Articles

One can imagine the evil grin sported by Satan while he watches in devilish glee the anti-God activities he has spawned among mankind. And now that grin must have turned into a full-blown wicked smile, when, exactly as he no doubt planned, one of his most successful acts of convincing certain elements within mankind to go counter to God’s Divine Order has resulted in the ultimate insult to the Almighty.

By this, I mean that in America, the current president of the United States, having instituted an executive order to validate the anti-God trans movement several years ago, perhaps even though unwittingly, fulfilled Lucifer’s evil goal. I refer to seeing to it that the validation of this insanity fell on Heaven’s and earth’s most Holy Day this March 31.

Biden’s declaration was issued in 2021, validating the “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which trans-activists have been celebrating since March 31, 2014. Biden’s proclamation reads in part.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”

It is no mere coincidence, in my opinion, that the day of this anti-God day of celebration and our Lord’s Resurrection Day coincided in this year of 2024. At the time when all signals of the coming Tribulation seem in view, the devil has convinced much of America’s populace that the individual has the right to be whatsoever gender he or she wishes. They are not confined, Satan at first whispered and now shouts, to the sex printed on their birth certificate. And this president is complicit, whether wittingly or unwittingly, in Satan’s continuing war against God and His Divine Order of Creation.

This, the falling of the so-called Transgender Day of Visibility on the day Christians celebrate the day our Lord Resurrected to life from the grave, is a slap to God’s Holy Face. God’s Offering of His Son Jesus Christ on the cruel cross at Calvary for lost mankind being met with this vicious rebuff through Satan’s corruption will not be met with Heaven’s gentleness. There will be a price of enormous Divine Retribution. That Retribution is building and will eventuate in the worst time of all human existence, according to the Lord Jesus (Matthew 24:21).

The Tribulation is on the very verge of being ignited, if the signals coming from every quarter and signs we can see across the Prophetic Horizon are indeed indicators of things to come.

The following further speaks to this abominable anti-God celebration Satan has foisted and tells of the pushback against it.

The White House has released a statement celebrating “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which President Joe Biden ‘proclaimed’ in 2021 as March 31 – and which has been celebrated by activists on this day since 2014 after this individual ‘founded and organized’ it…

And where Easter is typically held the first Sunday after the full moon occurs on or after the spring equinox, while “Transgender Day of Visibility” is on the same date each year, many have taken offense to the day’s proximity to the Christian holiday…

[Some comments from this opposition on X]

“They hate us and our Christianity.”

“Declaring Easter to be a ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’ -Translation: They hate you. They hate our children. They hate Christians.”

“They are mocking us.”

[Source: Outrage Ensues As Biden Celebrates “Transgender Day of Visibility” On Easter, Tyler Dirden, ZeroHedge, RR News, March 31, 2024]

I would disagree somewhat with the X-Twitterers. I don’t believe all who have fallen for the Trans hysteria are deliberately trying to “mock” us. But the ultimate effect, thus the punishment that will be meted out at the Great White Throne, is one and the same. There will be great Divine Retribution for unrepented-of sin against God and His Order of Creation. And how much worse might that Retribution be for making such a holiday –which Satan has no doubt arranged in his wicked planning? God will wipe the evil smiles from Satan’s face and from all who are, in fact, using this and other mockeries against the Lord and all believers in the Lord Jesus.

You will want to be at the Bema (Judgment Seat of Christ), which is for believers only, not the Great White Throne Judgment.

Here is how to make sure you are in God’s Family for all Eternity.

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

Even God’s greatest servants may suffer extreme discouragement, as we are learning from a brief survey of the experience of the prophet Elijah. One of my seminary professors invented a name for his response to the threats he faced following his glorious victory on Mount Carmel—the Elijah Syndrome.^[i]

I define the Elijah Syndrome as a combination of physical and spiritual fatigue, resulting in despair.

Elijah’s self-pity—which was really a devious form of pride—was most clearly expressed in 1 Kings 19:10 and 14, both times in response to the Lord’s gracious but direct question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9, 13). Elijah’s response contained an element of truth (cf. 1 Kings 18:22), now twisted out of context and misused (cf. 1 Kings 18:39). The Apostle Paul reminded us of this incident and applied it more widely to the people of Israel in Romans 11:2-5.

Although Elijah witnessed and benefited from several miracles of provision and protection in 1 Kings 19, he still allowed himself to descend further into the depths of fear, which was rooted in a faulty sense of self-importance (cf. 1 Kings 19:4b).

So, if you have ever wondered, wandered, worried, fretted, or fled from God—even falling down from the heights of spiritual accomplishment—take heart. You are in good company—with Elijah himself. As you examine his life, you will find that ultimately you are “no better than” him, even as he was “no better than [his] fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). And yet, what an honor it would be to be numbered with him and the other “seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18).

‘A Man with a Nature Like Ours’

The circumstances that led to Elijah’s despair are part of our natural human experience.

I used to be surprised that times of great spiritual striving—even success—could be followed immediately by times of temptation—even days of depression. But I no longer am. Now, I simply plan for them.

When we have exerted ourselves physically and spiritually, we may be at our most vulnerable point of temptation (e.g., Matt. 4:1-4). Furthermore, experiencing either victory or defeat may momentarily blind us from understanding our circumstances as they really are.

Yet, while his circumstances offered an occasion for temptation, Elijah’s response in 1 Kings 19 magnified his troubles. He might have averted spiritual breakdown if he had trusted more completely in the Lord and given greater attention to his personal needs.

After the confrontation on Mount Carmel, Elijah was completely exhausted (1 Kings 19:5-8). As long as we remain “in the body” (2 Cor. 5:6), a healthy meal and restorative sleep will be major components in our spiritual recovery. Like a disciplined athlete, the believer must plan for a letdown after every buildup (e.g., Mark 6:31-32).

Yet the larger lessons here relate to our spirits, not our bodies.

Even the greatest prophet—one who foreshadowed the Messiah (see Matt. 16:14)—knew what it was to plunge to the depths of spiritual defeat. Truly, as James stated, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (5:17).

That original word for nature is used elsewhere only in Acts 14:15. It is a compound word that relates to suffering comparable types of trials.

We can relate to Elijah, and he could have related to us. We can learn from his experience—and even seek to gain victory where he failed.

We can count on the fact that the high mountaintops in our lives will invariably be followed by excursions “into the wilderness” (1 Kings 19:4). At times, we lengthen our stay there through our own willful choices.

Church-age saints, however, possess much greater resources than Elijah enjoyed. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us (see John 14:17). Furthermore, in the completed canon of the New Testament, we have an inspired record of all miracles—not just the ones that Elijah saw. And we also have the inspired commentary on their meaning, which offers further insights than one could gain even if he saw them happen.

The Apostle Paul teaches us that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). That Word is even more clear and powerful than the “still small voice” of God (1 Kings 19:12).

May the Lord use His Word to increase our faith to the end so that we might fight the spiritual battle like Elijah—succeeding where he failed, even after the victory.

***

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

[i] Dr. John Hartog III, at Faith Baptist Theological Seminary, Ankeny, IA.

Satan’s Evil Grin Now a Wicked Smile :: By Terry James

After the Victory, the Battle Begins (Part 2) :: By Paul J. Scharf