This story has long been used to support negative views toward homosexuality, but in its internal, spiritual sense it’s
actually not about homosexuality at all -- it’s about evil, temptation, salvation and judgment.
In terms of spiritual history, Genesis 19 describes the final judgment of what Swedenborg calls the Ancient Church, the second in a succession of churches which had true knowledge about the Lord.
The first – the Most Ancient Church – is represented by Adam in the Garden of Eden, and was centered on a pure love of the Lord. It fell, however, as people began to trust their senses and their own intelligence instead of the Lord – a fall which began with the serpent and ended with the flood. The Ancient Church was formed from a remnant represented by Noah, was inspired by mutual love of people for each other, and possessed tremendous knowledge of the relationships between the natural world and the spiritual world. The people of that church eventually began to value the natural knowledge more than the underlying spiritual reality, however – represented in the story of the Tower of Babel – and began a descent into evil and falsity. The story of Sodom illustrates the crash at the end of that descent.
Swedenborg says the people of Sodom represent the people of the Ancient Church, who still had forms of worship based on their knowledge, but were consumed by the love of self and serving themselves. Lot represents a remnant within that church which still had an idea of mutual love – a representation much like Noah’s. The two angels represent the Lord preparing to judge the evil remains of the Ancient Church and start a new one.
That new church could be formed in part from the group of people represented by Lot. But for it to happen those people had to choose between Sodom and the angels. Most of this story is about that choice.
At first the good people welcomed the Lord’s presence, the new ideas and new spirit that came to them. They internalized them, and were fortified – represented by Lot taking the angels to his house and feeding them.
But when the rest of the people of the Ancient Church realized what was going on, they went on the attack, trying to negate the idea that the new presence was from the Lord. This is represented by the Sodomites’ desire to rape the angels.
Lot’s response – offering his virgin daughters to the crowd instead – is nothing short of horrifying. Its spiritual meaning, though, is quite different. Swedenborg says that the good people welcomed the Lord’s new presence, but didn’t want to give up their lives, either, didn’t want to believe that their existing church was truly corrupt. So they tried to appeal to the good they believed was still there. The daughters here, according to Swedenborg, represent affections for what is good and true, and offering them to the crowd represents inviting the people of the church to share the delights of mutual love.
The people of the church were having none of it, however, and prepared an even more furious attack on the idea of mutual love itself – represented by the threat directed at Lot himself. But the Lord pulled the good people away from the evil and filled the evil with so much falsity that they could no longer pose a threat, represented by the angels pulling Lot into the house and striking the men with blindness.
Like most stories in the Bible, this story also offers a more personal lesson, describing stages we go through ourselves as we grow spiritually.
As we come to into phases in which we have new desires to be good and new ideas of how to be good, we at first embrace them. They seem wonderful and happy, and we feel purified. But the hells don’t want us going there, and will attack those ideas inside our minds. Our first inclination, like Lot, is to try to reconcile the two – enjoy the new state without giving up the evil delights and comforting falsities of the old one. That doesn’t work, though, and the two end up in conflict, a conflict we call temptation.
If we persist in that battle, though, the Lord will step in, will bring us into a peaceful good state and render the evils powerless, even as the angels did for Lot.
As the story in the Bible continues, of course, we witness the actual judgment of the Ancient Church in the destruction of Sodom. Lot, meanwhile, is rescued and taken to Abram, who is the founder of the third great church, the one among the Children of Israel.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2312-15
2312. CONTENTS
In this chapter 'Lot' describes, in the internal sense, the state of the spiritual Church in which good flowing from charity exists but the worship of which is external - how in course of time that Church falls away.
2313. The first state of that Church: people have the good of charity and acknowledge the Lord; and from Him they are strengthened in good, verses 1-3, and are saved, verse 12. ...
2314. Besides this, 'the inhabitants of Sodom' describes, in the internal sense, the state of those people inside the same Church who are averse to the good of charity, and describes how evil and falsity among them increases with the passage of time until nothing but evil and falsity are theirs.
2315. Their first state: they are averse to the good that flows from charity, and to the Lord, verses 4, 5.
Their second state though informed about the good of charity and about the delights which go with affections for that good and which they are to enjoy, they are nevertheless unmoved and reject good, verses 6-8.
They even try to destroy the good of charity itself, but the Lord protects it, verses 9, 10.
Their third state: at length they become such that they cannot even see truth and good at all, still less see that truth leads to good, verse 11.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2317, 2328, 2337, 2344, 2350, 2355, 2361, 2368, 2377, 2381
2317.
Verse 1 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. And Lot saw and rose up to meet them, and bowed down with his face towards the ground.
'The two angels came to Sodom in the evening' means the visitation which takes place prior to judgement, 'the two angels' meaning the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding, to which judgement belongs; 'Sodom' meaning the evil, especially those inside the Church; 'evening' meaning the time when visitation takes place. 'And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom' means those people with whom the good of charity exists but whose worship is external - people represented by 'Lot' here - who are among and yet separated from the evil, which is meant by his 'sitting in the gateway of Sodom'. 'And Lot saw' means their conscience. 'And he rose up to meet them' means acknowledgement, and a feeling of charity. 'And bowed down with his face towards the ground' means humiliation.
2328.
Verse 2 And he said, Behold now, my Lords, turn aside now to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet. And in the morning you may rise up and go your way. And they said, No, for we will spend the night in the street.
'And he said, Behold now, my Lords' means interior acknowledgement and confession of the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. 'Turn aside now to your servant's house and spend the night' means an invitation to stay with him - 'to your servant's house' means abiding in the good of charity. 'And wash your feet' means accommodation to his natural. 'And in the morning you may rise up and go your way' means being strengthened in this way in good and truth. 'And they said, No' means the doubting which is usually present during temptation. 'For we will spend the night in the street' means that He was willing, so to speak, to judge from truth.
2337.
Verse 3 And he urged them strongly; and they turned aside to him and came to his house. And he made a feast for them and baked unleavened bread; and they ate.
'He urged them strongly' means a state of temptation when a person overcomes. 'And they turned aside to him' means staying with. 'And came to his house' means confirmation in good. 'And he made a feast for them' means dwelling together. 'And he baked unleavened bread' means purification. 'And they ate' means making one's own.
2344.
Verse 4 Scarcely had they lain down when the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from boy even to old man, all the people from furthest away.
'Scarcely had they lain down' means the first phase of visitation. 'The men of the city' means those immersed in falsities. 'The men of Sodom' means those immersed in evils. 'Surrounded the house' means that they were set against the good that flows from charity. 'From boy even to old man' means falsities and evils, both recent and confirmed. 'All the people from furthest away' means every single one of them.
2350.
Verse 5 And they cried out to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came to you in the night? Bring them out to us and let us know them.
'They cried out to Lot, and said to him' means anger directed against good on the part of falsity deriving from evil. 'Where are the men who came to you?' means a negative frame of mind towards the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. 'In the night' means the final period when these two are acknowledged no longer. 'Bring them out to us and let us know them' means their wish to show that it is false to acknowledge the existence of these.
2355.
Verses 6, 7 And Lot went out to them to the door (janua) and shut the door (ostium) behind him. And he said, No, my brothers, do not act wickedly.
'Lot went out to them to the door' means that he acted cautiously. 'And shut the door behind him' means to prevent them doing violence to good that flows from charity and denying the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. 'And he said' means an earnest appeal. 'No, my brothers, do not act wickedly' means that no violence should be done to these - he calls them 'brothers' because it was from good that he made the earnest appeal.
2361.
Verse 8 Behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man; let me now bring them out to you and you may do to them as is good in your eyes; only do nothing to those men, for they have come under the shadow of my roof.
'Behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man' means the affections for good and for truth. 'Let me now bring them out to you' means blessedness from these. 'And you may do to them as is good in your eyes' means enjoyment insofar as they perceived them to come from good. 'Only do nothing to those men' means that they were to do no violence to the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. 'For they have come under the shadow of my roof' means that the good of charity exists with them, 'shadow of the roof' meaning within a general obscure [perception] of that good.
2368.
Verse 9 And they said, Stand back. And they said, Did not this one come to sojourn, and will he surely judge? Now we will do more harm to you than to them. And they pressed on the man, on Lot forcefully, and came near to break down the door (ostium).
'And they said' means the reply made in anger. 'Stand back' means their angry threats. 'And they said, Did not this one come to sojourn' means people with different teaching and a different life. 'And will he surely judge?' means, Will they teach us? 'Now we will do more harm to you than to them' means that they would reject the good of charity even more than they rejected the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. 'And they pressed on the men' means that they wished to resort to violence against truth. 'On Lot forcefully' means to do so most of all against the good of charity. 'And they came near to break down the door' means that they went so far as to try and destroy them both.
2377.
Verse 10 And the men reached out their hand and brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door.
'The men reached out their hand' means the Lord's powerful aid. 'And brought Lot into the house to them' means that the Lord affords protection to those with whom the good of charity is present. 'And shut the door' means that He also denies all access to them.
2381.
Verse 11 And the men who were at the door of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great; and these strove to find the door (janua).
'The men who were at the door of the house' means rational concepts and matters of doctrine deriving from these by means of which violence is offered to good stemming from charity. 'They struck with blindness' means they were completely filled with falsities. 'Both small and great' means in particular and in general. 'And these strove to find the door' means to the point at which they were unable to see any truth that would lead to good.
AE 653 (Tansley)
[11] The evil that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is described as follows in Moses:
That they wished to offer violence to the angels, and were therefore smitten with blindness, so that they could not find the door where the angels were; and that therefore Jehovah caused brimstone and fire to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and overthrew those cities and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which sprang up from the ground (Gen. 19:1-28).
"Their wishing to offer violence to the angels" means to Divine good and Divine truth, for these are signified by "angels;" the "blindness" with which they were smitten so that they could not find the door signified the complete rejection and denial of the Divine and of the holy things of heaven and the church, even so far as to be unable to see and acknowledge anything of heaven or the church, which is signified by "not finding the door" where the angels were; "brimstone" signifies the lust of destroying the goods and truths of the church by falsities, and "fire" signifies the love of self and every evil that destroys, here the destruction of goods and truths.
Genesis 19:1-11
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
Verse 3
And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
Verse 4
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
Verse 5
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
Verse 6
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
Verse 7
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Verse 8
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Verse 9
And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
Verse 10
But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
Verse 11
And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.