The 2020 Election In Retrospect

 "Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that the people may know
that You, the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back to You."
1 Kings 18:37

The Sacrifice Of Elijah Before The Priest Of Baal

Domenico Fetti

Rome C. 1588-Venice 1623

Image Courtesy of the Royal Trust Collection

   Weeks before this election,  I sensed a deep uncertainty about the outcome.  As much as I wanted to see President Trump win, I had this nagging sense of alarm within me that he would not be re-elected-at least it would appear so on the surface.  Now I see and hear about Christians losing heart, even going so far as abandoning their faith, because they are not only listening to the modern day prophets of Baal, a.k.a the mainstream news media, and so-called "experts" over the outcome of this election, but to well-known "internet preachers" who could not wait to post their "revelations" from God about it on social media and YouTube.  

   I always ask myself, Are these people truly hearing from God, or is this merely their own wishful thinking?  Are we suppose to put our faith in the revelations of someone who says they are hearing from God... or in God Himself?

   On the flip side of this situation,  a well-known theologian and pastor named  John Piper, actually discouraged his listeners from voting for Donald Trump, self-righteously asserting that the past five years, "bear vivid witness" to the "nation-corrupting" infection of "flagrant boastfulness, Vulgarity, immorality, and factiousness' spreading to every level of society"-apparently attributing all of the long-standing deteriorating conditions within our national culture to the 2016 election of President Trump. 

  Piper's accusations against our president's purported corruptive influence sounds as if he has been influenced by the lies and distortions spewed against Donald Trump by the mainstream media and the Democrats.
Never mind that this man, who became the leader of the free world in 2016, is the most pro-life president in my lifetime.  And, I suppose it has slipped the minds of those who think like Piper that Donald Trump not only recognized the city of Jerusalem as the capital of the nation of Israel, but backed up his statement by moving our embassy there.

 I have to ask myself, "How is a real Christian suppose to act?"   The only wall of separation between myself, a sinner saved by grace, from the unwashed sinners of the world, is the precious blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  Furthermore, the only One Who sees the innermost heart of human beings is God Himself.

    I think if more Christians in America would stay off social media and the Internet, and open up their Bibles to read and carefully study the Word of God, they might have been better prepared for the disappointing outcome of the 2020 presidential election!  No battle-whether physical or spiritual- is going to be easy in this world.  Jesus Himself told us this in the Gospel of John when He said:

   "In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer, take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted! For I have overcome the world.  I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you."  (John 16:33)


  Without faith, nothing is possible.  I believe that the outcome of the 2020 election is a wake up call for the church in America.  Wake up from your coma of compromise with the world system and woeful ignorance of Scripture before it is too late! God never rewards cowardice.  It is time to stand on His Word and deliver!

   The situation we are facing today in this nation reminds me of the story of the prophet Elijah, facing off with the prophets of Baal.  What was his warning to the people of his day?  "How long will you halt and limp between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow Him!  But if Baal, then follow him.  And the people did not answer him a word." (1 Kings 18:20)

   Elijah soundly defeated and killed the 450 prophets of Baal, and yet, at the pinnacle of victory, after he received word that the wicked queen, Jezebel, was seeking his life, Elijah succumbed to fear and fled to hide out in the wilderness. But God found him and told him to go back to Damascus, and when he arrived to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.  Elijah also anointed Jehu, son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as the prophet who would eventually replace him.

   At this crucial moment of decision, Elijah chose to listen to and obey God, throwing off the crippling spirit of fear, and replacing it with his faith.  As a result, 7000 people in Israel, who had not bowed down to Baal, were spared their lives.  Then, when Ahab, the king and husband of Jezebel, was weakened during an attack by the Syrians, Jehu, a known opponent of Baal worship, and also a ruthless soldier, seized his throne.  Elisha, the prophet chosen to take the place of Elijah, proved to be a relentless foe of the adherents of Baal under Jehu's rule.  Although this is a condensed version of the story, after that momentary lapse into fear and defeat, it was Elijah's otherwise unshakable faith and trust in the Living God which secured the victory in the battle of good against evil.

   As for the wicked queen Jezebel, who had promoted Baal worship throughout the land, Jehu later ordered her servants to throw her from the window where her blood splattered all over and her corpse was trampled by Jehu's horse.  He later ordered her remains to be taken for burial. However, his servants discovered only her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands were left. The wicked queen's flesh had been ripped away and eaten by stray dogs, just as the prophet Elijah had prophesied!

The Death Of Jezebel
Johann Heiss
(1640-1704)
Image Courtesy of Artnet.com