Is Trump Fueling The End-Times Rebellion Of The Church?

St Pauls Cathedral surrounded by hungry people — Our Christianity must be Christ-like not Worldly Image: Adrian Warnock

Over 80% of Evangelical Christians in the USA voted for Donald Trump. At the end of this article, I will explore a potential parallel between the church’s enthusiastic embrace of this strong character and the end-time rebellion prophesied by the Apostle Paul. I do understand why some Christians might have wanted to vote against Harris and some of the social policies she stands for. But the character she displayed throughout the contest is more congruent to Christian values than what we see in Trump. Kamala’s humble and respectful concession speech was striking in its contrast to how Trump handled defeat four years ago. In a day she has accepted graciously the electorate’s rejection of her as the president.

Four years on from the last election Trump has still not acknowledged he lost. He threw a tantrum, claimed the vote was rigged, inspired an insurrection, and sulkily refused to come to the Inauguration. And for four years he has propagated the Great Lie that he really won the 2020 election. I am sure we will see Kamala Harris at Trump’s inauguration. I am certain that, unlike Trump in 2020, the whole Biden-Harris administration will be fully engaged in the transition process, and will be committed to trying to help the incoming government be as ready as possible to take over. She clearly loves America and for America’s sake wants Trump to be a much better president second time round than many of us who opposed him fear that he will be. I am praying that Trump is a much better leader than I think he’s going to be. I would love to be proved wrong

Many American Christians actually admire Trump. Some have even gone so far as to make him into some kind of savior and identified him with Christ. In some church groups the ideal leader is very similar to the model Trump has clearly used in his public persona. The next president of the USA comes across very much like some TV evangelists and celebrity preachers. Trump and some of these leaders are basically entertainers and rabble rousers who are also very rude at times. They are not known for listening to others or changing their mind in response to wisdom shared with them. Many Christians seem to like leaders who believe they know best about everything, rather than those who surround themselves with experts who are smarter than them. Some of the leaders we admire are actually all about themselves.

On the subject of the recent US election and why so many are alarmed at Trump’s victory, the Rest is Politics have released a great episode analyzing the aftermath. They also probably did a fair job of explaining why Trump did win, although of course I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on that from some of you who actually did support him. But I felt this episode seemed to be a helpful way of thinking about it, led as it is by pundits that were certainly not pro Trump. Its important for us to try and listen to one another.

One of the key points they make is that whatever you may think of his policies or his character, Trump must now be acknowledged as a once in a generation political talent who clearly knows how to push the buttons of the American electorate. Many Christians love to follow charismatic leaders who can inspire great loyalty and enthusiasm. I am convinced that we need to rethink our attraction for that kind of leader. We end up giving them too much power. There has been a number of cases in recent years of pastors becoming far too forceful with their congregation members, and this leading to a fall from ministry. From the heavy shepherding movement of the 1980s, to the recently emerging concept of spiritual abuse we are seeing case after case of non-Christlike leadership. Too often the leaders we most admire have turned out to desire influence and control more than love and service.

I must confess that at times in the past I have also bought into at least some of this approach to leadership. I was looking for the “anointed leader” to follow, and I also tried to embody that at least to some degree myself in my own ministry. At times I was perhaps too forceful in advancing what I perceived to be “sound doctrine”, engaging in theological debates in which I was too assertive of my opinions, rather than listening. I have tried, through the blog, and in particular my theologial spectrums, to actually understand other people’s perspectives. Sadly though sometimes even those efforts perhaps came from a place of being overly confident that I was right, and others were misled. Maybe I am the one misled on at least some doctrines? Why should I assume that I have got everything tied up and neat?

Perhaps, at times this also applied to when I was trying to share my so-called “profound” wisdom and advice with other people. My motive was I believe usually good, but at times maybe people did not want or need my solutions to their problems, they just wanted to be heard. Some secular counselling models ban any offering of advice by the one helping. They argue that the individual you are working with is the only one who is an expert in their life. If we impose our thoughts on others, we might not be serving them, even when we believe that we are. I wonder if maybe at times I was perceived as being too heavy handed with some of the people I have tried to help over the years. If any of them are reading this, I am sorry for any hurt I have caused you.

Our Christianity must be Christ-like not Worldly

We should let JESUS model leadership to us, not strongmen like Trump. Jesus’ own leadership model comes from his gentle and lowly Spirit. I shared this verse in an article I wrote yesterday:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)

See: Are You Weary? Come To Jesus! He Will Give You Rest!

Jesus is strong but also meek. Meekness is strength under control, it is humility expressed. It is gentleness not brashness. It is polite not rude. It is restrained not impulsive. Meekness is respectful to others rather than crushing them. How do we handle the weak?

Matthew 12:18- 21 (NLT) applies Isaiah’s prophecy to Jesus:

“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.

He is my Beloved, who pleases me.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

He will not fight or shout

or raise his voice in public.

He will not crush the weakest reed

or put out a flickering candle.

Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.

And his name will be the hope

of all the world.”

This Jesus would be seen by some today as weak and wishy washy. We instead love the bible thumpers who yell at us from the pulpit.

Jesus tells potential pastors and political leaders how he wants them to lead, and how they ought not to lead:

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-27, NLT)

We must not merely pay lip service to the idea of servant leadership and then put the most dynamic and loud person we can find onto the top of the church leadership pyramid. Jesus says if we want to lead then we must become the slaves of our fellow believers. I’m asking Jesus to help me in however many years I have left to be a better slave of others. People go to conferences and webinars about how to be a better leader. Have any of you ever heard of a conference being put on about how we can learn to serve better?

By Gods grace I’m trying to learn how to undo any of this “strong leader” mentality that has been in me. I no longer want to imbibe the attitude prevalent in so many churches that being a “gifted leader” can look a bit rough round the edges and everything can still be fine. I genuinely realise that I don’t know it all. I used to think I knew better than others. These days I understand that I know less than I used to think I did. I have made lots of mistakes. I really want to become more like Jesus the older I get. The idea of following HIM as THE WAY to be ought to be the foundation of all we do together as believers.

What about the potential link between Trump and the end-times rebellion of the Church?

I was recently reading a passage in 2 Timothy about the end times rebellion of the Church. Shockingly everything here seems to resonate with what we see in the current day on both sides of the political debate, and perhaps particularly in Trump. It’s often harder to see these things in yourself than in others. Many Evangelicals are celebrating Trump today as exactly the kind of leader that America needs, saying that Kamala Harris is too soft, laughs too much, and is not brash enough to lead well. Paul’s warning is shocking:

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” (2 Timothy 3:1-4, NLT)

We do live in difficult times. These are just some of the problems in Trump’s intray: from climate change to aging populations, from workforce shortages to the perception that we have too many immigrants, from a resurgent Russia waging a brutal war in Europe to Israel and its Iran-sponsored neighbors trying to obliterate each other, from racism to sexism, to the conflicts between different “rights” of different groups. There are no easy answers and the divisions run deep on these and many other issues.

Unrestrained capitalism seems to be what many American Christians want. Attempts to improve access to free healthcare including contraception, offering money to new parents (which surely would reduce the number of abortions) are seen as communism. All this is believed to be less important than the perception that Trump will “fix” the economy. The financial markets seem to believe that Trump will be good for big business and stocks and shares have soared since the result was announced. Will that be at the cost of poor people not getting the help they need? Do we vote for our own financial self -interest or as Paul puts it for the love of ourselves and our money?

Trump constantly boasts the he is the best, the greatest, with the biggest rallies. Is that a role model we want for our childen and future generations? Do we want to normalize his attitude towards God, saying he did not need his forgiveness, and his treating the Bible as a way to make money?

Sadly people on both sides of the current political divide seem to be too eager to throw away self control, and speak in sometimes vulgar or rude ways, slandering their opponents, and breaking relationships far too easily, cancelling simply because someone votes in the “wrong way.” I know I have probably been guilty of being unfair towards Trump at times in my article, and those who support him, but if I am honest I guess I am a bit blind to that. Perhaps you are on that side of the debate and have a similar attitude to Christians who believed Kamala Harris would make a better president.

There is a particular form of power that actually makes us godly. It is not found in a strong man, but it is found in Jesus Christ. One of the sad things about many Christians today is that we have tried to be like Jesus, and failed to be able to do so because we tried in our own strength. Then, rather than going to Jesus for the help he offers us we have decided that we will fight those we imagine to be our human enemies in our own strength, rather than realizing that behind much of what is happening in the world lies a spiritual enemy, and we need spiritual power to defeat him.

Whoever we wanted to be president of the United Sates is not our savior. They cannot change us on the inside. Only Jesus can do that. And we must come to him with humility and repent for the ways in which we have been less than godly and find a way to treat those we strongly disagree with as our brothers and sisters.