How To Respond to the Olympic Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics recently took place in Paris. What was put on display at this event in open view for all the world to see was nothing short of wicked and antichrist. Amidst many subtle atrocities, the most blatant of them all was a evil replication of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting of the Last Supper portrayed by cross-dressing men, vile women and even little children on live television. Though I didn't see any of this live, I was most certainly appalled by it all after I discovered what had taken place.

On one hand, it should really come as no surprise watching this lost world act out in such a way. Yet, these particular acts display an open attack against the truth of God's Word and the tenets of Christianity. This was nothing short of a parade to celebrate a worldwide defiance of the One True God.

When I first witnessed all this, though it grieved my heart, I determined to keep my thoughts to myself. Then I read Jeremiah chapter twenty in my devotions this morning, where the prophet said, "I will not make mention of his [the Lord's] name, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forebearing, and I could not stay." (Jeremiah 20:9) Upon reading these words, the Spirit of God convicted my heart. No, I cannot be silent about this open defiance of my Savior and my God.

From an initial look, there are several outrageous and openly anti-Christian acts that took place at this opening ceremony. These evil acts include the transgender mockery of the Last Supper, the Golden Calf idol, the depiction of the Greek god Dionysus (whom the Greeks viewed as the god of wine, festivity and ritual madness) and the Pale Horse from the Book of Revelation. To make matters worse, the ceremony began with a dark figure literally soliciting children to come with him to observe and participate in all these atrocities. Young children were involved throughout the whole program — some were even seated amongst the drag queens at the mockery of the Lord's Table.

In the face of such sinister confusion, the Bible gives this stark warning, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20) God does not mess around when it comes to such things. The scripture says in another place, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

A Biblical Response

Whenever we encounter evil like this in our world, what should our response be as believers? Let me suggest several biblical responses.

1. Speak up.

The Bible speaks of the church as "the pillar and ground of the truth." It is the responsibility of Bible-believers to stand for the truth. If believers will not communicate the truth, nobody will.

We speak the truth about the evil of our time so that lost souls will be convinced of their sinfulness and turn to Christ for salvation. We speak the truth to influence our world for good (as salt and light). We speak the truth to encourage all believers to stand for what God says is right.

In your family, in your community of faith, in your workplace, on your social media and in whatever other venue God would lead you to, courageously communicate what God's Word says is right.

2. Share the gospel.

Every time we witness the depravity of this world without Christ, it should reinvigorate the desire within our hearts to share with others the gospel of Jesus. Ultimately, our outcries against the evil taking place in our time will not change our culture. The only force that has the power to effect that kind of change is the gospel of Jesus. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Corinthians 5:17)

However God may open the door of opportunity, you can seek to use even this atrocious circumstance as an opportunity to share with someone the good news of how Jesus came to save us from our sinfulness and make us new.

3. Hope in Jesus.

The things we witnessed on the national stage serve as a stark reminder of the fact that Jesus is coming again. The antichrist emphasis and the display of the pale horse remind us of the soon coming time of Tribulation that is to be ushered in to this God-rejecting world. While this is a somber truth for those without Christ, it is a truth that brings hope to those who trust in Christ. While this world may try to make a mockery of our Lord today, there is coming a day when God will get the last laugh. "Why do the heath rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed...He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." (Psalm 2:1-4)