“Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Ephesians 5:8(b)-11 (NKJV)

More often than not, the posture of our neighbors seems to defy reason. Built in to our human nature is an expectation that others should see the world as we do. It seems a rare occasion that they do so.

We each come from a unique background bearing varying perspectives and gradations of right and wrong, black and white, darkness and light. In this country, we have at least endured – if not always tolerated – those variances.

But this “era” feels different. Perspectives are narrowing and gradations are coalescing into stark lines in the sand. The trajectory prompts many in Christ to suspect that the Lord’s salvation plan is nearing fulfillment and His return is looming.

The Bible refers to Satan as the “god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4),” also establishing that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19b).”

The phrase “god of this world” (or “god of this age”) indicates that Satan is the major influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes and views of the majority of people. His influence also encompasses the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions.

Gotquestions.org

That sounds about right.

Satan seeks to separate man from God. He does so largely by separating man from man. Nothing provides greater validation of this phenomenon than the adulation of one Donald Trump by some factions of the Christian church.

I apologize if what I have said here – and what I am about to say – alienates some of my brethren in Christ. However, there is no rational explanation for the lionization of a man who proudly, publicly, repeatedly and unrepentantly offends the holiness of God, engaging in each of the seven deadly sins and many that are not.

I will not pass judgment on the soul of Donald Trump. That is for the Lord to do. But I will judge his behaviors which will reflect my personal beliefs about Christian obedience, God’s mandate for truth and the constitution of a wise, compassionate leader.

To be clear, I pray frequently for his repentance and redemption. Jesus died on the cross for Donald Trump just as He did for all of us. But my faith leads me to believe that those behaviors are such that no reasonable individual – let alone a follower of Jesus Christ – can sensibly advocate for this man as the leader of the free world.

Nonetheless, many Christians do. Which begs the question: Is “Trump-love” a deception from Satan or a blinding by God? Perhaps both.

And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”

Luke 4:6

I have heretofore believed that the elevation of Donald Trump is the result of a satanical delusion. As one who treats the Bible as God’s inerrant word, I accept that God has given Satan authority on earth to perpetrate such a deception.

However, scripture seems to clearly state that Satan cannot deceive the faithful – only those to whom the truth has been hidden:

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

What are the implications of these verses? To me, it seems that either the faith of Trump’s Christian acolytes is vulnerable to deception – or that God has hardened hearts to fulfill His purposes. And while “vulnerable” seems an apt description of those that not only tolerate but enable a man whose moral foundation runs in direct contrast to the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ, it seems clear that God is sovereign in this.

Scripture tells us that God will influence hearts to see His will be done. He repeatedly hardened Pharoah’s heart in response to the ten plagues perpetrated upon Egypt to compel Israel’s exodus to the holy land. “And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said” (Exodus 7:13).

Revelation 17:16-17 also reveals that God uses Satan – and those who serve Satan’s evil intentions – for His purposes:

And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

In his commentary Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (2012), James M. Hamilton, Jr. makes the following observation on this passage:

“Revelation 17:17 is an astonishing verse. I want to highlight two things in it. First, notice how God works His will in the hearts of these wicked kings who are opposed to His purposes. God is absolutely sovereign, even over what His enemies plan to do. You cannot overcome such a God! They are His enemies, and He puts it into their hearts to carry out His purposes by doing their wicked deeds. God is holy, righteous, and good. He is not evil. He is not tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone to it. He never does evil. But no evil is outside God’s control.”

My personal assessment of these verses leads me to conclude that (1) God has allowed Satan to perpetrate a deception while (2) blinding factions of the Christian Church to Trump’s anti-Christian behavior – notably his pride, his falsehoods, his adulteries, his narcissism, his hate – making those factions apologists for behavior that undermines democracy and, more importantly, does massive damage to the integrity of the Church.

As prophesied by Isaiah in 44:18:

“They do not know nor understand;
For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.”

I do not know why God would do this, but I do know that we are to trust in Him. He has a plan of salvation for His saints, those whose names will be found in the Book of Life. Perhaps Donald Trump plays a significant role in that plan. Maybe it is part of God’s plan that men are divided and that the Day of the Lord is imminent. Let us pray we are each prepared.

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Romans 13:11-14