Israel’s official X account posted the following on April 20, 2026: “Pride rises at the lowest place on earth? This June the Dead Sea becomes Pride Land, the biggest LGBTQ+ festival ever in the Middle East. Four days of nonstop celebration, community, and connection. Israel celebrates its LGBTQ+ community bigger than ever!”
The irony is too rich to ignore. The once-fertile plains of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were turned into a wasteland by fire and brimstone from heaven, are now set to host a massive gay pride event. The ancient devastation recorded in the Scriptures was God’s punishment against their sins of fornication (homosexuality, i.e. “going after strange flesh,” Jude 7; Genesis 19:24-25, 28-29). Now, “Israel is set to host the Middle East’s largest ever LGBTQ+ festival at the Dead Sea in June 2026” (The Jerusalem Post, “Four day pride festival to be held at Dead Sea, largest in history of Middle East,” Esther Davis, April 19, 2026). This new festival (“Pride Land”) “intends to transform the middle of the Judean Desert into a colorful pride city from June 1 to June 4.”
Not content with a four-day spectacle, the organizers “hope to create a multigenerational ‘Pride City,’ not just a party celebrating pride” (Ibid.). Obviously, they have rejected the historical lessons of that region which God “set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7).
Jesus said that “fornications … defile a man” (Matthew 15:19-20). This is Jesus’s condemnation of all “gay pride” events, no matter where they are. Furthermore, Paul condemned homosexuality in Romans 1:26-28 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. God created man and woman for them to be together (Genesis 2:24-25), and not involved in unrighteous same-sex relationships. What can we do about Israel’s new festival? Pray for the souls who are caught up in these sins that they will repent, lest they join their predecessors in “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (cp. Romans 2:3-5).
Adapted From Joe R. Price