[14] And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of that house or city shake off the dust from your feet. [15] Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Matthew 10: 14-15
Yesterday afternoon I was watching the Abraham portion of The Bible: In the Beginning (1966). George C. Scott gave an unforgettable performance and I truly think he was incapable of giving a bad peformance. Peter O’Toole is listed as portraying the three angels sent by God to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. So his role is stated in the credits. It is clear to me however that he was portraying the Trinity. God the Father does most of the talking and is bearded. God the Son is clean shaven, looking a bit like O’Toole as Lawrence of Arabia. God the Holy Spirit is silent and muffled, His face never shown. I have seen the film before, but I never made the connection and I am surprised at the theological sharpness of that portion of the film. O’Toole in his adult life was a fallen away Catholic who never adopted another faith. He received a traditional Catholic education, and I can’t help but think this informed his performance, many Catholic writers assuming that the three angels were the Trinity, or at least that one of the Angels was Christ.
If there were ten innocent children in Sodom, the cities would have been spared.
The Russian painter Rublev painted the icon of the Blessed Trinity.
In Genesis 18 three Angels visited Abraham and Sarah to tell them that they would have a son (vv 1-15). Then they looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord pronounced His Judgment (vv 16-33). However, in chapter 19 only two angels visited Lot (vv 1-11), after which God destroyed the cities (vv 12-29).
Being nuclear trained, I like getting all the facts straight.
If the three angels who visited Abraham and Sarah are Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then who are the two angels who visited Lot? Father and Son? Son and Holy Spirit? Father and Holy Spirit?
Father and Son. The Holy Spirit rained the wrath of God down upon the cities.
Thanks, Donald! That makes perfect sense!
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