In Genesis 19, God sent two angels to the city of Sodom where they were greeted by Lot and urged to take shelter at his home rather than in the midst of the city. The two angels, who were sent in the form of men, decided to stay with Lot. Later that evening, the militant LGBTQ community of Sodom surrounded Lot’s home and held a Pride festival, demanding that Lot and his household not only tolerate them but celebrate and participate in their movement.

For their rebellion against God, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

For those who argue that the destruction of these two cities was not primarily about sexual immorality, I point you to Jude 1:7: just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Further, Ezekiel 16:49 adds that “pride,” among other sins, was also in play. Two of God’s most despised sins—sexual immorality and pride—are wrapped up in one movement, LGBTQ pride.

During the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, there were only two cities. Today, we see Sodom and Gomorrah playing out on a worldwide scale. While America has been at the forefront of the LGBTQ pride movement for decades, and the American Church has tolerated this abomination speaking very little to the conscience of those participating in it and even many professing churches joining in and leading the movement, the pride of men has now made its way into the most remote lands of the world and are gaining a strong foothold. It is a cancer that has metastasized to infect the world.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… —Romans 5:12

Following the Stonewall riots of June 1969, the first “gay pride” marches were held in America’s three largest cities on the one-year anniversary on June 28, 1970—New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. To this day, “pride month” is celebrated every June and it has grown to be celebrated worldwide.

Since the inception of “pride,” the movement has moved deeper into the Bible belt of the “conservative” Deep South, it has moved to the remote cities of the Central Great Plains, and has moved out of the United States into other Westernized nations including European nations, Canada, and Australia. But it hasn’t stopped there. We’re now seeing this movement take root in non-Western nations.

One example of this is the recent controversy brewing over a planned pride march in Serbia. Serbia, a nation tied to the Orthodox Church and has historically valued the family unit as one of its leading moral principles, is now facing the influx of the modern Sodom and Gomorrah “Europride” movement in its own country as conservatives in the nation protest. Currently, same-sex “marriage” is illegal in Serbia, but the descendants of Sodom and Gomorrah are out to change that.

Another example is Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. According to one research article on the largest pride marches around the world, Taipei is number 7 with an expected 80 thousand people in October 2022, following Montreal, Berlin, Paris, New York, Madrid, and Copenhagen at number 1. Two South American cities, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, also make the list and the South African city of Johannesburg makes number 15.

We often look at Westernization as a blessing from God that brings modern civilization and such things as technology and medicine to the world in need. And in many ways, it is. But on the flip side of that same coin, the Western world has also been the first to jump headfirst into sin. It’s safe to say that most of these nations listed have been influenced by Westernization. But what about the clearly non-Western nations?

Kazahkstan is one among many traditionally non-Western nations facing a major push to advance LGBTQ rights. South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong have thriving celebrations of sexual sin and even North Korea has a growing LGBTQ movement. Even in Russia where homosexual activity is outright banned, you still have the LGBTQ Sodom and Gomorrah movement defying the authorities and celebrating their sin.

And as the Chinese Communist Party desperately tries to muffle the LGBTQ movement in its own nation as a show of strength, Sodom and Gomorrah pride is growing, thriving movements all throughout the anti-Western nation.

What do all of these seemingly opposing nations have in common that causes the LGBTQ pride movement to grow and spread like cancer? Sin. In fact, this question is clearly answered in Romans 1, the LGBTQ movement itself isn’t necessarily the sin that brings the judgment of God, it is itself the wrath of God being poured out among these nations. Much like Sodom and Gomorrah, as stated in Ezekiel—and at the risk of sounding like JD Greear who says that sexual immorality is morally equivalent to boasting—clearly, several other sins were what led to the judgment of God being poured out on that city.

In other words, sexual immorality was the last and final, and clearly the most egregious form of rebellion against God, that served not only as the catalyst to God’s judgment but as part of the judgment itself. To summarize the judgment presented in Romans 1, rebellion against God begins to manifest in seemingly insignificant ways, namely, the refusal to honor and acknowledge Him. As the rebellion progresses, man becomes futile in his thinking and his foolish heart is darkened. They begin to worship idols—”the creature rather than the Creator.” God then ultimately gives man over to his rebellion and when He removes his hand of restraint against sin, people ultimately turn to the ultimate form of rebellion which, as described in Romans 1:26-27, sexual immorality. Once that happens, all bets are off and the minds of the rebellious people are totally debased.

The only solution to this natural progression of sin that entered the world through one man is Christ. 1 John 4:14 says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” Christ alone can save us all from the debased mind described in Romans 1. Christ alone, who stood as a substitute for all who believe in Him bearing the wrath of God in our place, is the only solution. Christ alone is the only man who could live without the slightest tainting of sin in Him—yet, became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

For all who don’t believe, Sodom and Gomorrah is the ultimate end, the ultimate destruction, caused by the rebellion of man against a Holy God who demands perfection. But we could never be perfect, so God, as He has always done for His people, provides the way to stand blameless before Him on the day of judgment. Believe in the one whom He has sent.

…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. —Romans 10:9