Prominent evangelical leader Franklin Graham says that the Democratic Party is “opposed to faith” and warns that the left will “close the Church down in many places” should the United States fall into the embrace of socialism. “The Democrats, if anything, they are opposed to faith,” Graham asserted after being asked to compare and contrast the major parties’ positions on faith.

“The Democrats have taken God pretty much … out of government,” he added, later stating that the changes that “the left want to make and take us into socialism is going to affect the Church. The government will … begin to tell the Church how [it] can be the Church and they’ll close the Church down in many places,” Graham warned. “We see right now because of COVID, the government trying to tell the Church that they can not meet and the Constitution gives us that freedom to do that. But because of COVID, they said we can’t meet.”

The outspoken evangelist assured that there are millions of Democrats who are “wonderful people” and stated that his father was a lifelong Democrat who “never switched parties.” He argued that his dad “saw the party that he grew up in changing and moving to the left. That’s what it’s done,” Graham contended. “The Democratic Party today is a party of the left. It’s a socialist party, they want socialism for this country.”

“I am just asking that God would spare this country, for another four years, to give us a little bit more time to do the work before the storm hits. I believe the storm is coming. You are going to see Christians attacked, you are going to see churches close and you are going to see a real hatred expressed toward people of faith. That is coming,” Graham continued. “Jesus told us. He said, ‘You will be hated by all people because of me.’ And if we are going to stand for the name of Christ, the world will hate us.” Graham had previously spoken about the “absence of God” at the Democratic National Convention in a Facebook post.

Shortly after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as his running mate, Graham called the “the most pro-abortion presidential ticket in the history of our nation” a source of “great concern to all Christians." Graham also stated “the only hope for this country is God. Donald Trump can’t turn it around,” Graham stressed. “Biden isn’t going to turn it around. Only God can do this … and we need God’s help.”

An example of the types of actions Graham is warning about is already occurring in California, where Los Angeles County officials have attempted on four separate occasions to shut down Grace Community Church. Pastor John Macarthur has taken the officials to court over their bans, arguing that the First Amendment does not allow for the government to tell churches they are not allowed to meet in person. After four different count filings, Los Angeles County has notified the church that it will soon be evicted from a parcel of land it uses as a parking lot, a move lawyers say is retaliation for the church’s decision to hold indoor worship services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some officials have even warned that the church could suffer fines and Pastor MacArthur has stated that he is willing to go to prison to keep the church open and meeting. Graham warns that if the Left continues its push towards socialism and gains control, more of these types of assaults on pastors and churches will become common throughout the nation.

Pray- Pray that our nation will turn back to God and move away from the secular culture that is dramatically turning the country away from its religious foundations.