This expression is used in the following meanings: to stiffen in astonishment, to freeze, to petrify. Lot, nephew of Abraham, son of Aran, left the land of Chaldeans and settled in Canaan together with his uncle. With sizable possessions, Lot and Abraham had problems with sharing the lands they had occupied, so they separated in peace. Lot settled down in Sodom.

Shortly after, two angels came down to Lot and told that they had come to destroy the city of Sodom, since the noise of its inhabitants had reached the Lord. Lot had to leave the city together with his daughters, sons-in-law, and wife.

At daybreak, as soon as Lot made it to Zoar, the heavens opened up raining down fire and sulfur upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah until they were completely destroyed, including all surroundings, inhabitants, and vegetation. On their way to Zoar, Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

This expression is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 24. Jesus predicts the complete destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus warns about the coming of the siege of Jerusalem, which will be preceded by the destruction of the Temple. "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house."

When saying Sodom and Gomorrah, we mean disorder, noise, hubbub, fuss, or excess of immorality and hard drinking. Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the five cities conquered by Cedorlaomer, the king of Elam. Except for the city of Zoar, the other four cities were completely consumed by fire from heaven, and this is a warning for us. Abraham prayed for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah; however, it was only the family of Lot whom his prayers helped.

We find this expression in the second commandment of the Decalogue. The Lord is love, and one of the manifestations of His love is the overall harmony. Thus, everything related to disagreement, rebelliousness, etc. in us is not desirable for God. To reach harmony both in our inner world and in interpersonal relationships, the Lord announces the ten commandments so that they may become the beginning, center and end of the moral path of humanity. These commandments, as a basis for the Lord's law, have a great significance for tաe New Testament.

The expression “You will see me from the back of your head” or the more widespread version, “you will rather see the back of your head than…,” is used in the sense that a human sees not the essence of the matter or perceives its truth, but confines himself to superficial, fragmentary information only. The Book of Exodus tells us that when God announced about His plans on the earth to the people of Israel, only Moses, unlike the sinful people, was awarded the gift of understanding those plans.

In everyday life, this expression has the following meanings: blasphemy, perversion, noisy feast in the overall distress. The Bible tells about Belshazzar's feast in the Book of Daniel, where several tense episodes of the eternal struggle between the domains of light and darkness are reflected. In such dramatic moments, the Bible helps us today too, to regain courage of spirit and find necessary power for spiritual struggle.

The expression “Balaam’s Ass” is used when a quiet, not talkative person all of a sudden starts to talk and object. Balaam who lived in Pethor in Mesopotamia was probably from the generation of Shem, where everyone was endowed with spiritual gifts. Evidently, this region was known for its soothsayers, oneiromancers, visionaries, prophets… At Balak’s request, Balaam had to curse the Israel people who left Transjordan and moved in the direction of the land of the Moabites. If you want to know what has come out of this undertaking, please listen to our broadcast.

“Babylonian confusion” —  this is how we call a situation of disorder, noise, and mess in a crowd of unacquainted people. But why “Babylonian confusion”?

The Lord said, "If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their languages, so they may not understand each other."

Unity of people and nations in one common true belief is the Lord’s almighty power and love. If pride and hatred separate people, God’s power leads them to unity, and this is why the Church founded by Jesus Christ stands firm.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light” and there was light”. When reading these words, like it or not, a question arises: what was there “in the beginning”, what did the world originate from? The answer to this question begins with the same words: “In the beginning”. According to John the Apostle, God’s first words “Let there be light” are the appearance and manifestation of the Son of God on the earth, which the whole Gospel tells us about.

Often we characterize one as prodigal if one has committed many disgusting blunders and is now sorry and returns to those who one has offended and abandoned. However, when we say “prodigal son”, we don’t mean how sinful one is, but how one is loved by his father and that one can always come back to his father. In fact, we should concentrate on merciful love of the Lord.

After being expelled from the Garden of Eden, men began to increase in number on the Earth. However, their evil deeds also increased in number.  And the Lord repented that he had made man on the earth, and grieved in his heart. And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air.”

After the flood, Noah's Ark rested on Mount Ararat. The blessing of God bestowed to the humankind in the person of Noah has not wavered, and His mercy upon Noah's generations has not diminished. Therefore, the covenant established through Noah is of unfading significance for all of us.

This is about those who yearn for spiritual values to find the meaning of their existence, or in the hope of searching for moral guides and truth. In a humorous context, this is about starving and thirsty people. Christ starts the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, one of which says: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Mt. 5:6).

"Noah's Ark" – this expression reminds us of the "Great Flood." To escape from the forthcoming flood, Noah built at God's command a three-deck vessel, an Ark, for his family, as well as for all the sorts of animals and birds living on the land.

Through Noah, God established his second covenant with the humanity. Noah would become the humanity's second forefather after Adam. The spiritual cause for the flood disaster was the immense corruption of the humankind and God's wrath in response to that.

This expression is used in the following sense: to refuse some responsibility, not to get involved, not to take part in something. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27:11-26, describes the trial of Jesus by the Roman court. Pilate asked, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify him!” Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was starting. So he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I’m innocent of this man’s blood,” he said, “It’s your problem.” All the people replied, “Let his blood be on us and on our children.”

Hell, Netherworld, fiery Gehenna: this is a common concept that expresses one of the ideas about the place where humans go after death and where sinners will be eternally tormented. In everyday usage, the adjective “hellish” describes the utmost bad condition of different life realities. For example, starvation, heat, cold, boredom, or work may be described as “hellish.”

This means the meaning of something important, a beginning or a foundation on which everything rests. The first mentions of the cornerstone date back to ancient times. The cornerstone was used in the construction of temples or defensive structures. It was usually installed at the base of the building in a way that it held the entire weight of the building. Later, the procedure of laying the first stone at the base of a structure became a whole ritual. The initials of the persons involved in the construction, and the date of the construction are carved on the cornerstone. In some countries, newspapers, coins and other symbolic items are also placed next to the stone.

This phrase means the return of something to its usual place, initial position, as well as that nothing is essentially new in this world: everything keeps repeating. This phrase is from the Bible: “Everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning to its course” (Ecc. 1:2-6).

This means that if humans aspire to God and believe in Him, God will be pleased by them and will help and support them in their lives. This maxim originates from the Bible: James 4:8 verse reads,"Come near to God, and He will come near to you."

In a religious sense, those who pronounce God's name without reason or need, or vainly and foolishly, live their life in vain. God is Love, while one of the demonstrations of love is the world harmony. That is why anything in humans that is related to disagreement and love for conflicts is undesirable for God.

This maxim originates from the Bible. It means that a holy person becomes a vessel of God, in which God lives and works. The righteous live not for themselves, but for God; they are led by God. This is written in the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans: "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God… The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:14-15).