Was Donald Trump's shocking election victory a "miracle" from God for "such a time as this?" Is Trump "God's anointed" or "Cyrus" (Isaiah 45) as "prophet" Lance Walnau claims? Will he facilitate a new Jewish Temple like Cyrus did? Or "restore America" like retired firefighter Mark Taylor's prophecy says? Let's discern these prophecies using "a more sure word of prophecy"—the written Bible, and critical thinking.
Did God Help Trump Win Against All Odds?
Conservatives and most Christians breathed a collective sigh of relief after Hillary Clinton's defeat in the US presidential election. Conservatives saw her as "crooked Hillary" just as Donald Trump branded her. Christian imaginations ran wilder. It was whispered that she was a lesbian and even a witch who would persecute Christians or "destroy America." It was more a case of #AnyoneButHillary than #Trump2016. It was looked at as "Trump or bust"—literally.
Donald Trump's win was against the odds, the polls, and even all conventional political precedent. No presidential candidate had ever won while saying the often outrageous, non-PC (politically incorrect) things Donald Trump said during the campaign. Yet somehow these things not only did not hurt him, they often boosted him in the polls.
How could it be? How can we explain this?
Many Christians believe "God did it." The idea has appeal, especially if you see Hillary Clinton as the Antichrist and her presidency like the Great Tribulation for Christians.
There are Christian books and shared prophecies backing the idea that God wanted Trump to be president. Reason? Like he used Cyrus to bring a major change for his people, God has plans to do something good for America or at least the Christians in America—if you are to believe the prophetic words.
"Proof"
Want proof?
- Trump will be the 45th president and Isaiah's prophecy about Cyrus is in Isaiah 45 (!)
- On the day of his inauguration (January 20, 2017), Trump will be 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old. Of course, 777 is a godly number (if you just ignore the 0 in 70).
- On the Jewish calendar, it's the year 5777 (again, if you kindly ignore the extraneous non-7 digit that mucks up this wonderful theory)
Numerology like this above works for many Christians. For me, it screams of subjectivity and cherry-picking bias:
- The chapters of the Bible are not inspired numbers; they were added later. The assignment of 45 to the chapter about Cyrus is manmade. To link this to the 45th president is arbitrary. (Or, what does Isaiah 44 say about Obama, US president #44? Oh, I'm sure someone could find something that "matches" Obama in there—which is exactly my point about how subjective this all is, instead of objective.)
- There is nothing in the Bible about 777 unlike there is for 666. (Even 666 is specific to the name of the Antichrist and is not to be applied willy-nilly to other subjects.)
- Even if there was instruction in the Bible to look for 777 neither 5777 or 70-7-7 are actual matches. Trump would have to be 7 (not 77) years old on the day of his inauguration to be a match, yes? Also, to be fair, we'd have to time travel back 5000 years to make the year 777.
My point, if it's not plain already, is that apparent correlations are easily manufactured by our minds to prove any theory that we are predisposed to. This cognitive malfunction is called confirmation bias [1] and it makes fallacious theories seem true, reasonable or plausible.
What About "God Sets Up Kings?" Verse?
A verse I keep hearing raised to defend the notion that certainly God made Trump president is:
Daniel 2:21 (ESV) — He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;
This verse is what Daniel said in reference to Nebuchadnezzar's dream about his kingdom and the four successive kingdoms after him. The point was God was guiding this particular progression. To extrapolate from it that he sets up every ruler (including Trump) would be a misapplication of this verse. If you do apply it that way, then you have to do it consistently. This means that Obama was also put in power by God, along with every other president. It kind of forces you to look elsewhere to explain how Trump beat the odds to become president.
Obviously, God does not set up every king, nor does every person owe his knowledge to God. The point of the passage is that God intervenes at times to set up kings or give wisdom to men (not every time).
On the contrary, other passages reveal that Satan is the god of this world/age (2Cor 4:4; John 12:31; 16:11), in control of the worlds evil kingdoms for now which are appropriately depicted as beasts (Dan 8; Rev 13). Satan is the one setting up and controlling the kingdoms, not God (Lk 4:5-7)—except of course where God intervenes as Daniel revealed to Nebuchadnezzar. God is allowing Satan to be in power for now, so indirectly he is instituting "all authority" under him, as Paul said (Rom 13:1).
What About All the Christian Prayer?
Another explanation I heard for Trump's win is that Christians were praying together worldwide for Trump at the exact moment that Hillary lost her lead and Trump pulled ahead [2].
This is possible and certainly may be true, but the problem is there is no way of proving this considering all the times the person Christians are praying for loses. Remember, in every presidential election, Christians unite in prayer for the more conservative of the two candidates:
- Christians were praying for conservative George Bush in 1992 on the night Bill "slick willy" Clinton was elected instead.
- Christians were praying for war hero John McCain in 2008 on the night Barack "the Muslim" Obama was elected.
- Many more examples of conservative presidential candidates losing despite Christian prayer for them could be cited.
To believe this "the change in momentum coincided with prayer" explanation for Trump's victory, you have to ignore all these examples above of failed Christian prayer in other elections. You'd have to deny the plain evidence against any consistent correlation between Christian prayer and the outcome of presidential elections.
Look, I'm not saying Christian prayer does not work, but obviously there is more to it than that. Prayer does not operate in a vacuum, unopposed. For example, Satan is the God of this world (2Co 4:4) and he has his say and influence about the leadership today, too. He gives positions to those he wishes (Lk 4:5-7). As we learned from the Book of Daniel, Satan's "Prince of Persia" (or the "Prince of America," as the case may be) has power to oppose the prayers of the righteous (Dan 10:13).
Ephesians 6:12 — We wrestle not against flesh and blood [like liberal voters] but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Article continues below..."Depart From Me, I Never Knew you!" - Jesus
Jesus predicted that he will tell many sincere believers to basically "get lost" instead of welcoming them into the Kingdom. So...who are they and what did they miss or do wrong? In this study, get those answers and the one requirement for salvation Jesus taught (that Christianity misses) so that you can make sure you don't hear these dreaded words yourself! [3]
In other words, it's not just the votes of liberals that are against Christian votes and prayers, there is also the Satanic powers of this present age to factor in. This explains why Christians united in prayer don't always get what they want in this age.
Given the track record of Christian prayer in presidential elections and the powerful forces always operating against it, I hope you can see now that the "Christians prayed" theory does not adequately explain how Trump won.
Let's keep praying for our leaders...and keep looking for a better explanation for exactly how Trump won.
Then How Do We Explain Trump's "Miracle" Victory?
Rather than entertaining theories that lack clear evidence (and have plenty of evidence against them if you look), let's be more wise and discerning than that.
We don't want to be like those Christians who, for example, declare lunar eclipses ("blood moons") to be "signs from God" like ancient sun-worshipers believed. Today, thanks to Science and reason, we know better than that. We know lunar eclipses are a natural phenomenon that come on a regular schedule (averaging every 2.5 years from any given location) [4]. God is not causing them nor communicating by them—although God did give the heavenly lights to us for signals "to mark sacred times, and days and years" (Gen 1:14 NIV). We know this because God clearly communicated it through his prophet Moses in plain language—not because a lay Christian postulated it and did a YouTube video to share his idea without proof.
Similarly, there is no need to look for purely supernatural explanations like "it's a miracle" for Trump's victory, no matter how improbable we thought it was before it happened. We often label something a miracle because we don't know how to explain it or think anyone else can.
But people did expect Trump to win and they can explain it without miracles.
Many first saw Trump could win against the odds (and contrary to what the polls said) after the British Exit from the EU movement (Brexit) did the same thing against the polls and odds.
Several predicted Trump would win, like historian Allan Lichtman. He based this off the "13 keys" he has used to successfully call every presidential election since 1984 [5]. Patrick Caddell is an American pollster who predicted Trump's win also [6]. He was looking at the level of discontent and alienation among voters (which also underpins several of the 13 keys of Lichtman) and although he is a Democrat, he accepted where the data was pointing.
I heard in the news that Trump rejected traditional American polling institutions as part of his strategy. He hired unbiased British pollsters to more accurately guide his campaign. This proved wise since most of the American polls proved to be way off.
Maybe this explains why he lost the popular vote while winning the electoral votes [7], the only votes that mattered in the American system. His strategy was optimized for electoral votes by campaigning in the states he needed and could win and letting him lose and lose big in states like California that were strong blue states. He targeted down to the county level in the "swing states" to get these key electoral votes needed to push him past the 270 winning number.
I'm sure there is much more about his winning strategy that will come out later to explain how he did the improbable by "thinking outside the box." Success leaves clues.
Trump: "God's Anointed"/"Cyrus"
"OK," you say, "but how do we know God didn't inspire Trump and his advisors to find those winning strategies? After all, there are several Christian words and prophecy saying God chose Trump..."
That's a good question. I'd answer: extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Accept no substitutes. If Trump was installed by God like Nebuchadnezzar, then where is the prophet of God verifying this?
Oh, we have "Christians prophets" and "Christian words" saying Trump was chosen to be president by God to do big important things. Retired firefighter Mark Taylor claims God showed him in 2011 that Donald Trump would be president [8]. He says God gave him a prophecy:
For I will use this man to bring honor, respect and restoration to America. America will be respected once again as the most powerful and prosperous nation on earth, (other than Israel). The dollar will be the strongest it has ever been in the history of the United States, and will once again be the currency by which all others are judged.
Lance Wallnau published a book in September, 2016 called Trump "God's Chaos Candidate." [9] In the book he says the Holy Spirit told him Donald Trump is "anointed" by God, like a Cyrus. Just as Cyrus did not know God but was used by God to bless his people Israel, likewise Trump is not a Christian but would be used by God as president to do good. It's unclear to me from Wallnau's interviews what that good would entail, something about waking up American Christianity and fixing other things in America.
Others have seized upon this Cyrus idea and say, like Cyrus specifically did, Trump will enable the Jews to rebuild their temple [10].
"Let the Prophets Speak...and the Others Judge" — 1Cor 14:29
As Paul instructed the Corinthians, we are not to just accept in blind faith what Christian prophets say. We are to listen to them and then judge or scrutinize the prophecy because many false spirits have gone out into the world (1Jn 4:1).
How do we do this? There are several tests to discern a message. The most direct is when there is Scripture on the same topic. When someone makes a claim that does not line up with the written revelation of God, then it could not have come from God (Isaiah 8:20). Scripture "trumps" (pun intended) words and personal prophecy.
Another factor, as mentioned above, is that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. When Moses claimed to be sent to liberate the entire nation of Israel from slavery, they did not have to take his word for it. He was equipped by God with three signs: the ability to 1) turn water to blood, 2) turn his hand leprous and 3) turn his staff into a snake (Exodus 4:1-9). This established him beyond question as a prophet to those he was sent. Other prophets of the Bible made prophecies that came true or did miracles to establish they were sent by God.
This is the pattern of the Bible. God does not expect or want us to accept great claims without the great proof previous prophets could provide. Unless a proven, established prophet like Daniel or Isaiah declares that Trump has been set up by God as king like was done for Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2) and Cyrus (Isaiah 45), respectively, then it is a suspect claim that deviates from the pattern of biblical revelation and biblical prophets.
America in Scripture vs. Christian Words
It goes without saying that we lack a sign-bearing prophet today to proclaim, "Trump is Cyrus, God's anointed." If he existed, you'd know all about him already. [11]
Lacking that, does Scripture—Peter's "more sure word of prophecy" (2Pe 1:19)—say anything about America to confirm or contradict what the words described above say about Trump restoring or fixing America?
The greatest end time nation is indeed found in end time prophecy. America is "Babylon the Great" of Revelation 17-18 and the eagle's wings (US) plucked off the lion (UK) of Daniel 7 by the time the Antichrist multi-national beast reappears in Revelation [12] (Rev 13). Jeremiah also speaks of America's destruction agreeing with Revelation that the saints will be called by God to flee the land before it is destroyed with fire through an attack coming from the north (Russia). [13] The reason for the judgment of God is given in Revelation 18. It describes America as having a luxurious, sensual, sinful culture that is exported to the rest of the world (think movies, music, TV, websites, etc.), corrupting them, too. [14] America's disease is beyond healing, much like Sodom's was (Jer 51:9 HCSB; Isaiah 13:19).
What causes this incurable wickedness? America is a victim of her own unprecedented success. Up until her destruction, America is the greatest nation both militarily and economically [15], just as America has already been for decades now. All the great merchants of the earth flow to America because it makes them rich, as well. We can be sure there is no conspiracy-theorized "economic collapse" of America before her destruction because the rich merchants are seen still sailing to America's ports up until the moment they see the smoke of her burning from offshore. [16]
By the way, there indeed is a total global economic collapse in prophecy. But it comes from America's destruction; it does not precede it as people have been incorrectly predicting for a long time (I would guess since 1776). The collapse is international since it says the "merchants weep" after America burns because "no one [not just America] buys their goods anymore" (Rev 18:11). America's complete destruction brings down the dollar reserve currency of the world and anyone holding dollars. Remember the Great Recession of 2008 and how it started from America's housing bubble collapse and spread around the world? America's sudden destruction will likewise send the world into total economic destruction, disarray and pandemonium. International commerce will collapse.
Update: "Trump Election Delayed Judgment"
I've added a section to this article in response to a refrain I have heard several times after first posting this article:
Dear Tim, [...] Yes, I think God gave us a postponement on the ending days coming upon us because the scripture says: "if they repent their eyes would be opened" and I think enough people did repent for god to give us more time. God's people did pray long and hard and God heard us. I know this because I know God and I believe his word and he has answered me in this way many times before.
Do you see the incorrect assumption in the above comment?
Christians commonly equate the election of a conservative president with repentance and even expect favor from God for this. Conversely, during the liberal Obama years, Christians easily imagined it would be the end of our country directly or by God's judgment. But Biblically speaking, both Obama and Trump are the same: "wicked men" guided by what's right in their own eyes (Pr 14:12; 21:2), not by God's Word and law. Righteous men don't get elected anymore (or even desire the job), not for a long time now. Wicked men don't lead the nation into favor from God. (Although God has used wicked men like Cyrus to perform an act of issuing an edict to let the temple be rebuilt, they do not bring national repentance.)
As for a postponement of judgment, Biblically speaking it's not about a majority of the people picking the more conservative of the candidates for their leader. (And actually a majority did not even vote for Trump, Hillary received one million popular votes!) It's about the people repenting.
If you want to see what it takes to postpone judgment, look to Nineveh's story in the Book of Jonah. Everyone repented and fasted in response to Jonah the prophet's appearance in the city (more-so than his reluctantly uttered warning). God saw the repentance and relented, much to Jonah's chagrin (Jonah 4:1-2, 3).
Folks, there was and is no move of repentance in America! What elected Trump after 8 years of Obama is the same thing that elected Obama after 8 years of Bush: an unrealistic hope that voting the other party into office will bring (good) change. But that's voting, not repenting. Repentance won't come without a great prophet of repentance like Jonah. That's not in the cards. America's fate is written. Therefore, judgment will not be delayed or canceled due to any healing move of repentance (Jer 51:9) or anything else.
"A Cyrus?" More Like An Elijah
What about the claim that God chose Trump as president to restore or magnify America? This works even less. It is not only an extraordinary claim lacking extraordinary proof, but it also does not fit with the written prophecy of America detailed above.
America is already the greatest nation as Revelation 18 describes. We may have lost manufacturing jobs, but we have gained other jobs such as in tech. America still has the greatest economy, the world's greatest stock and commodities exchanges, and the most trusted and held currency [15]. America already fits Revelation 18 without anyone "restoring" anything.
Similarly, America already has the diseased, wicked culture described there which God is sending judgment for.
It's disturbing how Christian "prophets" overlook this wickedness and imagine God would want to "bless" the nation. This comes as no surprise to those familiar with the tenor of prophecy in Christian culture today. Most of what you hear passed around in a church is about prosperity and how God is "doing big things for you in the future." You seldom hear the kind of corrective prophecy or words that the Bible is filled with in both the OT and NT. Did God change or did the source of the "words" change from the Holy Spirit to other spirits without Christians realizing it?
According to the Sabbath year cycle windows for the final 7 years [17] (as detailed in my book Know the Future [18]) America's destruction can come as early as 2026, or ten years from this writing. When it does come, God's goal in the last two of those years will be to warn his saints of the destruction and the need to flee to the place he prepares (Rev 18:4).
As such, God would not send a Cyrus leader to fix or restore things and bless a country that is so wicked that it is years from being destroyed. If anything, he would send a prophet like Elijah to warn people to repent, or barring that, prepare mentally for the closing window to flee [19].
Conclusion
For the reasons and Scripture cited above, I see no clear, unbiased evidence that God put Trump in power to bless the nation or even Christians—although obviously God could and has in the past done so for other kings (Dan 2:21). I see no reason to get excited about America's future, despite Trump's claims or plans. (But I can celebrate not having to see Hillary Clinton in the news for the next 4 - 8 years!)
For all we know, as the historian who authoritatively predicted Trump would win is now predicting, Trump may get impeached quickly "because they can't control him. He's unpredictable. They'd love to have Pence." [20] With all the assassination threats coming in already for the same reasons, God forbid something even worse happens to Trump...
But Trump need to do nothing to fulfill Bible prophecy. We're already there. America is both great enough and depraved enough to fit "Babylon the Great." Americans already have the freedom to travel that they'll need in order to flee when the time comes. Frankly, the worse shape America is in with regards to jobs, privacy, personal freedom, freedom of religion, laws—and all the others areas Christians worry losing ground on under a new president—the better set up they are to be willing to leave home when they are commanded by Elijah [19].
Instead of looking to Trump or the next president after him to fix America contrary to what is written, let's look to the end time Elijah of prophecy [11] to fix us spiritually (Mal 4:6=Luke 1:17).
