Welcome to Sodom and Gomorrah 2.0

You could look far and wide and you would have a hard time finding someone who is more pro-Israel than me.

I love the nation of Israel because it is the only true democracy in the Middle East. I love Israel because it is a reliable ally of the United States. And most of all, I love Israel because it is the birthplace of my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the cradle of almost all of biblical history.

I also take seriously – and very literally – God’s promise to Abram (later Abraham), the father of the Jewish race, that “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3 (BSB)

That is why – as an evangelical Christian who deeply loves, respects, and appreciates the Jewish people – I am dismayed at some recent developments in Israel.

I have long been grieved by Israel’s radically pro-abortion position, in which a Termination Committee established by a 1977 law and updated in 2022, approves 99% of all abortion requests. Among reasons deemed permissible to have a legal abortion in Israel are age (under 18 or over 40), non-marital pregnancy, rape/incest, and fetal/maternal health risks. Applicants for an abortion don’t even have to appear in person as all requests are submitted digitally and once approved, paid for under the national health insurance plan.

Abortion pills, which are increasingly responsible for the 16,000-20,000 legal abortions performed in Israel annually, are readily available at local health clinics.

Why a nation that is surrounded (and outnumbered) by Muslim countries that want to destroy it is murdering tens of thousands of its own babies every year is beyond me. It also boggles my mind because throughout history, God chastised and harshly judged Israel every time it engaged in the child sacrifices of its Baal and Ashtaroth-worshipping neighbors.

Abortion-aside, there have been other recent developments in Israel that have made me shudder. For instance, just last month, Israeli police denied access to top Catholic leaders including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for Palm Sunday mass for the first time in centuries. That caused a firestorm of international criticism, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse course and allow a small contingent of celebrants to attend.

Then there was the incident last week where an Israeli soldier in Lebanon was photographed taking a sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus, decapitating the crucifix. Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said, “We apologize for this incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt.”

However, Father Fadi Flaifel, the head of the Christian congregation in the village of Debel, remained deeply disturbed. “We totally reject the desecration of the cross, our sacred symbol, and all religious symbols. It goes against the declaration of human rights, and it doesn’t reflect civility.”

You’re right, Father Flaifel… and hopefully, the soldier in question was severely disciplined.

However, that singular event pales in contrast to what is about to occur this June in the Holy Land. The Israeli government has officially announced that “the Dead Sea becomes Pride Land, the biggest LGBTQ+ festival ever in the Middle East,” adding that “Pride rises at the lowest place on earth.”

In case you didn’t make the connection, the site of the Gay Pride event will be the Dead Sea, which at 1,440 feet below sea level is the lowest place on earth. I wonder if the event’s coordinators realize the symmetry between the Dead Sea and the depths of their depravity?

To make matters even worse – and to mock God even further – the festival will be held near the location of Sodom and Gomorrah, the ancient cities destroyed by God in Genesis 19 because of their depravity, specifically rampant homosexuality.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the non-straight festival will construct a temporary city in the desert featuring parties, a central performance arena, art complexes, “relaxation” areas, and “family-friendly areas with children’s activities.”

I’m sorry, but there is nothing “family-friendly” about sexual deviance and debauchery, and children should not be exposed to any type of perversion… period.

And yet, the Israeli government disagrees, because their embassy in Washington D.C. is enthusiastically plugging the event, stating, “You won’t see this anywhere else in the region.”

No, you won’t, because homosexuality isn’t celebrated in Muslim countries. On the contrary, it is illegal in most of them – more than 30 at last count – with just a handful like Turkey, Bahrain, Jordan, and several in Southeast Asia permitting it.

Who would have thought that followers of Muhammad, a false prophet and pedophile, would be teaching proper morals to the children of Abraham?

Billy Graham once said that “If God doesn’t judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Well, Dr. Graham, unfortunately, it looks like God’s judgment and wrath may fall on Israel first.

“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.” Galatians 6:7 (BSB)