Later in 1989, we visited the site just below Masada and took samples of the whitish material which we all discovered broke right off in our hands and disintegrated into particles the consistency of talcum powder. It certainly LOOKED like ash! But what to do about this information was a puzzle. After all, these sites have been right out in plain sight since their destruction in about 1897 BC. What did people think they were?

I asked some people who were filming a TV commercial for a blue jeans company at one site what the strange formations were. Their reply was that they were formed when the Dead Sea had once covered the entire area. Interesting. When we had the whitish material tested at several labs, we were told it was ash. Not only that, but we were told by several geologists that any area that has ever been underwater will contain CLAY. The whitish material contained no clay. It had never been underwater. But even more importantly, if the whole plain area between the Dead Sea and the mountains had once been underwater, then these formations would have been evenly distributed over the entire area that had been covered. Yet, they weren't. They were isolated. What to do next was a puzzle. Everyone agreed that it would be quite difficult to convince anyone that these were the sites without some conclusive evidence.

Lot Saw the "Plain of Jordan" from near Bethel

We spent some time studying the Scriptures to learn all we could. Ron's theory was certainly "bucking" the establishment's theories. He was placing these cities from one end of the Dead Sea to the other, and beyond. We found some clues we hadn't thought of before. We have shortened some of these verses to make the reading apply to the point we want to demonstrate. Please read the entire verses in your own Bibles: 

GEN 13:2 And Abram... 3 ...went ...to Bethel,... between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.... 

This is to show where Abraham went when he returned from Egypt. He went to the region of Bethel. And with him was Lot, his nephew. At this time, the decision is made that they should split up because the land simply wouldn't accommodate all of their herds, along with the herds of the native inhabitants of the region. So, Abraham asks Lot what land he wants, giving him first choice. While standing there: 

10 ...Lot LIFTED UP HIS EYES, AND BEHELD ALL THE PLAIN OF JORDAN, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then LOT CHOSE him all THE PLAIN OF JORDAN; and Lot JOURNEYED EAST: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and LOT DWELLED IN THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN, and PITCHED HIS TENT TOWARD SODOM.

While standing in the region of Bethel, obviously high on a hilltop, Lot looked and saw the Jordan Valley. Now this is quite a distance away, and because of the mountains, only the northern end of this valley could be seen- certainly not as far south as Sodom or Gomorrah. One author in the late 1800s checked this out for himself, and this is what he wrote: 

"...what can there be seen is the northern end of the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley, and the river running like a blue thread through the green plain. The hills of Engedi shut out completely all view of the southern end of the sea; but as I before said, the northern end, where the Jordan runs in, and about two or three miles of the sea, can be seen. I have wandered all over the Bethel hills and tested this question." ("The Bible and Modern Discoveries" by Henry A. Harper, a Member of the Palestine Exploration Fund Society, 1891.) 

What this means is that the area Lot saw WAS the northern end of the area now occupied by the Dead Sea. When he travelled EAST, this is where he journeyed to. And then, it said he "dwelled in the cities of the plain", which is not a specific designation, and then that he "pitched his tent toward Sodom", or went in that direction. We later learn that he took up residence in that city.

So, the Biblical account shows that the "Plain of Jordan" did indeed cover a large area since the northern region is what caught Lot's eye. Then, it describes Lot "dwelling" in the "cities of the plain" and then pitching his tent "toward Sodom". Perhaps this is describing Lot's travels, with him first staying in other cites and finally continuing on in the direction of Sodom, where we know he finally settled. We must remember that Lot had a tremendous amount of animals because the whole reason he separated from Abraham was because their combined flocks were too much for the land around Bethel. So, as Lot journeyed through the plain, he had to travel slowly, taking his flocks with him. Wherever he stopped along the way, he had to have enough pasture land for the animals. And when he finally settled in Sodom, he still had to have pasture land for his flocks. This indicates that there was pasture land near the city. The sites Ron located are all several miles apart, with plenty of land between them.

What "Remains" Should be Expected?

The Biblical account tells of a conflagration in which balls of brimstone (sulfur) rained down from heaven (the atmosphere), completely burning the cities up. 

GEN 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. The only mention of the condition of the remains of the cities during the time of Christ was written by Peter: 

2PE 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;  

This verse is full of information- for one thing, it tells us that the cities were ASHES. That may seem like a logical conclusion since they were destroyed by fire, but the adherents to the theory that the 5 sites on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea (Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira, etc.) have failed to note that they are NOT ashen. They contain some burnt artifacts, but they also contain food-stuffs and other articles that are still intact. 

Peter said they were ashes, and he also states that the cities were an "ensample" to those "that after should live ungodly." The Greek word translated to read "ensample" is "hupodeigma" which implies something "that is shown or visible". This implies that it could literally BE SEEN. Jude also writes along those same lines, presenting these cities as proof of the reward of the wicked: 

JUD 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.  

Again, the word he used, "deigma" signifies "a thing shown, a specimen" from the root word "deiknumi", "to show".

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