People are asking—Does Trump’s wounded head mark him as the Antichrist? The answer is no. And nobody else is the Antichrist, either.
I don’t take apocalyptic literature in the Bible literally (I do, however, take it seriously). If I did take it literally, I might be persuaded that Trump is the Antichrist. When I was young, my parents raised me to interpret the events of the Book of Revelation as a literal prediction of future events. I must admit that occasionally my Fundamentalist side rears up and causes me to think that Trump is the perfect candidate for the Antichrist. Here are seven reasons:
Seven Reasons:
Here are seven reasons why you might be forgiven for believing Donald Trump is the Antichrist:
- The wound on his head could represent the assassination attempt. Or it could stand for his loss of the 2020 election but a win in 2024.
- His partnership with Gog and Magog
- The golden statue of Donald Trump
- Christians calling him the chosen one… Even the elect are deceived
- Evangelicalism itself as the false prophet
- Willingness to go after political adversaries
- With his stance on the environment and his hawk-like tendencies, it’s understandable that Trump could invite the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
These are seven reasons you might be persuaded to believe Trump is the Antichrist if you take apocalyptic literature literally. But there are better reasons to understand that he isn’t the Antichrist. To understand this, we must first look at the typical cultural understanding of who this guy is.
Hollywood Antichrist
The Ant-Man is just a popular figure in Hollywood movies. Often depicted as the son of Satan, the Hollywood Antichrist enters the world to bring about the end of days. He wreaks havoc on the world with the False Prophet and Four Horsemen until the film’s protagonist exorcises the demons or puts a bullet in the Ant-Man’s brain.
Misinterpreting Apocalyptic Literature
Hollywood Antichrist takes its inspiration from a particular interpretation of certain passages in Daniel, Ezekiel, Matthew, and John’s Apocalypse (Book of Revelation). In pre-millennial dispensationalism, as interpreted by writers such as Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahey, and Jerry Jenkins, The Antichrist is a religiopolitical force to be reckoned with.
In this misinterpretation of apocalyptic literature, the Antichrist is depicted as a cunning businessperson who becomes a head of state, or even in charge of the United Nations. Enlisting the False Prophet as his religious mouthpiece, he establishes a one-world government and sets himself up as the object of everyone’s worship.
After the Rapture
So the tradition goes, the antichrist rises to power immediately after Christ raptures the church. Thrown into confusion, the world needs a leader to pull it out of chaos. Selecting the Antichrist for his charisma and power, the world unwittingly throws itself into a seven-year tribulation. God hurls plagues upon the Earth. Natural, disasters, pestilence, famine, and war claim the lives of one-third of the Earth’s population.
The Mark of the Beast
In this version, the Antichrist (aka The Beast) imposes an economic system where people can only buy and sell if they wear his mark on their hands or forehead. In the books and movies, this mark takes different forms such as a barcode, embedded microchip, or a tattoo bearing the Number 666. Without this Mark, no one can buy or sell.
Because Christians refused to take the mark, the antichrist and his crony is can readily identify them. This makes them economically vulnerable and sets Christians up for the guillotine. According to this narrative, many believers are martyred. Others apostatize to save their lives. However, in doing so, they lose their souls.
Judgment Day
Finally, after seven years of tribulation, Jesus returns on a white horse to win the day. God scoops up the Antichrist and False Prophet and throws them into the lake of fire, which never dies. God judges all people.
The faithful go to eternal glory. But most of the world’s population, both living and dead, who never heard of Jesus or who rejected his clear call of salvation, will be damned to eternal conscious torment. With a few variations, this is the common interpretation you hear these days in Evangelical churches.
A Preterist Perspective
I hope this gives a context for the typical cultural understanding of who the Antichrist is. Yet, this view is based on some pretty huge misunderstandings of scripture. Being a preterist, I interpret the book of Revelation differently. Read on to see what I mean.
Apocalyptic: A Literary Genre
It’s important to understand that apocalyptic literature was an entire genre In the Jewish library of Jesus’s day. Filled with arcane symbols, talking animals, and outlandish imagery, apocalyptic literature functioned as the equivalent of our science fiction today. As many sci-fi books and movies caution against overly intelligent AI and wanton abuse of the environment, apocalyptic literature created a mystical backdrop for cautionary tales. These stories were never meant to be taken literally.
Instead, they warned against idolatry. They cautioned observant Jews against assimilation into the dominant culture. During times of persecution, apocalyptic literature reminded Jews and early Christians that love wins in the end.
Renewed Interest in Apocalyptic Literature
For most of the Church’s history, theologians mostly apocalyptic passages in the Bible. Alternatively, they understood them to have symbolic and spiritual meaning, rather than depicting literal events on the world stage. Prominent theologians through the centuries have suggested that the book of Revelation should never have been included in the canon of scripture.
It’s only been in the past couple of centuries that there has been a renewed interest in what people consider “end-time prophecy.” The Scofield Reference Bible included study notes with a premillennial dispensationalist perspective, an interpretation that took off in the United States and worldwide. Many Christians are unaware that this hermeneutic has only been popular for a relatively brief time.
An Encouragement for Persecuted Believers
Early Christian apocalyptic literature was only meant as encouragement for persecuted believers up until the time Of Constantine. Once the Church benefited from political power and ceased being persecuted, much of the message of Revelation became irrelevant. For this reason, many interpreters rightly chose to spiritualize the meaning.
The return of Christ became something that takes place in the heart of every believer. themes of persecution, destruction, trial, and judgment become metaphors for spiritual reality. For this reason, I don’t expect the Antichrist to rise out of a revived Roman Empire. Any reference the Bible may give to the Antichrist had to do with the old Roman Empire. The antichrist was Nero. Mr. 666 isn’t on his way.
The Antichrist Isn’t Coming
When I was growing up among Evangelicals In the 1970s and 1980s, everyone was trying to guess who the Antichrist might be. Satan was alive and well on Planet Earth, embodied in Ayatollah Khomeini, The Shaw of Iran, Mikhail Gorbachev, or any other person American Evangelicals believed to be dangerous at the time. I have seen enough Antichrist accusations to make my head swim. No, the Antichrist isn’t coming. However, I must admit if I were a premillennial dispensationalist, Donald Trump might fit the bill.
Of course, if I were a premillennial dispensationalist, I’d be an Evangelical. Therefore, I’d probably believe that Trump was the “Chosen One,” and would ironically be among the “elect” who are deceived. So, if I believed it, I wouldn’t believe it.
Trump Is Not the Antichrist But Still is Anti-Christ
If you’re on board with the idea that there is no one person called the Antichrist, stay tuned for my next article. In “Trump Is Not the Antichrist, But Still is Anti-Christ,” I’ll look at Trump’s personality and policies that demonstrate how polar-opposite he is to the person of Jesus. See you there.
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