I’ve been saying, “What the heck, Republicans”, and more to the point, “What the heck, Christians”, since 2015 – ever since Donald Trump put on his red hat and descended the escalator to launch his presidential campaign. I’ve been saying it a bit less lately – not because I feel the sentiment any less, but partly because I’ve gotten tired of saying it, and I’m trying to not be judgmental of people who have different political ideas than me. Accept it and move on, right.
But I still have to repeat it, every so often, when I see the kind of things Trump does and says – the things he says about himself, the things he says about others, and most confusingly, the things his supporters who profess to be Christians say about him. That’s especially true during these Republican primaries, when GOP voters – including the “evangelical” base in Iowa – have other conservative Republican alternatives to vote for. This isn’t the general election, where (the argument goes) they have to vote for him because it’s a binary choice between him and the pro-choice Democrat. They actually have choices. And in Iowa, they chose Trump in overwhelming numbers.
What the ever-loving heck, Republicans?
On January 5th, Trump shared a video titled “God Made Trump” on his Truth Social platform. The 2-minute 45-second video wasn’t made by his campaign, but by some of his supporters. But by sharing it on his social media and playing it at his campaign events, he has endorsed its message and amplified it to his supporters. Other Trump supporters, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rev. Paula White Cain, a televangelist who promotes the prosperity gospel, have shared it on their social media platforms.
Here is the video.
The AI narrator – whose voice is supposed to sound like the late Paul Harvey – begins by saying, “And on June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise, and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God gave us Trump.”
He goes on to list all the things that God supposedly wanted, leading to his creation of Trump, repeatedly ending with, “So God made Trump.” He lists things that Trump supposedly did, such as “get up before dawn,” “ruffle the feathers,” “rustle the deep state,” “shape an ax but wield a sword,” “turn liquid to gold,” and so on.
Up to this point, the video has shamelessly used God’s name to promote Trump and his political agenda. That is a violation of the 3rd commandment (“thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”), and a reason to warn professing believers who share or promote the video. But the problem of conflating a political agenda with the kingdom of God is a relatively old one in American evangelicalism, and so here it’s merely a bit more egregious than normal in that regard.
But at minute 1:42 in the video, the narrator anoints Trump as “a man who cares for the flock, a shepherd to mankind who won’t ever leave nor forsake them.”
As every Christian should know, there is only one Shepherd who will never leave nor forsake the flock, and that is Jesus Christ. This language is taken directly from Scripture. Trump is comparing himself to Jesus – to God Himself. This is blasphemy!
He has played this at his campaign events. He has called his opponents vipers and wolves; he says undocumented immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country.
And yet, his vicious rhetoric and blasphemous self-promotion has his supporters – many of them professing Christians – nodding along.
What. The. Heck.
Antichrist, the Boastful Deceiver
Mark 13:21-22 says this:
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe him. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the elect.
According to these verses, false messiahs – false christs – will arise and attempt to deceive the elect. 1 and 2 John speak of the Antichrist as a deceiver, and warn about many deceivers and antichrists who have already gone out into the world.
Paul in 2 Thessalonians speaks of the Antichrist (the “man of lawlessness”) thus:
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
The Antichrist is not just “anti”, as in opposed, to Christ; he will be a leader who sets himself up as a god – whether literally or in a more subtle, spiritual sense, ultimately the outcome in men’s hearts is the same. Usurping God’s place is essential to his mission in the world. He wants to take the place in men’s hearts that belongs to Christ alone, and in fact, he wants to deceive believers and lead them away from Christ. In fact, all antichrists want to do so, as Jesus and John warned. Christians are not immune to the deceptions of the antichrists.
Daniel 7 speaks of the “little horn” who will arise from the kingdom of the fourth beast. and speaks boastful things (this matches the beast in Revelation 13:5 who speaks proud words and blasphemies). This little horn arise before the courts sit in the judgement, his power is taken away and destroyed, and the Son of Man is given power and authority. All nations and rulers worship Him, and his kingdom lasts forever.
I don’t believe Donald Trump is the final Antichrist of the end times. There are certain things about the Antichrist that he doesn’t quite fit (for example, he deceives the whole world; most of the world doesn’t seem to like Trump, by contrast. He also seems to be someone connected to Italy or the Roman Empire by ancestry, and is probably a European leader). However, I did discover this Youtube video, which was made while Trump was President, with a Bible-based argument that Trump IS the Antichrist. I have to say, that’s a better argument than I anticipated it would be. I wonder what he would say now, since Trump is out of office. I suppose if Trump wins election to a second term, all bets are off and it might be time to reconsider the argument.
But think about it how Trump fits the general descriptions of the Antichrist – things that any of the antichrists during history would share. That video lists some of them. Even if Trump is not *the* Antichrist, I’m confident saying he is *an* antichrist.
He is well-known for speaking boastfully and proudly – he is quite over-the-top with it. He sets himself up as a leader who will supposedly make everything right, if you just vote for him. And he lies constantly. His lies are so numerous that it’s tedious to try and keep up with them all. But he lies about things that can be easily fact-checked – and trivial things, for no apparent reason. He lies about things that make him uncomfortable; he lies to get out of scandals. He lies to make a decent accomplishment seem bigger than it actually is. This article lists 15 lies, but there are many more.
Jesus said, “ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.” Trump does not claim to come in God’s name. He comes in his own name; he has placed his name on many properties and products, such as Trump Tower, Trump International Hotel, and Trump Steaks.
Trump has said he has not asked God for forgiveness of his sins. His campaign is marked by rage and vindictiveness – in fact, that is the main feature of his campaign. He tells supporters, “I am your retribution.” At his events, he has pastors who pray and speak to his supporters; one compared his campaign to the second coming of Christ, and another said it was the best thing that had happened in the church – “other than you giving your life to the Lord.” Then Trump comes on, praises evil rulers of this world like Xi Jinping of China, insults his opponents, uses crude language and curses from the stage, and promises to bring retribution to those who have supposedly harmed him.
Jesus preached honesty, forgiveness, humility, kindness, unselfishness, and helping those in need. He taught that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as ourselves. He gave his life for the world, “while we were yet sinners”, as Paul says. In all of these areas, Donald Trump stands for the exact opposite – and he is deceiving the elect. This marks him as an antichrist. Christians should beware, and not give him their loyalty, or their votes in November.
Grace and Logic 