hell fire for “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:”- 2 Pet 2:9 (there are other verses- Job 21:30; Matt 13:29-43 )

The Hell fire follows after judgment. All the people who died, the good and the wicked sleep in the grave. The good will be resurrected in the first resurrection of life and the wicked  in the second resurrection for condemnation  ( Jn 5:28-29 ) where they will be cast into the furnace of fire –( Matt 13:40-42). This Hell fire is called the second death in Rev 21:8 which cannot occur until after the resurrection of damnation.

Where will this Hell fire be? On the earth  (after the third advent of Christ) that fire comes down from heaven - Rev 20:9  

How long will it last for? Once the fire has done its work it will go out (Sodom and Gomorrah are no longer burning) - Jud 7; Isa 47:14

The meaning of everlasting Aionios (Gk fire) doesn’t always mean without end. It depends on the subject it is talking about.  (Mat 18:8; 25:41) thus.  “Tormented for ever and ever” (Aion) Rev 20:10-  “Aion” does not always mean without end.  However when used in reference to the saved ( Matt 13:39) it only means without end because they receive immortality. But the wicked are mortal who can die and must die. This is explained in in Mal 4:1 “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” and Mal 4:3 “And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. “

Unquenchable fire spoken in the Bible  just means that it can be quenched- Jer 17:27 – Jerusalem was destroyed by  an unquenchable  fire  ( meaning it could not be quenched when it was burning and yet it is not burning  since it exhausted itself- cf  2 Chron 36:19-21.

The definition of “Wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life”- (Rom 6:23) and  Jn 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  This is referring to” flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God” (2The 1:8), “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction” (2 The 1:9). Therefore the punishment for sin is not eternal life but you perish.

How big and how hot will it be? 2Pet 3:10  - Hell fire will be as big as the world and it will be hot enough to burn up all traces of Satan and  all sinners who are his deceived followers. God is going to cleanse the whole surface of the earth with intense fire and then He is going o create a new earth that is pure and holy for the saints.

The wicked people will be totally destroyed by hell fire, i.e.-“shall be cut off”  Ps 37:9; “shall be slain” Ps 62:3, “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be”Ps 37:10, “Fire shall devour them” Ps21:9, “They shall as though they had never been” Oba 1:15; “the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume away.” Ps 37:20; “death”Rom 6:23; “Destruction”Job 21:30; “Perish”Ps 37:20; “Burn up”Mat 4:1; “Destroyed “ Ps 37:38.

Where was Hell fire taught in in the heavenly sanctuary ? David said he was envious of the prosperity of the wicked until He went into the sanctuary of God; then he understood   (Ps 73:3,17) – The sacrifice system instituted in burning of the sacrifices who bore the confessed sins of the sinners.

What gets burned up?  Jesus said it is better to cut off the the right hand ithat is contaminated so that the whole body  would not die ( “cast into hell”) (Mat 5:30). “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mat 10:28.  There is no separation of body and soul and the entire body and soul perish together. The breath of life is returned to God. There is no truth that the consciousness floats away and lives on forever ( the greatest lie of Satan). Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God.

Many people have the picture that the Devil in charge of Hell with his pitch fork. The Bible says “.. the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone..” Rev 20:10.  Jesus came “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”  Heb 2:14. “I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee…’’ “and never shalt thou be any more.”  Eze 28:18-19 (prophecy in Ezekiel that Satan is destined for Hell. )

Is God looking forward to doing this? The Bible says that the work of destroying sinners is foreign to God’s nature?  “No pleasure in the death of the wicked”  and pleading to them to “turn from your evil ways: for why will ye die?”Eze 33:11. “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.“- Jesus’ mission, Luk 9:56. The destruction of the wicked is God’s “strange act” Isa 28:21.

Once God has done His works then  we see God’s  post-hell plan for the earth. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away… And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away Rev 21: 1,4. “I create new heavens and a new earth” Isa 65:17.

Sin will not continue forever. God will make“ an Utter end :sin shall not rise up the second time” Nah 1:9. Hell fire was actually “.. prepared for he devil and his angels.” Mat 25:41. God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  2 pet 3:9.  Hell fire was never planned for human beings at all. Sadly anyone who chooses to follow the devil will follow him into the flame. It is their choice to follow the devil.

How do we reconcile a God of love with a god who would  torments sinners for all eternity?  God is love is the Bible’s main theme.  There is going to be a punishment for the wicked that will end once it is finished. It will be a brief and swift act so that we will have a clean universe.

No one will be left out of heaven because they lied, stole or committed adultery. The only reason they refused to turn away from sin into the arms of a loving savior who stands ready to pardon and cleanse   from all unrighteousness.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jn 3:16.  The only reason anyone will be left out of heaven is because they did not come to the Saviour who will forgive and pardon. They did not ask for their sins to be forgiven.  Jesus is waiting to accept you and forgive all your sins. If you choose not to accept His invitation the result is the consequence of eternal death.

(See an earlier discussion at  http://www.wakeupow.com/159912050 Wp5c Day of the Lord, par 5.4.3.1.2.3 The Doctrine of Hell; 5.4.3.1.2.3.1 Catholic Catechism on Hell; 5.4.3.1.2.3.1.1 Loyola’s Spiritual Exercise- meditation on Hell; 5.4.3.1.2.3.1.2 Impact of Hell Doctrine; 5.4.3.1.2.3.2 The Quran Perspective; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3 The Biblical Doctrine on Hell; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.1 The Meaning of Eternal Fire; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.2 The Purpose of the Eternal Fire; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3Perspective on View of God; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3.1 False Conception of God; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3.2 View of God Survey in America; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3.3 Source on the True View of God; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3.3.1 The Importance of Doctrines; 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3.3.2 The Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists (SDA); 5.4.3.1.2.3.3.3.3.3 The True View of God)

(The next section concerns why this warning about divine judgment  (with the visible reminder of the ashen cities of Sodom and Gomorrah) is so urgent  for the world today.)

4.5.2 The LGBT Influence

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbjfkfgBE94 – ( 57:43) Sodom & Gomorrah & The LGBT Agenda Revealed : as in Days of Noah, Same Shit Different Day... (documentary made in 2014) and published on Dec 14, 2016

The world is repeating the lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah (some 4000 years ago which brought about their destructions by fires from heaven according to the Bible account)  based on this documentary made in 2014. It begins with scenes in Italy and stating that the Phoenician demon stuffing his belly with human sacrifices is still devouring youths and children today.  The world is called to cultivating sin by officially calling it as LGBT (Lesbian, Homosexual, bisexual and transgender). These communities reject the moral principle of traditional family and evil is now called virtue, and darkness light. Sin and debauchery are becoming a cult.  Sin is being justified by aesthetic. 

The scarious thing in European civilisation is the substitutional concepts  where homosexual can now become priest.  An evangelical pastor Niels Huchthausen (Berlin) says homosexual is normal. She (male) says “She has been living with my husband for many years,” and is not convinced about Sodom and Gomorrah. It is written in the Bible that sodomy is sin. Such sin is not accepted in the kingdom of heaven says Paul. He has warned that such people would be around in the last days.

4.5.2.1 The Rainbow Flag Gay Movement

Rainbow Flag is the symbol of the gay movement since 1978.  sodomites pay attention to mysticism and different symbols  They published their own Bible with a rainbow cross. The scripture is modified    e.g.. Thou shall not lie with mankind as with womankind in the temple of Moloch. (Sodomites say outside of the temple it is acceptable.) Mention of fornicators, adulterers, abusers of mankind  are replaced by morally weak.

Scott Lively, (8 :20) lawyer “Anti-Gay “ movement activist (USA) is featured says that nothing they who produced the gay bible will not do to promote their agenda.  There is no opposition they will accept at any level. Gay theology is the heresy of the modern world. Scott Lively is considered as Gay’s Enemy No: 1. He explains the Gays’ five stage process: of cultural conquest: 1 Request for tolerance (right to be left alone); 2 Demand for acceptance ( equal status); 3 Celebration ( everyone must accept homosexuality and promote it as a good valuable thing) ; 4. Forced Participation – everyone must participate in gay culture- implementation of law) 5. Punishment for everyone who disagree - enforcement of law.( Russia  and former satellite states are at the first stage. It seeds the anti-discrimination based on social orientation.)

There is a recording from 13:17- 15:08  at a marriage Registry office in  Tempelhoff Shoneberg (Berlin) Germany  of two male homosexuals. It is spine chilling to see this.

4.5.2.2 The Root Cause- Tavistock  

Tavistock Institute of Human Relation is located in London ( 15:10). During the war (WWII), this was used by British Intelligence for psychological war targeted not only against fascist Germany but also the Soviet Union. Footage of the Institute is strictly forbidden, and none of their experts are allowed to talk about their activity in which their employees are engaged in. (Anything involving the Rockefeller foundation/funding is suspect. Our culture has been deliberately debased and the natural order has been subverted. We are a crooked generation.) However, it is revealed in “Tavistock Institute” by Daniel Estulin. 

Tavistock Institute developed the mass brain-washing techniques which were first used experimentally on American prisoners of war in Korea. Its experiments in crowd control methods have been widely used on the American public, a surreptitious but nevertheless outrageous assault on human freedom by modifying individual behavior through topical psychology After the war the Rockefeller family took over the Clinic The idea behind the Institute is to change the parenting of modern society, to everything we know about society.  It created and later imposed  on the consciousness of European youth such cultural accents as free love, orgy and civil marriage. With the help of CIA. It created the project MK Ultra- for the manipulation of people.  The psychological component of the so call Ukrainian Revolution , chance behavior model’s slogans were also created here. A lot of the projects were done on a 50 or 100 year period.  A lot of the projects are manifesting itself such as homosexuals, didn’t begin in 5-10 years , they started right after WWII. These can extend to trans humans, post human, man- machines such as the terminator, cyborg, beings not totally human as a result of synthetic biology. Today we can create a human being from the laboratory, and no longer needing man women relationship. The idea of the elite is to create a genetic manipulation to eliminate memory. ( 18:17- 21:00)  The Fertility Institutes of Los Angeles, the first clinic which offers the seeds ( frozen (good for a 100 years)  embryos- sperms and eggs are given five days to grow and tested for its gender and defects and given to the mother to Sodomites  who are able to choose the sex of the child. Male gays want boys and female gays want girls.

Scenes of demonstration of gay lifestyles in San Francisco in 2014 (21:01-26:50)feature female gay family mother 38, father, 52, you- you to the child with one girl child. ( This is representative of 10% of Americans)

Scenes in LA and Hollywood dream Studios are full of homosexuals. (27:00-30:00).  Today 2 million children are being raised in same sex family and this is only the beginning. There is a substitution of moral concepts-instead of mother, a bio trendy container. The surrogate new born are taken from the mother and the homosexual  is trying to take over the role of mother. The sodomites have paid and received the living goods for their money.

4.5.2.3 Pedophile Criminal Case in NZ

There was a terrible child abuse act of pedophilia in NZ, involving two males, ( 30:00-32:40)  Long term friends masquerading as loving couple) , as father to a young boy adopted from Russia for $8000. Investigation showed they were not loving fathers, but raising  him for sexual exploitation from the age of 2 wks to 6 yrs. They sold the  child to 8 men in different countries around the world. The child was brain washed from a very young age that these acts were normal and trained him to lie to authority and say nothing strange is going on. 2013. They were caught and received 40 and 30 years imprisonment. This is one case of many that are undisclosed.

4.5.2.4 Reformed Gay Testimony

Testimony of “anti-gay activist in Italy,  Luka De Tolve (33:37 –36: 40) It was circumstances caused him to follow gay lifestyle  and focused only on sex. Diagnosed with Aids and given 8 months to live cause him to pray and felt an incredible love that led to his surprising transformation.  Instead of committing suicide he returned to church and was told there are ways to get free from the sin of homosexuality. He even asked for a wife and has been married for 5 years now and blessed with a daughter. He believed in God and that God is the truth in life. Homosexuality is not natural. He is very happy and at peace and harmony with himself by knowing God.

4.5.2.5 The Modern Day Sodom

The creation of the new Sodom is moving at a very fast pace.( 36:50- 40:40) The concept of father and mother is becoming outdated  with the introduced of parent 1 and parent 2 in the Education Department of Milan, with application created for homosexual families and is a discrimination against normal families. The people in Milan have anti-gay demonstration,   the yearly march for life. Esmeralda Burgos, the mother of af large family was interviewed. She has 11 children brought up in old Italian tradition and Christian. This is a fight for the survival of mankind.

Nowadays if you say you are anti-gay, all of a sudden people think you are anti-love and anti-human... They try going after you saying you are violating a human right and everyone is equal... You can't have an opinion in this subject if it's not what the majority agrees with.

In North America (40:41), a florist who refused to cater to Gay wedding function had to defend herself  in a law suit  for the right not to cater to a gay  wedding. She is a Christian who is obedient to observing the law of God rather than of man.

According to German law ( 42:47- 45:20) parents can be imprisoned  by  forbidding  their child to visit the  sex education at school. One man was jailed for 24 hours and on release was greeted with supporters against this law. There are thousands who voiced their protest but they are drowned in the sea of perverted counter propaganda. As soon as homosexuals hear a protest they immediately counter protest. Perverts knowingly fall under the feet of the moving crowds of protesting parents to attract the attention of TV cameras. They pose as humiliated and offended. One comment from the parent says we are fighting for our kids in a society who are perverted -the example from nature of a mother bear who will tear anyone apart who come close to her baby.

4.5.2.5.1 Promotion of Equality to LGBT by US Government

German Sociologist, Gabriella Kubi, maintained that Hillary Clinton on human rights day, in 2011, delivered a speech in the palace of nations saying everything is great, we need to further promote the rights of LGBT that homosexual rights equal human right. But why are the right of others violated in the light of the first? .  Certain instructions are sent to all American embassies worldwide and this toolkit says to change cultures and what is necessary to change the system of values , and the culture of the country. Behind it is the big money of the billionaires.

The American government no longer hides the idea of promoting homosexuality throughout the planet. The idea of love culture, everything that speaks sex is spreading as plagues, as cancer in organism, all moral foundations, Christian dogmas, chastity, decency and  traditional family are being rejected.

4.5.2.5.1.1 Testimony of Deposed Moldavian Deputy Prime Minister

Yuri Roshka, leader of the Christian – Democrat  National Party ( Republic of Moldova) former deputy prime Minister  found the courage to oppose the homosexual lobby in his country became an outcast for the emissary of the West because of the persistence and aggressive pressure from the American embassy  relating his encounter two years ago. He was told by higher up diplomat of the true western values that the equal chance law was being adopted in the Moldavian parliament. Any sodomite and pedophile can be hired at a kindergarten or school. It was very clear that the western elite  today is developing a very strong powerful wave against the whole world and government of Moldova became a victim of this wave on the destruction of traditional values.

4.5.2.5.1.2 Wiki Leaks, Dec 6, 2011(The declassified document of American diplomacy)

The memo published by the US government guaranteeing full financial support to NGO and other establishment advancing tolerance and rights of LGBT . White House Office of the Press Secretary, to immediate distribution, Dec 6, 2011, work on human rights, LGBT world. The struggle to end discrimination and how to advance LGBT is a global challenge and one essential to the US:  commitment to promoting human rights; Combat the criminalization of LGBT status or conduct abroad; Protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers; smoothly react to violation of LGBT rights and Gay international organization and the fight against LGBT discrimination.

4.5.2.5.1.2.1 Torture of Protesters in Tbilisi, Ukraine

In 2013, there was a protest against gay parade in Tbilisi ( 51:10) But there is no document to instruct  for Michel Sakasmile, American puppet which had ruled Georgia for 9 years  skillfully punished 7.5 % of the Georgian men . . (See scenes in Gladanskaya” prison in Tbilisi- 53:11  and Leven Gogichaishvile, leader of the solidarity for Political prisoners movement revealing the treatment )   Everyone not in concordance with the regime in Ukraine were imprisoned, subjected to rape, tortured and not allowed to sleep.  This treatment are filmed - see at 52:20-53:30.) More than 330,000 people were victims. The one goal was to break, diminish and humiliate. This method was borrowed from the prison in Bagdad. The same treatment awaits those who are not in concordance with the regime of Georgia, the pro American regime who would use the same method to those in prison. There are thousands of prisons from Kiev to Odesa.

4.5.2.5.1.2.2 The Strategy

Georgian orthodox church( 53:30) Father Mikhail  ( prior of the St Georgia temple (Tbilisi) tells how this plague gets around with his observation  that all was done in such way so as to prepare society to accept it  in the long run, These methods are very well thought out,  especially in the mass media and other sources. Everything begins in the harmless way with movie or sitcom. This man in the movie is obviously homosexual, but he is funny and witty, then he stops and disappears.  This will be replaced by another film  and a few more. It is like poison in small dose. It won’t do you harm right away but next time it gets stronger and tolerance in your system weakens.  ( LGBT themes make up 30-45 % of primetime TV in the US)

4.5.2.5.2 Deadly Incurable Disease- Grid

In the summer of 1981 (55:05), a young man  with red and blue green stains gets admitted to hospital  of the gay hospital in San Francisco. The doctors are horrified. It turns out to be the rarest type of skin cancer. The doctors assume he got this by working in a radioactive plant. They were mistaken, he turned out to be a homosexual prostitute. He lacked the immune cells needed to battle the tumours which resulted in sarcoma. By September, 1981, 107cases of the disease are observed in US. Among the sick 95 are homosexuals, 7 are heterosexuals and 5 bisexuals.  Scientists give this new disease a name, “Grid” homosexual immune deficiency, same as the plague the world in the twentieth century had, also known as Aids. Cure hasn’t been found.

Our holy father warns us the infernal community will envy mankind  and want the death of God’s creation. This is the reason why anti moral and anti civilization are being created that are urged to replace God’s faith. However despite all influence of the powers of darkness , faithful people sticks to the orders established by the creator. Russia occupies one of the leading organization banning the law and a return to traditional values and the strengthening of the faith of the nation. All this postpone the end of time. A union between a man and a woman granted by God, gives humanity to continue in life. There is a rightful reason behind the Bible passage, ‘Be fruitful and multiply in numbers to fill the earth’. (57:36)

4.5.2.5.3 Rewrite Bible Removing “Clobber” Texts

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2sZErP-zes –  ( 34:49 min)This is part of the Sabbath message preached  by Pr. Andrew Hendriques, September 23, 2017 on “SDA Pastor Andy McDonald: God Can’t Fix LGBT; I Don’t Care What Bible Says On LGBT; LGBT People are Holy, Blameless, and without Fault. Walla Walla University, NPUC, & Convergence.”

The apostasy of God’s true church  has become the norm (see Wp4.6- Time of Trouble, par 4.5.3.1.2 Signs of ‘Total’ Defection by Protestant Leaders; 4.5.3.1.2.1 Proselytism; 4.5.3.1.2.2 *SDA in Christian World Communions Delegation  at http://www.wakeupow.com/159912045.) : Ganoune Diop (SDA Director of Religious Liberty)was captured on video smiling and eating at the table and praying with Pope Francis (see Wp4.6 Time of Trouble par 4.5.3.1.2.2.1.1 Catholics and Evangelicals Share Same Gospel?); Catholic priest speaking at Auburn SDA  Church; Sabbath school lesson guide, quoting from Roman Catholic  monk Leslie J. Hoppe and Keith Burton; Robert Spitzer, a Jesuit . This is reminiscent of 1Ki 18:19 concerning the prophets who eat at Jezebel ‘s table, the prophets of Baal and are prophets of the groves  (Ahab made a grove and did more to provoke God-1Ki 16:33) Baal worship is nature worship. It’s sun worship which brings about Sunday worship.  Grove worship is sodomy – 2Ki 23:5,7. The 450 prophets at Mount Carmel were prophets of the grove.  When Ahab erected grove for worship, God sent Elijah, the tidings from the East. Sodomy is getting worse in our churches.

4.5.2.5.3.1 Love Letter to Pope Francis

 Here is a love letter to Pope Francis, from Aana Marie Vigen, Sep 19,2017: “You inspire me, Pope Francis. You help me find the grit to live with intention. So I boldly close this love letter with a fervent request: that you pray for the United States and the world in these tumultuous and confounding times, that we will stumble our way through with minimal injury to ourselves and to others. I ask you to pray without ceasing that humanity wakes up to creation’s myriad cries in time to do something meaningful about them.”- https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/09/19/lutherans-love-letter-pope-francis  (This is telling us that the deadly wound is almost healed.-Rev 13:3,4 and then the Bible says all the world will wonder after the beast or Protestants so called admiring the beast.) Apostle John was rebuked by the angel of God in Rev 17:6. John represents a group of people in the lasts days admiring the papacy. That means we have come to the fulfillment of Rev 17:6. The woman, drunken with the blood of martyrs, is Jezebel (papacy,) just like the Lutherans admiring the Pope of Rome. God said don’t do that (v.7). We need Elijah to awaken SDA not to admire likewise.

4.5.2.5.3.2 The Sermons of Pr. McDonald

Pastor Andy McDonald of Florida Hospital SDA Church in a sermon (2016) (8:11-9:37): “The Church welcome those who are single married or divorced, female male straight or gay we including you are the church. If you are more Catholic than the pope we including you are the church. In recovery or still addicted we including you are the church. We want you who have doubted or if you don’t trust organized religion, recently lost your temper at work or offering money at the casino we including you are the church.”    

But in Sep 16, 2017, he took it further, (9:56- 12;06) he mentioned that in the Bible there are Scriptures that talks about sodomy, homosexuality, but regardless just love the people, bring them into the church. “There are depending on your view of Scripture  5 or 6 reference   about homosexuality , two or three in the Old Testament, three in the New Testament. We could and we should read, study and pray over these texts, for there are interpretations and arguments for the traditional meaning ( great spiritual exegesis  with differing  views ). How will we treat, love people with spirits that have a very different view? How will we love people, people who are part of the LGBT movement?.

This is nothing new, just as the 21 page document from Andrews University , the BRI , NAD , Lake Union Conference, article  “ An Understanding on the Biblical view on Homo practice and pastoral care – First section sets out Scripture against homosexual . On the Pastoral care it counsels-just love them in as member even as they are practicing sodomy and make them also leaders in the church. The General Conference is pushing their pastors and teachers to carry out in their respective churches. (A pastoral Approach to distortions of the Edenic ideal of marriage in light of the grace of God: Gays and lesbians who choose to and remain abstinent should be welcomed to membership. All church activities including leadership position are for them to affirm they have a place. )

In the Netherlands, the church is a save place, it opposes any step to revoke membership of LGBT because you are aware they are sodomites.

This is fulfilling prophecy:

“Even in its present form, so far from being more worthy of toleration than formerly, it (Spiritualism) is really a more dangerous, because a more subtle, deception. While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible, it now professes to accept both. But the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making little distinction between good and evil. God's justice, His denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept out of sight.

The people are taught to regard the Decalogue as a dead letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily denied as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned. “{GC 558.1} 

McDonald also says If you are struggling with LGBT tendencies  you know you can’t fix it. God cannot fix it either.  It is part of a faith community to be in love with Jesus, the most important thing in your life. You are against earliest memories that you are different from most others . But there is the same sex attraction to believe that there is something wrong with you that you can’t fix. And after all these years of prayers you are convinced that God can’t fix it either (Sin God can’t give you victory over)., There is a hiding of who you are in the self- denial because being this way ( 17:34). These people know deep down that these tendencies are wrong. Others have pray with God and have submitted to therapy with the goal to change but have not been changed.

4.5.2.5.3.3 The False Prophets and Agents

The false prophets that have infiltrated into our churches and schools are:

Crystal Cheatham- ( Spectrum 2 May 2017) says her marginalisation “in Adventist community  with no place in leadership  because of my orientation is heart breaking to hear- to think the Adventist  is cutting off the hands and feet of Christ by pushing out diverse believers like myself. “

David Larson, Loma Linda Prof of Biblical Studies in a symposium, stating Homosexual can never get changed, and  no healing. He proposed 7 options for them: 1. commit suicide, 2. stay in the closet; 3. marry another person of opposite sex; 4. seek change therapy by praying and reading the Bible, getting counselling; 5. engage in promiscuity; 6.celibacy; 7. form a lasting union akin to marriage.  The last two are the only sound choices.  ( 40:30- 47:00)

Myles Gillespie (video 153689190 Streamed live on Mar 11, 2017)- Sometimes we need to bend to accommodate reality. Messiah adapted and bent laws as necessary to provide care. Human well-being  was a higher virtue than plain reading of scripture – to impact people especially  those who are less privileged than I am.

John McLarty, Mar 11, 2017- Break God’s Ten Commandments in order to accommodate LGBT as members and as leaders.

There is the Seventh Gay Adventist, a film about faith of the margins by Dany Acres and husband.

4.5.2.5.3.4 Removal of Clobber Texts

Andy McDonald says it’s time for us to dismiss those scriptures in the Bible that speak against sodomy. Just love the people. (Not to judge) (21:47) I don’t care about scriptures, dismiss those scriptures.

This was what Larson said (1:22:00- 1:27:00) “The six texts that are usually use to be clobber ( to condemn) people who practice the LGBT lifestyle should be removed from the Bible. Then let us just love everyone. They got this idea from Babylon (Baal worship), eating and drinking from Babylon’s table and serving that stuff to the church members. It is a possibility for there being  no rain in the church ( all the talk from Ted Wilson to pray for the latter rain  when gross abomination is in our church and going forth unchecked.  

Https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/christian-pastor-reframes-scripture-used-against-lgbtq-community-n673471 Nov 28 2016, 1:09 pm ET Christian Pastor Reframes Scripture Used Against LGBTQ Community by Mashaun D. Simon

This story is just one of many shared by Martin in "UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality." The book reframes the biblical texts historically used to discriminate against the LGBT community and deny them access into worship spaces.

“My whole point is, the Bible has been misused, to justify keeping gay people out of our churches and telling same-sex couples that they cannot be together,” Martin told NBC OUT. “'UnClobber' not only reveals the results of my study of the Bible on homosexuality, it also tells the story of how I came to align my head with my heart through a careful, thoughtful and prayerful study of the clobber passages.”

There are six passages in the Bible, Martin states, that are considered “clobber passages.”.. “At some point these verses became known as ‘clobber passages’ for this very reason. I came up with the term 'unclobber' as a way to point to my efforts of showing that the Bible does not actually condemn those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer.”

It does not matter what the Bible says, you don’t have to change because Jesus did on the cross saves you. As an LGBT person you are already saved.

McDonald (27:10-29:30) further says that words of Paul to the Colossians, were not true because God and Christ reconciled everything to himself. You then are brought into the presence of God, holy and blameless as you stand before God. The books have been balanced and the Father sees all our needs, our choices.

The pen of inspiration explains:

“Unsanctified ministers are arraying themselves against God. They are praising Christ and the god of this world in the same breath. While professedly they receive Christ, they embrace Barabbas, and by their actions say, "Not this Man, but Barabbas." Let all who read these lines, take heed. Satan has made his boast of what he can do. He thinks to dissolve the unity which Christ prayed might exist in His church. He says, "I will go forth and be a lying spirit to deceive those that I can, to criticize, and condemn, and falsify." Let the son of deceit and false witness be entertained by a church that has had great light, great evidence, and that church will discard the message the Lord has sent, and receive the most unreasonable assertions and false suppositions and false theories. Satan laughs at their folly, for he knows what truth is.”  {TM 409.2}

“Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much. "If thou hadst known," said Christ, "even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."  {TM 409.3}  

4.5.2.5.3.5 No Reprimand for Rebellion

None of the people mentioned above received any reprimand. The SDA church has not rebuked (out of love for the sinner that he might correct and be saved) the following instances of rebellions reported in the media:

Teaching Staff of Avondale College- Recently in a Spectrum online article, David Potter adds his voice to a growing number of high profile leaders who are trying to change the tide of opinion about homosexuality and normalise its acceptance among the Adventist community.

He said, “I am unimpressed by demands that I yield my conscience to “the church.”  This is the Catholic position, a position we have traditionally resisted.  I pray to God we will never yield to this heresy.  Two voices impress me: Scripture and the Holy Spirit—not necessarily in this order.  As a believer, I am committed to taking both very seriously.  You keep banging on about how the Bible is anti-gay.  And I keep trying to help you to see that this is an interpretation--one that I believe to be erroneous.” 

Despite Potter's insistence that he is following God, his views are plainly against the church fundamentals on marriage and homosexuality.  Nobody is asking David to defile his conscience but surely the church has the right to demand that its employees (particularly those in positions of educating our young people) adhere to the fundamental beliefs?

Walla Walla University Church Pastor- Walla Walla University Church listed on progressive Spirituality site Sep 15, 2017 Fulcrum Gerry Wagoner - http://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2017/9/15/walla-walla-university-church-joins-progressive-spirituality-group

The church pastor, Alex Bryan (co- founder of the One Project, now exposed as an abomination, and operating underground) joined a group called Convergence, ecumenical group, 

Convergence is a post-emergent integral-spirituality group.  It is a next-generation emerging church movement founded by several of the guiding thinkers (Brian McLaren, Eric Elnes, Diana Butler Bass, Phyllis Tickle, and Richard Foster) of the Emergent & Spiritualist Movements---all organized under the rubric of Social Justice.  Put simply, the bedfellows of liberalism, mysticism, and Social Justice have now combined into a spiritual superbug.  Convergence has numerous affiliate churches around the U.S., and Walla Walla University SDA Church is listed as one of them  (Incidentally, the term New Age is now outdated, the updated term is progressive or integral spirituality.))

The General Conference said there is no need to protest anymore since Walla Walla University Church has now been removed from the ecumenical churches website on Sep 18. The Conference never address how the church in the first place put their name and join an ecumenical alliance.

Practicing Transgender SDA church Elder - Went to the second Pride party last night, again at Glendale City: This is about a transgender,  SDA church Elder, meeting old friends and had a great time. He is still serving as an Elder.

When teachers or professors shall sacrifice religious principle to please a worldly, amusement-loving class, they should be considered unfaithful to their trust and should be discharged.  {5T 14.2}  Jer 23:3,6  - Jesus said, pray for them.  It is time for us to bring forth tidings of the East and the North before it is too late. We can only prayerfully ask God to seal and save us,

4.5.3 End-time Significance of Sodom and Gomorrah

The purpose of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a message for end-time and judgment. It is clearly given in Scriptures: “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; “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: “ (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.” - 2Pet 2:6-10. (See also  the proclamation of Jesus in Luk 17:28,30)

The message on the destruction of Sodom is amplified in “The Patriarchs and Prophets” by Ellen G. White – Chapters 12,14. (http://www.whiteestate.org/books/pp/pp.asp ) Some of the key passages from these chapters are quoted below for a quick overview. (This is a shorter version of F12, Tales of Unbelief, par2.2.9.5 Return to Canaan the Promised Land- 2.2.9.5.7.2.1.1 Prayerful Christian Home; section2.2.10 Destruction of unbelieving Sodom)

4.5.3.1 Divine Mercy and Space for Repentance

“Abraham had seen in his guests only three tired wayfarers, little thinking that among them was One whom he might worship without sin. But the true character of the heavenly messengers was now revealed. Though they were on their way as ministers of wrath, yet to Abraham, the man of faith, they spoke first of blessings. Though God is strict to mark iniquity and to punish transgression, He takes no delight in vengeance. The work of destruction is a "strange work" to Him who is infinite in love.  {PP 138.4} 

"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Psalm 25:14. Abraham had honored God, and the Lord honored him, taking him into His counsels, and revealing to him His purposes. "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" said the Lord. "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, 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." God knew well the measure of Sodom's guilt; but He expressed Himself after the manner of men, that the justice of His dealings might be understood. Before bringing judgment upon the transgressors He would go Himself, to institute an examination of their course; if they had not passed the limits of divine mercy, He would still grant them space for repentance.”  {PP 139.1}

4.5.3.1.1 The Intercession of Abraham

“..the unselfish love that prompted Abraham to their rescue from the Elamites, now sought to save them, if it were God's will, from the storm of divine judgment.  {PP 139.2} 

 With deep reverence and humility he urged his plea: "I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." There was no self-confidence, no boasting of his own righteousness. He did not claim favor on the ground of his obedience, or of the sacrifices he had made in doing God's will. Himself a sinner, he pleaded in the sinner's behalf. Such a spirit all who approach God should possess. Yet Abraham manifested the confidence of a child pleading with a loved father. He came close to the heavenly Messenger, and fervently urged his petition. Though Lot had become a dweller in Sodom, he did not partake in the iniquity of its inhabitants. Abraham thought that in that populous city there must be other worshipers of the true God. And in view of this he pleaded, "That be far from Thee, to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: . . . that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham asked not once merely, but many times. Waxing bolder as his requests were granted, he continued until he gained the assurance that if even ten righteous persons could be found in it, the city would be spared.  {PP 139.3}  

Love for perishing souls inspired Abraham's prayer. While he loathed the sins of that corrupt city, he desired that the sinners might be saved. His deep interest for Sodom shows the anxiety that we should feel for the impenitent. We should cherish hatred of sin, but pity and love for the sinner. All around us are souls going down to ruin as hopeless, as terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every day the probation of some is closing. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy. And where are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful doom? Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back from death? Where are those who with humility and persevering faith are pleading with God for him?  {PP 140.1} 

The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ. The Son of God is Himself the great Intercessor in the sinner's behalf. He who has paid the price for its redemption knows the worth of the human soul. With an antagonism to evil such as can exist only in a nature spotlessly pure, Christ manifested toward the sinner a love which infinite goodness alone could conceive. In the agonies of the crucifixion, Himself burdened with the awful weight of the sins of the whole world, He prayed for His revilers and murderers, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34.  {PP 140.2} 

4.5.3.2 The City of Sodom

Fairest among the cities of the Jordan Valley was Sodom, set in a plain which was "as the garden of the Lord" in its fertility and beauty. Here the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics flourished. ..Art and commerce contributed to enrich the proud city of the plain. The treasures of the East adorned her palaces, ..With little thought or labor, every want of life could be supplied, and the whole year seemed one round of festivity.  {PP 156.1} 

The profusion reigning everywhere gave birth to luxury and pride. Idleness and riches make the heart hard that has never been oppressed by want or burdened by sorrow. The love of pleasure was fostered by wealth and leisure, and the people gave themselves up to sensual indulgence. "Behold," says the prophet, "this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." Ezekiel 16:49, 50. ..Their useless, idle life made them a prey to Satan's temptations, and they defaced the image of God, and became satanic rather than divine. Idleness is the greatest curse that can fall upon man, for vice and crime follow in its train. It enfeebles the mind, perverts the understanding, and debases the soul. Satan lies in ambush, ready to destroy those who are unguarded, whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate himself under some attractive disguise. He is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours.  {PP 156.2}

In Sodom there was mirth and revelry, feasting and drunkenness. The vilest and most brutal passions were unrestrained. The people openly defied God and His law and delighted in deeds of violence. Though they had before them the example of the antediluvian world, and knew how the wrath of God had been manifested in their destruction, yet they followed the same course of wickedness. (cf. Matt 24:38-39)  {PP 157.1} 

4.5.3.2.1 The Destruction of Sodom

The angels revealed to Lot the object of their mission: "We will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it." The strangers whom Lot had endeavored to protect, now promised to protect him, and to save also all the members of his family who would flee with him from the wicked city. .(His families) could see no evidence of danger. Everything was just as it had been. They had great possessions, and they could not believe it possible that beautiful Sodom would be destroyed.  {PP 159.3} 

Then the angels bade him arise and take his wife and the two daughters who were yet in his house and leave the city. But Lot delayed. Though daily distressed at beholding deeds of violence, he had no true conception of the debasing and abominable iniquity practiced in that vile city. He did not realize the terrible necessity for God's judgments to put a check on sin. {PP 160.1} 

Here the angels left them, and turned back to Sodom to accomplish their work of destruction. ..In all the cities of the plain, even ten righteous persons had not been found; but in answer to the patriarch's prayer, the one man who feared God was snatched from destruction. The command was given with startling vehemence: "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." Hesitancy or delay now would be fatal. To cast one lingering look upon the devoted city, to tarry for one moment from regret to leave so beautiful a home, would have cost their life. The storm of divine judgment was only waiting that these poor fugitives might make their escape.  {PP 160.2} 

4.5.3.2.1.1 The Granting of Lot’s Request

He( Lot) should have trusted himself wholly to the divine Messenger, giving his will and his life into the Lord's hands without a doubt or a question. But like so many others, he endeavored to plan for himself: "Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: O, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." The city here mentioned was Bela, afterward called Zoar. It was but a few miles from Sodom, and, like it, was corrupt and doomed to destruction. But Lot asked that it might be spared, urging that this was but a small request; and his desire was granted. The Lord assured him, "I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken." Oh, how great the mercy of God toward His erring creatures!  {PP 161.1} 

(… Lot dwelt but a short time in Zoar. Iniquity prevailed there as in Sodom, and he feared to remain, lest the city should be destroyed. Not long after, Zoar was consumed, as God had purposed. Lot made his way to the mountains, and abode in a cave, stripped of all for which he had dared to subject his family to the influences of a wicked city. But the curse of Sodom followed him even here. The sinful conduct of his daughters was the result of the evil associations of that vile place. Its moral corruption had become so interwoven with their character that they could not distinguish between good and evil. Lot's only posterity, the Moabites and Ammonites, were vile, idolatrous tribes, rebels against God and bitter enemies of His people.  {PP 167.3}) 

4.5.3.2.1.2 Lot’s Wife Became a Monument

Again the solemn command was given to hasten, for the fiery storm would be delayed but little longer. But one of the fugitives ventured to cast a look backward to the doomed city, and she became a monument of God's judgment. If Lot himself had manifested no hesitancy to obey the angels' warning, but had earnestly fled toward the mountains, without one word of pleading or remonstrance, his wife also would have made her escape. The influence of his example would have saved her from the sin that sealed her doom. But his hesitancy and delay caused her to lightly regard the divine warning. While her body was upon the plain, her heart clung to Sodom, and she perished with it. She rebelled against God because His judgments involved her possessions and her children in the ruin. Although so greatly favored in being called out from the wicked city, she felt that she was severely dealt with, because the wealth that it had taken years to accumulate must be left to destruction. Instead of thankfully accepting deliverance, she presumptuously looked back to desire the life of those who had rejected the divine warning. Her sin showed her to be unworthy of life, for the preservation of which she felt so little gratitude.  {PP 161.2}

The invitations of mercy are addressed to all; and because our friends reject the Saviour's pleading love, shall we also turn away? The redemption of the soul is precious. Christ has paid an infinite price for our salvation, and no one who appreciates the value of this great sacrifice or the worth of the soul will despise God's offered mercy because others choose to do so. The very fact that others are ignoring His just claims should arouse us to greater diligence, that we may honor God ourselves, and lead all whom we can influence, to accept His love.  {PP 162.1} 

4.5.3.2.1.3 Sodom Became A Witness to All Generation

"The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar." The bright rays of the morning seemed to speak only prosperity and peace to the cities of the plain. .. The sons-in-law of Lot were making merry at the fears and warnings of the weak-minded old man. Suddenly and unexpectedly as would be a thunder peal from an unclouded sky, the tempest broke. The Lord rained brimstone and fire out of heaven upon the cities and the fruitful plain; its palaces and temples, costly dwellings, gardens and vineyards, and the gay, pleasure-seeking throngs that only the night before had insulted the messengers of heaven--all were consumed. The smoke of the conflagration went up like the smoke of a great furnace. And the fair vale of Siddim became a desolation, a place never to be built up or inhabited--a witness to all generations of the certainty of God's judgments upon transgression.  {PP 162.2}

The flames that consumed the cities of the plain shed their warning light down even to our time. We are taught the fearful and solemn lesson that while God's mercy bears long with the transgressor, there is a limit beyond which men may not go on in sin. When that limit is reached, then the offers of mercy are withdrawn, and the ministration of judgment begins.  {PP 162.3} 

The Redeemer of the world declares that there are greater sins than that for which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Those who hear the gospel invitation calling sinners to repentance, and heed it not, are more guilty before God than were the dwellers in the vale of Siddim. And still greater sin is theirs who profess to know God and to keep His commandments, yet who deny Christ in their character and their daily life. In the light of the Saviour's warning, the fate of Sodom is a solemn admonition, not merely to those who are guilty of outbreaking sin, but to all who are trifling with Heaven-sent light and privileges.  {PP 165.1}

4.5.3.2.2 Heed Christ’s Offer of Love and Forgiveness

(Our only chance to escape the fire of Sodom which is inevitable is to accept Jesus offer of His righteousness, who loved us and bore all our sins and took it to the cross, “that whosoever believedth in Him should not perish, but have  eternal life.“ (Jn 3:15) We are commissioned to proclaim the three angels. Messages as the last warning to the world before the close of the investigative judgment and after which will be the time of trouble that will culminate with the second coming of Jesus to deliver His people.

We must in our discovery tour in searching for the true ruins of the sin cities of the plain have  found the faith in the word of God. The spiritual discovery (message) of Sodom and Gomorrah far outweighs the physical signs which in this case is to be an example for all generation like the fourth commandment to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exo 20:8) )

Said the True Witness to the church at Ephesus: "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Revelation 2:4, 5. The Saviour watches for a response to His offers of love and forgiveness, with a more tender compassion than that which moves the heart of an earthly parent to forgive a wayward, suffering son. He cries after the wanderer, "Return unto Me, and I will return unto you." Malachi 3:7. But if the erring one persistently refuses to heed the voice that calls him with pitying, tender love, he will at last be left in darkness. The heart that has long slighted God's mercy, becomes hardened in sin, and is no longer susceptible to the influence of the grace of God. Fearful will be the doom of that soul of whom the pleading Saviour shall finally declare, he "is joined to idols: let him alone." Hosea 4:17. It will be more tolerable in the day of judgment for the cities of the plain than for those who have known the love of Christ, and yet have turned away to choose the pleasures of a world of sin.  {PP 165.2}

You who are slighting the offers of mercy, think of the long array of figures accumulating against you in the books of heaven; for there is a record kept of the impieties of nations, of families, of individuals. God may bear long while the account goes on, and calls to repentance and offers of pardon may be given; yet a time will come when the account will be full; when the soul's decision has been made; when by his own choice man's destiny has been fixed. Then the signal will be given for judgment to be executed.  {PP 165.3} 

4.5.3.2.2.1 Present Condition of the Religious World

There is cause for alarm in the condition of the religious world today. God's mercy has been trifled with. The multitudes make void the law of Jehovah, "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9. Infidelity prevails in many of the churches in our land; not infidelity in its broadest sense--an open denial of the Bible--but an infidelity that is robed in the garb of Christianity, while it is undermining faith in the Bible as a revelation from God. Fervent devotion and vital piety have given place to hollow formalism. As the result, apostasy and sensualism prevail. Christ declared, "As it was in the days of Lot, . . . even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:28, 30. The daily record of passing events testifies to the fulfillment of His words. The world is fast becoming ripe for destruction. Soon the judgments of God are to be poured out, and sin and sinners are to be consumed.  {PP 166.1} (The signs of the times tell us we are on the brink of the end of the world.  (See Wp5 - par 1.1.3.1The Historic Visit of Pope Francis,2015) at  http://www.wakeupow.com/152909638 ) 

4.5.3.2.2.2 The Prescribed Remedy

Said our Saviour: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth"--upon all whose interests are centered in this world. "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 21:34-36.  {PP 166.2} 

Before the destruction of Sodom, God sent a message to Lot, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." The same voice of warning was heard by the disciples of Christ before the destruction of Jerusalem: "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains." Luke 21:20, 21. They must not tarry to secure anything from their possessions, but must make the most of the opportunity to escape.  {PP 166.3}

There was a coming out, a decided separation from the wicked, an escape for life. So it was in the days of Noah; so with Lot; so with the disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; and so it will be in the last days. Again the voice of God is heard in a message of warning, bidding His people separate themselves from the prevailing iniquity.  {PP 166.4}  (Rev 14:9-12)

The state of corruption and apostasy that in the last days would exist in the religious world, was presented to the prophet John in the vision of Babylon, "that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Revelation 17:18. Before its destruction the call is to be given from heaven, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Revelation 18:4. As in the days of Noah and Lot, there must be a marked separation from sin and sinners. There can be no compromise between God and the world, no turning back to secure earthly treasures. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24.  {PP 167.1} 

4.5.3.2.2.2.1 Deception in “Prosperity and Peace” Preaching

Like the dwellers in the vale of Siddim, the people are dreaming of prosperity and peace. "Escape for thy life," is the warning from the angels of God; but other voices are heard saying, "Be not excited; there is no cause for alarm." The multitudes cry, "Peace and safety," while Heaven declares that swift destruction is about to come upon the transgressor.  (This is the preaching of Pope Francis in his ecumenical movement of the one world religion.)  On the night prior to their destruction, the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure and derided the fears and warnings of the messenger of God; but those scoffers perished in the flames; that very night the door of mercy was forever closed to the wicked, careless inhabitants of Sodom. God will not always be mocked; He will not long be trifled with. "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isaiah 13:9. The great mass of the world will reject God's mercy, and will be overwhelmed in swift and irretrievable ruin. But those who heed the warning shall dwell "in the secret place of the Most High," and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." His truth shall be their shield and buckler. For them is the promise, "With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Psalm 91:1, 4, 16.  {PP 167.2}

4.5.3.2.3 The Faith of Abraham

Of Abraham it is written that "he was called the friend of God," "the father of all them that believe." James 2:23; Romans 4:11. The testimony of God concerning this faithful patriarch is, "Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." And again, "I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." It was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of being the father of the people who for centuries were the guardians and preservers of the truth of God for the world--of that people through whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed in the advent of the promised Messiah. But He who called the patriarch judged him worthy. It is God that speaks. He who understands the thoughts afar off, and places the right estimate upon men, says, "I know him." There would be on the part of Abraham no betraying of the truth for selfish purposes. He would keep the law and deal justly and righteously. And he would not only fear the Lord himself, but would cultivate religion in his home. He would instruct his family in righteousness. The law of God would be the rule in his household.  {PP 140.3} 

Abraham's household comprised more than a thousand souls. Those who were led by his teachings to worship the one God, found a home in his encampment; and here, as in a school, they received such instruction as would prepare them to be representatives of the true faith. Thus a great responsibility rested upon him. He was training heads of families, and his methods of government would be carried out in the households over which they should preside.  {PP 141.1} 

In early times the father was the ruler and priest of his own family, and he exercised authority over his children, even after they had families of their own. His descendants were taught to look up to him as their head, in both religious and secular matters. This patriarchal system of government Abraham endeavored to perpetuate, as it tended to preserve the knowledge of God. It was necessary to bind the members of the household together, in order to build up a barrier against the idolatry that had become so widespread and so deep-seated. Abraham sought by every means in his power to guard the inmates of his encampment against mingling with the heathen and witnessing their idolatrous practices, for he knew that familiarity with evil would insensibly corrupt the principles. The greatest care was exercised to shut out every form of false religion and to impress the mind with the majesty and glory of the living God as the true object of worship.  {PP 141.2} 

It was a wise arrangement, which God Himself had made, to cut off His people, so far as possible, from connection with the heathen, making them a people dwelling alone, and not reckoned among the nations. He had separated Abraham from his idolatrous kindred,  that the patriarch might train and educate his family apart from the seductive influences which would have surrounded them in Mesopotamia, and that the true faith might be preserved in its purity by his descendants from generation to generation.  {PP 141.3}

 4.5.3.2.3.1 The Knowledge of God Imparted

Abraham's affection for his children and his household led him to guard their religious faith, to impart to them a knowledge of the divine statutes, as the most precious legacy he could transmit to them, and through them to the world. All were taught that they were under the rule of the God of heaven. There was to be no oppression on the part of parents and no disobedience on the part of children. God's law had appointed to each his duties, and only in obedience to it could any secure happiness or prosperity.  {PP 142.1} 

His own example, the silent influence of his daily life, was a constant lesson. The unswerving integrity, the benevolence and unselfish courtesy, which had won the admiration of kings, were displayed in the home. ‘’{PP 142.2}  .. Abraham would not only give right instruction, but he would maintain the authority of just and righteous laws.  {PP 142.3}

 4.5.3.2.3.2 The State of Parents Today

How few there are in our day who follow this example! On the part of too many parents there is a blind and selfish sentimentalism, miscalled love, which is manifested in leaving children, with their unformed judgment and undisciplined passions, to the control of their own will. This is the veriest cruelty to the youth and a great wrong to the world. Parental indulgence causes disorder in families and in society. It confirms in the young the desire to follow inclination, instead of submitting to the divine requirements. Thus they grow up with a heart averse to doing God's will, and they transmit their irreligious, insubordinate spirit to their children and children's children. Like Abraham, parents should command their households after them. Let obedience to parental authority be taught and enforced as the first step in obedience to the authority of God.  {PP 142.4} 

The light esteem in which the law of God is held, even by religious leaders, has been productive of great evil. The teaching which has become so widespread, that the divine statutes are no longer binding upon men, is the same as idolatry in its effect upon the morals of the people. Those who seek to lessen the claims of God's holy law are striking directly at the foundation of the government of families and nations. Religious parents, failing to walk in His statutes, do not command their household to keep the way of the Lord. The law of God is not made the rule of life. The children, as they make homes of their own, feel under no obligation to teach their children what they themselves have never been taught. And this is why there are so many godless families; this is why depravity is so deep and widespread.  {PP 143.1} 

Not until parents themselves walk in the law of the Lord with perfect hearts will they be prepared to command their children after them. A reformation in this respect is needed--a reformation which shall be deep and broad. Parents need to reform; ministers need to reform; they need God in their households. If they would see a different state of things, they must bring His word into their families and must make it their counselor. They must teach their children that it is the voice of God addressed to them, and is to be implicitly obeyed. They should patiently instruct their children, kindly and untiringly teach them how to live in order to please God. The children of such a household are prepared to meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted the Bible as the basis of their faith, and they have a foundation that cannot be swept away by the incoming tide of skepticism.  {PP 143.2} 

In too many households prayer is neglected. Parents feel that they have no time for morning and evening worship. They cannot spare a few moments to be spent in thanksgiving to God for His abundant mercies--for the blessed sunshine and the showers of rain, which cause vegetation to flourish, and for the guardianship of holy angels. They have no time to offer prayer for divine help and guidance and for the abiding presence of Jesus in the household. They go forth to labor as the ox or the horse goes, without one thought of God or heaven. They have souls so precious that rather than permit them to be hopelessly lost, the Son of God gave His life to ransom them; but they have little more appreciation of His great goodness than have the beasts that perish.  {PP 143.3} 

4.5.3.2.3.2.1 Location of Home

In choosing a home, God would have us consider, first of all, the moral and religious influences that will surround us and our families. We may be placed in trying positions, for many cannot have their surroundings what they would; and whenever duty calls us, God will enable us to stand uncorrupted, if we watch and pray, trusting in the grace of Christ. But we should not needlessly expose ourselves to influences that are unfavorable to the formation of Christian character. When we voluntarily place ourselves in an atmosphere of worldliness and unbelief, we displease God and drive holy angels from our homes.  {PP 169.1} 

Those who secure for their children worldly wealth and honor at the expense of their eternal interests, will find in the end that these advantages are a terrible loss. Like Lot, many see their children ruined, and barely save their own souls. Their lifework is lost; their life is a sad failure. Had they exercised true wisdom, their children might have had less of worldly prosperity, but they would have made sure of a title to the immortal inheritance.  {PP 169.2}

4.5.3.2.3.2.2 Our Inheritance is an Eternal City

The heritage that God has promised to His people is not in this world. Abraham had no possession in the earth, "no, not so much as to set his foot on." Acts 7:5. He possessed great substance, and he used it to the glory of God and the good of his fellow men; but he did not look upon this world as his home. The Lord had called him to leave his idolatrous countrymen, with the promise of the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession; yet neither he nor his son nor his son's son received it. When Abraham desired a burial place for his dead, he had to buy it of the Canaanites. His sole possession in the Land of Promise was that rock-hewn tomb in the cave of Machpelah.  {PP 169.3} 

But the word of God had not failed; neither did it meet its final accomplishment in the occupation of Canaan by the Jewish people. "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made." Galatians 3:16. Abraham himself was to share the inheritance. The fulfillment of God's promise may seem to be long delayed--for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8); it may appear to tarry; but at the appointed time "it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habakkuk 2:3. The gift to Abraham and his seed included not merely the land of Canaan, but the whole earth. So says the apostle, "The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Romans 4:13. And the Bible plainly teaches that the promises made to Abraham are to be fulfilled through Christ. All that are Christ's are "Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise"--heirs to "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away"--the earth freed from the curse of sin. Galatians 3:29; 1 Peter 1:4. For "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;" and "the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Daniel 7:27; Psalm 37:11.  {PP 169.4}

God gave to Abraham a view of this immortal inheritance, and with this hope he was content. "By faith he sojourned in the Land of Promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Hebrews 11:9, 10.  {PP 170.1} 

Of the posterity of Abraham it is written, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Verse 13. We must dwell as pilgrims and strangers here if we would gain "a better country, that is, an heavenly." Verse 16. Those who are children of Abraham will be seeking the city which he looked for, "whose builder and maker is God."  {PP 170.2}

The End- 44 pg.  Posted on September, 26, 2017 by Tsc – contact at singtsc@ yahoo.com

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