“This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word preserved me. Willful sinners taunted me exceedingly, but I did not swerve from Your Torah. I remembered Your judgments of old, HaShem, and I was comforted.” Psalms 119:50-52
If you could go back in time to your younger self and tell yourself of the state of the country and the world in 2021, would you believe any of it or think it was just some bad Hollywood movie script that never made it into the theaters?
There is no doubt in my mind that America and the world is under the judgment of HaShem, however, I firmly believe the real show hasn’t yet begun as it pertains to the level of judgment set to come. This has, therefore, spurred my curiosity and as such I want to know what that red line was which brought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. What was the defining point in which HaShem said there was no more opportunity for repentance and that line was crossed in which He had to act in order to preserve His creation?
Why is this important in light of today you may ask? Because prophetically, there is no question in my mind, that America in the End of Days, is the prophesied Babylon in the Word of HaShem! As such, Babylon is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, therefore, it is very appropriate we find out what that red line was because there is nothing new under the sun and He reveals the end out of the beginning!
One of my favorite verses is from Amos 3:7 which says “Surely My Master HaShem/Elohim will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.” This means He will do nothing unless He has already revealed it to His prophets. This is another reason why I get so disgusted with Replacement Theology because it teaches to toss everything left of Matthew i.e. all the prophecies HaShem has given regarding the End of Days. Now, the adherents to Replacement Theology have nothing to tell them what is coming and rely solely on gimmicks and a bag of tricks spewed forth from the pulpits. I digress.
Consider the following commentary on this verse from Amos which says “Form our verse we see why HaShem reveals His ways to the prophets. The reason is so that they can interpret historical events to their contemporaries, making history a teacher of the people. Abraham was not primarily a prophet to his own time, although he did proclaim the greatness of HaShem. His primary function was to teach The Way of HaShem, to the future descendants of Israel. In order that he might derive the appropriate lessons from the destruction of Sodom, HaShem revealed what He intended to do.”
This is why it is so important we study His Word…ALL of it, because He reveals the end from the beginning…its all there if we can take the time to search out His Word! This all said, this Op will focus on searching out what was that red line in Sodom and Gomorrah, because the standard for that red line is still very much applicable today, therefore what sealed Sodom’s fate then is the same red line which will seal Babylon’s (America’s) fate today.
But before we jump into this, always remember the following eternal characteristics of HaShem because He never changes:
- HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
- His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
- He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
- He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
- He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
- He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
- He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
- He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
- He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
- He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
- He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
- He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
- He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
- He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
- He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
- He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
- He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
- He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
- He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
- He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
- He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
- He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
- He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
- He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
Genesis 18:20-21 says “So HaShem said, ‘Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has been very grave, I will descend and see. If they act in accordance with its outcry, then destruction! And if not, I will know.'” So we see here in these two verses, the outcry reached HaShem and He was required to act. It has almost the same connotation of the Exodus in the cries of Israel reached HaShem and He was required to act to save Israel. In both instances the cries released HaShem to act! Perhaps this is significant in America today! Keep this in mind!
HaShem compares the End of Days Babylon (America) to Sodom and Gomorrah in Jeremiah 50:39-40 “Therefore, the martens will inhabit it together with the cats, and owls will dwell there and it will never again be settled, and it will not be inhabited for generation after generation, like HaShem’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbors, the Word of HaShem, where no man shall live and no human shall sojourn.”
Isaiah 13:19-22 says “And Babylon, the beauty of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldees, shall be like HaShem’s overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall not be settled forever, and it shall not be occupied from generation to generation, and no Arab shall pitch his tent there, neither shall shepherds rest their flocks there. And martens shall dwell there, and their houses shall be filled with ferrets, and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyres shall dance there. And cats shall dwell in his palaces, and serpents in the temples of pleasure, and her time is soon coming, and her days shall not be extended.”
In order to know if we are close to this point or not, we need to examine what was the outcry in Genesis 18:20? Was it the outcry of rebellion against HaShem or was it the outcry of the oppressed begging for liberation? Or was it both?
Tractate Sanhedrin 109a from the Talmud Bavli describes the people of Sodom:
“The Sages taught: The people of Sodom became haughty and sinned due only to the excessive goodness that the Holy One, Blessed be He, bestowed upon them. And what is written concerning them, indicating that goodness? “As for the earth, out of it comes bread, and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it. The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the lion passed thereby” ( Job 28:5–8). The reference is to the city of Sodom, which was later overturned, as it is stated thereafter: “He puts forth His hand upon the flinty rock; He overturns the mountains by the roots” ( Job 28:9).”
It further states: “It was taught in a baraita (Teaching outside of the Mishnah): “Wicked” is referring to sins they committed with their money; “and sinners” is referring to sins they committed with their bodies. Wicked” is referring to sins they committed with their money, as it is written: “And your eye is wicked against your poor brother and you give him nothing” (Deuteronomy 15:9). “And sinners” is referring to sins they committed with their bodies, as it is written with regard to Joseph and the wife of Potiphar: “And sin against God” (Genesis 39:9). “Before the Lord”; this is referring to blessing, a euphemism for cursing, God. “Exceedingly [meod ]” is referring to bloodshed, as it is stated: “Moreover Manasseh shed very [meod ] much blood” (II Kings 21:16).”
More information here says: “The people of Sodom said: Since we live in a land from which bread comes and has the dust of gold, we have everything that we need. Why do we need travelers, as they come only to divest us of our property? Come, let us cause the proper treatment of travelers to be forgotten from our land, as it is stated: “He breaks open a watercourse in a place far from inhabitants, forgotten by pedestrians, they are dried up, they have moved away from men” ( Job 28:4).”
So we can see the people were very well blessed with everything they could ever want and because of this blessing they became prideful, arrogant, haughty and ended up telling HaShem, figuratively, to get out. Further, they adopted every form of sexual immorality and depravity one can fathom. Keep this in mind!
Tractate Sanhedrin 109b has some in-depth information concerning the immorality and corruption of the justice system in Sodom:
“There were four judges in Sodom and they were named for their actions: Shakrai, meaning liar, and Shakrurai, habitual liar, Zayfai, forger, and Matzlei Dina, perverter of justice. These were the judgments that they rendered: In a case of one who strikes the wife of another and causes her to miscarry, they would say to the woman’s husband: Give the woman to the one who struck her, so that she will be impregnated for you again. In a case of one who severed the ear of another’s donkey, they would say to the owner of the donkey: Give the donkey to the one who caused the damage, until the ear grows back. In a case of one who wounds another, they would say to the injured party: Give the one who wounded you a fee, as he let your blood.” So, we see their justice system was woefully corrupt and did NOT mete out real justice but issued rulings of nothing but injustice!
Sanhedrin 109b further reveals: “There was a young woman who would take bread out to the poor people in a pitcher so the people of Sodom would not see it. The matter was revealed, and they smeared her with honey and positioned her on the wall of the city, and the hornets came and consumed her. And that is the meaning of that which is written: “And the Lord said: Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great [rabba]” (Genesis 18:20). And Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Rabba is an allusion to the matter of the young woman [riva] who was killed for her act of kindness. It is due to that sin that the fate of the people of Sodom was sealed.”
HaShem tells us in Ezekiel 16:49-50 which says “Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom your sister: Pride, abundance of bread, and careless ease were hers and her daughters and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they became haughty and did abomination before Me, and I removed them when I saw.”
Does this sound familiar at all in America today? I digress.
Rambam in the Mishnah Torah states something interesting in Hilchot Teshuvah (Repentance) chapter 3.2 which says “If a person’s sins exceeds his merits, he will immediately die because of his wickedness as Jeremiah 30:14 states ‘I have smitten you for the multitude of your transgressions.’ Similarly, a country whose sins are great will immediately be obliterated, as implied by Genesis 18:20 (See verse above). With regard to the entire world as well, were its inhabitants sins to be greater than their merits, they would immediately be destroyed as Genesis 6:5 relates ‘And Elohim saw the evil of man was great and Elohim said I will destroy man…’ This reckoning is not calculated only on the basis of the number of merits and sins, but also takes into account their magnitude. There are some merits, which outweigh many sins, as imply by I Kings 14:13 which says ‘Because in him, there was found a good quality.’ In contrast, a sin may outweigh many merits, as Ecclesiastes 9:18 says ‘One sin may obscure much good.’ The weighing of sins and merits is carried out according to the wisdom of the Knowing Elohim. He knows how to measure merits against sins.”
With all this said, the question must be asked if we as a nation have reached that same red line as in Sodom and Gomorrah? In my opinion, and I stress this is just my opinion, I believe we as a society are right on the cusp, a hairsbreadth away from crossing that line.
We have a corrupt justice system now, one set of laws for the elites and another set for the common person. Just look at our governmental leadership! Our society has now fully embraced the sexual immorality and debauchery which consumed Sodom and Gomorrah! We as a people have been richly blessed by HaShem, a land full of just about anything one could ever want, but now as a society we have told HaShem to get out. The elites are power mad and will do literally anything to obtain more power and control. Entertainment is the national past time and now every form of entertainment, even down to just simple commercials is full of the homosexual and transgender agenda’s. We now have an open transgender doctor serving as the deputy Secretary of Health over the entire United States! Violence has consumed the country and now the child sex trafficking rings are finally being exposed. I could go on and on and on. Point is, and again it is my opinion, that America has reached the level of depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah!
Is there any good news to this? Yes there is! Because just like HaShem did with Noah and his family and with Lot and his family, He promises to remove His people out BEFORE the judgment and the destruction fall because as we read in Revelation 18:10 which says “Standing at a distance for fear of her (Babylon’s/America’s) torture, saying, ‘Woe! Woe, the great city Babylon, the mighty city, because your judgment has come IN ONE HOUR!’“ This reflects what Jeremiah 51:8 says “SUDDENLY, Babylon has fallen and has been broken; wail over her, take balm for her pain, perhaps she may be healed.”
This is just a short Op and one in which I wanted to explore what the red line as compared to what we are seeing today around us. All I can say is we need to stay close to HaShem, learn to live by His Torah as the way to walk in the midst of all this insanity and depravity and keep looking up for our redemption must be drawing very, very near! May it be so very soon in our days!
Much to consider!
Shalom
SOURCE MATERIALS:
- The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research
- The Milstein Edition of the Chumash by Artscroll
- The Book of Job Artscroll Tanach Series by Artscroll
- The Book of Ezekiel by Judaica Press
- The Book of Jeremiah by Judaica Press
- The Book of Isaiah by Judaica Press
- The Book of Job by Judaica Press
- Mishnah Torah by Rambam
- Tractate Sanhedrin from the Talmud Bavli by Steinsaltz