18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan [born later].
19 These are the three sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was overspread and stocked with inhabitants.
20 And Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard.
21 And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay naked in his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, glanced at and saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
23 So Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon the shoulders of both, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine, and knew the thing which his youngest son had done to him,
25 He exclaimed, Cursed be Canaan! He shall be the servant of servants to his brethren!
26 He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! And blessed by the Lord my God be Shem! And let Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth; and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.
28 And Noah lived after the flood 350 years.
29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
NOTE: At first glance it would seem that some sort of same gender sexual expression occurs between Noah and Ham. However, in the Book of Leviticus we learn that the phrase, “uncovered the nakedness of your father” actually means “uncovering the nakedness of your father’s wife (or your own mother):
7 The nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother, you shall not uncover; she is your mother; you shall not have intercourse with her.
8 The nakedness of your father's wife you shall not uncover; it is your father's nakedness. Leviticus 18:7-8
NOTE: It would seem that Ham had slept with his own mother. At a time when there are no other females around it would seem necessary for propagating the human race. However we are told early in the flood account that Noah’s sons had wives already. If indeed Ham slept with Noah’s wife this would be the first record of adultery in the Scriptures. While I suppose it would be possible to interpret Ham’s actions as having molested his father, if doing so, instead of being the record of the first act of adultery, it would be the first act of a heterosexual man raping another heterosexual man. We see early on in the passage that Ham is the father of Canaan, so we know he was both heterosexual and married. Either way the event is interpreted, it still does not speak to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sexual expressions in a life affirming, committed marriage relationship between two consenting adults who are *not* blood relatives.
The most important take away from this incident is that fact that Noah didn’t even curse Ham, but rather Ham’s son, Canaan, who would become of the father of the Canaanites, with whom the Jews would have much interaction throughout the Old Testament. So now we have the second person in Scripture being cursed, and this time by another human being, and not God. (We’ll recall the first human cursed was Cain, by God as we explored in Chapter 13 of The Bed Keeper). If Ham had indeed raped Noah, or committed adultery by having sexual relations with Noah’s wife, it would indeed be a severe transgression of family loyalties. But the bottom line remains that Noah was ultimately responsible for the incident because he was both drunk, and naked. We never see Noah take responsibility for the incident though. Instead he blames his son, and curses his grandson. This is very similar to Adam’s response when God asked if he had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, wherein Adam blamed both Eve and God by saying, “this woman You have given me.”
With that background in mind, let us now once again review what Jesus had said regarding the “days of Noah:”
26 And [just] as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the time of the Son of Man.
27 [People] ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 So also [it was the same] as it was in the days of Lot. [People] ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29 But on the [very] day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all.
30 That is the way it will be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:26-30
Notice how Jesus ties the days of Noah together with the days of Lot (and Sodom). Lot was the nephew of Abraham. We’ll recall Abraham was the one whom God prophesied would give rise to Jesus Christ through His Seed when we examined the New Covenant that God admonishes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to “take firm hold of” as we learned in Chapter 5 of The Bed Keeper. Let us now take a look at the events leading up to the Days of Lot beginning in Genesis 13:
Genesis 13
1 So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South [country of Judah, the Negeb].
2 Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.
3 And he journeyed on from the South [country of Judah, the Negeb] as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4 Where he had built an altar at first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 But Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to nourish and support them so they could dwell together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land [making fodder more difficult to obtain].
8 So Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife, I beg of you, between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are relatives.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself, I beg of you, from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot looked and saw that everywhere the Jordan Valley was well watered. Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley and [he] traveled east. So they separated.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the [Jordan] Valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom and dwelt there.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and exceedingly great sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had left him, Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;
15 For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever.
16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the dust of the earth, then could your descendants also be counted.
17 Arise, walk through the land, the length of it and the breadth of it, for I will give it to you.
18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt among the oaks or terebinths of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and built there an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 14
1 In the days of the kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim,
2 They made war on the kings Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar.
3 The latter kings joined together [as allies] in the Valley of Siddim, which is [now] the [Dead] Sea of Salt.
4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 And in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him attacked and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
6 And the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as El-paran, which is on the border of the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat, which [now] is Kadesh, and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar.
8 Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela, that is, Zoar, went out and [together] they joined battle [with those kings] in the Valley of Siddim,
9 With the kings Chedorlaomer of Elam, Tidal of Goiim, Amraphel of Shinar, and Arioch of Ellasar--four kings against five.
10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of slime or bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell (were overthrown) there and the remainder [of the kings] fled to the mountain.
11 [The victors] took all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the supply of provisions and departed.
12 And they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods away with them.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew [one from the other side], who was living by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and of Aner--these were allies of Abram.
14 When Abram heard that [his nephew] had been captured, he armed (led forth) the 318 trained servants born in his own house and pursued the enemy as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and routed them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 And he brought back all the goods and also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, the women also and the people.
17 After his [Abram's] return from the defeat and slaying of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the King's Valley.
18 Melchizedek king of Salem [later called Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine [for their nourishment]; he was the priest of God Most High,
19 And he blessed him and said, Blessed (favored with blessings, made blissful, joyful) be Abram by God Most High, Possessor and Maker of heaven and earth,
20 And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High, Who has given your foes into your hand! And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all [he had taken].
21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons and keep the goods for yourself.
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand and sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor and Maker of heaven and earth,
23 That I would not take a thread or a shoelace or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich.
24 [Take all] except only what my young men have eaten and the share of the men [allies] who went with me--Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
Genesis 17
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the Almighty God; walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect (blameless, wholehearted, complete).
2 And I will make My covenant (solemn pledge) between Me and you and will multiply you exceedingly.
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him,
4 As for Me, behold, My covenant (solemn pledge) is with you, and you shall be the father of many nations.
5 Nor shall your name any longer be Abram [high, exalted father]; but your name shall be Abraham [father of a multitude], for I have made you the father of many nations.
6 And I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting, solemn pledge, to be a God to you and to your posterity after you.
8 And I will give to you and to your posterity after you the land in which you are a stranger [going from place to place], all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall therefore keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your posterity after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token or sign of the covenant (the promise or pledge) between Me and you.
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether born in [your] house or bought with [your] money from any foreigner not of your offspring.
13 He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money must be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the male who is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.
15 And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai; but Sarah [Princess] her name shall be.
16 And I will bless her and give you a son also by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?
18 And [he] said to God, Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!
19 But God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall call his name Isaac [laughter]; and I will establish My covenant or solemn pledge with him for an everlasting covenant and with his posterity after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard and heeded you: behold, I will bless him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly; He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [Fulfilled in Gen. 25:12-18.]
21 But My covenant, My promise and pledge, I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.
22 And God stopped talking with him and went up from Abraham.
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among [those] of Abraham's house, and circumcised [them] the very same day, as God had said to him.
24 And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.
26 On the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son as well.
27 And all the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him.
Genesis 18
1 Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre; as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day,
2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood at a little distance from him. He ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the ground
3 And said, My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, I beg of you.
4 Let a little water be brought, and you may wash your feet and recline and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And I will bring a morsel (mouthful) of bread to refresh and sustain your hearts before you go on further--for that is why you have come to your servant. And they replied, Do as you have said.
6 So Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, Quickly get ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and bake cakes.
7 And Abraham ran to the herd and brought a calf tender and good and gave it to the young man [to butcher]; then he [Abraham] hastened to prepare it.
8 And he took curds and milk and the calf which he had made ready, and set it before [the men]; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, [She is here] in the tent.
10 [The Lord] said, I will surely return to you when the season comes round, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son. And Sarah was listening and heard it at the tent door which was behind Him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah as with [young] women. [She was past the age of childbearing].
12 Therefore Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become aged shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband), being old also?
13 And the Lord asked Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I really bear a child when I am so old?
14 Is anything too hard or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son.
15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh; for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh.
16 The men rose up from there and faced toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do,
18 Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through him and shall bless themselves by him?
19 For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord and to do what is just and righteous, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what He has promised him.
20 And the Lord said, Because the shriek [of the sins] of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is exceedingly grievous,
21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether [as vilely and wickedly] as is the cry of it which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.
NOTE: We see at this point that God Himself verifies His judgment had been passed upon the men of Sodom, long before their attempted attack upon the angels that came to rescue Lot. As the account continues, we’ll recognize that the attempted gang rape doesn’t occur until Genesis19, meaning God must have passed judgment on something else. Also note verse 20: “the Lord said, Because the shriek [of the sins] of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is exceedingly grievous…”
As we learned in the previous 2 chapters of The Bed Keeper, the only other time a "cry went up to God" prior to this was when Abel's blood "cried up to God" when Cain killed him back in Genesis 4:9-10.
Genesis 19
1 It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom's [city] gate. Seeing them, Lot rose up to meet them and bowed to the ground.
NOTE: We see immediately that Lot recognized that although the angels had taken on human form, they were indeed angels, as evidenced by him bowing to the ground when he met them.
2 And he said, My lords, turn aside, I beg of you, into your servant's house and spend the night and bathe your feet. Then you can arise early and go on your way. But they said, No, we will spend the night in the square.
3 [Lot] entreated and urged them greatly until they yielded and [with him] entered his house. And he made them a dinner [with drinking] and had unleavened bread which he baked, and they ate.
NOTE: Notice the parallels between what we see Lot doing for the angels, and Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 25:
35 I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged Me,
36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me.
37 Then the just and upright will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and gave You food, or thirsty and gave You something to drink?
38 And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed and entertained You, or naked and clothed You?
39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and came to visit You?
40 And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me.
41 Then He will say to those at His left hand, Begone from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! Matthew 25:35-41
NOTE: Paying particular attention to the phrases, “you cursed” and "eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" we see yet another parallel to the men of Sodom. God’s judgment had already been passed, and now the punishment phase was about to come. We see that parallel with the remaining phrase, “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Now let’s compare that the description of the men of Sodom from the Book of Jude 1:6-7:
And angels who did not keep (care for, guard, and hold to) their own first place of power but abandoned their proper dwelling place--these He has reserved in custody in eternal chains (bonds) under the thick gloom of utter darkness until the judgment and doom of the great day.
[The wicked are sentenced to suffer] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent towns--which likewise gave themselves over to impurity and indulged in unnatural vice and sensual perversity--are laid out [in plain sight] as an exhibit of perpetual punishment [to warn] of everlasting fire.
Keeping those thoughts in mind, let us now explore the rest of Jesus teaching from Matthew 25:
42 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me and entertain Me, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me with help and ministering care.
44 Then they also [in their turn] will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?
45 And He will reply to them, Solemnly I declare to you, in so far as you failed to do it for the least [in the estimation of men] of these, you failed to do it for Me.
46 Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but those who are just and upright and in right standing with God into eternal life. Matthew 25:42-46
NOTE: Notice in verse 42 Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me.” Not only do we see a striking parallel to the exclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from the promises of God by Christians who declare it impossible for gays to also be Christians, but again also God’s eunuch prophecy declaring we will be included in his house of prayer for all people from Isaiah 55:11-56:8. Notice also the punishment for those who continue to exclude us.
For all the preaching gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have heard regarding how it is we who will be sent away into eternal punishment, Jesus clearly states it is those who continue to exclude us from God’s house of prayer for all people. While I don’t mean to say that gays have a free ticket out of hell, I do mean to show Jesus’ attitude toward those Church Shepherds (or anyone else) who purposely exclude LGBT people from God’s promises.
Let us now resume our examination of the men of Sodom as we pick back up from Genesis 19:4.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, all the men from every quarter, surrounded the house.
5 And they called to Lot and said, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know (be intimate with) them.
6 And Lot went out of the door to the men and shut the door after him
7 And said, I beg of you, my brothers, do not behave so wickedly.
8 Look now, I have two daughters who are virgins; let me, I beg of you, bring them out to you, and you can do as you please with them. But only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.
NOTE: Once again we see evidence that the men of Sodom were heterosexual, or Lot would have not offered his daughters to them. Many Christians scoff at the idea Lot was considered righteous by God because of his willingness to expose his daughters to a mob of men to be gang raped. But it is also clear that Lot recognized these “men” who had come to visit him were actually angels, as evidenced by him washing their feet, (which is a precursor to Jesus washing His Own disciples’ feet at the Last Supper).
9 But they said, Stand back! And they said, This fellow came in to live here temporarily, and now he presumes to be [our] judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them. So they rushed at and pressed violently against Lot and came close to breaking down the door.
10 But the men [the angels] reached out and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut the door after him.
11 And they struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness [which dazzled them], from the youths to the old men, so that they wearied themselves [groping] to find the door.
12 And the [two] men asked Lot, Have you any others here--sons-in-law or your sons or your daughters? Whomever you have in the city, bring them out of this place,
13 For we will spoil and destroy [Sodom]; for the outcry and shriek against its people has grown great before the Lord, and He has sent us to destroy it.
NOTE: We see here once again that the angels themselves knew that God's judgment had been passed long before the attempted gang rape, predicating the very reason for their presence in Sodom as the execution of God’s punishment, not the result of it.
14 And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will spoil and destroy this city! But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be [only] joking.
NOTE: Many Christians believe that all the men of Sodom were homosexuals, but this could not be so, or Lot’s daughters would not be engaged to marry the two men spoken of here. Yet we see they are clearly standing outside the door in the mob of men who were trying to rape the angels. It’s almost comical that these men thought Lot was joking, especially considering they too had just been struck blind by the angels. We’ll also see that these two men also perished with the rest of the men of Sodom, and do not escape with Lot and his family.
15 When morning came, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, Arise, take your wife and two daughters who are here [and be off], lest you [too] be consumed and swept away in the iniquity and punishment of the city.
16 But while he lingered, the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, for the Lord was merciful to him; and they brought him forth and set him outside the city and left him there.
17 And when they had brought them forth, they said, Escape for your life! Do not look behind you or stop anywhere in the whole valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], lest you be consumed.
18 And Lot said to them, Oh, not that, my lords!
19 Behold now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your kindness and mercy to me in saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest the evil overtake me, and I die.
20 See now yonder city; it is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape to it! Is it not a little one? And my life will be saved!
21 And [the angel] said to him, See, I have yielded to your entreaty concerning this thing also; I will not destroy this city of which you have spoken.
NOTE: Although the angel agrees to allow Lot to escape to Zoar, notice his language reveals that indeed Zoar was originally also slated for destruction:
“I will not destroy this city of which you have spoken.”
This indicates that perhaps Zoar was guilty of the same things as Sodom (which we’ll see is because of the sons of God mating with human women). If so, this explains how Satan’s seed continued in the earth through the Pharisees whom Jesus referred to as the “offspring of vipers.”
22 Make haste and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar [little].
23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of the heavens.
25 He overthrew, destroyed, and ended those cities, and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
NOTE: As we proffered in the previous chapter of The Bed Keeper, we learned that the ground itself had possibly become contaminated with the spirits of the Nephilim and/or the sons of God, and that they possibly were able to once again infiltrate the human bloodline through the food the people ate. This would explain how it was possible for the Nephilim to have escaped God’s destruction of their spirits in The Flood, and yet appear again throughout various other Scriptures up until the defeat of the last giant, Goliath, and even unto the Pharisees themselves, whom Jesus referred to as “offspring of vipers.” If so, this would explain why in verse 25 we see that not only were the inhabitants destroyed, but also “what grew on the ground.”
But verse 20 gives us yet another possibility. We learned through Jeremiah that Sodom and Gomorrah were not the only cities destroyed when he says,
“As [it was] in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man live in it temporarily. Jeremiah 49:18
Verse 20 shows Lot appealing to the angels to allow him to escape to the neighboring city of Zoar, which was not destroyed (although it was slated to be). In verse 17, the angel tells Lot to escape to the mountains do not look behind or stop anywhere in the whole valley. Lot says he can’t make it that far without “evil overtaking him” and the angel allows him to flee to Zoar instead.
It is possible then that Zoar also had sons of God residing in it and later repopulated the race of Nephilim from women in that city. What is interesting though is that Lot escapes from there the next day, and flees to the mountains. Yet then Lot’s daughters believe there was “not a man on earth to live with us in the customary way.” Were there no men at Zoar? That would seem highly unlikely if Zoar was originally slated for destruction along with Sodom and Gomorrah. But perhaps we learn here that had Lot’s daughters mated with any men from Zoar, they would be restarting the species that God had sent the angels to exterminate in the first place.
26 But [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham went up early the next morning to the place where he [only the day before] had stood before the Lord.
28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and saw, and behold, the smoke of the country went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29 When God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He [earnestly] remembered Abraham [imprinted and fixed him indelibly on His mind], and He sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when He overthrew the cities where Lot lived.
30 And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters.
NOTE: Here’s another indication that the population of Zoar was much like that of Sodom, as we see Lot “feared to dwell in Zoar.”
31 The elder said to the younger, Our father is aging, and there is not a man on earth to live with us in the customary way.
NOTE: This confirms that Lot’s daughter’s fiancées had indeed perished along with the rest of the men of Sodom, again confirming that the men of Sodom were not homosexual, but heterosexual. Further, as they use the phrase, “live with us in the customary way” they once again indicate that the men of Sodom were “customarily heterosexual,” not homosexual.
32 Come, let us make our father drunk with wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring (our race) through our father.
33 And they made their father drunk with wine that night, and the older went in and lay with her father; and he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she arose.
34 Then the next day the firstborn said to the younger, See here, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drunk with wine tonight also, and then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring (our race) through our father.
35 And they made their father drunk with wine again that night, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she arose.
36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37 The older bore a son, and named him Moab [of a father]; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38 The younger also bore a son and named him Ben-ammi [son of my people]; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
NOTE: Many people scoff at the idea that Lot was found righteous by God because he had offspring through his daughters. But as we clearly see Lot was not even aware of it. We’ll also recognize once again that the Law of Moses had not yet been given to man, so prohibitions against incest had not yet come about, and again remember as Paul taught in Romans 5:13:
[To be sure] sin was in the world before ever the Law was given, but sin is not charged to men's account where there is no law [to transgress].
Finally, I believe that we cannot ignore the extenuating circumstances that Lot’s daughters believed, “there is not a man on earth to live with us in the customary way.”
Suddenly, what Jude wrote of Sodom makes much more sense:
7 [The wicked are sentenced to suffer] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent towns--which likewise gave themselves over to impurity and indulged in unnatural vice and sensual perversity--are laid out [in plain sight] as an exhibit of perpetual punishment [to warn] of everlasting fire.
8 Nevertheless in like manner, these dreamers also corrupt the body, scorn and reject authority and government, and revile and libel and scoff at [heavenly] glories (the glorious ones).
9 But when [even] the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, judicially argued (disputed) about the body of Moses, he dared not [presume to] bring an abusive condemnation against him, but [simply] said, The Lord rebuke you!
10 But these men revile (scoff and sneer at) anything they do not happen to be acquainted with and do not understand; and whatever they do understand physically [that which they know by mere instinct], like irrational beasts--by these they corrupt themselves and are destroyed (perish).
11 Woe to them! For they have run riotously in the way of Cain, and have abandoned themselves for the sake of gain [it offers them, following] the error of Balaam, and have perished in rebellion [like that] of Korah!
12 These are hidden reefs (elements of danger) in your love feasts, where they boldly feast sumptuously [carousing together in your midst], without scruples providing for themselves [alone]. They are clouds without water, swept along by the winds; trees, without fruit at the late autumn gathering time--twice (doubly) dead, [lifeless and] plucked up by the roots;
13 Wild waves of the sea, flinging up the foam of their own shame and disgrace; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of eternal darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 7-13
Notice that Jude refers to the sin of Sodom as "unnatural vice" because (as we learned from Genesis 6:1-2), they had mated with the “daughters of men.” Additionally, Jude described them as "scoffing at the glorious ones.” This was to make the distinction between the holy angels that had come to rescue Lot, and the fallen angels of whom the men of Sodom actually were. We also see Jude clearly states the men of Sodom had "run riotously in the way of Cain," who we learned was the first of the Nephilim, and was a murderer, not a homosexual. But perhaps the clearest evidence from Jude’s account that the men of Sodom were actually fallen angels is from verse 6:
And angels who did not keep (care for, guard, and hold to) their own first place of power but abandoned their proper dwelling place--these He has reserved in custody in eternal chains (bonds) under the thick gloom of utter darkness until the judgment and doom of the great day. Jude 1:6
Again, it’s important to note these men of Sodom were not the Nephilim (which were the descendants of the intermingling of fallen angels and human women), but rather these were the very fallen angels themselves. Let’s verify that by comparing to what Peter taught regarding the Days of Lot from 2 Peter 1:19-2:22:
19 And we have the prophetic word [made] firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom] and the Morning Star rises (comes into being) in your hearts.
20 [Yet] first [you must] understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving).
21 For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so--it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:19-21
NOTE: What prophecy is Peter speaking of here? We'll recall in the previous chapter of The Bed Keeper that the Hebrew meaning of the names in Cain's genealogy:
Adam = Man
Cain = Acquired, Spear, Reed, Get, Create, Smith, Forge, Herb on a Stalk (Isaiah 42:3)
Enoch = Dedicated, Begin, Building, Wall, Altar, Imprint, Instruct, Make Wise, Teach, Palate, Mouth, Speech, Initiated, Trained
Irad = City, Fugitive, Watchful, Watcher, Witness, Escape
Mehujael = Wipe, Wipe out, Strike, Destroyed, Destruction of smitten of God
Methusael = Male, Combat, Mankind, Capable of Combat, Go Straight On, Ask, Inquire, Beg, Request, Demand, Sheol, Grave, Pit, Hell, When Man Of God, I'm Mortal, Where's God?, Man of Inquisition or Requested Man (the Man We Wanted)
Lamech = Strong, robust young man, towards, depressed, For Lowering, For Humiliation
Assembled into sentences, these names of Cain's descendants reveal 2 more prophecies. The first, "Man acquired a reed, a created herb on a stalk; a forged spear dedicated to building a wall and altar to initiate teaching wisdom through speech, by a city of fugitive Watchers who escape the destruction of God; men smitten of God who are trained and capable for combat." (This is a prophecy of the Nephilim escaping the total destruction of the seed, because the only thing The Flood destroyed was "all flesh," not all spirits).
The other prophecy we see is: "I'm a man of God! I'm mortal, where's God? God hears mankind's request and demands these men go straight on to Sheol, the grave, the pit, hell, for humiliating and lowering of a strong robust young man." (This appears to be a somewhat complicated, parallel, intertextual echo between the blood of Abel crying up to God for vengeance, and God avenging Abel by destroying the spiritual seed that gave rise to Cain, and later the men of Sodom, the sins of which also "cried up to God.")
I believe that when we examine the whole of the Sodom account, we see many references to the events, exactly as prophesied in Cain's genealogy. While this is again extremely interesting, I see Peter saying, "we have an even more sure word of prophecy" than even this. We'll see some portions of the prophecy "made more sure" in the remainder of this chapter, and even more so in the next chapter of The Bed Keeper.
2 Peter 2
1 But also [in those days] there arose false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among yourselves, who will subtly and stealthily introduce heretical doctrines (destructive heresies), even denying and disowning the Master Who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings; because of them the true Way will be maligned and defamed.
3 And in their covetousness (lust, greed) they will exploit you with false (cunning) arguments. From of old the sentence [of condemnation] for them has not been idle; their destruction (eternal misery) has not been asleep.
4 For God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but cast them into hell, delivering them to be kept there in pits of gloom till the judgment and their doom.
5 And He spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven other persons, when He brought a flood upon the world of ungodly [people]. 2 Peter 2:1-5
NOTE: Compare to Jude 1:6: “And angels who did not keep (care for, guard, and hold to) their own first place of power but abandoned their proper dwelling place--these He has reserved in custody in eternal chains (bonds) under the thick gloom of utter darkness until the judgment and doom of the great day.”
Also notice in 2 Peter 2:4-5 we see these “angels who sinned” in the same passage of Scripture with Noah, which now explains why Jesus worded His statement to His disciples the way He did in Luke 17, wherein He relates Noah, The Flood, Lot, and Sodom all at the same time saying, "And [just] as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the time of the Son of Man. [People] ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. So also [it was the same] as it was in the days of Lot. [People] ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the [very] day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all.” Luke 17:26-29
Continuing now examining what Peter wrote of the men of Sodom:
6 And He condemned to ruin and extinction the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing them to ashes [and thus] set them forth as an example to those who would be ungodly; 2 Peter 2:6
NOTE: Compare to Jude 1:7 “[The wicked are sentenced to suffer] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent towns--which likewise gave themselves over to impurity and indulged in unnatural vice and sensual perversity--are laid out [in plain sight] as an exhibit of perpetual punishment [to warn] of everlasting fire.”
Also compare to Jesus’ statement to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee and escape from the wrath and indignation [of God against disobedience] that is coming?” Matthew 3:7
7 And He rescued righteous Lot, greatly worn out and distressed by the wanton ways of the ungodly and lawless—
8 For that just man, living [there] among them, tortured his righteous soul every day with what he saw and heard of [their] unlawful and wicked deeds—
9 Now if [all these things are true, then be sure] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptations and trials, and how to keep the ungodly under chastisement until the day of judgment and doom,
10 And particularly those who walk after the flesh and indulge in the lust of polluting passion and scorn and despise authority. Presumptuous [and] daring [self-willed and self-loving creatures]! They scoff at and revile dignitaries (glorious ones) without trembling, 2 Peter 2:7-10
NOTE: Compare to Jude 1:8 “Nevertheless in like manner, these dreamers also corrupt the body, scorn and reject authority and government, and revile and libel and scoff at [heavenly] glories (the glorious ones).”
11 Whereas [even] angels, though superior in might and power, do not bring a defaming charge against them before the Lord. 2 Peter 2:11
NOTE: Compare to Jude 1:9 “But when [even] the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, judicially argued (disputed) about the body of Moses, he dared not [presume to] bring an abusive condemnation against him, but [simply] said, The Lord rebuke you!”
12 But these [people]! Like unreasoning beasts, mere creatures of instinct, born [only] to be captured and destroyed, railing at things of which they are ignorant, they shall utterly perish in their [own] corruption [in their destroying they shall surely be destroyed], 2 Peter 2:12
NOTE: Compare to Jude 1:10 “But these men revile (scoff and sneer at) anything they do not happen to be acquainted with and do not understand; and whatever they do understand physically [that which they know by mere instinct], like irrational beasts--by these they corrupt themselves and are destroyed (perish).”
13 Being destined to receive [punishment as] the reward of [their] unrighteousness [suffering wrong as the hire for their wrongdoing]. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime [living luxuriously and delicately]. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions and carousing together [even] as they feast with you. 2 Peter 2:13
NOTE: Compare to first half of Jude 1:12 “These are hidden reefs (elements of danger) in your love feasts, where they boldly feast sumptuously [carousing together in your midst], without scruples providing for themselves [alone].
14 They have eyes full of harlotry, insatiable for sin. They beguile and bait and lure away unstable souls. 2 Peter 2:14
NOTE: Compare to Eve’s response to God: “And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:13
(Verse 14 continued): Their hearts are trained in covetousness (lust, greed), [they are] children of a curse [exposed to cursing]! 2 Peter 2:14
NOTE: Compare to God’s response to the serpent: “And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals and above every [wild] living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel. Genesis 3:14-15
Also compare to Jesus’ response to the Pharisees and Sadducees: “The field is the world, and the good seed means the children of the kingdom; the darnel (weeds, tares) is the children of the evil one” Matthew 13:38
"You serpents! You spawn of vipers! How can you escape the penalty to be suffered in hell (Gehenna)?” Matthew 23:33
“You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34
15 Forsaking the straight road they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam [the son] of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness.
16 But he was rebuked for his own transgression when a dumb beast of burden spoke with human voice and checked the prophet's madness.
17 These are springs without water and mists driven along before a tempest, for whom is reserved forever the gloom of darkness. 2 Peter 2:15-17
NOTE: Compare to second half of Jude 1:12 “They are clouds without water, swept along by the winds; trees, without fruit at the late autumn gathering time--twice (doubly) dead, [lifeless and] plucked up by the roots;”
18 For uttering loud boasts of folly, they beguile and lure with lustful desires of the flesh those who are barely escaping from them who are wrongdoers. 2 Peter 2:18
NOTE: Compare to Eve’s response to God: “And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:13
19 They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity and defilement--for by whatever anyone is made inferior or worse or is overcome, to that [person or thing] he is enslaved. 2 Peter 2:19
NOTE: Compare to the serpent’s response to Eve: “But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.” Genesis 3:4-5
20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through [the full, personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition is worse [for them] than the first.
21 For never to have obtained a [full, personal] knowledge of the way of righteousness would have been better for them than, having obtained [such knowledge], to turn back from the holy commandment which was [verbally] delivered to them.
22 There has befallen them the thing spoken of in the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and, The sow is washed only to wallow again in the mire. 2 Peter 2:20-22
NOTE: Compare to the account of The Flood that God sent to destroy the Nephilim, only for their own ancestors to re-emerge again at Sodom (and later throughout other portions of the Old Testament). Notice here Peter’s words, “the sow is washed” which provides a clear allegory of The Flood.
Let’s now continue with the remainder of Jude’s epistle, picking back up in verse 14:
14 It was of these people, moreover, that Enoch in the seventh [generation] from Adam prophesied when he said, Behold, the Lord comes with His myriads of holy ones (ten thousands of His saints)
15 To execute judgment upon all and to convict all the impious (unholy ones) of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed [in such an] ungodly [way], and of all the severe (abusive, jarring) things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
In the next chapter of The Bed Keeper, we’ll take a look at who Enoch was. He was important enough to be uniquely mentioned in Seth’s genealogy in Genesis 5 which read, "And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him]." Enoch was also important enough to be quoted by Jude, and we even see him included in the great hall of faith from the Book of Hebrews:
Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God. Hebrews 11:5
In examining the Book of Enoch, not only will we find strong support for understanding the men of Sodom were *not* a pack of marauding homosexuals, (as so many Christians have traditionally taught), but we’ll also see there’s much more to know of the fallen angels, who were originally sent to earth to watch over mankind, yet fell into sin, and mated with human women, which is a very heterosexual act, not a homosexual one.
__________________________________
THANK YOU for your generous support of this work!
Let him who receives instruction in the Word of God share all good things with his teacher, contributing to his support. Galatians 6:6
10% of all donations received by this ministry are tithed to my personal Home Church.
The remaining 90% are used exclusively to purchase necessary equipment, to cover fees related to funding our ministry website, to produce, advertise, publish, and distribute teaching media, books, and videos, and to fund regular operational costs incurred in the process of reaching out to Churches and Pastors to share these teachings with their Congregations.
We couldn't do it without YOU!
__________________________________
