The 2024 Olympics took place in Paris from July 26-August 11. It was watched by 145,000 spectators1 and the opening ceremony was watched by an estimated 28.6 million viewers.2 An estimated 10,500 athletes from 206 countries were expected to compete in 32 sports and 339 events. Did you watch any of it?
A lot of controversy swirled around the opening ceremonies, but one controversy was never mentioned, even though it started in 1908 and became a fast breech of Olympic protocol in 1938. Tradition dictates that each team parades into a review area where dignitaries from the host nations are seated. The teams are led by one athlete carrying their nation’s flag. As a show of respect, the flag will be dipped to the host nation. Every country does this except one: Team USA.
“The story goes that the 1908 U.S. flag bearer, shotputter Ralph Rose, kept the flag erect as an act of nationalism and proclaimed, “This flag dips to no earthly king.”3 It would seem that between 1908 and 1936, the flag was occasionally dipped, depending on who was carrying it. Everything changed, though, in 1936.
“The U.S. nearly didn’t participate in the Summer Olympics in Berlin, let alone dip a flag in respect to Adolf Hitler. The decision to not dip was announced beforehand, and the U.S. was joined in protest by Bulgaria, Iceland, and India, according to contemporary media reports. The move wasn’t even the athlete’s decision—it was a top-down call from the United States Olympic Committee and, as traditions often begin, it just stuck. (In the 1940s, the tradition was formalized in the U.S. Code, which reads, “the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing.”)4
In the KJV, the word flag is used only once, and it is a bulrush requiring water for it to flourish. So, a Biblical flag isn’t the kind of flag we would think about. However, the word banner and ensign are used. Both words mean a flag the way we think of a flag or banner flying in the wind.
One of the most familiar references is found in Song of Solomon 2:4. “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” We sing a chorus that goes with this. The love story found in the Song of Solomon is about God’s love for His people, specifically the nation of Israel and by application, all who have trusted Messiah Jesus for salvation.
The banner of God’s love never dips. It flies high in the air, reminding us of the truth of Romans 8:38-39. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Another “flag” reference is found in Psalms 60: 4 says, “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.” Truth dips for nobody! Truth is a stable constant that cannot change. God’s WORD is truth according to John 17:17. Though laws be passed or culture goes a different direction, the truth of God’s Word will never change, never dip, and never bow to any falsehoods.
The final, best, and most exciting of the “flag” references tells us about a future day. Isaiah 11:10-12 proclaims, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. (11) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (12) And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
Jesus Himself is that flag. He will stand as a flag for His people, and we will rally to that Flag. This happens during the Millennial Kingdom.
The next Olympic games will be in 2026, and Milan-Cortina will be the host. In 2028, the Olympics returns to the United States and will be held in Los Angeles. Hopefully, tradition and the U.S. flag code will be enforced, and the American flag will never dip. 
But, if Jesus Christ were to come back today, the Almighty Flag could be flying as soon as 2031 (The tribulation period is 7-years long followed by the Millennial Kingdom. 2024+7=2031!)
“And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.” (Zechariah 9:16)
1https://olympics.com/ioc/news/paris-2024-record-breaking-olympic-games-on-and-off-the-field
2https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10129870-paris-olympics-2024-draws-286m-viewers-most-watched-opening-ceremony-since-2012
3https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31317/why-wont-team-usa-dip-flag-opening-ceremoniesall
4Ibid.
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