By Brad Reaves | Coming Soon Ministries

There is a White House picture that’s been released of President Trump lighting a ‘diya.’ A Hindu lamp used in the celebration of their Festival of Lights. Now, before I go on, it seems there are two main extremes when it comes to DJT. 1.) He is the devil incarnate, ready to destroy the world. 2.) He is just short of being a Messiah to the Evangelical community. Then there is me. I see him as a powerful political figure of our day with a tremendous amount of potential to do good and just as much potential to do harm, but at the end of the day, he is a man. I once referred to him to a Rabbi friend (who falls into the former camp) as a Cyrus figure.

So, the issue is more than Donald Trump lit a diya. The issue is that many professing Christians are ready to light one for him. When believers start attaching spiritual hope, prophetic significance, or divine endorsement to a man, they’re walking the same road Israel walked when they cried at the end of the time of Judges, “Give us a king!” (1 Samuel 8). God gave them Saul, who was a leader who started strong, looked impressive, and fell hard. History doesn’t need to repeat itself for us to learn the lesson. We must keep our eye focused on the One who matters.

The Theological Problems

• There is Only One Messiah:

  Scripture is clear: there is one Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). When Christians start speaking of Trump (or any political or even religious figure) as “God’s anointed,” “the chosen one,” or “the one who will save America,” they’re flirting with blasphemy by misplacing messianic language. God sent us the One who will restore the Kingdom. That happens at the end of the 7 year Tribulation in Jerusalem.

• The Subtle Substitution:

  When political or religious hope (such as what is purported with NAR or Kingdom Now theologies) replace gospel hope - dare I say, biblical gospel hope, when national revival overshadows spiritual repentance, when “saving America” eclipses “seeking first the Kingdom of God” then we’ve traded our birthright for a bowl of red-white-and-blue stew.

• The Pattern of Deception:

  The Antichrist’s rise will depend on humanity’s appetite for a messiah-like savior figure who appears to fix what’s broken politically, economically, and morally, but without repentance or submission to Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12). Therefore, every misplaced messiah prepares the soil for the final counterfeit.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my country. I served in the Marine Corps and then served 12 years in Law Enforcement. I’ve been around the world many times to see how many live in some of the poorest and oppressive countries in the world - literally. But America doesn’t need a President with a messiah complex, we need to come back to the Lord God with repentance and humility.

Please also don’t get me wrong. I don’t fall into the first camp mentioned earlier. I support many of President Trump’s policies. However, I have as much caution as I do support and I want believers to watch him with biblical lenses. Keep in mind Nancy Reagan held seances in the White House and there were other instances of odd behaviors from other presidents going all the way back to George Washington (that’s for another article).

So here is how I believe the Church today should respond when we see White House photos of the President taking part in Christian or pagan rituals:

• Honor without Idolatry: Christians can respect a leader, vote responsibly, even applaud righteous policies without worshiping the man or defending every moral failure. The test of maturity is being able to support with discernment, not with devotion.

• Discernment over Emotion: False hope feels spiritual because it’s emotional. True hope feels humbling because it’s biblical. The Church must stay awake (Matthew 24:42), not awe-struck by charisma or fanfare.

• Light vs. Lamp: Trump may light a lamp for a festival. There are many symbolic gestures presidents must take part in the name of diplomacy. Believers on the other hand are called to shine the light of Christ in a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16). Our mission isn’t to preserve a nation’s politics but to proclaim a Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).

The bottom line is we don’t need a savior in Washington; we already have one on the throne. He is calling his Church home too and he’s setting foot on the Mount of Olives soon thereafter… and He’s not running for re-election because he holds the title deed to the universe in his hand.