Guest essay by Randall A. Terry
How Can We, Given his “Personal Behavior,” his “Arrogant Quarrels,” And his “Belligerent Tweets?”
Christians of every denomination are discussing, sometimes debating—quite heatedly—whether we should support and defend President Trump, or work for his defeat or impeachment.
A recent Quinnipiac poll found 24% of Evangelicals, 41 % of Protestants, and 55% of Catholics say they will definitely not vote for Trump in 2020. No polling data has been done along religious lines regarding impeachment, but it’s safe to say that a significant number of Christians support it.
Who is right? Trump’s supporters, or his opponents? How can we even really know?
Biblical Examples of Men That May Guide and Help Us Regarding Trump
What if—just what if—as crazy as it may seem—that despite his glaring faults, God raised up Donald Trump to fight the powers of evil that have engulfed the U.S. and the world.
As we look at Biblical history, we can see that God often used flawed, sinful, even pagan men to fight for justice, resist oppression, and help His people. And by the way, I don’t think Trump is a pagan. I have no idea what his spiritual health is. God knows. Perhaps we can best judge this whole situation by looking in the past at what God did through some of His servants—and even pagans.
Gideon
Israel fell into idolatry, so God brought the Midianites to oppress them. God raised up Gideon to defeat the Midianites—with 300 men. God knew Gideon had the passion to fight to save Israel. Yet after this, Gideon made a “golden ephod” which led Israel back to the sin of idolatry (See Judges 6-8).
Jehu, Son of Nimshi, “that rideth furiously”
God anointed Jehu to destroy the house of Ahab and Jezebel—two of the most evil people to ever reign in Israel. God knew Jehu had the zeal to carry out this mission. Yet after his victory, Jehu still committed the sin of idolatry. (See II Kings 9—10.)
Nebuchadnezzar
God called him, “My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 25:9). Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan. God raised him up to judge the nation of Israel for child-killing, and to end child-killing and idolatry in Israel once and for all. God sent him to destroy Solomon’s Temple as a punishment to the Jews for child-killing [and other injustice—ed.] (See II Kings 24: 1-4).
Cyrus
God said of this pagan king:
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings … For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me (Isaiah 45:1,4 © ESV).
Cyrus, on learning of the prophecy, issued a decree:
This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them’ (II Chron. 36:23,24 © NIV).
Darius
After the Jews laid the foundation of the Temple at Cyrus’ command (as Isaiah prophesied they would), they were hindered and stalled by enemies. Some years later, Darius—another pagan King of Persia- ordered the Temple to be finished (See Ezra 6:1-12).
Artaxerxes
Yet another pagan who called himself “the King of kings”—whether from arrogance or blasphemy—Artaxerxes gave permission and resources to Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and then sent Ezra back to Jerusalem with the utensils of Solomon’s Temple and ordered Ezra to reinstate the Laws of God in Israel. Think of it—a PAGAN ordering the reestablishment of the Law of Moses’ regarding worship and civil law. (See Nehemiah 1: 1-10, and Ezra 7: 12-25.)
Ezra
States:
So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of lddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia (Ezra 6: 14 © NIV).
God brought these men to power—pagans—and then these pagans issued political decrees to fulfill God’s will. We can be certain that the Jews found all kinds of faults with these pagan rulers—their cruelties, religions, personal lives, and their sinful sexual practices… but nonetheless, it was God who raised up these pagan rulers to do His will. He knew they could, and would, get the job done.
God called them—from Gideon to Artaxerxes—knowing their sins, as well as the sins they would yet commit. Do we doubt the wisdom of God in choosing the flawed men who delivered Israel, or the pagan kings that ended child-killing and idolatry in Israel, and helped restore Israel?
I believe these examples parallel what God is doing through President Trump. Donald J. Trump—like the men mentioned above—is a flawed man. But his flaws are not the main point of his Presidency, any more than the flaws of the men mentioned above were the main point of their rule. The point—then and now—is policy, or “decrees” and legislation, i.e., how their authority is used for God’s purposes.
The Biblical men mentioned weren’t spiritual leaders. Likewise, Donald J. Trump is not a pastor or “spiritual leader.” Mr. Trump is our President; the Chief Executive; the Commander-in-Chief. As President, he has specific duties and powers outlined in the Constitution, and in federal legislation.
Donald Trump—and all our Presidents—will give an account to God for how they used their authority—political power—to pass righteous legislation and promote justice as defined by God. The most urgent and dreadful injustice facing Trump is legalized murder: the shedding of innocent blood.
Shedding innocent blood—abortion—is a crime that cries out to God. (Gen. 4: 10) Shedding innocent blood defiles a nation; innocent blood cries for vengeance and judgment. (II Kings 24: 1-4; Ps. 94:6, 7, 20, 21) The murder of babies is demonic; it is the most heinous form of shedding innocent blood.
The reason Israel went into captivity, and the Temple was destroyed, was because of child-killing.
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds. So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance…. He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them (Psalm 106:37-46).
Ending child-killing is in America is paramount. There is no issue facing the United States that is equal in urgency or gravity in the presence of God than the slaughter of innocent babies. If we don’t end this slaughter—child-killing by abortion—we may face a fate similar to Israel’s.
It appears President Trump has been raised up by God to end the shedding of innocent blood in this nation, no matter what his spiritual condition is. And he is seeking to do so. The facts are clear.
Trump defunded Planned Parenthood—the nation’s largest child-killing syndicate. He has appointed judges who will vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Ending this holocaust is our supreme duty, and Trump is working with pro-lifers to do so. Know this: Trump’s and our efforts enrage the Devil.
The Desire of Satan?
The Scripture declares that shedding the blood of babies is like sacrificing our “sons and daughters to demons.” (Psalm 106) It is likely that the effort to remove Trump from office is the “desire of Satan” to keep abortion—the shedding of innocent blood—as the demons’ daily sacrifice.
Flaws
Being concerned… or upset about someone’s flaws is valid. However, our judgment should reflect the priorities of heaven. President Trump has flaws. So did Gideon, Jehu, Sampson, David, Cyrus and Darius. Yet God raised them up despite their flaws to accomplish His will in government, through war or decrees or policies, in times of crisis. He knew they would get the job done. It may be that God in His wisdom raised up another man—Donald Trump—who God knows will get the job done that matters most to heaven: ending the shedding of innocent blood.
[NPI would add that considerable evidence supports the notion that President Trump has met the Lord and now walks with Him. We cannot view this as something trivial. If any of us who believed Christ in adulthood must live down our former lives, few of us could stand. Dr. James Dobson affirms President Trump’s conversion to Christ. NPI author Ralph Drollinger holds semi-weekly Bible studies in the White House for the Cabinet. The president roundly and vocally supports Life in the womb. We agree with Mr. Terry: Indeed, who in history is perfect but Christ? When we appreciate men of history, we appreciate the Providence of God that used sinners to do good.—ed.]
Randall Terry is the well-known Christian activist, founder of Operation Rescue, and author. He hosts the web-based TV show Randall Terry: Voice of Resistance, airing on The Walk TV and streamed from his website. Mr. Terry holds a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and a Concentration in International Terrorism, and 25 years’ experience as a TV and radio host.
Donations may be made to Randall’s mission to DC here.
Mr. Terry grants permission to reproduce, in full or in part, or to use the research freely, without attribution.
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