Jude 1:7 … Clobbering the Clobberers #07: Justifying Jude (06/26/16)
Finally, here indeed we find a verse that does seem to condemn homosexuality outright. It reads: “Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” … AND YET like its predecessor passages, while this verse does appear to condemn homosexuality, a closer examination reveals that it actually does NOT do so … Please consider the following:
First of all, it has been noted on a number of occasions in this thread that Sodom & Gomorrah were not destroyed in response to a prevalence of homosexual relationships or because of the presence of homosexuals themselves (or even because of any expressions of homosexual lust), but rather because of a callous disregard for the poor & the downtrodden (Ezekiel 16:49) which was manifested in wanton expressions of superficial greed & gluttony (Luke 17:28-29).
Secondly, even if the previous words of Ezekiel and Jesus are ignored, the “sexual immorality” mentioned in this verse of Jude (and indirectly hinted at in Genesis 19) was not a reference to homosexual desire or homosexual sex, but rather to the intended RAPE of two fallen angels by a horde of HETEROSEXUAL men (see Genesis 19) …
Thirdly, and quite intriguingly, the phrase in this verse translated as “pursued unnatural lust” is actually more accurately translated as “pursued strange flesh” – something the Sodom & Gomorrah mob in Genesis 19 was doing not because they were attempting to have nonconsensual sex with two men, but rather because they were trying to have nonconsensual sex with two of the Elohim – with two fallen angels! And if this literal reading of the text is indeed correct, it would make sense why those angels would thereafter angrily (and unjustly) rain down fire & sulfur upon those cities …
Fourthly & finally, it is important to note (especially for Christians) that Jesus himself was openly opposed to the ruthlessly violent & patently unmerciful method used by the Elohim to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah … Consider the Gospel of Luke:
“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem … On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But [Jesus] turned and rebuked them, saying, ‘You do not know what spirit you are of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of human beings, but to offer them salvation.’” ~ Luke 9:51-55
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