Why Evangelicals are Blinded To Trump Being the Antichrist

I want to look at the astounding devotion that evangelicals have toward Trump, even though he has shown himself to be a vile person over and over again.

And beyond that devotion, the majority of evangelicals have demonstrated a willing blindness to the biblical verses that point to Trump being the Antichrist, even though for decades they talked about exactly his type of figure arising on the scene.

Looking at this phenomena a bit closer, we can actually pinpoint 5 specific blind spots that impact evangelicals as a whole, preventing them from understanding that Trump is the Man of Sin we were warned about.

Before I go into these, I do want to make it clear that I’m not talking about EVERY evangelical, as there certainly are those who do not partake in this blind devotion to Trump. But those evangelicals who are NOT deluded by Trump are vastly outnumbered by those who ARE.

So, without further delay, let’s get into the 5 specific blind spots that prevent the vast majority of evangelicals from seeing Trump for what he truly is.

#1: Blinded by Hate

There is an ugly virus that has been going through much of conservative Christianity over the past few years, fueled by the rise of nationalism under Trump, and by a spirit of confusion emanating from fringe groups such as QAnon.

That virus is hatred. And, more specifically, hatred of the left.

Whereas in the past evangelicals would paint liberal theology as unchristian, it is now most often categorized as evil and even satanic. And that view of the left as evil and satanic leads many on the right to feel anger, and even outright hatred, toward their fellow man.

Feeding this hatred are evangelical preachers who speak of the end times in terms of good vs. evil, with evil being synonymous with the left. And if one truly believes that another group of people are evil, then hating them is but a short jump away.

Evangelicals view Trump as being constantly under attack by the left, a group they hate and consider evil. And in what can only be described as “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” this blind hatred of the left shields Trump from almost any criticism.

It is this hatred of the left that resonates throughout much of conservative Christianity, and it is this hatred that blinds most evangelicals to the evil that is right under their noses.

#2: Blinded by Politics

Politics and Christianity have long been connected to some degree, but in recent years there’s been a renewed emphasis by conservatives to get more Christians involved, mostly in response to a growing conviction that we are now in the last days and time is running short.

A big factor in all of this is the influence of doctrines such as the Seven Mountains mandate, which teaches that Christians need to be involved in – and rule over – different aspects of the world before Jesus returns.

Today you can attend almost any conservative event and you will hear this hodgepodge of politics and Christianity merging into one agenda. They are now so intertwined that most evangelicals are unable or unwilling to differentiate them.

And into the midst of this Christian political agenda on the right, walked a man who was completely different from all the other conservative politicians before him. This man, evangelicals soon discovered, would attack their political enemies like no one had before him.

And the more Trump attacked and denigrated their enemies on the left, the more he was seen as the golden ticket by which Christian conservatives would finally attain all the political power they had craved for so long.

#3: Blinded by Patriotism

Perhaps no other segment of the right flaunts their love of America more than evangelicals. Images of flags and crosses are so common that one might be under the impression that Jesus specifically mentioned the United States in the Sermon on the Mount.

But then appeared a man whose name was known all around the world. And he loved America so much that he promised to put it first, and to make it great again. His slogan was so popular on the right that it would even find its way onto the foreheads of his followers.

He was EXACTLY what the evangelicals were looking for.

It’s impossible to separate much of Christianity from patriotism these days. The love of America is not only part and parcel of republican politics, but this idolatry has also infected much of the church itself.

This false worship of America that so many evangelicals have fallen into should be a warning all by itself, but more than that, it’s now symbolized by a man whose name is becoming associated with the very country they worship.

To many evangelicals, Trump is America and America is Trump.

#4: Blinded by the Rapture

There are a wide variety of beliefs on the timing of the rapture throughout Christianity, ranging from pre-tribulation, to mid-wrath, to post-tribulation. The bible, for its part, does not treat our belief about the timing of the rapture as a salvation issue.

Evangelicals, by and large, believe that the rapture of the church occurs before the tribulation, leaving nonbelievers behind to suffer on Earth during the final few years while the Antichrist rules the world. And therein lies the problem.

Many of those who hold fast to the pre-tribulation rapture belief are, in their own words, looking for Jesus not the Antichrist. The return of Jesus is imminent to them, while the coming of the Antichrist is, for lack of a better description, someone else’s problem.

The mindset that the imminent return of Jesus is all that matters is what leads many evangelicals to the false conclusion that we CAN’T know who the Antichrist is because the church is still here. Or, even if we could know, it simply doesn’t matter.

This particular blind spot might be the most dangerous one, as talk of Trump being a perfect match for the biblical description of the Antichrist is quickly dismissed as impossible or even irrelevant as the Antichrist is only revealed after the church has been raptured away.

Fortunately there are many pre-tribulation believers who can also recognize that the biblical descriptions of the Antichrist match Trump. But within the evangelical community itself, those biblical descriptions are often brushed aside as unimportant.

In the eyes of most evangelicals, as long as THEY are still here on earth, then the Antichrist is not. A common saying is “when the bombs come down, we go up”, which it’s a perfect example of blindly ignoring scripture which opens the door for delusion.

#5: Blinded by a False Antichrist

When evangelicals talk about the attributes or character traits the Antichrist will possess, we’re left with one conclusion: the vast majority of them are believers in an Antichrist who is NOT the same one that the bible describes.

These beliefs include the idea that the Antichrist will be widely loved, or exceptionally brilliant and charismatic. Or that he is gay, or he will be a Muslim or be clearly and obviously anti-Christian with an obvious anti-Christian agenda. None of those things are biblical.

Instead, those false ideas come from fictional books and movies like the Left Behind series, which usually portray the Antichrist as a young, attractive, brilliant, and charismatic leader who takes the world by storm.

These false ideas about what the Antichrist will be have the net effect of camouflaging Trump from scrutiny as he certainly does not match them in the slightest. Meanwhile, right under their noses, sits a man who matches the actual biblical descriptions of the Antichrist to a T.

Is this the Strong Delusion?

So we see that in so many different ways evangelicals are blinded to what Trump truly is. Thus, we have to ask ourselves: is this the strong delusion that was talked about in the bible? Let’s look at 2 Thessalonians a moment.

“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

We see that those who do not love the truth are the ones who are given over to the strong delusion. But what is the truth that is spoken of here? The answer lies in John 17:17.

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

The bible is telling us that the Word of God is the truth, and so we can understand that those who reject the Word of God are the ones that are given over to the strong delusion. But who is it that rejects the word of God?

According to the bible, it is Christians. Many Christians will turn their ears away from the truth, and instead turn to fables. They reject the Word of God, and are given over to the strong delusion.

If we look at the 5 blind spots that evangelicals have about Trump, we can easily determine if, indeed, they have rejected the Word of God.

1. The hatred of the left. The bible does NOT tells us that we should hate others. Instead it says we should love our neighbor, and do good to those who would do us harm.
2. The love of politics. The bible teaches us that the Kingdom of God is NOT of this world, and that we should not chase worldly things.
3. The love of America. This is out and out false idolatry, and the bible specifically tells us that we are to flee from idolatry.
4. The timing of the rapture. The bible doesn’t tell us of the characteristics of the Antichrist for us to ignore them, but rather for our edification and to keep us from being lost.
5. The false Antichrist. Choosing to believe the descriptions of the Antichrist in fictional books and moves, rather than what the bible says, is a clear rejection of the truth.

All of these things put together leave us with only one possible conclusion: the vast majority of evangelicals have indeed been given over to the strong delusion. They have rejected what the bible REALLY says in favor of chasing fables and lies.

They have rejected the Word of God, and chosen to follow the Man of Sin. And they can’t say they didn’t know, because he’s been right under their noses the whole time.

Thank you for watching, and if you care to leave a comment, please do. As always, kindly be respectful in any comment you leave, especially toward those with whom you disagree. I’ll talk to you guys soon. ♦