08/02/2024
I wrote the following first for my parishioners and second for anyone who will listen and consider. --Pastor Andy
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony. So much controversy.
Should we be offended, outraged, outspoken? Or should we be measured, casual, indifferent?
Over the last few days, I’ve seen these responses and many more. I’ve seen people expressing dismay and revulsion at the display, and I’ve seen people expressing dismay and revulsion at those who expressed dismay and revulsion.
Since I am a pastor, I’m weighing in on this for the sake of my parishioners, but also for anyone else who might read it and consider. For the sake of brevity, I will not be wading deep into the details, which you can find yourselves, but will try to offer my summary of what should be an appropriate response. This is still longer than I want, but I hope you’ll read to the end.
The controversy and disagreement over whether the drag queen dinner tableau was mocking the Last Supper by Da Vinci or whether it was a reference to the Dionysian Bacchanalia is really irrelevant. Whether it was one or the other, BOTH should be cause for serious warning.
The Bible reveals that, “We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
What took place at the opening ceremony was not simply some artsy folks playing dress up and making a nod to the Grecian origins of the Olympics. Nor was it simply an irreverent nod to the Christian history of France by a band of “inclusive merry-makers.” What took place was nothing less than the millennia-long spiritual war between heavenly hosts of God Most High and the fallen minions of Satan spilling over into the physical realm on a global stage.
Without going into lengthy detail, the Bible reveals that Satan, also referred to as the Devil, was an angel created by God to serve Him. Scripture says that he was once one of the chief angels (perhaps the highest) in God’s court who may have even led the heavenly hosts in singing praises to God. The prophet Ezekiel seems to be referring to him when he says, “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (28:11). But Satan became filled with pride and envy, and desired that instead of him worshiping God, he wanted all worship for himself. In his pride, Satan rose up against God, drawing a third of the other angels in heaven to his side, and sought to displace God from His throne as the Most High. In response, God crushed this rebellion and cast Satan out of heaven and his heavenly position in God’s court (Ezekiel 28:11-19).
However, that was not yet the end of Satan. Since then, Satan (along with the other fallen angels) has continued to pervert every aspect of God’s creation. He continues to attempt to draw worship away from God and to himself. And as the “father of lies” (John 8:44), he continues to counterfeit every good thing God has made.
The Good news is that, ultimately, Satan has been defeated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14), and his eternal doom is assured (Revelation 20:10). The bad news is, in this present age (the time before Jesus returns to bring all things under His authority), Satan travels the earth seeking the destruction of God’s creatures (1 Peter 5:8). He knows his time is limited, and he knows his end is certain, so he is seeking to take as many of God’s precious ones with him as he can.
The Olympic opening ceremony is one of the most watched events in the world; it is truly a global phenomenon. During last weekend’s ceremony we didn’t just watch some people put on vulgar play. Those who watched were witnesses to Satan and the other fallen angels (after all, that’s who the ancient pagan deities actually were), set up an act of worship to themselves (interesting isn’t it, that they’re called the Olympic “ceremonies”).
Was it a celebratory Dionysian bacchanal (a festival to the evil spirit behind Dionysus complete with drunkenness, or**es, and ecstatic revelry), or a mockery of the Last Supper--a counterfeit, complete with gender-swapping, of the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before He laid down His life for all of us? I believe it was actually both. Indeed, one of the rituals of Dionysian bacchanalia included the literal tearing apart by hand of a bull (called “sparagmos”) and consuming its raw flesh (called “omaphagia’). Whether the human “artists” of the Olympic display knew and intended it this way, the evil spirits behind it most certainly knew and meant this as a sick perversion of the Lord's Supper ("my body broken for you . . . my blood shed for you"). And so, tens of millions of viewers unwittingly were party to a ritual worship of Satan and his fallen angel companions. It was no innocent, fun, artistic moment of “unity and inclusion.” It was spiritual warfare, plain and simple, in the flesh and on the world stage.
My wife asked me recently, “Why do things like this keep happening at these large sporting events?” Great question! Whether it’s the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (men in drag and dressed like Catholic nuns) being cheered at a Los Angeles Dodgers game or recent Satanic-inspired Superbowl Halftime Shows, the battles taking place in the spiritual realm are becoming more and more visible, and inviting unwitting millions to participate in the ritual.
To those who spoke up and against the perversion of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, thank you. Do not be embarrassed and do not be shamed by those who seek now to chasten you. I wish more people would stand up and warn untold millions partaking of these events.
To those of you who were quick to defend it, dismiss it, or minimize it as “just art” or “just a Greek reference” or “fill-in-the-blank excuse,” I hope and pray you’ll consider what’s really going on, not just the surface optics our Enemy wants us to focus on and argue over, but the more sinister reality behind them.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood. I pray that the flesh and blood people involved, the actors, and especially the little girl on stage sucked into this wickedness, will have their eyes opened, turn away from it, and turn to Jesus, the One who died to save us all from Satan, our sin, and ourselves.
But I also pray that the Church will not relinquish its witness, which includes both wooing and warning. Wooing others to Christ through witnessing alongside acts of love and mercy. Warning them through love and pointing out the evil spirits and evil acts that seek to eternally destroy human beings.
I pray this will be a wake-up call to all of us. Time is short, and the stakes are eternal.
