I have to say that unless your eschatology occurs in a vacuum, you are going to read events into whatever framework you have doctrinally. I like to say that Josephus is the Postmillennialist’s newspaper exegesis via the first century AD.
Today, the sensationalists tend to wax along these lines about middle-eastern conflict and blood moons. They are the popular Dispensational teachers who are easily refuted for their weak interpretations that merely serve as “fear porn,” or “ear-tickling” for people who enjoy end-times prophecy like it’s a game.
Trust me, I decry the typical non-academic Dispensationalists as much as anyone. The “Left Behind” series kind of falls into that category. But nonetheless, I do believe that academic Dispensationalism, the form of it that is based on real study, is very relevant.
And there are very different ways to spin this. Some might say that Satan is tempting us to fear and false belief that is akin to common misbeliefs associated with popular Dispensationalism. Perhaps my more reformed brethren would think along those lines.
But my eyes recently chanced upon a Facebook post by a pastor with whom I am acquainted if only because I hear him speak every so often at a yearly event which we both attend. Anyway, he indicated that President Trump recently joked that he would like to become the next Pope. Lindsey Graham picked up on the humor as well and replied via X that it would be a great idea. There was even an AI generated image of Trump as the next pope circulating the internet. Of course, it was all a “wild joke” that nobody took too seriously.
But the idea of uniting the world’s most powerful leader with the world’s most powerful religious institution has clear eschatological nuances. Should we really be so flippant about these things? In short, is Satan grooming us through a very unexpected individual for the real deal?
I have to say at this point that I voted for Trump. I like a lot of the things that he is doing politically, but we have to be discerning about Satan’s plans and activities even using very unexpected people in ways we don’t anticipate.
My friend listed the following…
1) A false teacher who pastors a massive church exclaimed that when Trump walked on stage that God told her “This is my son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
2) President Trump posted an image of earth that said that God needed a “caretaker” for “His planned paradise.” In this video, the narrator also says that Trump “cares for the flock, a shepherd to mankind who will never leave or forsake them.”
3) Trump seems to post a lot of jokes on social media because he also posted a video depicting Gaza being made into a Trump resort. That same clip shows a statue of Trump “a hundred feet tall standing in the central square. From the standpoint of Biblical eschatology,” my pastor friend says, “a golden statue of a world leader being erected in the Holy Land is no laughing matter.”
4) My pastor friend also cited “the nearly worshipful level of hyperbolic flattery by members of the cabinet and the MAGA fan-base.”
5) Trump has also given Paula White, who is a false teacher in no uncertain terms, a cabinet level position in his administration.
My Facebook friend goes on to say…
There are many other examples, such as: Trump’s quip while looking towards the sky, “I guess I’m the chosen one,” the way false teachers have ascribed Messianic overtones to the nearly fatal wound of the assassination attempt, the “golden age” theme of his 2nd term, the floating of a 3rd term in violation of the constitution, his pro-Russian bent (Gog and Magog in Biblical eschatology), the endless amounts of fan-generated art depicting Trump as a Christ-like figure, a king, the savior of the world, etc., and that weird time he and the Saudi King posed for a picture with their hands on a glowing orb straight out of Lord of the Rings.
Much of what concerns me originates from sycophants and false teachers, not from Trump himself. But Trump seems to eat it up, enjoy it, and repost it. And that concerns me, both for the way it conditions people to become gradually accustomed to such things, and for the corrosive effects that kind of adulation has on a man’s soul.
The Bible warns that proud boasting (e.g. Nebuchadnezzar) and receiving blasphemous adulation (e.g. Herod) can bring swift and severe consequences.
the Bible indicates….
Daniel 4:30-32: “The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’
Acts 12:21-24: “On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.”
The above passages alone reflect the fact that President Trump should humble himself before God and deflect these hyperbolic and self-flattering statements. The effect that these things can have on a person’s soul can cause greater damage as time goes on.
1 Tim. 2:1-4: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
My online acquaintance also said that we need to be concerned for the flock. What these issues may be to us now, would be no joking matter if in fact the real Anti-Christ were in power. We need to watch and pray.
2 Thess: 2:3-6: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.”
To sum it all up, we have to state emphatically that Trump is not the Anti-Christ. That is not the case! What we have to be clear about is the fact that Satan is at work in our world, and these things are disturbing to say the least.
We should pray for President Trump. We should pray for the church. We should keep a sober outlook on things that get flippantly passed around on the internet. If anyone is guilty of being too flippant about things online, it’s me, but on some level, we have to take things seriously.
More recently, Trump has even nominated a cult practitioner to be the Surgeon General. She is very overt about her practices. She typically sets up mediation shrines and works with spirit mediums.
But to get back to the eschatological significance of all this, we don’t want to get overly excited about things, but neither do we want to get slack or not watchful either. Satan is active. And we should care about these things whatever meaning we assign them. People’s souls require us to keep watch and pray and expect Christ’s return.
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