Sodom & Gomorrah: Lost & Found

A tale of two cities

Did these two cities really exist and if so, can they be found today? The sad news is that many scholars do not think this is possible for two reasons. One is that the story is not real, but instead an allegory that expressed God’s terrible judgement on the incurably wicked. Others believe that these legendary cities from very ancient times were destroyed in such a way that, 4,000 years later, they have returned back into the earth from which they originally sprang. The good news is that if one actually studies the rich amount of details given on the location of these cities in Scripture, along with recent archeological excavations, we can clearly arrive at not only a general vicinity but the actual locations.

SUMMARY

The infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are first mentioned in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 10:19). The cities are mentioned again in (Genesis 13) which notes that Abraham was living near Bethel also known as Luz. There, tensions arose between the grazing rights of Abraham’s herds and those of his nephew Lot. To resolve the issue, Abraham allowed Lot to choose between staying in the current land, or he could chose the land to the southeast known as the Plain of Jordan. This was a large flat area of land that was well watered due to creeks and springs that drained into the Dead Sea. Lot chose the Plain area and eventually "pitched his tent" with the city of Sodom looming in the distance. Lot and his family would later be captured and held for ransom by four Mesopotamian kings as they attacked and looted the cities located in the Plain. Abraham would defeat all four kings and rescued Lot (Genesis 14:2-12). This is known as the Battle at the Valley of Siddim. This area will serve as a vital clue as to where Sodom was located.

Later Abraham moved to an area known as the Oaks of Mamre. It was here that a preincarnation of Christ and two angelic men visited him. Abraham had a meal prepared and later accompanied them on the first part of their journey to Sodom. It was then that the "LORD" revealed to Abraham that they were going to examine Sodom, Gomorrah and three other cities to see if their wickedness was as bad as had been reported. If so, these cities would all be destroyed. Abraham asked the LORD that if there were only 10 righteous people found in Sodom, He would spare the city. Abraham knew that his nephew Lot lived there and had a family of ten. The LORD agreed and the two angelic men arrive in Sodom that evening (Genesis 19:1).

Lot met the two men sent from God at the city gate and invited them for dinner. Later that night, a mob encircled the house and demanded he turn his visitors over to them to be sodomized. This term is derived from the root word Sodom or Sodomites. Lot tries to reason with the mob but to no avail. The two men finally step outside and strike the crowd with blurred vision. They scatter and the family is told to pack some belongings as the city would soon be destroyed. They allow Lot to meet with his three married daughters and explain to them that they must also leave. But his son in laws tell him he is delusional and to go home to rest.

In the morning the angelic men lead Lot out from the city. They instruct him to walk as fast as possible into the mountains to protect his family from the coming destruction. They also tell them to not look back for any reason. Lot now requests of the LORD that he be allowed instead to go to the small village of Zoar. The LORD explains that while the village of Zoar was also on the destruction list, it would be spared if he went there. He also explained that Sodom would be destroyed as soon as Lot and his family were safe in Zoar. Genesis suggests that it took Lot and his family a full day and night to walk the sixteen miles south to the village. This village will serve as one of several Scriptural markers as to where Sodom was located.

Unfortunately, while the family was on their way to Zoar, Lots wife decided to stop and take one last look back at her home. As she turned around, she was immediately transformed into a pillar of salt. The next day Lot, with his two daughters, arrived unnoticed in Zoar. Later that day, Sodom, Gomorra, Admah and Zeboiim were all simultaneously destroyed. That same morning, Abraham arose and looked down from Mamre in the direction of the Plane. There He saw black pillars of smoke rising from the destroyed cities.

Out of an abundance of caution, Lot later decided to move his family from Zoar several miles east into a cave. Apparently, the family had become afraid to live in Zoar. Scripture does not say why, but it could be that Lot showed up from Sodom and the next day, it and three other cities were destroyed. So, are Lot and his family a bad omen? Is there a god that is mad at them for some transgression? Is Zoar next on the hit list? At any rate, Lot with his two daughters are now isolated from Zoar and living in a cave. It is under these dire circumstances that Lot’s two daughters reach a conclusion and concoct a plan. Because the only city not destroyed was Zoar, and because the people of Zoar were to be avoided, they conclude that they will probably remain single and childless the rest of their lives. So, they decided to get their father drunk to the point of delirium. Then, perhaps posing as his recently deceased wife, they would conceive children by him in an effort to continue their family lineage. After all, their mother and three sisters were now all killed in a span of twenty four hours. The plan worked and each gave birth to a son. These sons would establish the Moabites and Ammonites tribes both sworn enemies of the Jewish race. Apparently the angelic men were right in telling Lot to find safety in the mountains and not another city.

THE DEEP DIVE

The name Sodom is so ancient that the original meaning of the word has been lost to antiquity. But we do know that the Sodomites were the descendants of Canaan who was fathered by Ham and his step mother Naamah. Please see Related: “Why Noah Cursed His Step-Grandson Revealed”. The word Gomorrah in Hebrew means deep or copious amounts of water. These two cities combined with Adamah, Zeboiim and Zoar are referred to as “the cities of the plain” (Genesis 13:12; Genesis 19:29).

We would never have known of Sodom and its fate if it was not for Moses. Jewish scholars believe that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible or Torah. So it was Moses who wrote the story of Sodom & Gomorrah. And he wrote the story in such a way and with such detail that it is clear he thought the story was absolutely true. He described where Sodom was located, who lived there, what they did that upset God, how and why it was judged as unredeemable, how exactly it was destroyed and who witnessed the destruction and lived to tell the tale.  

Archeologically speaking, were are only two possible locations for Sodom. Interesting, one is located at the northern tip of the Dead Sea and the other sixty miles south at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. Therefore, we have a limited choice from which to choose and resolve this issue. So which location is in line with Scripture?

LOT WAS A LOT OF TROUBLE 

Scripture begins the story of Sodom when Abraham and his nephew, Lot were forced to part ways as their herds had grown so large that available grazing lands had become a constant heated issue (Genesis 13:5-7). Abraham, always the gentleman, allowed Lot to decide what land he wanted for his herdsmen to use. Lot took full advantage of the offer and chose the choice land located down in the Jordon Valley with abundant pastures and a constant supply of fresh water (Genesis 13:8-13). Abraham was left with the high plains area overlooking the valley. It had less pastures and wells were needed to supply water. Still, Abraham knew that God would meet all his needs. The two men parted amicably and kept in touch.

The next time we hear of Lot, he has obtained wealth as a successful owner of vast herds. And, his family had slowly migrated from the bucolic pastoral life of a Bedouin to setting up a permanent camp site facing the city of Sodom (Genesis 13:12). It seems Sodom, having been located at the nexus of several major trade routes, had transformed the once small village into a thriving center of commerce and a paleaceous playground for the wealthy. The citizens of Sodom now had a constant stream of the finest items from around the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East brought to their doorsteps. They had access to exquisite foods, wines, fashionable clothing, jewelry and art objects. And the entertainment options ran from professional concerts and theatrical plays, to hot springs, mineral baths and health spas (Ezekiel 16:49-58). 

However, once the sun went down, the entertainment in Sodom quickly turned dark with bars, gambling houses, drug dens and prostitution rings providing every unimaginable type of deviant activity. In short, Sodom was both a merchandising center, and an exclusive resort where a person could go to have all their wildest fantasies satisfied. A sort of ancient Las Vegas of the Middle East, but on massive doses of steroids. And Sodom did not have the intrusions of laws based on moral standards to tamp down the variety of pleasures offered. Whatever occurred consensually between two people, adult or otherwise, was of no concern of the town fathers of Sodom. The business of Sodom was making money and providing pleasure, and business was booming.

THE STORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM BEGINS 

It was a hot and completely unremarkable day. Abraham was living in the plain of Mamre sitting as usual in the shade of his tent enjoying the occasional breeze that the ancient oak trees and high plains area offered. He looked up at the surrounding desert and was surprised to see three shadowy vaporous figures seemingly coalescing in the distant heat shimmers. As the figures came closer, a familiar feeling must have come over Abraham (Genesis 18:1). He instinctively knew that something supernatural was now about to take place (John 8:56). Perhaps he got that same feeling whenever God had call upon him in the past (Genesis 22:1; Genesis 22:11).

So, he immediately stood up, and ran to meet the men bowing (Genesis 18:2). He called one of the men “My LORD” and invited them to stay, rest and eat a meal with him (Genesis 18:3-5). Abraham then looking into his tent, called out for his wife Sarah. He told her important guests were waiting for dinner and to have her maids quickly prepare a meal of fresh bread and tender steak. He took the food and presented it to them as they sat in the shade of an ancient oak tree of Mamre. Abraham stood quietly as the men ate and waited to hear what they had to say to him (Genesis 18:6-8). The LORD then asked Abraham where was Sarah and said that, at the appointed time, He {the Holy Spirit} would return and she would conceive and have a son. Sarah was listening just inside the tent, and knowing she was ninety years of age, laughed to herself at this bold statement (Genesis 18: 9-12). The LORD immediately asked Abraham why Sarah laughed adding, "Is anything too hard for Lord?”. Sarah was the only woman to laugh in the face of God and live to tell about it (Genesis 18:13-14). Sarah then denied that she laughed, but the LORD replied, "No, you did laugh" (Genesis 18:15). Proving that while Sarah laughed to herself, God always knows the heart {inner thoughts} of a person.

The angelic men having eaten, now stood and looking towards Sodom, began to walk with Abraham Genesis 18:16). The LORD then stopped and said to Abraham that, because the cry of Sodom was so great and their sins so incredibly grievous, “I will” go down and personally judge these cities. Thus, the judgments of the LORD are neither rash nor excessive, but His judgments are for all people for all times (Genesis 18:17-21). As the two other angelic men continued towards Sodom, Abraham boldly stepped in front of the LORD to ask Him a series of questions, face to face. He questioned that if Sodom had a few righteous people living there, was it fair to destroy them along with the wicked? Eventually the LORD agreed that if there were only ten righteous people living there, He would not destroy the city (Genesis 18: 22-33). The LORD then continued towards Sodom. Abraham had negotiated the number of ten righteous people as he knew Lot's immediate family consisted of Lot, his wife two single daughter and three married daughters. 

Only the two angelic men are cited as entering Sodom through the main gates of the city. The LORD was with them, but He is not cited as appearing in the city. He will appear to Lot when the men have escorted the family outside the walls of the city.

LOT HAS VISITORS 

Because of Lot's wealth and influence, he was now apparently a Town Council member and as such allowed to sit in the shade of Sodom’s massive main gate (Genesis 13:2, 5). This 23’ wide excavated gate was the only entrance into the city and passed through a massive 23’ thick defensive wall composed of interlacing baked brick lined on both sides with block stone. The wall was 33’ high with 2 large stone guard towers flanking the gate. Inside the gate opening were 2 long stone seating benches that ran from the entrance of the gate to the exit into the city. It was on these shaded benches and with a manmade breeze, that the elders of the city would sit facing each other and converse on a variety of legal and social issues. It was also here that they would welcome known citizens and merchants while interrogating strangers as the city’s armed guards looked on.  

The two angelic men arrived in Sodom that evening as the sun was beginning to set (Genesis 19:1). While the trip from Abraham's home in Mamre to Sodom is 35 miles, the two men arrived that afternoon as angels move at the speed of thought. Lot sees the two men, and much like Abraham, immediately suspected who they were. He stood up, bowed and called them “my lords”. Lot was not worshiping angels, but only showing his respect for Who had sent them. The onlookers at the gate saw the men, saw Lot’s reaction to them and news spread fast throughout the city. Lot invited them to come stay in a home he now owned in Sodom. There his distinguished visitors could bathe, eat supper, spend the night, and then leave in the morning (Genesis 19:1). But the men declined his offer and instead said that they would prefer to walk the streets of Sodom all night (Genesis 19:2). Lot was extremely startled at this idea and began to beg them not to go out into the streets after sunset. Instead, he insisted that they remain within the safe confines of his home (Genesis 19:3). The two men finally agreed and Lot held a feast prepared in their honor. We are not told what the subjects of the conversations were during the meal. But, as fate would have it, the two men did not need to go out into the streets of Sodom to assess its moral character. Instead, the people of Sodom would come to Lot's doorstep demanding to meet and have sexual relations with his guests. 

Just before Lot and his guests retired for the night, a large crowd consisting of the old and young men of the city surrounded the house (Genesis 19:4). They knew the strangers were staying with Lot and wanted to see them up close and very personal. The leaders of what was becoming and unruly mob yelled demands that Lot send the strangers out to them. They stated that they wanted to “know them” (Genesis 19:5). This is a Biblical term first used concerning Adam “knowing” his wife which produced their twins Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1; Jude 6-7). From Lot’s reaction, it was clear to him that the crowd of men were determined to have sexual relations with the two angels. This would occur either by consent or by force. For the leaders of the crowd to make such a loud bold statement in a public street surrounded by a mass of citizens implies that same sex relations were not only legal in Sodom, but also occurred in public for entertainment purposes.

Lot stepped out of his front door and quickly closed it behind him. He then literally begged the crowd not to try and force his two visitors into committing what he knew to be an immoral act against the will of God. We do not know if the angels had told Lot during the meal that they had been sent from God to judge the city. But it is clear that Lot now knew these were angels sent from God, and to violently confront them would bring an immediate and incredibly lethal response. So, he devised the only offer he could think of that might appease the crowd and save the entire city. He would make the ultimate sacrifice as a loving father by offering to send his two virgin daughters out into the crowd of men to do with as they pleased (Genesis 19:6-8).  

On first blush, this sounds profoundly sexist and misogynistic in the extreme. However, there was a method to Lot’s seeming madness. First, he did not want these men, through their actions, to cause the entire city to be destroyed. Lot had learned how to live with their wickedness by turning a blind eye and not going out at night. Second, he knew that homosexual males would not desire to have sexual relations with a female, so the girls were most likely safe. Third, his fervent hope was that his self-sacrificing offer was so extraordinary that at least some of the men would come to their senses, respect Lot’s wishes, and leave his family and his guests alone.  

However, the men only became more enraged and told Lot to step out of the way so that they could force the door open. They also questioned who was he as a Shemite from the race Shem {Noah’s son of the Blessing}, to come into their Canaanite {race of Ham} town and judge them as to what was right and what was wrong. After all, what they wanted to do with his visitors may be morally wrong but was legally allowed in Sodom. They were done asking and Lot was in no position to stop them. They yelled that if Lot did not comply and bring out the men, they would not only rape him, but afterwards they would kill him (Genesis 19:9). It was then that the crowd lunged towards Lot to shove him aside and break down the door. The two angels, standing inside the house, heard all that went on and now decided to step in and save Lot. 

So, just as the crowd lunged at Lot, the two angels opened Lot’s door and stepped outside onto the stoop. They then grabbed him by each arm and set him inside the house closing the door behind them (Genesis 19:10). The crowd was no doubt amazed and delighted that the two strikingly beautiful men had decided to voluntarily come out and meet their needs. A loud cheer of excitement immediately went up from the crowd. But instead of the two men mingling with the mob, they struck the crowd with blurred vision (Genesis 19:11). The Hebrew word used for this miracle does not expresses blindness. Instead, it means sudden and extreme blurred vision. This caused the cheering men in the front of the crowd to suddenly scream out in terror as their sight was now dim and blurred. They began to rub their eyes and grab at each other in an effort to quickly escape Lot’s doorway. Scripture tells us that all these men were affected by this miracle no matter their age or rank. The rest of the crowd then went into a full panic mode and turned to escape as they too realized that their vision was now also blurred. The men closest to the door reached out struggling to touch the doorway in order to get their bearings so as to turn around and try to find their way back home. They had reason to fear these two angelic beings as the Bible recounts that one angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (II Kings 19:35).   

The area around Lot's home was quickly deserted. The angels then went back into the house and told Lot that the decision had now been made to completely destroy the city (Genesis 18:13). Instead of the two men going to the inhabitants of the city at night, the inhabitants came to them and publicly displayed a complete and utter unrepentant wickedness of character. Lot was also told by the angels that he could now visit any of his relatives, tell them of the city’s imminent destruction, and that they should leave immediately (Genesis 19:12). 

So, Lot went out to visit his three married daughters and give them the horrific prophecy of the impending destruction of the entire city. He told them that they needed to leave their homes and possessions and escape with him (Genesis 19:14). This alarming and unbelievable announcement was much the same as with Noah when he went to his three sons and told them of God's revelation concerning a coming flood (Genesis 6:13). And, that they would need to build an ark to escape this tribulation period. These announcements are also much the same as when Christians were told to believe that God would some day conduct a Rapture event to save the righteous both dead and alive from yet another Tribulation Period (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). But Lot's sons-in-law all individually concluded that their father-in-law was old and delusional so they mocked him. They were adamant that they were going to stay in the city. Fortunately, Noah did not encounter this issue with his sons and daughter-in-law.

The couples may have heard about the mob scene at his house earlier that same evening and thought it had given him a nervous breakdown. But in any case, they refuse his offer and showed him to the door thinking a good night’s rest was all the old man needed to regain his senses. However, because these six people refused to believe the revelation given to Lot, two issues were resolved. By disrespecting their father, the three daughters showed that they and their husbands were committed to the life style of Sodom and were therefore judged as among the unrighteous. And second, by not leaving, they unknowingly sealed the fate of themselves and the entire city they loved and called home. Remember, God told Abraham that if Lot could find only ten righteous people in the city, He would spare it from judgement. Lot’s children denied him and the city’s fate was sealed. In the morning, Abraham would see the thick black smoke rising on the distant horizon, and hanging his head, know that there were not even 10 righteous people found in Sodom nor any of the other cities of the plain (Genesis 19:27-28; Jude 1:7). He would later learn with some relief that at least Lot, and two of his unmarried daughters had escaped the city unharmed. 

Lot returned home mantically depressed that his daughters showed no faith in him. He no doubt held on to the hope that at least one or two of his married daughters would change their minds during the night, come back home and leave Sodom with him at sunrise. Meanwhile, his wife and two unmarried daughters who had witnessed the mob scene, had packed what they could carry and readied themselves for the trip as far away from Sodom as they could get.  

Early the next morning as the sun was rising, the angels went into Lot’s bedroom and told him that he with his wife and daughters must now move quickly because the city’s destruction was very close at hand (Genesis 19: 15). Still, Lot tried to stall leaving the house because of his concerns over the lives of his other daughters, their husbands and all his friends living in the city. Lot knew that as long as he was in the city, the city would not be destroyed. But the moment he left, it was a sure death sentence for his daughters, the residents of the Sodom, Gomorrah and three other cities.  

Lot’s intentional stalling actions caused the angels to finally step in and take charge of the situation. One gently took Lot and his wife by the hands while the other took his two daughters by the hands. They then quietly walked with them from their house through the empty streets of the sleeping city, out through the main gate and into the nearby countryside (Genesis 19:16). One of the angels instructed Lot and his family that they were to walk quickly as if their very lives depended on every step. They were also told to not look back at the city no matter what they might think, hear or see (Genesis 19:17). 

This scenario directly parallels that of the Rapture. Christ will appear in the sky, call His chosen believers to immediately “Come up!” and escape the world and its imminent Tribulation Period. Some might want to stay as they do not want to have loved ones experience the Tribulation without them. However, the Rapture will be intentionally quick because goodbyes would only make the journey harder still. Lot was also instructed not to stop in the surrounding countryside. He was to go quickly up, into and beyond the first hills in order to be safe. They were not to rest at any time especially in the plain or valley. Only well into the mountains that flanked the valley would they be fully protected from an event so violent that it might inadvertently consume them (Genesis 19:17). 

Lot then turns to the LORD who has now reappeared (Genesis 19:18). He explains to Him that going east into the barren hill country was in his opinion a bad idea (Genesis 19:19). This is a very strange verse for four reasons. First, it is only one sentence long. Second, Lot now calls one of the angels his “LORD” so apparently Christ has once again appeared to make sure Lot and his family are not harmed. Third, Lot is showing a remarkable lack of trust in the LORD to protecting him and his family. And forth, we are about to see Lot negotiate with the LORD just as Abraham had done earlier in this story. Apparently a pre incarnation of Christ is once again bargaining with a participant He was trying to save.  

Lot first reiterates how thankful he was that the LORD had shown him and his family mercy by saving their lives. But, he was concerned that there were people living in the mountains that were so evil they were even banished from Sodom. Thus, they would probably rob and kill them. So, he asks the LORD to allow him to instead travel to "a little one" as opposed to another large city. Interestingly, the word Zoar means a “little one” {small village}. And the village of Zoar is located southeast of Sodom. So Lot is asking the LORD if he can instead take his family there until the destruction was over (Genesis 19:20). He apparently felt that this village would provide greater safety and his family would have a better life moving forward. The LORD said that He understood Lot’s concern and that he could instead go there (Genesis 19:21). He added that it was only because Lot would be in this village that He would not destroy it with the other four cities. But, He insisted that Lot hurry because Sodom and the other cities could not be destroyed until he had safely arrived in Zoar (Genesis 19:22). Because this would be a 16 mile trip, the family would need to travel that day and through the night before arriving in Zoar the next morning (Genesis 19:23).

LOT’S WIFE HAS AN ISSUE 

As they were making their way to Zoar, Lot’s wife made the conscious decision to turn and look back at Sodom. She may have done this for many reasons, but she disobeyed a direct command from the angel not to look back because if anyone did, they would also "be consumed” (Genesis 19:17).

Unfortunately, Lot’s wife would start a journey she would not live to finish. While Lot’s wife no doubt loved Sodom and had many friends there, she was probably overcome by an understandable wave of sorrow and grief. As a loving mother, she now found herself literally turning her back on her daughters in Sodom and their imminent deaths. The further she traveled away from Sodom and into safety, the more desperate she became to return to save her children. Perhaps if she had gone to speak with her daughters instead of Lot, they would have decided to leave Sodom with their family. She could imagine hearing their screams while she was safe above and beyond the carnage that was taking place down below. In the midst of experiencing this emotional breakdown, she rashly decide to turn around and reconsider her actions. So she turned, and as she cried out in her frustration, her body was instantly translated from flesh into one of salt. The echo of her cry was all that was left of her. We can know for a fact that this event actually happened as it was retold by Jesus who no doubt witnessed the event (Luke 17:32).

We might assume that the two younger daughters were leading the family towards the village of Zoar. Because their older mother and father were lagging behind, they were blissfully unaware of what their mother had done and they would not have been traumatized by this horrific sight. We may also assume that Lot was bringing up the rear. So, as she turned to look back, he was now staring straight ahead at her and witnessed this unimaginable miracle of horror. He no doubt yelled “No!” and then, just as quickly, hung his head and wept at his family’s loss. But, there was no time to mourn nor need to bury her. He could only glance at her frozen effigy as he passed it by moving ever closer with his daughters to the safety of Zoar.   

Lot's wife had knowingly and willfully made the same bad decisions as did her three married daughters. They defied their father and in doing so, the will of God. They were consumed just as were all the unrighteous citizens of Sodom and the other three cities of the plain. The only difference was, the salt memorial of Lot’s wife, was now the only remaining physical warning of the consequences. The intense heat that Sodom and the other cities were subjected to literally cracked the stones, melted the bricks and cremated the people (II Peter 2:6). The enormous amounts of sulfur insured that the sites would never again be suitable for plant, animal or human habitation (Deuteronomy 29:23; Deuteronomy 32:32). Lot's wife was the lone resident standing guard over a once vibrant, yet wicked population, now reduced to charred gravel and ashes. 

The idea of the destruction of the wicked has always been troubling for righteous and merciful believers. Therefore, God will not allow the punishment and destruction of the unrighteous to occur in their presence. This was the case with the Flood of Noah, destruction of Sodom, the Rapture, the Second Coming and the Great White Throne Judgement of the incorrigibly wicked. Noah and his family were inside the ark when the rains came and did not witnesses the drownings. Lot was shielded by the mountains between Sodom and Zoar when the destruction took place. The righteous people of God will be Raptured before the many horrors of the Tribulation Period take place. At the Second Coming, Jesus leads His armies of angels and saints from Heaven down to the earth. However, just before His righteous followers arrive, Jesus instantly strikes down the unrepentant of the earth with only a command. His followers do not actually witness the instantaneous deaths of many millions of people. The Great White Throne Judgement takes place at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ in a location removed from the earth, and the righteous Children of God are completely unaware of this event.

At the time of this final judgement, the righteous are being blessed and introduced to their eternal homes of peace in the New Jerusalem. While at the same time, the unrighteous are being judged and introduced to their eternal home of condemnation and destruction. So, both the righteous and unrighteous are being rewarded for the fruits of their labors and assigned to their eternal homes at the exact same time. And it is also at this time that the Age of the Millennial Reign of Christ ends, and the Age of Perfection begins only to be followed eternally by one Age after the other  (Revelation 21:1-3; Revelation 21:10).  Please see related: "What Happens At the End of the Millennial Reign Revealed", "The Sky Is Only a Stepping Stone", "Time Ends And Eternity Begins".  

LOT CHANGES HIS MIND 

Scripture states that the 'little' village of Zoar was located at the southeast end of the Dead Sea (Genesis 9:22; I Thessalonians 5:9). In the time of Abraham it was also called Bela (Genesis 14:2). Zoar is first mentioned in Genesis as one of the southern boundaries sites that define the region where Abraham’s nephew Lot moved after they parted due to pasture grazing issues. 

It is interesting to note that instead of heading south east, Lot could have headed directly west and back to the safety of Abraham, his godly and protective uncle who had saved his life. Instead, he chose to go in the exact opposite direction. 

However, Lot soon came to understand that Zoar was also a wicked and unsafe place to live and raise a family. This is why God had planned to destroy it. Lot may have come to fear that God would change His mind and eventually destroy Zoar. Or, perhaps the people of Zoar came to understand that Lot left a city that was destroyed the next day by an angry god. Was that god mad at Lot? Was Lot now a bad omen for the city of Zoar? But, for whatever reason, Lot decided he would rather temporarily live in a nearby cave just east of the village (Genesis 19:30). Once again, Lot continues to move further east and directly away from Abraham, and once again he is about to pay a heavy price. Lot probably thought that once current events settled down, he would be able to return to his old pasture lands, rebuild his herds and resume life as a successful and wealthy Beaudoin Chieftain. However, he would soon discover that the area around Sodom was now a waste land covered with the thick ash of human remains, crude oil spatter and sulfur rock dust making it desolate (Jeramiah 49:8).  

This well intentioned move just east of Zoar to a cave caused Lot's two daughters to conclude that all human life in the area had been destroyed except for the wicked men of Zoar. Therefore, they would never be able to marry and have children to continue the lineage of their father. So, they devised a plan to get their father intoxicated to the point that they could pass themselves off as his recently deceased wife. Then, having sex with him, become pregnant with his children (Genesis 19:31-38). I guess the ancient saying, “You can take the girl out of Sodom, but you can’t take Sodom out of the girl” is true? The eldest daughter had a son that she named Moab which means, “He is from my father”. Well, that makes perfect sense. The younger daughter also had a son and named him an equally shocking name, Ben-Ammi which means “Son of my father’s people”. The two boys grew up to be the progenitors of the Moabite and Ammonite tribes. A Moabite king commanded the young girls in his tribe to seduce the Israelite boys and have them deny their God Jehovah. The Ammonites worshipped Moloch and scarified their children by burning them alive. The prophet Zephaniah wrote that these two tribes were cursed (Zephaniah 2:9). And all because Lot refused to returned to Abraham. 

Zoar is mentioned again as part of the nation of Moab (Isaiah 15:5). That would make sense that the son of Lot by his daughter would remain in the area of his birth and become the father of a vast tribe known as the Moabites. 

GOD DOES NOT PUNISH THE RIGHTEOUS 

The village of Zoar deserved the same destruction as did Sodom, Gomorrah and the other two cities. But because of one righteous man, God spared it (II Peter 2:7). The presence of God’s people makes a difference in the salvation of an entire city. And today, it is the presence of the Christian Church in the world that keeps the final judgement period of mankind at bay (II Thessalonians 2:7-8). However, just as Sodom was eventually judged, so will the earth be judged over a seven year period after the Rapture occurs. The proud and unrepentant of the earth will instantly perish at the Second Coming of Christ (Revelation 19:11-16). 

Until that day, God is allowing more and more righteous people to be born in a final effort to grow His family as large as possible. God does not want any to perish but all to repent and receive the wonderful experience of eternal life (II Peter 3:9).                         

We can now use the known location of Zoar, an undestroyed village, as a marker with which to ascertain where Sodom and the other cities were located. 

WHAT WOULD SODOM LOOK LIKE 4,000 YEARS LATER?  

The Sodom destruction event was unique in that it was not annihilated as in erased from existence. The burnt ash and sulfur rocks alone would serve as an obvious marker as to where Sodom and the other cities once stood. The flood of Noah, the Rapture and the Second Coming are also momentous events that involve the judgement of God, but in uniquely different ways. In the case of Noah, “…the fountains of the deep broke up…” meaning the ground water table was supernaturally pushed up to ground level (Genesis 7:11). This would have created 60' of water on the surface of the earth. This would have in turn caused the ground to initially liquified like quicksand thus, all life sank deep into the mud, leaving little or no trace of civilizations that once existed. However, there was also rain from the sky as a sign from God of judgement. With the Rapture, approximately four billion adults and children will suddenly disappear up into the sky also leaving no trace of their existence. And at the Second Coming of Christ, or Day of the Lord, Jesus will appear in the sky, the unrepentant wicked will instantly drop dead, and the Millennial Reign of Christ will began. So, while Sodom did not sink into the ground, nor was the city and its people suddenly removed from the earth, it did receive a sign from the sky in the form of a rain of fire, and the wicked in all four cities were instantly destroyed.  

In fact, Scripture states Sodom was purposefully left visible, so that the point God was making about unbridled wickedness brings judgment would be remembered down through the generations (Jeremiah 50:40). And it has worked as most people have at least heard of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

However, the four above mentioned momentous events do have one element in common. The Food of Noah, the destruction of Sodom, the Rapture and the Second Coming, all started out the same way. The sun rose in the morning, the sky was blue and the people were up and going into the markets and attending to their various jobs. Then, without warning, sudden judgement came and the world the people once knew and thought secure was turned upside down (Matthew 24:37-39).

WHAT CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION 

In the case of Sodom’s destruction, the most reasonable cause would have been a sudden and catastrophic explosion caused by a massive underground natural gas eruption. The destruction was Divine judgement in which God once again used nature to accomplish His will. With the flood of Noah, God utilized a combination of rain and rising ground water. In this way, those that believe in the Biblical accounts will see these events as God's judgment on wicked unrepentant generational sin. If one is not a believer, they can simply pass off these events as people being in the wrong places at the wrong time. This southeast area of the Dead Sea is still today known for its large natural gas and oil deposits. Natural gas is frequently found in geological formations associated with oil reserves. Israel possesses significant natural gas deposits and today, natural gas is Israel's primary energy source. Natural gas has no smell, is lethal when inhaled, and is extremely flammable and explosive. Distributors of natural gas add an artificial rotten egg smell so that users are alerted if there is a gas leak. We have seen time and time again what happens to a house when even a small gas leak is ignited.

So, an enormous natural gas eruption and explosion would create a colossal fireball similar to that of an atomic detonation. The heat created would have instantly vaporized anyone in the blast area. And because the gas would have continued to stream out from the ground for days, it would create a situation where an entire city now found itself as if it were resting on the gigantic eye of a gas stove. The flames would be constant and rise hundreds of feet into the air. To make matters worse, the numerous tar pits {bitumen pits} above the gas eruption would have caught fire creating a thick black suffocating smoke much like that of a million burning tires (Genesis 14:10). At some point, the gas and oil rich ground would have built up pressure from the intense heat and exploded sending millions of metric tons of burning sulfuric rock into the atmosphere. We see this same type of event with volcanic eruptions. Because sulfur rocks associated with oil deposits are unusually pure, they would have caught fire as they were blown up out of the earth through the gas driven flames, and remained on fire as they fell back to earth landing on the city below. The fumes from burning sulfur is extremely toxic. And the presence of sulfur falling in abundance on the city and surrounding countryside would have permanently made the area unfit for plant, animal and human habitation. 

So, it was a series of powerful, toxic, yet natural events commanded by God that quickly ended the life of the populations in four cities simultaneously. Meanwhile the fires continued to burn for days powered by extremely flammable gas, oil and sulfur rock. The cities were literally consumed by the very natural resources that once created for them an endless source of revenue. In one day, these cities went from being the envy of the ancient world, to a horror story still remembered four thousand years later.

Once the barrage of liquid burning rock from the skies ceased, the cities now quietly baked day after day in a smoldering sea of sulfur burning at between two and three thousand degrees. Stones eventually shattered and were reduced to gravel with bricks disintegrating into powder. Millions of tons of sulfur rock continued to burn throughout large piles of rubble that were once renowned cities. The smell of burning sulfur and tar mixed with human flesh would have been produced a stench throughout the entire region for weeks.  

While ancient cities were traditionally rebuilt upon the foundations of older buildings, this would now never be possible with Sodom and the cities of the plain. The shifting stone gravel combined with sulfur rock dust permeated the fields, made all the sites uninhabitable from that day forward. These cities of the wicked had literally become giant crematoriums with the ashes of its residents entombed deep under a mound of stinking sulfur. 

WHATS WITH ALL THE SULFER BALLS? 

The areas surrounding these four cities would be littered with millions of sulfur balls. Because these projectiles were almost pure sulfur, they could be quickly lit with only a match. Typically, once lit, the sulfur will burn to a fine ash. However, the balls landed in two different locations and produced two different results. The ones that landed on desert sand either burned to an ash, or upon impact were buried in the sand and snuffed out. Thus, the balls can still be found at certain excavation sites. But millions of balls also fell into the Dead Sea. Upon impact, the flame was extinguished, but pure sulfur floats on water. So, tens of millions of balls were driven by wind and wave action onto the shoreline where they became partially or fully buried in the mud. As the Dead Sea receded over the next four thousand years, these artifacts of destruction are today being constantly revealed. So, God has insured that Sodom and its demise will be remembered.

HOW TO LOCATE SODOM? 

With this story in mind, let us now simply look at Scripture to see if these cities could have actually existed and where they were cited as being located.  

We are obviously looking for the village of Zoar to be a starting point for our search. But we are also looking to find four large cities grouped in the nearby vicinity of Zoar. Further, these cities would all need to show signs of being destroyed at the same time and by fire accompanied by brimstone or sulfur. And, we need to be able to identify a cave just east of Zoar. This was where Scripture tells us Lot fled to escape the destruction of Sodom and the people of Zoar. Since the village of Zoar was not destroyed, its location should be easy to find as the site would now sit atop a Tel, or mound made by buildings being built on top of the foundations of older buildings.

It should come as no surprise that the world of Middle East archaeology has singularly focused on finding Sodom. There are two cites currently thought to be Sodom. One is located at the north end of the Dead Sea and is called Tel el-Hammam. However, it presents a vast number of Scriptural, geographical, geological and excavation problems. We will take a look at this site and all its problematic authentication issues in a moment. For now, we will look at the most likely candidate located near Zoar. 

WHAT'S IN A NAME

The name Sodom is so ancient that it does not preexist in another form, therefore, it stands alone. The name Gomorrah in Hebrew means to be deep or copious amounts of water. Sodom and Gomorrah were twin cities located slightly east of the Dead Sea and thought to have been within a few miles of each other. They were two of five cities all located in a somewhat north to south line separated by about fifteen miles or a day’s walk. Sodom and Gomorrah sat on a flat fertile area of land constantly fed by springs that came out of the mountain range to their east and ran west emptying into the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea. The Book of Genesis references this area as the “plain of Jordan" (Genesis 13:10). It is also referred to as the “the Valley of Siddim” with the word Siddim meaning in this case ‘level ground adjacent to Dead Sea’ (Genesis 14:10). We read of Abraham looking down towards the “Cities of the Plain” from his home in the area of Hebron (Genesis 19:28). 

Widening our scope, the Jordan Valley runs from north to south. It starts at the Sea of Galilee and runs directly south emptying into the Dead Sea. It is 65 miles long and on average 100 feet wide. There is a major fault line that runs down the middle of the valley. This fault line is concealed by the Jordan River that flows above. The Jordan River is the boundary between Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan. The Jordan River ends at the Dead Sea the lowest land mass on the face of the earth.

The two mountain ranges on each side of the valley come very close to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea leaving little room between the steep mountains and the shore lines. While small villages existed along the shorelines of both seas, major cities could only have been located in the north or the south regions of the Dead Sea where there are large flat land areas know as plains. We know that Zoar continued to exist after the destruction of Sodom as it is mentioned by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:43). Scripture also tells us that Sodom made revenue from “bitumen pits” that were found at ground level. Because the Dead Sea is located in the lowest area in the entire world, small crude oil deposits can literally be found in pools at ground level (Genesis 14:10). Bitumen is a petroleum product similar to liquid asphalt. This was the material used in ancient times as a mortice to join mud bricks together. And interestingly, bitumen is only found on the surface in pools southeast of the Dead Sea. There are no bitumen pits north of the Dead Sea. So now we have the village of Zoar and bitumen pits both found today just southeast of the Dead Sea. Things are starting to look up!

MODERN ARCHEOLOGY TO THE RESCUE

By 1924, all ancient cities adjacent to the north, east and west of the Dead Sea had been located and excavated. Archeologists could not understand why they had not found Sodom and the other four cities as described in the Bible. Some Archeologists assumed that one of the discovered cities must be Sodom even though they all had dating, geographical and occupation history issues. But no one had surveyed the southeast area of the Dead Sea as it was both remote and very dangerous to access.

On Feb 16, 1924, William F. Albright (1891-1971), considered the Father of Biblical Archeology, decided to find a way into this remote area of the Dead Sea. He and his archeological team headed east from Jerusalem across the northern end of the Dead Sea into the Kingdom of Jordan. He then turned southeast and proceeded along the top of the eastern rift with the Dead Sea to their right and 4,000 feet below.

The team decided to stop at Mt. Nebo in Jordon. This was where God showed Moses the land boundaries of Israel. Moses looked north to the tribal territory of Dan that shared its northern border with Lebanon. He look slightly south of the territory of Dan and saw the tribal lands of Naphtali and Ephraim. Moses looked directly west across to the Mediterranean Sea. Then he look southwest to Jericho and finally directly south to the southern Israeli border village of Zoar. So Zoar was south of Mt. Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1-3).

The team then continued from Mt. Nebo southeast to the town of Madaba. They wanted to visit the Church of St. George. In 1884, the church underwent a renovation. When they removed the floor stones, they discovered a detailed mosaic map of the Holy Land of the Bible. The mosaic was created in 556 AD. and is still the oldest map of the Holy Land ever found. The map clearly shows the Jordan River emptying into the Dead Sea. And, just southeast of the Dead Sea, it shows a village named Zoar and a structure known as the Place of St. Lot. The team now knew that Zoar, the only city not destroyed in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, must be located slightly southeast of the Dead Sea as shown on the map. 

The team continued south and back along the ridge of the steep rift with the Dead Sea below until they reached the southern end of the Sea. Because the drop down to the Plane was so steep, they had to employ pack mules and guides to assist them. During the 4,000 foot descent, three mules would slip and fall to their deaths.  

Albright knew that the Book of Genesis cited the Canaanites ruling the lands that ran south along the Mediterranean coast from Sidon to the city of Gaza, located on the northern Egyptian border. Then the Canaanite border went directly inland east to Sodom, Gomorrah and the Cities of the Plain on the Jordon border (Genesis 10:18-20). So, the Bible was saying that Sodom, Gomorrah and the Plain were located in southern Israel southeast of the Dead Sea just as was noted on the Madaba Map. And now Albright with his team were almost there to see for themselves.

SODOM IS FOUND ! 

The team entered into the Plain area and originally saw absolutely nothing. There were no Tel's or mounds that showed civilizations stacked one upon the other, just flat desert land. Interestingly, there was lots of broken pottery from the Roman era scattered on the ground, but no Bronze Age pottery from three and two thousand BC. Then they visited a nearby site the locals had been digging for millennium finding artifacts to use, trade and sell. There the team found mounds of Bronze Age pottery fragments. The locals now called the site Bab edh-Dhra. The ancient name would turn out to be Sodom! Forty one years later {1965}, a team revisited the site and started to excavate it. They discovered that the city existed at the time of Lot and was the largest city of the southern Plain. They also discovered that the city existed for 1,300 years before it was destroyed by intense heat to the point of ash. But strangely, no one ever rebuilt on the city’s foundations (Genesis 19:24-25).

GOMORRAH IS FOUND !

Then, in 1973 and five miles south of Bab edh-Dhra, a team of archeologists discovered the ruins of an ancient city that the locals knew as Numera. The ancient name would turn out to be Gomorrah! The consonants of the name Gomorrah are NMR and in the current name Numera we again see NMR. So, the ancient and modern names matched. On an interesting note, Numera and is now officially the world's lowest city at 950 feet below sea level. The second lowest city is ... you guessed it, Bab edh-Dhra or Sodom, at 270 feet below sea level.

ZOAR IS FOUND !

Moving just a little further south, we find the city of Zoar {Arab Ghor} which has not had a name change as it was never destroyed. Over the years, it slowly developed into a Tel as generation after generation rebuilt on the older foundations. But the climate changed and the ancient city was eventually abandoned.

ADAMAH & ZEBOIIM ARE FOUND !

Just south of Zoar, archeologist discovered the ruins of Adamah, today known as Feifa.

Finally, the team located the fifth city listed in the Bible called Zeboiim, today known as Khanazir. Archeological research has proven that four of these five early Bronze Age cities had been destroyed by a natural disaster as no weapons of war were found. All four cities were determined to have been destroyed at the same time in the same way using extreme heat from the burning of brimstone also known as sulfur rock. No one rebuilt on the foundations of these cities as the surrounding land was ruined by sulfur deposits (Jeremiah 49:18).

WHAT ACTUALLY CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION

Again, the most probable cause of the simultaneous destruction of the four cities began with an earthquake created along the Jordan Valley fault line. Earthquakes continue to be common in this area. But in this case, the quake ruptured a large pocket of natural gas, also commonly found in this area. The huge plume of gas ignited and blew millions of tons of pure molten sulfur rock surrounding the oil pools in the area out of the ground and hundreds of feet into the air. The molten sulfur rock coalesced into balls high in the atmosphere. Then, as they fell back to the earth, they were easily ignited by the continuous eruptions of gas flames and bombarding the cities below. So, the Bible would be correct in saying that, "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone {sulfur rock} and fire {natural gas} from the LORD {God ordained} out of heaven {the sky}. And He overthrew {utterly destroyed} those {four} cities, and all the plain {surrounding area}, and all the inhabitants of the {four} cities and that which grew {plants & animals} upon the ground." (Genesis 19: 24-25)

However today, only the village of Zoar sits atop a Tel or mound of earth due to the fact that it was not destroyed and continued as a town before, during and after destruction of the surrounding cities. The Tel Zoar shows layer after layer of human habitation. Today the top layer shows signs of being occupied by Islamic people, the next layer down shows signs of the Byzantine Age, then further down is an Iron Age layer followed by a Middle Bronze Age and finally, Early Bronze Age occupation. 

THE CAVE OF LOT

Scripture tells us that Lot soon left Zoar, and heading east, moved his family into a cave (Genesis 19:30). So naturally the archeologists turned their attention to the east of Zoar looking for the cave. What they discovered half way up a nearby mountain overlooking Zoar was the top of a buried church. They excavated the church ruins and found a chapel. Just to the left of the pulpit was a stone doorway. Inside the doorway was a large natural cave. Excavating the cave they found early Bronze Age pottery. The Madaba Map showed this chapel and also listed it as the ‘Sanctuary of Saint Lot’. This is irrefutable proof that they had discovered the ancient city of Zoar and the cave Lot moved into.  

The Kingdom of Jordan has constructed a facility aptly named the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth, better know as Lot's Cave Museum. The facility encompasses the excavated church and the entrance into the cave where Lot stayed with his two daughters. It also features Early Bronze Age artifacts excavated from the cave as well as hundreds of artifact excavated from nearby Zoar dating back 4,500 years.

THE PROBLEMS WITH THE TEL el-HAMMAM SITE

The Tel el-Hammam site is located at the northern end of the Dead Sea. This is the exact wrong location according to Bible texts. The Bible clearly states that Sodom and "the Cities of the Plain" are located in southern Israel near the Dead Sea. Ezekiel states that Sodom is south of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:46). Tel Hammam is slightly North of Jerusalem. The Book of Deuteronomy states that Zoar is to the far south of Mt Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:3). Tel Hammam is north of Mt Nebo. Abraham and Lot separate at the city of Bethel which is north of the Dead Sea. Then Scripture tells us that Lot saw the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar {looking to the southeast} and decided to move his tent south to Sodom. So Sodom is not close to Bethel as is Tel Hammam, but is instead far away to the south of Bethel and Jerusalem (Genesis 13:10-12). Scripture states that Abraham, from his home in Mamre, looked down and towards Sodom and Gomorrah. He saw smoke rising as a furnace. So he was looking southeast (Genesis 19:28). 

At the time of the destruction, Lot would have been a middle aged or older man living in Sodom. He was told that the destruction was imminent and to simply go into the nearby eastern mountains for cover. Instead, he asked it he could travel to a "small" village.  Zoar, whose name means small, is fifteen miles south of Sodom according to the Madaba Map. As noted in Scripture, it took Lot a full day to walk to Zoar. Tel Hamman was an enormous city {largest Tel in Jordan} and located thirty miles north of Sodom. This would have been a trip of at least two days or more for Lot and his daughters to walk. And again, Zoar is shown on the Madaba Map, is fifteen miles south Sodom and directly between the four cities that were destroyed . 

For Tel Hamman to be the largest Tel in Jordan, this would mean that civilization after civilization continuously built on the Hamman site before during and after the destruction of Sodom. Whereas Sodom and the other destroyed cities did not become Tels, thus they were flat and hard for archeologists to find as no one ever rebuilt on their foundations (Isaiah 1:7-9; 3:19-20). 

Also, at the time of Jesus, Tel Hammam was a large thriving Roman city. Yet Jesus said, “If Sodom saw the miracles that the people of Capernaum have seen, it {Sodom} would have {believed} and remained to this day” (Matthew 11:23). So Jesus is plainly saying that Sodom no longer existed in His day.

Further, Tel Hammam does not contain remanences of brimstone as cited in the Bible. However, proponents of this site being Sodom theorize that the city was instead destroyed by a comet or an asteroid exploding {air burst} before actually striking the ground. Thus, the city was instantly destroyed leaving no evidence of exactly how the massive fire was started. Many articles have been published with this sensational claim. But today, they have all been "retracted" due to a complete lack of scientific evidence that is needed to support this type of claim. The site has been repeatedly examined by meteoriticist teams and they have reported that there is no mineralogical nor geological evidence that such an event ever occurred at this site. Meanwhile, the four cities located south of the Dead Sea are today still reduced to powder by intense prolonged heat and surrounded by millions of sulfur balls. Further, the surviving village of Tel Zoar, is a miracle in that the two cities to its north, and the two cities to its south were completely destroyed while it remained untouched.

Explain that?