246. About a supplication by certain of the Jews for the mercy of God the Messiah

When the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel was being explained, where the whoredom of the Church of Jacob's descendants is treated of, some of the Jews who said they had been from the sect of the Pharisees, when they had given their attention for some time to the inward meaning of the words, were so moved by truth that they devoutly implored the mercy of God the Messiah, confessing their sins. 1747, the 13th day of November (old calendar).

The city of "Sodom", in the Bible, represents the love of self and the love of ruling or dominating others springing from the love of self. This is why it is depicted as such an evil place, and why it was utterly destroyed by God.

This is not, of course, the usual association people have with Sodom; it has long been connected to homosexuality because in Genesis 19 the men of the city tried to rape the male angels who were visiting Lot. But if you think about it, it makes sense. Experts regard rape as a crime of violence and domination more than a crime of sexual desire. The fact that Lot offered his daughters as an alternative indicates that he thought that the men of the city were not picky about who they dominated and violated. Their chief pleasure was in the domination. All stories about adultery in the Bible -- from the more mild up to and including the intended homosexual gang rape in Sodom -- are actually depictions of selfishness in various forms.