"In later times the most enlightened heathen nations indulged in the sin of Sodom without compunction or shame. are set forth -- before our eyes. suffering -- undergoing to this present time; alluding to the marks of volcanic fire about the Dead Sea. the vengeance -- Greek, "righteous retribution." eternal fire -- The lasting marks of the fire that consumed the cities irreparably, is a type of the eternal fire to which the inhabitants have been consigned."