NT Text: Jude 7
OT Source(s):
Source: John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1763)
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Typology + Contrast
Significance: Jude's handling of Sodom demonstrates how OT judgment narratives become multilayered types pointing to eschatological realities. The historical destruction by fire serves three theological purposes: (1) proof of God's intolerance for sexual immorality and boundary violations, (2) paradigm for "eternal fire" as eschatological judgment, and (3) warning particularly relevant to false teachers who distort grace into license for immorality. The phrase "serve as an example" (deigma prokeitai) transforms past judgment into present warning and future certainty—what happened to Sodom guarantees what will happen to apostates. Throughout the OT prophets, Sodom becomes shorthand for total judgment (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel use it 10+ times), establishing a trajectory where Sodom's overthrow typifies divine wrath against all who reject God's moral order. Jude appropriates this entire prophetic tradition, making Sodom paradigmatic for the coming judgment awaiting false teachers who "pervert the grace of our God into sensuality."