V-1 Genesis 19:24 Yahweh rained down fire from Yahweh! DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. V-1. Genesis 19:24 YAHWEH rained down fire from YAHWEH!
Does Genesis 19:24 teach that Almighty God is a “TRINITY”? In other words, does Genesis 19:24 teach us that there are TWO separate persons named Yahweh in the eternity past as those who teach the doctrine of the Trinity INTERPRET this verse to mean? The short answer is NO and I will explain WHY I say NO and why there were NOT two separated divine eternal beings named Yahweh in the eternity past or in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. So then, what about the Oneness Pentecostal INTERPRETATION of this verse of Scripture? Does Genesis 19:24 teach that Almighty God manifested Himself as an angel which appeared to Abraham in the form or the appearance of a man? Again, the short answer is NO and I will also explain WHY I say the answer is NO further on in this study. But first let me say what I myself believe Genesis 19:24 means to me in the light of the whole word of Almighty God. So let us read Genesis 19:24.
Genesis 19:24.
“Then the LORD (YHWH) rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire FROM the LORD (YHWH) out of heaven;”
I will explain the four capital letters in parenthesis in a moment. But first, here is what I myself believe and what Biblical Unitarian Christians also believe. To me, Yahweh is ONE God in ONE person in the eternity past. And before Yahweh created everything ALONE and by Himself nothing existed but Yahweh Himself. In other words, ONLY Spirit existed seeing that the one true God is a SPIRIT which is invisible to the mortal human eye. In fact, one of the reasons that Trinitarian Christians interpret Genesis 19:24 as being TWO separate persons named Yahweh, who are the same ONE God in three separate persons, are the Scriptures that say NO man has ever seen God. In other words, Trinitarian Christians argue that since there is only ONE TRUE God and Jesus is called God, then THEY interpret all verses of Scripture to agree with THEIR interpretation that Jesus MUST be Almighty God Yahweh Himself. And the Oneness Pentecostal Christians interpret all the verses of Scripture to agree with their belief that Almighty God Yahweh manifested Himself in many different forms in the Old Testament. And thus, to THEM, in the New Testament Yahweh manifested Himself to become flesh, the Son of Himself. In other words, Oneness Pentecostal Christians do NOT believe that Jesus is a separate person from Yahweh the Father. So to Oneness Pentecostal Christians, Genesis 19:24 means that the SAME Yahweh in ONE person is in two different places at the same time, Yahweh in heaven and the MANIFESTED Yahweh of Himself on the earth during the time that Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Then the manifested Yahweh disappeared until Yahweh needed to manifest Himself again at a later time. Now, that I have explained a brief summary of both the Trinitarian and the Oneness Pentecostal interpretations of Genesis 19:24m let us get into the WHY I believe and teach that there were NOT two separated divine eternal beings name Yahweh in the eternity past as the Trinitarian Christians CLAIM. And in doing this you will also see WHY the Oneness Pentecostal doctrine is not sound Biblical doctrine as well. Almighty God is identified in the Old Testament by the Tetragrammaton “YHWH”, which is also sometimes written as “YHVH” by some Bible scholars. And these FOUR Hebrew letters are translated LORD in all capital letters in the KJV and some other Bible translations, as opposed to being translated as Yahweh. Now, I personally believe that Yahweh is the correct pronunciation of God’s name forever, according to Exodus 3:15. Also, the name Yahweh almost always refers to the one true God is ONE person. However, after the cross, the Son of man, Jesus was given a NEW name that is ABOVE every other name other than the name of the only true God who alone is the Father. In other words, the Messiah’s prophesied new name is Yahweh, as well, which was GIVEN to the Son of MAN, Jesus AFTER the cross. Please understand that Jesus was MADE Lord and God after the cross BY his God and Father Yahweh, the ONLY true God, according to John 17:1-3 and Acts 2:36. With all of this in mind let us begin this study in God's word to learn the true sound Biblical meaning of Genesis 19:24 which appears to be saying that there are TWO Yahweh(s). Let us start with how or WHY the Trinitarian Christians interpret Genesis 19:24 to mean that Yahweh the Father remained up in heaven while He sent Yahweh the Son down to the earth along with two angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Trinitarian Christians reason that since there can be only ONE God who is THE ALMIGHTY, and since Genesis 19:24 SEEMS to be saying that there are TWO who are called by the name “Yahweh”, then those who teach the doctrine of the “Trinity” make the claim that this verse is speaking of Yahweh, Almighty God the Son who rained down fire and brimstone from Yahweh, Almighty God the Father from heaven down on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But that would make two separate divine eternal beings be two separate ALMIGHTY Gods and that contradicts the very meaning of the word Almighty. For you see, Almighty God the Father is THE God OF His Son Jesus. In other words, KNOWING that there is only ONE God who ALONE is THE ALMIGHTY and since the name Yahweh is used twice in this one verse of Scripture then this verse in Genesis 19:24 may SEEM to be saying that there are TWO Almighty Gods which would be a CONTRADICTION of the very word “ALMIGHTY”. Again, the word “Almighty” can ONLY mean that the ONE God who ALONE is THE ALMIGHTY, as in, the Father is the HIGHEST God OVER all over gods. Now, according to the Bible ITSELF, it is possible to have TWO Gods where ONE God in ONE person is THE Almighty God Himself. And then the ONE God in ONE person had a Son whom He Himself MADE Lord and God, who will execute the WRATH of His God and Father, who ALONE is THE Almighty God. For you see, Jesus was MADE Lord and God AFTER the cross BY his God and Father for a REASON. And the reason for WHY Jesus will rule as God over the whole earth FOR Yahweh in Yahweh's NAME for 1000 years in the world to come is to be God's WITNESS to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels. For you see, Jesus will step down from ruling as a god for Yahweh after the 1000 years has ended and commit the ruling of the kingdom back into his God and Fathers hand so that God the FATHER may be all in all, according to 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Psalm 110:1-7, Hebrews 2:5-11, Hebrews 10:12,13, and Micah 4:6-8. Let is go ahead and read Genesis 19:24 again OUT of its context where it does SEEM to be saying that there are TWO separate persons who are named “Yahweh”, Particularly when this verse is read alone and apart from the rest of God's word WITH the PRECONCEIVED teaching of the doctrine of the Trinity fixed in one's mind as the ONLY way to explain this verse of Scripture.
Here is Genesis 19:24 again from the King James Version.
“Then the LORD (YHWH) rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire FROM the LORD (YHWH) out of heaven;”
Now, we all know that there cannot be TWO Gods who are BOTH THE ALMIGHTY because that would contradict the very meaning of the word “Almighty”. So then, WHAT does this verse mean? Is Genesis 19:24 truly teaching that ALMIGHTY God Yahweh is a “TRINITY” Godhead and that a God the Son pre-existed in the eternity past? Is Genesis 19:24 teaching that Jesus is Yahweh, Almighty God Himself in the eternity past? Let us take a closer look at this verse of Scripture that is used to try to prove that Jesus pre-existed as God the Son, the second person of a Trinity Godhead. In other words, to Trinitarian Christians this verse seems to be saying that there are two separated persons named Yahweh. I want to first draw your attention that IF SO BE this verse is truly speaking of TWO separate beings who are both called by the name Yahweh, then where is the THIRD person named Yahweh of the so-called Trinity Godhead? I want you to notice that there are only TWO times that the name Yahweh appears in the verse of Scripture and NOT THREE times that the name Yahweh appears. Please notice that I say IF SO BE that the two references of the name Yahweh are truly intended to mean two separate beings or persons with the same name, Yahweh. Then that would mean that there were two eternal Gods or two separate persons of the same God with the same name in the eternity or at least during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. But again, that interpretation CONTRADICTS Acts 2:36 and many other verses of Scripture which clearly teach us that Jesus was MADE Lord AFTER the cross to become a God under and subject to his God and Father. In other words, the true meaning of this verse of Scripture could very well be the one and the self-same Yahweh who is one being or ONE God in ONE person that is simply mentioned twice in the same verse of Scripture. And to me, that is the simplest and the most sound Biblical answer that does not contradict any other verses of Scripture in the entire Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Let us now read Genesis 19:24 from the World English Bible.
Here is Genesis 19:24,25 from the World English Bible.
“Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. 25. He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.”
First notice the SINGULAR pronoun He in verse 25. That means that ONE Yahweh in ONE person destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The same usage of the same name Yahweh in the phrase “from Yahweh out of the sky” is simply a Hebraic style of writing. It is just as easily understood as Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from HIMSELF out of the sky. Also, this translation says SKY as opposed to heaven where God's throne is located. The Hebrew word translated as heaven in the KJV and in other translations also means the first heaven which is the SKY or the atmosphere surrounding the earth. So which translations are correct? For you see, if the World English Bible translation is correct, then no Christian would have ever wrongly INTERPRETED that Genesis 19:24 is teaching us that there are TWO Yahweh(s). The writer of Genesis INTENED this verse of Scripture to be understood as ONE Yahweh in ONE person! Otherwise, he would have used the pronoun THEY instead of the pronoun HE. To me, this verse simply means that the ONE Yahweh in ONE person rained down on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from HIMSELF out of the SKY. Let me show you a few other examples of this Hebrew style of writing where a name is used twice in the same verse in other places in the Scriptures.
Please read Genesis 4:23.
“And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: (Now, in English we would use the pronoun “MY” and say, and Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, you are MY wives so hearken unto MY words) for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.”
In other words, we would not use the name Lamech TWICE when speaking in English but that is how they spoke in Hebrew language in the Old Testament times. There are NOT two separate persons named Lamech where one Lamech is speaking to his wives about the wives of another Lamech. And the same is true in Genesis 19:24. There are NOT two Yahweh(s), one up in heaven and one down on the earth. Here is an example in the Scriptures in REVERSE, so to speak. For you see, the Bible translations use the pronoun “he” but speaking in English we would use the name Yahweh TWICE in the same verse of Scripture. For you see, in the context the identity of the one speaking in verse 1 of Exodus chapter 24 has not been mentioned for several verses way back in chapter 23. In other words Exodus 24:1 is the starting of a new chapter and the reader has to go back to chapter 23:25 before they can know who the pronoun “he” is referring to if they did not already know. Let me show you what I mean.
Please read Exodus 24:1.
“And He (Or Yahweh) said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, (Or Yahweh) You, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship you far off.”
In other words, after you already know that the pronoun he is referring to Yahweh Himself then saying the SAME thing in other words is not confusing at all. Let us read this same verse in Exodus 24:1 using the name Yahweh TWICE.
Exodus 24:1 using the name Yahweh TWICE.
“And Yahweh said unto Moses, Come up unto Yahweh, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship you far off.”
Now, no Christian would wrongly INTERPRET this verse of Scripture to mean that Yahweh in heaven is saying to Moses to come up to another Yahweh on the earth that appeared in the SIGHT of ALL the people of Israel and worship him afar off. And no Christian would incorrectly interpret this verse to mean that Moses and the others are to come up into heaven to worship Yahweh afar off. NO! Christians should interpret it as ONE Yahweh in ONE person who appeared in a CLOUD so that or in order that the children of Israel would believe the words of Moses that Yahweh gave to Moses to speak to the children of Israel FOR Yahweh. And most Christians know and understand that they were to come up to a place on the earth, the foot of Mount Sinai and worship the ONE Yahweh in ONE person. All the children of Israel or the Jews believe in the ONE God in ONE person. Let us look at one more example of the Hebraic style of writing that is somewhat backward to the way we speak and write in the English language. Please read Genesis 18:19 which is actually the CONTEXT of Genesis 19:24 and the supposed TWO Yahweh(s).
Genesis 18:19.
“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, (Or Yahweh) to do justice and judgment; that the LORD (Or Yahweh) may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him.”
Now, the name Yahweh is used TWICE in this one verse of Scripture and yet no Christian argues that since the name Yahweh is used twice, then this must mean that there are TWO Yahweh(s). It is simply the Hebrew style of writing. And in English, we would use the pronoun ME if the writer of Genesis INTENDED his words to mean that Yahweh Himself was talking FACE to FACE with Abraham. Let me explain what I mean by this. You see, I myself understand this verse to mean that Yahweh Himself is up in heaven on His throne and He is speaking of one of the three angels that He sent down to the earth to see if things were as wicked in the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities as the cries that came up to heaven. In other words, to me, Yahweh is speaking to one of His angels. And then, Yahweh's angel tells Abraham what Yahweh has said from up in heaven. Think about standing next to an angel. You can NOT hear what God is speaking in the ear or in the mind of that angel. And then the angel speaks to you the words that Yahweh up in heaven spoke to His angel that He sent to appear to you. The wording would be in the third person just like it is in Genesis 18:19. Let us read the CONTEXT with this understanding and you will see what I mean.
Please read Genesis 18:17-23.
“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; (Now, to me, if Moses, the writer of the book of Genesis, INTENDED his words, the words that Yahweh inspired Moses to write down, to mean that Yahweh Himself came down to the earth to speak directly face to face with Abraham in person, then Moses would have used the pronoun “you” instead of using Abraham's name in the third person sense. In other words, Yahweh would have had Moses write the words, “and Yahweh said, shall I hide from you, Abraham, that thing which I do”. And that way we would know that Yahweh Himself came down off His throne in heaven down to the earth to speak directly face to face with Abraham. But that is not what Moses recorded or wrote down. Rather, to me, it sounds like Yahweh is speaking to one of the three angels ABOUT Abraham. Remember that Yahweh sent down out of heaven to the earth three angels to find out if the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities were as wicked as the cries that came up to heaven. So read the following verses with the mindset that God is speaking to one of His angels ABOUT Abraham) 18. Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (You See, God just got through prophesying that Abraham would have a son in his old age and Sarah laughed. And SEEING that what God prophecies He performs to come to pass, Yahweh is speaking to His angel ABOUT Abraham concerning that prophecy. And if God intended His words to mean that He came down from heaven to speak directly to Abraham face to face, then He would have used the pronoun “YOU”, but God inspired Moses to write the pronoun “him”) 19. For I know him, (Again, IF Yahweh was speaking face to face with Abraham He would have said, for I know YOU, Abraham. But that is NOT what Moses recorded as being God's words. Rather, Yahweh used the pronouns him, he and his in the third person which teaches us that Yahweh is speaking to one of His angels CONCERNING Abraham. The angels do not know the HEART of Abraham and everything that Yahweh has prophesied. To me, it is perfectly clear that Yahweh is in heaven speaking to one of His angels concerning Abraham) that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken OF him. (Or ABOUT him) 20. And the LORD said, (Yahweh, still speaking to one of the three angels to tell Abraham WHY He sent the three angels to appear to him in the form of three men said to the angel and not directly face to face to Abraham. So again, Yahweh from up in heaven is speaking to one of His angels why He sent them to Abraham, said,) Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21. I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which has come unto me; and if not, I will know. (Now, HOW did Yahweh go down to see if it was as bad as the cries that came up to heaven? To me, Yahweh SENT three of His angels and they would report back to Yahweh what they see. In other words, God can talk to His angels on the earth and the angels can talk or communicate to God up in heaven the same as any human can hear God's voice and God can hear his or her voice) 22. And the men (Or ALL three angels that appeared to Abraham in the form of men) turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. (Now, Trinitarian Christians INTERPRET this verse to mean that ONLY TWO men or two of the three angels went toward Sodom and one of the men stayed behind with Abraham because THEY believe that one of the three men was God the Son, the second person of Yahweh, their Godhead Trinity God, Yahweh in three separate persons. But again, where is the so-called THIRD Yahweh in ANY Old Testament Scripture? One has to read into all the verses of Scriptures that are used by Trinitarian Christians to try and prove their doctrine of the Trinity. Also, notice that the very next verse teaches us what DREW NEAR to Yahweh. And the Hebrew word in this verse 22 translated as “stood” yet before the Lord also means CONTINUED before Yahweh. In other words, to me, verse 22 means that Abraham was already drew near to Yahweh in PRAYER way back in Genesis 18:1 BEFORE he saw the three angels. And when all three angels left, Abraham went back to PRAYING or to drawing near to Yahweh up in heaven. To say this another way, Abraham CONTINUED to pray to Yahweh up in heaven as he was doing before the appearance of the three angels in the form of three men. Please read the study V-3. THREE men APPEARED to ABRAHAM? In that study, I explain why I believe that Abraham was praying to God up in heaven and Yahweh was speaking to him before he saw the three men approaching his tent. And then Abraham put out a fleece before God saying that if this is you oh God talking to me then give me a sign, have these three men stay and eat a meal that I will prepare for them and then I will know that it is you oh God that I am hearing. But for now, let us continue this study to learn WHY one of those three angels in the form of man was NOT Yahweh Himself) 23. And Abraham drew near, and said, Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?”
We all know and understand that Yahweh ACCEPTED the words of Abraham to DO as Abraham asked. But what some Christians have failed to see is that Yahweh ALSO ACCEPTED the word of Lot in the very next chapter in Genesis 19:17-24. Now, when I read Genesis 19:17-24, I am seeing that Yahweh is speaking to Lot by way of His angel and NOT that Yahweh is speaking directly face to face with Lot. You see, all the pronouns from Genesis 19:1-20 referring back to the angels, are all in the plural. You see, Yahweh SENT His angels a SECOND time but this SECOND time that He sent them, He sent them to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Please read Genesis 19:13 which clearly teaches us that Yahweh sent His angels to rain down fire and brimstone from Yahweh out of the SKY. But in verse 21 the pronoun usage switches to the singular pronoun “he”. Let us go ahead and read Genesis 19:17 which also could be FORCED or INCORRECTLY interpreted to mean that Yahweh Himself is speaking directly to LOT face to face as well. Let us read Genesis 19:13 first and you can read Genesis 19:14-20 on your own to see all the PLURAL pronouns referring back to the ANGELS that Yahweh SENT to DESTROY Sodom, Gomorrah AND the surrounding cities after LOT and his family escaped out of those cities, including the SURROUNDING cities. That is an important detail that is often overlooked when interpreting Genesis 19:24 and the THREE MEN or more precisely ONE of the three men in Genesis chapter 18.
Genesis 19:13.
“For we (Speaking of the ANGELS that Yahweh SENT) will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”
Now let us read Genesis 19:21 which is right after the angels tell Lot to flee to the mountains and Lot asked the angels if he could flee to one of the surrounding cities that was a little city. Please notice the change of the pronoun usage from the plural in verse 14-20 to the singular in verse 21.
Genesis 19:21.
“And he said unto him, See, I have ACCEPTED you concerning this thing ALSO, that I will NOT overthrow (Or I not destroy) this city, for the which YOU have spoken.”
So where did the plural pronouns “WE” will destroy and Yahweh sent “us” to destroy these cities go? Now to me, this appears to be Yahweh up in heaven doing the speaking to His angel and the angel is relaying the message that he heard from Yahweh to give to Lot. Can you not see that IF Christians INTERPRET this verse to mean that this angel is Yahweh Himself speaking directly to LOT face to face like the supposed angel that stayed behind with Abraham was Yahweh Himself speaking directly to Abraham face to face then those interpretations CONTRADICT each other. Let me explain what I mean by this. You see, Trinitarian Christians argue that ONLY TWO angels left and went to Sodom the very same day to destroy it while ONE angel remained with Abraham and that one angel in the form of a man was Yahweh Himself, as in, that man was God the Son. This is called a theophany by Bible scholars. Can you not see this Trinitarian dilemma? Let me explain the dilemma which is a difficult and even impossible problem to solve for Trinitarian Christians. You see, if one INTERPRETS that ONE of the angels stayed behind to talk with Abraham and that ONE man or angel IS Yahweh Himself then WHO is the angel in the appearance of a man talking with LOT having the SAME AUTHORITY as Yahweh Himself to SPARE that little city that He sent His angels to destroy? You see, the angel that spoke to Lot ACCEPTS the words of LOT ALSO to NOT destroy that little city just outside of the city of Sodom in the same AUTHORITY of Yahweh Himself as the angel ACCEPTED the words of Abraham to not destroy the righteous with the wicked. So are BOTH angels Yahweh Himself? Or are both angels simply angels that Yahweh SENT just like the Bible states as a fact with no interpretation needed in Genesis 19:13? Remember to ask yourself WHY Trinitarian Christians argue that one of the three men is Yahweh Himself. Trinitarians argue that NO man has ever seen God, but men have seen Jesus who is called God. So in order to have just ONE God they came up with the theory or the man-made doctrine of the Trinity that states that God must be THREE separate persons in the ONE God. Then they searched for Scriptures to try and prove their THEORY. Now again, to ME, this verse in question, Genesis 19:24, is very simply explained by taking a closer look at Genesis 19:24 being LEFT in its CONTEXT. And, for me, it always helps to read controversial verses of Scripture such as Genesis 19:24 from a LITERAL word-for-word translation. So then, we will first read this controversial verse of Scripture left in its context, and then we will look at the literal word-for-word translation to see what this verse truly means in the light of the whole word of Almighty God. Here is Genesis chapter 19 verse 24 along with verse 25 and the rest of the context through verse 29 where we see just ONE Yahweh who is ONE person who is raining down TWO judgments of fire AND brimstone on the TWO cities of Sodom AND Gomorrah.
Genesis 19:24-29.
“Then the LORD (Or then Yahweh) rained upon Sodom (First) AND (Then) upon Gomorrah (In other words, there are TWO different but also very similar elements of judgments on TWO different cities. And those two elements of judgment are) brimstone AND fire from the LORD out of heaven; (This is LITERALLY translated as: “and YHWH, he caused to rain on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from YHWH from the heavens.” And this can be read or understood as follows: “The Almighty Yahweh caused to rain down FIRE on Sodom and the Almighty Yahweh caused BRIMSTONE on Gomorrah from out of the heavens.” Or out of the SKIES above each of the two different cities. In other words, TWO elements of judgment upon TWO different cities but just ONE Almighty God who CAUSED or COMMANDED these judgments to be executed by His angels FROM the SKY or the SKIES seeing that they could have destroyed one city at a time moving from the sky over Sodom to the sky over Gomorrah. Why would Yahweh need to manifest Himself in the form of one of His angels to then appear in the form of a man? The only reason that any such argument is made is to try to prove that Jesus is Yahweh Himself. Please read the five part study U-8. Is JESUS YAHWEH HIMSELF? Part 1) 25. And HE (SINGULAR, speaking of the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God in ONE person by the hand of His ELOHIM or MIGHTY ONES, the ANGELS) overthrew those cities, (From the SKY over those cities) and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he (Abraham) stood before the LORD: (Speaking of Yahweh, the Almighty. But more precisely, Abraham stood before the FACES of the Almighty the invisible God. In other words, Abraham stood before the angelic beings of Yahweh who spoke FOR Yahweh as Yahweh spoke to them to tell Abraham why He sent His three angels to him. For you see, earlier the ANGELS or the representatives of the Almighty stood before Abraham and not that the invisible Almighty God Himself stood face to face before Abraham) 28. And he (Abraham) looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. 29. And it came to pass, when God (Or when the ELOHIM, speaking of the angels obeying the command of Yahweh) destroyed the cities of the plain, that God (ELOHIM, speaking of Yahweh in heaven) remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the MIDST OF the overthrow when He overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.”
And we, as Christians will be RAPTURED or caught up into the AIR or the SKY just in the nick of time. The rapture will occur right before the wrath of God is poured out like rain when Jesus comes in flaming fire to execute the wrath of Yahweh FOR Yahweh like the angels executed the judgment of Yahweh FOR Yahweh out of the SKY or the AIR. Also, please know and understand that the GREAT tribulation is NOT seven years before the wrath of God, but rather, the great tribulation is only 3 1/2 years in length. And Christians or the church will go through the entire 3 1/2 years of the GREAT tribulation right before Jesus returns. For you see, the period of the great tribulation is NOT the WRATH of God. Please read the study J-5. WRATH of God VERSUS the GREAT Tribulation! So then, the SIMPLE uncomplicated answer to the SEEMINGLY contradictory verse 24 in Genesis chapter 19 is to see that there are TWO different elements of judgment that were rained down upon TWO different cities AND that Yahweh sent His ANGELS the execute the judgment FOR Him. In other words, the judgment is FROM Yahweh and the judgment FORM Yahweh was executed out of the SKY. One could paraphrase this Genesis 19:24 to be something like the following.
Paraphrased version of Genesis 19:24.
“And the Almighty Yahweh commanded FIRE and BRIMSTONE to rain down on the city of Sodom, and FROM the Almighty Yahweh [ALSO came the command of] FIRE and BRIMSTONE to rain down on Gomorrah [as well].”
Or one could simply ACCEPT the World English Bible translation OVER the King James translation to know and understand that Yahweh gave the command to His ANGLES to execute the judgment FROM Yahweh out of the SKY upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
Here is Genesis 19:24,25 from the World English Bible once again with my comments in parenthesis.
“Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire (BY or through His angels sent) from (Or BY REASON OF) Yahweh (To execute HIS judgment) out of the sky. 25. He (The ONE Yahweh in ONE person) overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.”
For you see, ANOTHER meaning of the Hebrew word TRANSLATED as “from” Yahweh ALSO means by REASON OF Yahweh or BECAUSE OF Yahweh. And the WAY that the ONE Yahweh in ONE person overthrew the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was by SENDING His ANGELS to rain down fire and brimstone out of the SKY upon Sodom and Gomorrah. So to ME, this verse in Genesis 18:24 in no way proves beyond any shadow of a doubt to dogmatically mean that the Almighty Yahweh is a “TRINITY” Godhead and that there are TWO Yahweh(s) or two that are called Yahweh in the eternity past. Remember that I said there are two possible ways to interpret Genesis 19:5 that do not contradict any other part of God’s word? Well, you just read the first interpretation that the name Yahweh is simply mentioned twice but it is referring to the ONE Yahweh in ONE person. The second interpretation is that Almighty God MIGHT have INTENDED His words to mean TWO separate persons NAMED Yahweh in the FUTURE as a prophetic FIGURE of His yet future Messiah executing Yahweh's wrath FOR Yahweh at the end of this present world right before the world yet to come Remember that there is no punctuation in the original Hebrew text. So simply change the punctuation and you have ONE Yahweh in ONE person with His name Yahweh mentioned twice. But if one chooses to insist that the punctuation must remain as the King James translators have placed the punctuation, then I have another interpretation that also does not contradict any other verses of Scripture in the Bible. I will explain the second interpretation in section two.
SECTION TWO
Here in section two of learning the true meaning of Genesis 19:24, we will read this verse of Scripture as both a record of history WITH a hidden PROPHECY of a yet future judgment at the second coming of Jesus. I mean does not the whole Old Testament point to Jesus through prophecy, shadows, types and figures? Even the ceremonial laws written in the Law of Moses was a schoolmaster to lead the children of Israel to Jesus. Do you remember that Jesus said his coming would be LIKE or AS the days Noah and the days of Lot?
Please read Luke 17:26-36.
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28. LIKEWISE ALSO as it was in the days of Lot; (So shall it be ALSO in the days of the Son of Man) they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29. But the SAME DAY that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. (Remember that there are three heavens, the third heaven where God's throne is located, the outer space, and the SKY or the atmosphere surrounding the earth. So the COMMAND came from heaven to rain down fire and brimstone from the SKY the SAME day that Lot went out of Sodom to ESCAPE the judgment of Yahweh) 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Speaking of the second coming of Jesus which is when the rapture of the church will take place right before Jesus executes the WRATH of Almighty God Yahweh so that the RIGHTEOUS saints in Jesus will not be destroyed with the wicked) 31. In that day, he who shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32. Remember Lot's wife. (In other words, we the church are being warned to FLEE out of Judea when we SEE the abomination of desolation taking place, BUT we are NOT to FLEE when we see the SIGNS of his COMING. The world will hide themselves in the bunkers and in caves for FEAR of what they see coming in the SKIES) 33. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34. I tell you, IN that night (And NOT in seven years before that night that Jesus comes as a thief in the night) there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
So then, Jesus is leaving us a clue to go back and read the historical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the DELIVERANCE of Lot by warning us to REMEMBER Lot’s WIFE. So let us go back to Genesis chapter 19 and read Genesis 19:21-26 with SOME of the Strong’s numbers so you can see the UNTRANSLATED Aleph and Tav which is a hidden prophecy pointing to Jesus in the future. In other words, WITHIN the historical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah there is a hidden prophecy of Jesus executing the WRATH of fire that will yet be rained down on the cities of the world AT the second coming of Jesus.
Genesis 19:21-26.
“And he said unto him, (Speaking of one of the angels sent BY Yahweh in verse 13 to destroy these cities because of the wickedness in them who is now speaking to Lot) See, I have accepted you concerning this thing ALSO, that I (Referring to the angel that was sent by Yahweh speaking Yahweh's words to Lot saying I, as in I Yahweh) will not overthrow this city, for the which you have spoken. (You see, Lot wanted to go into this little city as opposed to going into the mountains and the Yahweh up in heaven ACCEPTED his words and agreed to not destroy that little city. In other words, the angel told Lot what Yahweh up in heaven told the angel what to say to answer Lot's request. I guess Lot was not an outdoor man or he just got used to city life. Just a little humor) 22. Haste you, escape there; for I cannot do anything till you get there. (Again, the angel is talking in the NAME of Yahweh FOR Yahweh who sent His angels to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom. Gomorrah, AND the SURROUNDING cities which included that little city that Lot asked the angel if he could flee there instead of fleeing into the mountains. In other words, Yahweh Himself did not come down and destroy the cities, but rather, Yahweh gave the order from up in heaven to His angels to rain down fire FROM Yahweh out of heaven or out of the heavens, as in out of the SKY or skies above the cities and the plain) Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar. 23. The sun rose upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. (Or a brilliant light out of the east as BATTLEMENT rose upon the land. For you see, the Hebrew word translated as the word “sun” carries all these meanings of a battlement, out of the east, and brilliance or brightness as the sun and Jesus is coming in clouds of GLORY out of the EAST as the battlement of the armies are destroying Jerusalem at the end of the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation. And Jesus is coming to in a flaming FIRE to destroy the armies that will be fighting against Israel to wipe Israel off the face of the earth as prophesied in Psalm 83. Now I find the MEANING of the little city that Lot ESCAPED to very interesting. For you see, to me, it is a hidden prophecy that we, the RIGHTEOUS in Jesus will ESCAPE the wrath of God to MEET Jesus in the AIR coming out of the EAST in the SKIES over Jerusalem at the place called Armageddon to help Jesus execute the judgment of God's wrath) 24. Then the LORD rained upon (Or then Yahweh rained, as in, Yahweh CAUSED to rain down against, as in, Yahweh gave the order for His angels to begin the destruction upon) Sodom AND upon (Or then Yahweh rained, as in, Yahweh CAUSED to rain down against BY Yahweh giving the order for His angels to begin the destruction upon) Gomorrah brimstone and fire FROM (Strong's number H4480 and ALSO Strong's number H584 that is NOT translated which mean WITH) the LORD out of heaven; (But NOT upon the little city of Zoar OR the MOUNTAINS in which Lot was instructed to escape into. Now take a moment to know and understand that Jesus was MADE Lord and God AFTER the cross. The HUMAN Son of God was given all authority and power to execute judgment AFTER the cross. And the human Son of God was HIGHLY EXALTED and GIVEN a new name HIGHER than any other name AFTER the cross. So what NAME is higher than every other name? It is the NAME Yahweh! In other words the NEW name that was given to the Son of MAN Jesus is the NAME Yahweh. But WHY? So that AT the NAME of Yahweh every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord TO the glory OF Almighty God the Father, the God and Father OF Jesus. So to ME, the second usage of the NAME Yahweh in Genesis 19:24 is a HIDDEN prophecy of the yet future Son of God being GIVEN the NAME Yahweh to execute the judgment of the WRATH of God upon the wicked. However, this verse does NOT mean that there were two separate persons name Yahweh in the eternity past) 25. And He (Speaking of the ONE Yahweh in ONE person using His angels in the Old Testament historical time as a hidden prophecy of a future fulfillment where the ONE Yahweh in ONE person will execute His wrath WITH His H584 The Aleph and the Tav Messiah Jesus. Again, I believe that this is a hidden prophecy of the second coming in the FUTURE. You see, the Strong's number H583 are the SAME two Hebrew letters as Strong's number H584 which are the FIRST and the LAST letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Remember that Jesus said that he is the FIRST and the LAST, the Alpha and the Omega which are the FIRST and the LAST letters of the Greek alphabet. My point is that the ONE Yahweh in ONE person) overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. (BY way of His angels or His messengers that He Himself SENT or COMMISSIONED to execute the judgment of Yahweh Himself) 26. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Remember the warning of Jesus about Lot’s WIFE and keep in mind that we will be the Lamb’s wife IF we do not seek to save our natural mortal life AT the coming of Jesus by fleeing to hide when we see the things coming upon the earth that will cause men's HEART to FAIL. This can mean that people will have literal heart attacks for FEAR of things coming on the earth, and it can also mean that some Christians will give up their faith in Jesus because it will look as IF Jesus is NOT coming back to deliver them and he promised. People will be saying WHERE is the PROMISE of his coming? Jesus said WHEN you THINK NOT that I am coming then that is WHEN I am coming. In the Old Testament time when the historical Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed Yahweh sent His angels out of heaven to wait for His command out of the heavens to go ahead and destroy the wicked cities. And within this historical account is an untranslated ALEPH TAV hidden prophecy of the second coming of Jesus when Yahweh will give the command for His now highly exalted human Son to execute His wrath upon the unsaved and the disobedient children of God. Please read the study U-27. What Does ALEPH and TAV MEAN? Remember that Jesus said that his coming would be LIKE or AS the days of Lot. And it was the ANGELS of Yahweh that executed the judgment of Yahweh as Yahweh CAUSED the judgment to be rained down. And LIKEWISE so shall be the days of the Son of MAN at the second coming to rapture his church. And the SAME day as the rapture of the church Yahweh will CAUSE or give the command to His King of kings to execute his God and Father’s wrath in the NAME of Yahweh immediately AFTER the RIGHTEOUS are caught up into the AIR to ESCAPE the WRATH of God and NOT the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation. And that is the true sound Biblical meaning of Genesis 19:24 which ONLY Trinitarian Christians use to TRY and prove that Yahweh is a “Trinity” Godhead of three separate persons in the ONE Yahweh. There is NO Trinity Godhead and Jesus is NOT Yahweh Himself in the flesh even after his God and Father highly exalted him after the cross and GAVE him the NAME Yahweh so that AT that NAME, the NEW name GIVEN to the Son of MAN, Jesus, the name YAHWEH, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord TO the glory OF Yahweh the Father. Also remember that the human Son of God was MADE Lord after the cross, according to Acts 2:36. And that means that Jesus was NOT Lord in the eternity past. Isaiah 9:6,7 clearly teaches us that his NAME SHALL be called the Mighty God WHEN the government shall be laid upon his shoulders. Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. So, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading >>>D-0. THE BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of JESUS!<<< And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading >>>C-0. THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH!<<< This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED!
To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY is according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>N-0. WHO is JESUS ACCORDING to the BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>U-0. VERSES used for THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>V-0. VERSES used to TEACH that Jesus PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL of the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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