It becomes clear that Ishmael is not the child of the promise. Instead, that honor belongs to Isaac, a child yet to be born. Furthermore, Abram is told that through his son, Isaac he will be a blessing to all nations (Gen 12:2). This is not said about Ishmael. Instead, (Gen 16:12) "He will be a wild ass of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

We still see this today in the hatred many of the Arabs (who are descendants of Ishmael) have for the Jews (who are descendants of Isaac) and for Americans. What is especially sad about this hatred is that Arabs and Jews are both physical children of Abram. (In 1989 during Bill Clinton's second term as U.S. President, MAK the American CIA in Afghanistan.joined with Saudi-born Osama Bin Laden's Mujahedeen (Holy Warriors.). Bin Laden became the head CIA man in charge of MAK during the Afghan War.....On September 11, 2001, shortly after Hilary Clinton became a Senator from New York, Islamic terrorists slipped in and slit the throats of unsuspecting pilots and destroyed the New York World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon.. "This is an insane instance of the chickens coming home to roost," one U.S. diplomat in Pakistan told the Los Angeles Times. " )

Scripture is silent about the events of Abram's life for 13 years after the birth of Ishmael. When he was 99 years old the Lord gave Abram the covenant of circumcision and changed his name From Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of many). Sarai was now to be known as Sarah and would bear Abraham a son and heir (Gen. 17).

The Destruction of Sodom 1868 B.C.

The Lord and two angels visited Abraham and told him that Sarah would have a child within the next year. He also informed Abraham that Sodom and the other cities of the plain were about to be punished for their wickedness. Abraham pleaded for Sodom and the Lord promised to spare it if there were ten righteous men in the city (Gen. 18). "The two angels ( sent to judge the wickedness of Sodom and determine whether or not to spare it) arrived in Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city." (Genesis 19:1) "He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before the angels had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom both young and old surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them ['so we may know them']." Lot went outside to meet them…and said, " No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men." …And the men of the city said, "We'll treat you worse than them." ...Genesis 19:4-9

"The two angels said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here - sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to The Lord against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:12-13)

 

"By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from The Lord out of the heavens. Thus He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in those cities - and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot's wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19:23-26) In Zoar, through incest, Lot's daughters gave birth to Moab and Ammon whose descendants were known as Moabites and Ammonites.

The Sea of Salt

West of the mountains of Moab, in the Judean Desert, lies a deep canyon. In its center sits a body of water which is called in Hebrew, "Yam Hamelah," meaning "The Sea of Salt." Located 1300 feet (405 meters) below sea level, it is at the very lowest spot on earth. The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead Sea. The modern names are Bab edh Dhra, thought to be Sodom, and Numeira, thought to be Gomorrah.The destruction debris is about three feet thick. Both places were destroyed at the same time by an enormous fiery conflagration that also destroyed the lower Jordan Valley in 1868 B.C. The lowering of the Valley to below sea level formed the Dead Sea.... During the 1000 year Reign of Jesus the Messiah, water will flow out of His Temple causing the Dead Sea to rise.

Isaiah, Jude and Saint Paul Comment on Sodom

"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." (Jude 7) Both Philo and Josephus plainly name same-sex relations as the characteristic view of Sodom. ... "The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves." (Isaiah 3:9)

It is unpleasant to have to write about homosexuality. What homosexuals do to each other and the way they use each other for the sake of lust and self-gratification are things that, according to St. Paul, should not even be mentioned among Christians. Certainly, a few decades ago such things were not mentioned anywhere, anytime, in newspapers or on the radio. Talk about "homosexuality" and "lesbianism" was, restricted to sleazy drug stores.


Three months ago, Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders held a news conference calling for gay festivals in Jerusalem to be banned. One Muslim cleric suggested gay events in Jerusalem would attract divine wrath similar to that which destroyed the biblical city of Sodom.

BBC World News, Sunday, 26 June, 2005, 17:44 GMT 18:44 UK.....A Jerusalem court has ruled that the city's annual gay parade should be allowed to take place next Thursday as originally scheduled. The decision overturned a ban on the event by the city's council, which had said the event would be "provocative" and set off unrest. The judge ordered Jerusalem's mayor to personally pay 30,000 shekels ($6,600) to the city's gay and lesbian centre to cover the group's legal costs and underwrite the event. Judge Mussia Arad also ordered the council to pay and additional 30,000 shekels to the group, and to line the parade route with banners representing the group in advance of the event, as the city customarily does for cultural events. In her ruling, the Jerusalem district court judge said the city did not have the right to prohibit the parade, arguing that the mayor could not act with prejudice against a group of people because he disagreed with their views.

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