Sodom & Gomorrah Chapter 4- Was Zoar also Destroyed?

Was ZOAR Destroyed?

One potential puzzle arose when Ron found 5 sites instead of 4. The Biblical account tells that Lot and his daughters were allowed to flee to Zoar in order to escape the impending destruction. This fifth city was located just a few miles beyond the southernmost site, which would have been Sodom. And it is ashen.

In between this small site and Sodom was a segment of Mt. Sodom and this fit the picture from Genesis perfectly. When Lot's wife tarried long enough to look back, she was turned into a pillar of salt, which indicated that there was another process which also took place at that time.

This process, whatever it was, converted a particular area into salt and it appeared that Lot's wife got caught up in that.

VIDEO: Ron discusses Lot's wife and the pillar of salt:

This 5th site was extremely small compared to the other four and it was a perfect square. Was this Zoar? We know Zoar wasn't destroyed when Sodom and Gomorrah were! So how do we know it was destroyed? Again, we found the answer in the Biblical account.

GEN 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for HE FEARED TO DWELL IN ZOAR: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and THERE IS NOT A MAN IN THE EARTH to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

For some reason, Lot became afraid to continue to stay in Zoar, so he and his daughters left. The next thing we read is that they dwelt in a cave and his two daughters state that there are no men left "in the earth" to "come in unto us after the manner of all the earth", or in short, to make them pregnant. This tells us that for some reason, shortly after leaving Zoar, they believe they are the only people left on earth. Why would they think this unless they had just witnessed the destruction of Zoar?

VIDEO: Ron discusses Zoar and its destruction:

The area of land that had been affected by the conflagration which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was extremely large and to Lot and his daughters, it probably looked as if the entire world had been destroyed, except for little Zoar. Then, as they dwelled in Zoar and witnessed the fact that its inhabitants were just as wicked as those of Sodom, they expected its soon destruction, which is exactly what occurred. Whether this happened the next day, or week or month, we have no way of knowing. But Josephus, in our earlier quote, also states that "five cities are still to be seen".

SALT

Today, this area contains a great deal of salt. Mt. Sodom is a salt dome, a mountain literally made of salt. Why did God do this?

In Deuteronomy, God compares what He would do to the land of Israel if they were not faithful and compares it to what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah:

Deu 29:22. So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;  23  And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

VIDEO: Ron discusses God using salt to prevent the land from ever being useful again:

Evidence from the Ebla Tablets

When the archives at ancient Ebla (in present day northern Syria) were first discovered in 1975, the translator, Giovanni Pettinato, reported he had found the names of the 5 cities of the plain not only listed, but in the same order as in Genesis. However, the Syrian government was "angered at the emphasis placed in the West on the tablets' alleged Biblical significance". (BAR, May/June 1980, p. 48)

A rather large controversy then began over these tablets, which the Syrians felt were being used to link the Biblical Patriarchs with Syrian history, something they would not stand for. This finally resulted in Pettinato's resignation and letter of recantation as to many of the translations. However, that's just par for the course. These tablets reveal evidence that positively confirms the Biblical account and Satan is fighting hard to suppress it.

The later appointed director of the Italian mission excavating at Ebla issued a statement which shows why Pettinato was forced to recant:

"These allegations [linking the Ebla tablets with the Bible] were propagated by Zionist-American centres to be exploited for atrocious purposes aimed at proving the expansionist and colonialistic views of the Zionist leaders." Ibid., p. 49.

The two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were correct. In light of the serious objections made by the Syrian government, which are purely political in nature based on their intense hatred of the Israelis, I think we can confidently accept the evidence as it was originally published. And in his original publication, he writes that a king of one of the cities is mentioned, "Birsha", which is exactly what the Bible states:

GEN 14:2  That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

What is so exciting about these tablets is that they come from a well-established city, 140 acres in size, that existed during the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Biblical record reveals that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed just 24 years after Abraham left Haran, which is within 150 miles of ancient Ebla.

And mentioned in the Ebla texts, uncontested, are cities whose names reflect Abraham's relatives: Phaliga=Peleg; Til-Turakhi=Terah; Nakhur=Nahor; and Haran. Not only that, but they mention "Ur in the region of Haran", which is the city Abraham left from originally. (See article on Babel for more on this.)

Sodom and Gomorrah and their fate was not a fairy tale. It was an historical event that occurred exactly as the Biblical account presented it. Not only that, but the evidence remains, as Peter wrote, as an "ensample [a visual example] unto those that after should live ungodly".

They provide the entire world with the evidence of, as Jude wrote, "the vengeance of eternal fire." Malachi wrote of the final reward of the wicked:

MAL 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that SHALL BURN AS AN OVEN; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, SHALL BE STUBBLE: and the day that cometh SHALL BURN THEM UP, saith the LORD of hosts, that it SHALL LEAVE THEM NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3 And YE SHALL TREAD DOWN THE WICKED; FOR THEY SHALL BE ASHES UNDER THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Why Is God Revealing This Today?

As with all of the things God has revealed to us today through Ron's work, there is a very important reason why He is revealing these things today.

VIDEO- Ron discusses how God kept these sites 'hidden' until His time was right:

VIDEO- Ron telling the significance for today: