2239. 'The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and their sin has become extremely grave' means that falsity and evil stemming from self-love reached their climax. This is clear from the meaning of 'Sodom' as evil stemming from self-love, and of 'Gomorrah' as falsity from this, shown above in 2220, and also from the meaning of 'cry' as falsity, and of 'sin' as evil, dealt with in the paragraph following this. From all this it is evident that their cry became great, and that their sin became grave, means that falsity and evil came to their peak or climax. This is more clearly evident from what follows where it is said that if ten persons were found there the city would be spared, verse 32, meaning that if some remnants were still left, that is, some good and truth. For when no good or truth remains inwardly with man any longer, there is vastation and desolation and therefore the climax has been reached, which is described in the verse that follows next.