Secrets from Beyond The Grave

It is possible that the reason for this visual, "illustrated sermon" is to remind the inhabitants of the earth what happens when there is disobedience against God and the eternal consequences of rebellion. In a contemporary society, legislation is passed in the form of laws to help restrain crime and punish the criminal. Throughout the Old Testament, men would build altars, erect stone monuments, and mark spiritual visitations and historic events to remind future generations of that important moment in history. (See Genesis 35:3; Exodus 17:15; and Joshua 4:7.) The Almighty instructed Israel that the observances of His yearly appointed feasts were to be passed from generation to generation (Lev. 23; 25). When Satan is again loosed at the end of the thousand years, humans will again be subject to temptation. The opening to hell is to serve as a restraining influence against anyone who would reject the Messiah and join in the final rebellion with Satan. Because the Dead Sea is the lowest spot on Earth, the underground chambers are actually closer to the surface of the earth's crust there than in any other place on Earth. Early historians wrote that fire would be seen creeping upon the ground in the very area where Sodom once existed. All geologists know that there are presently subterranean fires burning under the sea. The area of the Dead Sea is surrounded by high mountains on both sides--the mountains of Moab and the Judean wilderness. I have stood on the mountain overlooking the southern half of the Dead Sea many times. From the high points of the Judean wilderness, the entire sea, from west to east, can be seen. Sodom and Gomorrah Parallels Because the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah occurred in this region, these two cities are examples of future punishment. . . . and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly. --2 Peter 2:6 As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. --Jude 7 The former location of these two wicked cities was in a well-watered area in the southern part of the Dead Sea, in the valley of Siddim. Their destruction serves as a warning to future generations who would follow the same sins of Sodom. These transgressions against God, recorded by Ezekiel, are: Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. --Ezekiel 16:49-50 If our research proves correct, then the gaping hole in the earth seen by Isaiah would be within the same area where the two most famous cities of antiquity once stood. Thus the entire area is marked as a memorial and a remembrance of the eternal penalty of unrepentant