As America becomes more secular, it seems that the greatest current threat to religious liberty comes from the secular left. On the surface, this appears to not fit the prophetic scenario where we expect end time religious oppression to come from other Christians in the form of Sunday laws.
Influenced by the secular left, people of faith who disagree with LGBTQ+ behavior on biblical grounds are already being censured, silenced and marginalized by social media, corporate America, public education, the military and the government itself. Even the Bible is being banned.
A totalitarian mindset prevails and dissenters are paying a huge price. Here is a sample of what is happening and why a backlash is in process [the Hegelian dialectic at work]. We will provide only a few examples from America and beyond:
Even minors can change their sexual identity guided at school into this choice without parents’ knowledge or consent.
Minors can demand to be called by their preferred pronouns, receive hormones supporting that choice, and even have sex change surgery.
In Canada, a father who spoke out against his child’s gender reassignment, which took place at school without his consent, was jailed.[1] He was forced to watch his child undergo hormone therapy.
“Under British Columbia law, physicians are allowed to perform medical procedures or prescribe drugs without parental knowledge should the child have a "mature understanding" of the situation.”[2]
What About Parental Rights?
In Ohio a teacher was fired for not using the preferred pronouns of a student under gender transition.[3]
What about Rights of Conscience?
Biological men who claim to be women are allowed by law to compete against biological women, and even to use female restrooms and locker rooms.
What About the Rights and Privacy of Women?
Bullying takes place to the point women athletes are afraid to speak out and object.
Many public schools indoctrinate our children even at a very young age.
Some states like Florida have responded with legislation to protect impressionable youngsters and parental rights.
A Seventh-day Adventist Physician/Minister, Eric Walsh, had his graduation address cancelled at a Pasadena City College because he disapproved of the gay lifestyle in an online sermon series. Students United for Social Justice misconstrued and distorted his remarks. Due to political blackmail, Walsh was forced to resign from his position as the head of Pasadena Public Health. He left the state and a future position was denied over this history[4]. Even his own denomination did not support him.
“Finland’s government . . . charged Päivi Räsänen, a member of the country’s parliament, with three counts of hate speech against homosexuals for sharing her Biblical beliefs about marriage and same-sex relationships. If convicted, Räsänen could face up to two years in prison.”[5] Räsänen was interrogated by police for 4 hours.
Juhana Pohjola, a Lutheran Pastor faced criminal charges for a booklet against homosexual practice.[6]
Even our military protects and promotes this lifestyle, not to speak of Hollywood and Disney.
In short, people of faith are being censured, silenced and marginalized by social media, corporate America, public education and the government itself. For other examples, and documentation for the above, see 1 ½ hour documentary by The Daily Wire news writer Matt Walsh, What is a Woman.[7]
To address LGBTQ+ issues biblically and morally is miscalled abuse.
A Backlash is Building
A school district in Utah has recently banned the Bible from its libraries—an action apparently triggered by school book bans on the topics of sexual orientation and identity previously voted in Texas, Missouri, Florida.[8]
Recently, Target and Bud Light have suffered billions of dollars of losses because of their promotion of the LGBTQ+ agenda. As a result, other corporations are taking cue and pulling back on their promotions.[9]
In Nebraska, a teacher’s union is trying to overturn a law giving school choice. The choice law subsidizes parents who want to send their children to private schools, which include religious schools.
And from Oklahoma comes the news that a Catholic charter school has been approved to be funded with government money.[10] This represents a first in USA history and it violates the concept of separation between church and state embedded in our Constitution. The social/political context regarding sexual orientation and identity has set the stage for this to happen. The Hegelian dialectic is well underway.
The Airforce recently cancelled a drag queen show, caving in to political pressure from the other side.[11]
Downgrading separation between church and state prepares the way for Sunday laws. And prophetic insight declares that Sunday laws will be urged as a remedy for moral decline.[12] Both aspects are well in place!
Will Sunday Laws Develop out of our Current Moral Drift and How Soon?
Only God knows, but the moral drift is in place and separation of church and state is consequently being eroded.
Pressure and totalitarianism are already here now—big time. Many are already caving in to this now—even within Christianity. The Methodist church is actually splitting over this issue. In Louisiana alone 95 congregations have left the denomination.[13]
It is heartening to see Christians willing to put biblical truth before denominational affiliation. This polarization too is a sign of the end when the world will be polarized between those who worship the beast vs. those who worship the Creator, and keep the commandments of God. Marriage is the first institution from Creation. The Sabbath is the second one. Many other Christians are doing a better job of standing up against the LGBTQ+ tsunami, which undermines marriage, than are Seventh-day Adventists. What will happen when the Sabbath becomes front and center?
Synthesis and Conclusion
In relating to LBTQ+ it is imperative to cultivate deep personal humility. All of us have sinned. The wages are the same for every sin: eternal death. God took what we deserved so that we could take what He deserved. He hated sin, with a perfect hatred, yet He gathered all the sins of the world upon His stainless soul. He suffered punishment for every sin and every sinner to make salvation & deliverance available to every person—including me.
Our blessed Redeemer inspires repentance, which includes sorrow for sin and turning from it. He provides forgiveness to the repentant, and is fully able to redeem and reclaim every sinner, writing His holy law upon the heart. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him. If we were meditating more about the magnitude of this sacrifice, wouldn’t it show up more in our conversations?
Out of Love to my Redeemer, I Will
ask that God will search my own heart and reveal any wicked way and lead me in the way everlasting [Psalm 139:23-24]. On an experiential level, this is the meaning of the investigative judgment happening in heaven now.
Jesus said if we hunger and thirst for righteousness we will be filled. Matt. 5:6.
die daily to self, sin, the world, and the devil, that I might enter into Christ’s resurrection daily. Death always comes before resurrection. Self-surrender comes before Holy Spirit empowerment. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. We must be emptied vessels to make room for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
pray for true revival and reformation in our own church beginning with me personally.
pray and seek unity in biblical truth and for more love and deference among ourselves. The closer we come to Christ the more we will see eye to eye and the more we will truly love one another.
each day remain: forgiven by grace. Obedient and transformed by grace.
stand up and be faithful now in upholding the law of God and calling every sinner to repentance including LGBTQ+.
The real secret silent event will not be the 2nd coming, but the close of human probation, when Christ leaves the heavenly temple, shortly before He returns to earth. When the judgment closes, only sins that have been forsaken and overcome by God’s grace will be blotted out of the book of record (Acts 3:19). Only thus will names be retained in the book of life (Rev. 3:5) Character is all we can take to the other side.
Looking to Jesus at every step, soaking in His love, and depending on His living power, we will be sanctified and sealed. Ready to meet Him in peace. That’s what I’m seeking. What do you say?
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[1] Canadian father who spoke out against child's gender reassignment is 'prisoner of conscience' | Washington Examiner
[2] See footnote 1
[3] https://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2023/5/31/ohio-teacher-forced-to-quit-for-refusing-to-use-students-pronouns
[4] https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2014/09/24/dr-eric-walsh-says-he-felt-persecuted-in-pasadena-and-georgia-for-his-conservative-religious-beliefs/
[5] Finnish Politician Charged With 'Hate Speech' for Expressing Biblical Views on Homosexuality (decisionmagazine.com)
[6] Christian Pastor Faces Criminal Investigation for Booklet Opposing Homosexuality | KEEP the FAITH (ktfnews.com)
[7] https://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2023/6/2/what-is-a-woman
[8] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65794363. The article explains the larger context like this:
Utah's Republican government passed a law in 2022 banning "pornographic or indecent" books from schools. Most of the books that have been banned so far pertain to topics such as sexual orientation and identity.
The banning of the Bible comes amid a larger effort by US conservatives in states to ban teachings on controversial topics such as LGBT rights and racial identity. Bans on certain books deemed offensive are also in place in Texas, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina. Some liberal states have also banned books in some schools and libraries, citing perceived racially offensive content.
[9] See https://afn.net/culture/2023/06/06/huckabee-americans-waking-up-just-had-it-with-lgbtq-pride/
[10] Oklahoma board approves first Catholic charter school in the country | Catholic News Agency
[11] Air Force Base Drag Show Canceled by Pentagon After Gaetz Pressure – Rolling Stone
[12] “As the work of Sabbath reform extends, this rejection of the divine law to avoid the claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to spiritualism, and to contempt for God’s holy law; and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the Christian world” { GC 586.2}
“Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called “Christian sabbath,” and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. . . .” GC 587
[13] Church split in Louisiana: Some staying, some leaving - American Press | American Press
