The famous destruction of the ancient Roman City of Pompeii in August 24 79 C.E
A city that resembles the worst in humanity, absolute recklessness, abominations and profanity. Very short period after the Romans have destroyed our Temple in Jerusalem the city of Pompeii was pulverized and their citizens carbonized and turned into ashes, frozen in time, very similarly as the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
In this article one can see the reasons why this Roman city and its adjacent nearby cities were all destroyed. What was their culture? how did they behave? The lessons learned from this are all for us to take.
‘They Declare Their Sin as Sodom’
The Scriptures reveal that Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned primarily for sexual sins. Genesis 19 describes widespread homosexuality, rape, promiscuity, going after strange flesh (Genesis 19:4-13; see also Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). Early historians, such as Philo and Josephus, attest to this sexually deviant nature of the city. Of course, the sexual sins were concurrent with many others that contributed to their downfall. The Prophet Ezekiel wrote of Sodom and “her daughters”: “They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds” (Ezekiel 16:49-50, New English Translation). Such was the glut and normalcy of these sins, that even the daughters of “righteous” Lot were influenced to commit incest (Genesis 19:30-38).
Archaeological discoveries indicate that Pompeii (and Herculaneum) had a parallel moral climate.
This “Las Vegas” of the Roman Empire is famously known for its preserved erotic art.
