Donald Trump Gives Power to Rule to Those Who Praise Him

Making Donald Trump Feel Good About Himself

Online Rolling Stone has an article today entitled “Dear Leader.” It’s introduction says, “How Trump’s administration is marshaling vast public resources and more than $1 billion worth of taxpayer money to make the president feel good about himself.”

This article explains, “Bondi, the nation’s attorney general, is one of more than two dozen billionaires, conspiracy theorists, television hosts, and otherwise diehard MAGA personalities that Republicans allowed Trump to install in the most important positions in government. … Trump did not choose them to oversee America’s federal agencies because of their qualifications, of which most of them possess very little (though Bondi was a state attorney general). They were selected for their ability to flatter Trump, of which all of them possess a great deal. These [now] televised Cabinet meetings are a prime way for them to showcase their fealty and devotion.”

President Donald Trump increasingly exhibits traits, though to a lesser degree, that are prophesied in the Bible about the final Antichrist. A recent one is that, as soon as he regained the White House Oval Office this year, he put together a cabinet of people effusively devoted to praising their wannabe dictator, yet little qualified for their installed positions. According to the Bible, that’s similar to what the Antichrist will do.

The Antichrist Is Prophesied in Daniel 11.21-45

The most apocalyptic and prophetic books in the Bible are the book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the book of Revelation in the New Testament. They predict the end times. I believe that all of Daniel’s three recorded visions contain prophecies about the final Antichrist. The third vision is recorded in Daniel 10.5-6, and the remainder of the book consists mostly of the angel’s interpretation of it, which is in Daniel 11.21—11.45. Thus, the Antichrist is predicted in Daniel 11.21-45, just as church father Jerome interpreted it in his excellent commentary on Daniel. Accordingly, vv. 21-35 only presents a foreshadowing of the Antichrist in the career of the Seleucid King Antiochus IV of the 2nd century BCE. Most modern commentators on Daniel disagree with all of this, with some of them interpreting the final Antichrist only in vv. 36-45.

So, Daniel 11.36, which refers to the Antichrist, reads as follows in the NRSV:

“The king shall act as he pleases.” The wannabe dictator Donald Trump, who is extremely litigious, has exhibited an extraordinary determination to get what he wants as the U.S. president. Daniel continues, “He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods. He shall proper until the period of wrath is complete.” Jesus called this period “the great tribulation” (Matthew 24.21 KJV), which will be three-and-a-half years in length. It refers back to the Antichrist’s “the war with the saints” in Daniel 7.21 (cf. Revelation 13.7). Daniel then adds, “for what is determined shall be done,” meaning that the sovereign God has decided this timeframe, etc., usually without infringing on a person’s freedom to choose.

Antichrist Says He Is Greater than Assyrian Gods

Daniel 11.37 reads, “He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women.” I think the latter refers to Ishtar since I believe this Antichrist will be an Assyrian with the nation of Assyria then having been restored (e.g., Isaiah 10.12; 19.23-25; Micah 5.5-6; 7.12). Daniel continues, “he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all.” The Antichrist does not call himself “God,” referring to the God of heaven, the God of the Bible. Rather, we just read that he speaks against “the God of gods” as it echoes in Revelation 13.6. He believes God exists or he wouldn’t blaspheme him. (The end of 1 Thess 2.4 should be translated “a god,” not “God.”)

Antichrist Worships Satan, The God of Fortresses

Daniel 11.38 reads, “He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his ancestors did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.” I believe this “god of fortresses” is Satan, the devil. He is portrayed as “the dragon” in the book of Revelation (12.7-9). This dragon, Satan, gives a great kingdom to the Antichrist, who is depicted as “the beast” in Revelation 13 and 17.

Antichrist Appoints as Rulers Those Praising Him

Now we get into the part of this prophesy that is similar to Trump’s trait of requiring extraordinary praise of himself by his underlings. Daniel 11.39 reads, “He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god,” again referring to Satan as “the god of fortresses.” Daniel continues, “Those who acknowledge him he shall make more wealthy, and shall appoint them as rulers over many, and shall distribute the land for a price.”

This acknowledging of the Antichrist refers to the uncanny devotion that he will require to himself. Donald Trump exhibits this trait, just not to the degree the Antichrist will. Many psychologists and psychiatrists say Donald Trump is a classic narcissist if not a sociopath.  But, according to the book of Revelation, the Antichrist will go way beyond this by requiring people to worship him as a god, and also to worship his idol, or else they will be subject to execution by beheading (Revelation 13.4, 15).

When Donald Trump put together his cabinet for this second term as president, he purposely chose people who demonstrated such extreme fealty to him. In this process, he extended to them political power which is similar to what the Antichrist will do.

[Zarley’s book, Bible Predicts Trump Fall, is available at amazon.com.]