American Christians for Truth and Justice

Tag: Great Tribulation

  • Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist (part 3)

    In part 1 of this series, we considered three reasons why Donald Trump could be the Antichrist: because he has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, he speaks proud words and blasphemies, and his character is the opposite to that of Christ. In part 2, we looked at several considerations or events that would need to happen if he is to become the Antichrist: he would need to stay in office beyond his second term, he would continue to threaten and take over more countries, he would likely have a role in bringing about the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and he would recover from a fatal (or apparently fatal) wound.

    We are now ready to take up the final sign, which if fulfilled by Mr. Trump would unequivocally identify him as the Antichrist, and that is desecrating the temple, setting up an image of himself and demanding to be worshipped. This event is prophesied multiple times in Scripture as a pivotal event of the end-times scenario, as the event which openly reveals who the Antichrist is and simultaneously serves as the marker that begins the 42 months of Great Tribulation. Jesus spoke about it in the Olivet Discourse when he said, “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet … then let those in Judea flee into the mountains … for then there will be great distress [KJV great tribulation], unequaled from the beginning of the world until now” (Matt. 24:1-16, 21). The words of Daniel the prophet that he refers to are from the prophecy of the 70 weeks: “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’ [KJV week] and in the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation …” (Dan 9:27).  Although the prophecy of the 70 weeks has many interpretations, the most common among those who believe in a future Great Tribulation with a literal future Antichrist is that “he” refers to the Antichrist, who establishes a peace treaty (confirms a covenant) with Israel and her neighbors, quite possibly allowing for the rebuilding of the temple (third sign above). When the temple is rebuilt, sacrifices will be offered on the altar, as in the Old Testament, but in the middle of the week the Antichrist will put an end to the sacrifices and set up the abomination of desolation.  What is this?  I believe the answer is in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, which says of the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist): “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Setting himself up in God’s temple seems to correlate with Revelation 13:14-15, which says that the second beast (commonly called the false prophet, the right-hand man of the Antichrist) “ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed” (perhaps an AI robot look-alike of the Antichrist?). This action and event will mark a bold advance to a next stage in which the Antichrist breaks his former alliances with the Jews and Christian Nationalists, reckoning that he is now powerful enough that he no longer needs them and can elevate himself to the status of god.

    This scenario fits well with a common interpretation of the Babylon theme in the book of Revelation. In chapter 14, there are three angelic pronouncements.  The first is for the worldwide spread of the gospel (14:6-7) and the second relates to Babylon: “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” Since the worldwide spread of the gospel seems to precede the beginning of the Great Tribulation (see Matthew 24:14 in its larger context of 24:3-21, where the worldwide proclamation of the gospel is the last of the signs which precedes the Great Tribulation) and since the message of the third angel (Rev 14:9-12) relates to the Great Tribulation itself (people receiving the mark of the beast which dooms them to judgment and saints who are called to persevere through a difficult time), it seems reasonable to conclude that the fall of Babylon announced by the second angel coincides with the beginning of the Great Tribulation. However, later in Revelation the fall of Babylon is portrayed as being at the very end of the Great Tribulation.  In connection with the 7th bowl judgement, which is the last of seven judgments in the last of three series of judgements (seals, trumpets, bowls) during the Great Tribulation, it is said, “The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath” (Rev 16:19). The verse preceding this section sets the scene as Armageddon: “Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (16:16). This chronology correlates with the sequence we see in Revelation 19, which begins with the fall of Babylon (the great prostitute, 19:4, compare to 18:5), followed by the return of Christ to fight against the beast (Antichrist) and his armies (which is the Battle of Armageddon, 19:11-21). How do we resolve this apparent discrepancy about when the fall of Babylon occurs, for it seems like there is a fall of Babylon at the beginning of the Great Tribulation and at the end?  A common interpretation among those who hold to a future Great Tribulation with a literal Antichrist is the two-Babylon view, in which there is a spiritual Babylon and a political Babylon.  Spiritual Babylon is a false church or religious system that rides to power with the Antichrist in a mutually beneficial relationship.  The false church provides the core support for the soon-to-be-Antichrist, apart from which he would not gain the power that he does.  On the other hand, in this transactional relationship, the Antichrist gives the false church access to power it would not otherwise have.  But by the time this person reveals himself as the Antichrist at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, he will have gained enough power that he feels he no longer needs their support, so he is emboldened to take his self-promotion to the next level by setting up an image of himself in the temple—an action that will alienate two key allies: Israel and his Christian support base. This is quite possibly referred to in Revelation 17:16, which says, “The beast [Antichrist] and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute [Babylon, see verse 5]. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.”  Political Babylon, then, would be the political worldwide kingdom that Antichrist rules over during the Great Tribulation (or more specifically, perhaps, the capital city of this kingdom) which will be destroyed by Christ in connection with his second coming.

    As we have seen, there is still a lot that needs to happen before we could say definitively that Donald Trump is the Antichrist. Each of these signs will involve a major development that is almost unthinkable. This last sign in particular involves a brazen, bold act of self-promotion and blasphemy that is hard to imagine. Yet at the same time these events, including the last one, are not out of character for the type of person that Mr. Trump has shown himself to be—loyal only to himself, and unabashedly self-promoting and prone to do or say things that were previously unthinkable.

    So, what are we to do?  We should not jump to conclusions.  It is probably still more likely that Donald Trump is not the Antichrist than that he is.  But we need to be watchful and must not allow ourselves to be deceived by him or by whoever turns out to be the Antichrist. “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

  • Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist (part 2)

    In the last blog, I asked “Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist?”  I answered that he could be because he has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, he speaks proud words and blasphemies, and his character is the opposite to that of Christ.  This doesn’t mean Mr. Trump necessarily is the Antichrist, but only that he could be, if additional events unfold according to the pattern set out in the prophetic scriptures. What are these additional events that we should be watching for to determine whether he is the Antichrist? 

    Before beginning to enumerate these, it should be pointed out that these items are based on a futuristic interpretation of end-time prophecies.  This approach is used mostly by premillennialists, especially dispensationalists.  Some other interpretive approaches, such as amillennial (typical of Reformed theology) do not necessarily look for a literal future Great Tribulation period or for a future literal Antichrist figure. If these events do start to take place, whether involving Donald Trump or someone else, it will show that this futuristic interpretation should be taken seriously.  If they take place soon and involve Mr. Trump, then the probability increases with each successive event that he is the Antichrist.

    The first item is not derived from biblical prophecy but is purely a matter of practical consideration, and that is that Donald Trump would need to stay in power beyond the end of his second term.  If seems highly unlikely that he could assume dominant power on the world stage if he lost his position of power as President of the United States.  His position as president gives him a platform of power from which to exert his power on the rest of the world.  Without that, it is hard to conceive of how he could become a ruler over the world, as will be true of the Antichrist (Rev. 13:7). As the Antichrist is said to rule over every people and nation for 42 months and the time remaining in President Trump’s second term is less than 42 months, it would not be possible for him to be the Antichrist unless he remains in power beyond his second term.  Another practical consideration is that he would need to live long enough for the Great Tribulation period to be completed.

    According to the U.S. Constitution, President Trump is not allowed to run for a third term, but he has mused from time to time that he would find a way to get around this.  While at present, it seems that he is prepared to concede the two-term limitation, it would not be out of character for him to change his mind. Hopefully, our democratic institutions and processes would be strong enough to prevent this from happening.  But again, it would not be out of character for him to find false pretense for canceling elections and declaring martial law to stay in power.  Or, if he does run again and doesn’t win, it is highly predictable that he would say the election was stolen and declare himself the winner anyway. And since he is Commander in Chief and has largely installed loyalists within the military, who would be able to stop him?  This scenario may seem like a longshot, and it may indeed be, but if it happens, then beware!  And be ready to watch for the next things on the list.

    The next item to watch for then, would be whether Mr. Trump continues to threaten and take over more countries.  Daniel prophesies about the fourth beast with ten horns in Daniel chapter 7, commonly understood to be the Antichrist.  This beast has a little horn which comes up among the 10 horns, and three of the (10) first horns are uprooted before it (Dan 7:8, 20). The 10 horns presumably represent an alliance of 10 nations or rulers which make up the power base of the Antichrist. We do not yet know what this 10-nation alliance will be, so if that comes into shape, that is another indicator that things are moving along.  Three of those nations will be overthrown by the Antichrist as he continues to consolidate his power.  President Trump has taken the role of a bully in threatening other nations, such as Greenland and Canada.  He has essentially taken over Venezuela and is threatening to take over Cuba through economic pressure.  If this pattern continues, and he overthrows three nations that were part of an alliance with him previously, then this would be another sign that Mr. Trump was on track to be the Antichrist. 

    A third item to watch for would be the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Several prophecies indicate that during the Great Tribulation there will exist such a temple, which until now has not existed since the destruction of the previous temple in 70 A.D. In Revelation 11, John says, “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God and the altar … But exclude the outer court … because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months’” (Rev. 11:1-2).  This period of 42 months is the Great Tribulation, and it will begin with the desecration of the temple by the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) (2 Thess 2:3-4). This will be the fifth sign that we will return to in part 3 of this series. But the point for now is that to set the stage for this to happen, the temple must be rebuilt.  There is a temple movement among Orthodox Jews with that desire.  See, for example Israel’s priests prepare third temple  Possibly permission for this to happen could come from a peace treaty that President Trump puts in place or as a provision of the Board of Peace, of which he has appointed himself the chair.  This, of course, would be a major development, but in our world today previously unthinkable things seem to be happening regularly. If this one happens, and Donald Trump is at the center of it, although it could be an event celebrated by pro-Israel Christians, it would, in my mind, tip the scales from possible to probable in terms of Mr. Trump being the Antichrist.

    The fourth sign to watch for which would “seal the deal” in my mind is if Mr. Trump recovers from a fatal (or apparently fatal) wound. Prophesying about the beast (Antichrist), John says, “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound was healed” (Rev. 13:3). This is referenced again later in the chapter when it refers to the first beast as the one “whose fatal wound had been healed” (13:12). As a result of this remarkable recovery, we are told that “the whole world was astonished and followed the beast … and they also worshipped the beast” (13:3-4). President Trump has already survived several assassination attempts, one in particular which was a “close call.” Around this has grown up a narrative that he is somehow invincible and that God has protected him because he is anointed for a special role.  If he could be resurrected from a fatal wound, this would take that narrative to a whole new level and would elicit awe, not just from his core followers, but from the whole world. But note that Revelation 13:3 says, “seemed to have had a fatal wound.” No mere human has the power to raise himself from the dead, and although the Antichrist will be empowered by Satan, it is doubtful that Satan has the power to raise from the dead, as God alone is the source of life.  More likely is that the Antichrist suffers and recovers from a near fatal wound but then spins a narrative (with the collusion of loyalist doctors and staff) that he died and rose again, thus appearing to duplicate what Christ did in rising from the dead.  If something like this happens to Mr. Trump, it is not inconsistent with his character or his supersized ego to think that he would claim such a thing.

    This would set the stage for the final sign, which if fulfilled by Mr. Trump would unequivocally identify him as the Antichrist, which will be taken up in part 3 of this series.

    As you can see, there are still several significant items that would need to line up to conclude that Donald Trump is the Antichrist.  At this point, it is still more probable that he is not the Antichrist than that he is.  However, given his Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, his proud words and blasphemies, and his character qualities that are the opposite to that of Christ, and the repeated admonitions in Scripture to watch, lest we be taken by surprise (such as Matt. 24:42 and Luke 21:34-36) it would be unwise not to take the possibility seriously and to be watching to see whether Mr. Trump’s “Antichrist portfolio” continues to accumulate supporting evidence or not.