For me, awareness of the end times started at a young age when a friend who was a Jehovah’s witness, (I had no idea what that meant) started talking to me about what was going to happen to all who did not believe as they did. Around that same time as that conversation, a film was shown at our church called The Thief in the Night (1973). This was a movie that was made in a horror genre; I was nine or ten. This film was supposed to be a tool for evangelism as I think it was intended to scare the hell out of people and turn people towards heaven. The problem, as I now know, is the rapture is a doctrine of demons, so that mean other gospels were taught which in turn did not lead people to heaven but to hell. When this film was shown, there was no teaching about the topic (rapture) of this film. At the time the denomination I was part of did not teach the rapture as this film portrayed, but it also did not teach what the bible actually taught about the end times. It was mostly “oh what a day of rejoicing that will be when we all get to heaven.” They would have fit in the category of I don’t know. The reality is that this film should never have been shown. I think that this was connected to the Billy Graham ministries which is why so many just blindly watched this movie as most errantly believed that Graham was a servant of God. The reality is that Billy Graham actually believed this false teaching about the end times, he just didn’t talk about it like his kids do now. His daughter Anne Graham Lotz teaches this nonsense. She said, “I believe Jesus is soon to return to take all of His followers to Heaven with Him in what is referred to as The Rapture. While this will be deliverance for His people, can you imagine the impact on our nation, let alone the world, when suddenly every single authentic Christian disappears? Institutions will collapse. Banks will close. The Stock Market will plunge. Planes will fall out of the sky. Cars will crash on the road. Government in America at every level will disintegrate. Families will be torn apart. In the unprecedented turmoil, our nation will be vulnerable for our enemies to seize the moment and attack us. There will be mass chaos, confusion, fear, grief, despair, anger, threats, danger… judgment.” The reality is most would not even notice if Christians were missing, as they already are missing. This film was terrifying, especially to a kid. After seeing this movie, I was always thinking about it when I came home and no one was there. It is a good thing my parents didn’t play practical jokes by leaving the car running or their clothes in a pile! It would be many years later that I would finally understand that there was nothing to be afraid of, as this along with others like the Left Behind series and many others like them were all doctrines of demons and millions have been deceived. 1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” When I say nothing to be afraid of, I mean we do not fear these false demonic teachings, but we do fear the wrath of God, especially if we have chosen to follow these demonic doctrines. Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Yes, Jesus will return but that will be the end of all that we know, and eternity will begin. Most in the church are not ready for the true return of Jesus, as the church has been thoroughly deceived. The number of people that have been deceived is astounding.

    Before this movie came out, there was a book written by Hal Lindsey called “The Late Great Planet Earth (1970). I borrowed this overview of the book. “In 1970 religious author Hal Lindsey published a book titled The Late Great Planet Earth. In it, Lindsey compared prophecies from the Bible to current events in the world to argue that humanity was living in the end times. The book included descriptions of wars in the Middle East, the emergence of the Antichrist (future Fuehrer), and fulfillments of predictions contained in the biblical books of Daniel and Ezekiel. Hal Lindsey asserted that the world would end in 1988. Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted Armageddon would occur in 1914, 1925, and 1975.” My friend shared those terrifying Armageddon thoughts with me on the bus after school. Another said, “If you follow Hal Lindsey, you've probably changed the "end of the world" date in your calendar several times. His Late Great Planet Earth, which was the best-selling nonfiction book of the 1970s, predicted that the world would end sometime before Dec. 31, 1988. He cited a host of world events — nuclear war, the communist threat and the restoration of Israel — as reasons the end times were upon mankind. His later books, though less specific, suggested that believers not plan on being on Earth past the 1980s — then the 1990s and, of course, the 2000s. But Lindsey did more than just wrongly predict the end of days; he popularized a genre of prophecy books. Adding stock to Lindsey's original claim, Edgar Whisenant published a book in 1988 called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, which sold some 4.5 million copies. Whisenant once famously said, "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong." Turns out he was in error. In the Hal Lindsey report (2022), he wrote, “Exactly 60 years ago, we were in the middle of what is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the closest the world has yet come to a nuclear cataclysm. On October 6th of this year, the President of the United States said this is the worst it has been since then. We have already entered the period known in the Bible as “perilous times.” They are perilous because unthinkable bombs are aimed at our great cities by people who seem just mad enough to use them. They are perilous because lawlessness has already taken over some of those same cities. And they are perilous because humanity’s war with its Creator is now being fought among the smallest of children.” He then goes on to say, “It is not our job to figure out the day or hour of the Lord’s coming. But Jesus did tell us to understand the times and the seasons in which we live.” That statement is made after millions of people were already led astray by his false predictions and false teaching.

    He is right that we must understand our times, but more importantly we must understand what is happening spiritually. Matthew 16:2 “He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” We must understand that he and those like him are false prophets who have done a lot of damage and continue to lead people astray. Jesus said for a reason, Matthew 24:4 “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” This is why we were told 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” False teaching also comes from a lack of understanding. In ignorance, demonic teaching and other gospels continue to be taught as if they are the way, truth and life and most, even those who teach are none the wiser. Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” Isaiah 5:13 “Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding.”

    Even before Hal Lindsey, the Schofield Study Bible (1917, 1967) launched many false teachings about the end times, especially the false teaching called dispensationalism. One writer said, “Largely through the influence of Scofield's notes, many fundamentalist Christians in the United States adopted a dispensational theology. Scofield's notes on the Book of Revelation are a major source for the various timetables, judgments, and plagues elaborated on by popular religious writers such as Hal Lindsey, Edgar C. Whisenant, and Tim LaHaye; and in part because of the success of the Scofield Reference Bible, twentieth-century American fundamentalists placed greater stress on eschatological speculation.” These false teaching concerning the rapture exploded through book sales and movies. “Long before the Left Behind books crowded the New York Times best-seller list, Hal Lindsey and C. C. Carlson’s The Late Great Planet Earth introduced millions of readers worldwide to end-times prophecy. An accessible, engaging introduction to the coming apocalypse, The Late Great Planet Earth was the best-selling nonfiction book of the 1970s: Ten million copies were in circulation by the end of the decade. It sold more than 28 million copies by 1990, an estimated 35 million by 1999, and was translated into more than 50 languages. A 1977 movie version narrated by Orson Welles ran in theaters nationwide and was later broadcast on HBO. Lindsey was “the most widely read interpreter of prophecy in history,” said one critic. Another claimed that only the Bible itself had outsold The Late Great Planet Earth.” “Twenty-five years later Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins authored a work of fiction called Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days. The book kept many of Lindsey’s core ideas about the end times but portrayed them through a cast of characters who were left behind when the Rapture took place and the tribulations of the last days began. Fifteen more novels followed in the Left Behind series—along with three movies, forty short novels for teens, video games, and music. Published from 1995 to 2006, the sixteen novels alone have sold more than 63 million copies.” Millions of people have been deceived and millions just don’t know if it is true.

    This all started because Hal Lindsey was looking at the times but at the same time misinterpreting scripture just as we saw with the Schofield Study Bible. Just a sidenote; the words on the bottom of a study bible are man’s. The Cold War escalated with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Office of the Historian site states, “The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict. The crisis was unique in a number of ways, featuring calculations and miscalculations as well as direct and secret communications and miscommunications between the two sides. The dramatic crisis was also characterized by the fact that it was primarily played out at the White House and the Kremlin level with relatively little input from the respective bureaucracies typically involved in the foreign policy process.” Another person said, “The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war.” When this was combined with distorted views on prophecy, it appeared the world was ending and ripe for the rapture where Jesus would return to take the church home before the tribulation or whenever each group believes that to be. But these false prophets were wrong as there is no such thing as the rapture. The rapture as described in these books and movies is always said to be imminent, but it never comes. What will come is the second coming of Jesus and then judgement and eternity. Because of deception, there is only a remnant of the church left. Most are clueless as to what true Christianity is supposed to be.

    This confrontation was between the United States and Russia. When I was growing up, there was always a fear of Russia. That fear many people had also included the space race. “The space race was a 20th Century struggle between two nation-states, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US). The pursuit for both was the domination of space flight technologies. The competition began on 2 August 1955, when the Soviet Union responded to the US announcement of their similar intent to launch artificial satellites. The space race has its origins in the nuclear arms race between the two nations following the Second World War.” No one wanted to be attacked from above and they formed in 1967 the Outer Space Treaty which “bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space, prohibits military activities on celestial bodies, and details legally binding rules governing the peaceful exploration and use of space. The treaty entered into force Oct. 10, 1967, and has 115 states-parties as of June 2024, with another 23 countries that have signed it but have not yet completed ratification.” So obviously this is still on everyone’s mind. Another false teacher, Jack Van Impe, talked about the coming war with Russia and Russia attacking Israel and many talked about who would be the antichrist. It seemed that there was always a clear and present danger with Russia, that is until recently where a new danger has emerged not in Russia, but in the United States.

    This was a long introduction to today’s sermon. I have talked for a long time about the desolation of the church. If you watch the news, it appears that Christianity is at the forefront especially in the United States, but it is not true Christianity that we are seeing, as true Christianity has all but disappeared. Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” This disappearance is because the church has rebelled (Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation.” Daniel 8:12 “Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.”) against God’s word which in turn meant God turned His face from the church and removed the power that was made available to the church at Pentecost. God then allowed the abomination that causes desolation to decimate the church and millions have been deceived and deluded. Daniel 9:27 “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” Millions have believed the lies and millions who call themselves Christians are delusional. Not only is their deception and delusion taking place in the church, but there is also a spirit of dizziness that has happened to the United States as we just saw this week during the election. The heart of the United States was revealed this week.

    When Trump was first president, many in the church had gathered around him and basically got him elected and again the second time. One person said, “With Trump, I believe we have a Cyrus to navigate through the storm,” said Wallnau on a Christian talk show in 2016, comparing Trump to the Persian King Cyrus, a nonbeliever described in the Bible as an instrument sent by God to rescue the Jews from Babylonian captivity. The idea of Trump as a vessel for God’s will has become a core political tenet on the Christian far right.” Another said, “President Trump, you were born into the world to be a trumpet of God, a vessel of the Lord in the hands of God. God called you to walk according to the template; He called you according to the template of Jehu, the warrior king,” Cahn told the hundreds of Christian leaders who gathered last week for the National Faith Summit outside Atlanta.” “The 2016 presidential exit polling reveals little change in the political alignments of U.S. religious groups. Those who supported Republican candidates in recent elections, such as white born-again or evangelical Christians and white Catholics, strongly supported Donald Trump as well.” They even started to use rhetoric that he was God’s chosen one sent to save America. Earlier this year someone said about Trump, “It’s ironic that Christ walked through His greatest persecution the very week they are trying to steal your property from you. But have you seen this verse…?” Psalm 109:3–8 (NKJV):  They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love. Set a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, And let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, And let another take his office. “I’m praying this over you daily. So many praying for you. Thank you again for taking the arrows intended for us. We love you” Trump responded, “Received this morning—Beautiful, thank you!” Others said, A prophet (false) said, “I decree in Jesus’ mighty name, and I decree it by faith that Trump will win on November the 5th, he will be our 47th president, and Kamala Harris will be cast out, and she will lose.” “God was exalted!” he wrote. “America was saved!” “We have a new mandate,” …“From God.” Another said, “Jehu will cast down Jezebel,” and prophesized a victory by Trump over Harris.” One said just before the election, “She is the devil who ever screamed that out. She is the Antichrist.” “White evangelical support for Trump has not wavered since he pledged in early 2016 while running for the GOP presidential nomination that if he were elected, “Christianity will have power.” “If I’m there, you’re going to have plenty of power, you don’t need anybody else,” Trump continued. “You’re going to have somebody representing you very, very well. Remember that.” Trump renewed that vow in the 2024 campaign, telling Christians they would be granted “power at a level that you’ve never used before.” That is not the power the church should be looking for. satan said to Jesus Luke 4:6 “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

    Before I continue, this isn’t an anti-Trump speech. The democrats have also promoted much that does not glorify God such as LGBTQIA+ and abortion. Abortion is not so cut and dried. There is more to it than a form of birth control. Here in this small town I live, a church lined the streets and held their signs and protested abortion. I wish I had asked them how they were making the man accountable and how much money were they prepared to help the woman care for the child. Was it okay for the woman to die? In the world people can be whoever they want to be, but in the church, we are to be like Christ. The world is not the church, but the church was supposed to change the world. Paul said 1 Corinthians 6:9 “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” This is the power the church is supposed to have and it will not come from Trump. 

    Isaiah talks about the spirit of dizziness, and I think describes how someone like Trump could be president a second time with even more support than before and won the popular vote. This is not just about Trump but the fact that a nation could be so uninterested (didn’t vote), ignorant of facts in the election, and indifferent to Trump as a person. A spirit of dizziness also explains the flip flop of the leaders. Isaiah 19:11 “The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”? 12 Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt. 13 The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray. 14 The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness.” When you listen to some of the people who are leaders and who have bowed to Trump, they really do sound like fools. Most of them have done a complete 180 and went from saying how awful he is, to kissing his ring. For example, “In private messages, Vance wondered ahead of Trump's first election whether he was "America's Hitler" and in 2017 said the then-president was a "moral disaster." In public, he agreed Trump was a "total fraud" who didn't care about regular people and called him "reprehensible." Now he is the vice-president? Vance will get a close-up view as to whether he was right about his Hitler statement. These people are willing to risk their country and the lives of millions, not just in this country but globally for their own political gain and power. Here is the part that is really dangerous. What we see is that many of these leaders are so called Christians, like the vice-president elect J.D. Vance and Mike Johnson who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. These are powerful people with an agenda that Trump fully supports. They both call themselves Christians but what they are is Christian Nationalists and that is not the same. When you listen to Trump, almost everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie or a distortion of facts. Vance and Johnson also do the same. John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” These men will do and say whatever it takes to stay in power. Yes, people say Trump is not a Christian, so his rhetoric is understandable, but Vance and Johnson say they are Christians, so how is it all three speak the same language? The answer is obvious; they belong to their father the devil.

    Christian nationalism can be defined as the "belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way." As we read earlier the constitution makes this belief to be false. One person said. “He’s playing to a growing GOP faction that wants America to be white Christian Nationalist state, with Donald Trump as a divine ruler,” The Republican party has changed to the party of Trump and these so-called Christians love it. “Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC and leader of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, also spoke to NPR. “When one tries to imbue God’s providence or God’s blessing on a certain event like this where lives were lost and lives were forever altered, that is very problematic theology,” she said. “Christian nationalism, which tries to merge American and Christian identities, relies heavily on this mythological telling of American history and American present as being a ‘Christian nation,’ as being a country that has been singled out by God for God’s special providence and God’s special design in the world.” Donald Trump will help these people fulfil their desires for the country they want. We have seen Trump hug the flag and hold up a bible and even sell bibles for profit, but he has proven he only cares for himself and those who voted for him will soon be reminded of that. People have very short memories. The attack on January 6th and Covid has shown Trump’s lack of concern for the people he was supposed to be governing. One person said about January 6th, “Trump "was just not interested" in doing more to stop it.” And when told his vice-president’s life was in danger, he said, "So what?" It was also shown that “about 40% of US COVID-19 deaths "could have been averted," a new analysis of President Donald Trump's public-health policies found. "Many of the cases and deaths were avoidable," they said, adding that "instead of galvanizing the US populace to fight the pandemic, President Trump publicly dismissed its threat (despite privately acknowledging it), discouraged action as infection spread, and eschewed international cooperation." He was more concerned for Putin. “Russia has confirmed that Donald Trump sent the Kremlin sample Covid-19 tests in the early days of the pandemic, after revelations in veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book raised further questions about the former US president’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.” 

    Yes, Christian Nationalism will expand but the church will remain in desolation. I think what should be even more frightening than a group of people singing How Great Thou Art after Trump was elected, is the fact that God has allowed Trump to be elected, so obviously God has a plan. Daniel said, Daniel 2:20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” King Nebuchadnezzar said Daniel 4:34 “His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done? 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Earlier we saw that someone said Trump was like Cyrus who allowed people to return to the promised land and rebuild the temple. Trump is not helping to rebuild the church but to keep it in desolation and ruins. Others said he was Jehu who destroyed Jezebel. The problem is the spirit of Jezebel is no longer a person but a principality and is very present in Trump himself. The names not mentioned to describe Trump are the kings of Assyria and Babylon whom God used to destroy Israel and Judah. Isaiah 10:5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! 6 I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. 12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.” God used both of these kings to destroy His people. This means that God has in fact chosen Trump, but not for the purpose his followers think. The fact that so many have dizzily bowed to this man and put their lives in his hands is astounding.

    Having said that, as we saw with king Nebuchadnezzar, people can change. The king of Assyria did not as we see in Isaiah 37, but Nebuchadnezzar did and he praised God. Just maybe Trump will live to see what true Christianity looks like and repent, otherwise he will be humbled. Can you imagine, and yes, it is possible, Trump saying yes, I did that and I am sorry. What we do know is that God detests liars and Trump is a pathological liar. Proverbs 12:22 “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” Proverbs 26:24 “Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. 25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.” Proverbs 6:16 “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” Proverbs 14:5 “An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.” Proverbs 19:9 “A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish.” Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” This is who many in the church have chosen to be their savior. They believe Trump when he said, “in 2016 I declared I am your voice, today I add I am your Warrior, I am your Justice and for those who have been wronged and betrayed I am your retribution I am your retribution.” Those very words should send chills down your spine and not just from a spiritual perspective. Trumps main agenda is to punish his so-called enemies and people voted to approve his agenda. Trump committed crimes yet he wants to go after others. People should be thinking, wait a minute that is not God’s voice because God said, Deuteronomy 32:35 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip.” Isaiah 34:8 “For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.” Isaiah 35:4 “say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Trump is not the saviour but can be compared to this warning. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” When people compare Trump to Jesus, he readily accepts it. That in itself should be warning enough. 1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.” One person said this, “Trump is an antichrist because he seeks to put himself in the place of Christ and because his words and actions are a grotesque and demonic travesty of the real Christ. But there is a further reason that he is an antichrist: There are people, including Reformed Christians, who embrace him as their supposed Messiah, even if they do not all seem to be fully aware that they are doing so. Without their support – their discipleship – Trump would only be an elderly former president who spends his time playing golf in Florida.” 

    We talked earlier about Russia, but now there is someone who is now going to be the most powerful person in the world, who constantly praises the dictators of the world. One writer said “American voters should take Trump’s enthusiasm for autocrats seriously. He is previewing the kind of leadership he will pursue if he returns to the White House and doing his best to re-educate Americans to tolerate — or worse, even desire — an approach to governance that, wherever it has unfolded, has created despair and division – and often placed nations on a path to destruction, as with Germany under Hitler’s guide.” They didn’t take his desire to be a dictator seriously and elected Trump as their president! Last year “with less than a month until the first votes are cast in the 2024 Republican primary, former President Donald Trump spent his latest rally in New Hampshire praising multiple authoritarian leaders and quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin to try and discredit the criminal indictments against him -- while sparking new backlash from critics that his anti-immigrant sentiment echoes Adolf Hitler. "They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done," Trump said Saturday in Durham, New Hampshire. "They're coming into our country, from Africa, from Asia, over the world. They're pouring into our country." The former president, again, praised authoritarian leaders including Hungary's Viktor Orban, China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un -- and called President Joe Biden a "threat to democracy," reversing a frequent attack of Biden on him. Trump went on to quote Russia's president when calling the criminal cases pending against him "politically motivated." Prosecutors have rejected that accusation and defended their work. "Putin of Russia says that Biden's, and this is a quote, 'politically motivated persecution of his political rival' is very good for Russia because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy,'" Trump said at the rally. "So we talk about democracy, but the whole world is watching the persecution of a political opponent.” It is not a political persecution when the person has done the crime and proven to be guilty many times over. It really is hard to believe that running for President would be a get out of jail free card. Having said that he is accountable before God and will be humbled. Trump constantly is praising the likes of Russia and even encouraging them. “In February he told a rally crowd in South Carolina that he would “encourage (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want” to “delinquent” member countries that do not pay 2% of their GDP on defense.”

    satan is very arrogant and usually tells you upfront what is happening. Trump said the “enemy is within.” “In his rallies and interviews, the former president is increasingly fixated on the Americans he believes have wronged or betrayed him. They are worse, he says, than foreign adversaries of the United States. (9/11???) And he’s made plain his desire to use the power of the federal government, including the military, to go after them. Those people are more dangerous — the enemy from within — than Russia and China and other people.” Again, Trump committed the crimes but does not want to be held accountable. The enemy is within, but it is not the democrats or even the republicans, but Trump himself is part of the enemy within. What Trump speaks is what he believes. Luke 6:43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Trump will do everything in his power to fulfill his own desires and that will come at great costs to the people who voted for him and to those who did not. It will also have global effects on countries such as Ukraine. Oddly he was involved and impeached when that all started.

    What we are seeing is an attempt at dictatorship in the guise of Christianity, but this is not Christianity, and millions have fallen for it. The United States is not a Christian nation and never has been. What we are seeing with Christian Nationalism is a desecration of Christianity and Trump is their leader. Trump is not a servant of God in the sense of bringing the church back, but he is being used by God for God’s purposes just as the kings of Assyria and Babylon were. God’s servants were not just the prophets. God used the likes of Nebuchadnezzar because the people refused to listen to God’s servants, the prophets. Jeremiah 25:3 “For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.” This election really should be an eye-opening experience that shows just how far from the truth those who call themselves Christians really are. Trump is not where our hope comes from. The help that people think Trump will give to the church will only continue to lead the church further and further away from God’s word. The good news is that there is hope. Proverbs 23:17 “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. 18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 24:19 “Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, 20 for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.” Psalm 119:114 “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 25:5 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” When the true power that was made available at Pentecost returns, the power the United States has will appear as nothing. Isaiah 41:11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. 13 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. 14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”

    God is the one we should be seeking, not an arrogant narcissist who doesn’t mind being compared to Jesus. Like with all who in arrogance lift themselves up, their arrogance will be dealt with. Jeremiah 50:31 “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. 32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall.” Jeremiah 51:24 “Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.” The good news is God will keep His promise to David. Isaiah 37:31 “Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. 32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. 35 “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”