One of the more remarkable aspects of Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency is that at least two prominent Pentecostal-charismatic ministers publicly foretold it. Another individual, a retired fireman, also prophesied that Trump would become president, and his “word” circulated widely in Pentecostal circles.
Since that time, we’ve seen many leading Pentecostal-charismatic figures become deeply entwined in Trump’s presidency. Preacher, pastor, and author Paula White; Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church, the biggest Pentecostal-charismatic church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; Cindy Jacobs, who leads a Red Oak, Texas-based prophetic ministry with an international profile; and Lance Wallnau, a Dallas-based author and speaker; are just a few of those who’ve aligned themselves closely with Trump.
Pentecostals—I use that term broadly, meaning Spirit-empowered believers—have never before possessed this kind of access to national power. It is no less than historic for a movement that has long been viewed as suspect and second-class by fellow evangelicals. I wish I could say I’m excited about this new-found prominence, but four years into the Trump presidency, I see enormous dangers and pitfalls instead.
Because Spirit-empowered folks often point to the prophecies as one of the reasons they continue to support President Trump, I thought it would be timely to revisit them. Let’s look at what they said—and, just as important, what they didn’t say. (I originally wrote about some of these prophecies for the Houston Press, and you can read my 2016 story here.)
1. Lana Vawser, a prophetic minister from Brisbane, Australia, posted on her website in October 2015—long before Trump was considered the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination—that, in a dream, “Suddenly, I was lifted above the United States of America, and I saw the nation as if I was looking at a map. Written across the United States of America was the word ‘TRUMP’ in big letters. As I looked at this word, suddenly the letters began to rearrange, and the word went from ‘TRUMP’ to ‘TRIUMPH.’ I then heard the Lord speak loudly in my dream: ‘TRUMP SHALL LEAD THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA INTO TRIUMPH!!!’”
You can view the full prophecy here. Significantly, Vawser made clear that she had no political agenda concerning the United States, and her statements since then, as far as I can tell, bear this out.
2. Lance Wallnau, a well-known, Dallas-based evangelist and author, prophesied that Trump is Cyrus, the Persian king of Isaiah 45, whom God used to deliver the Jews back to their homeland. An account of his prophecies can be found here and here.
Wallnau has since become a vocal Trump supporter. The home page of his website touts his book, Cyrus Trump, and his prophecies: “Prepare To Be Stunned: Lance’s Prophetic Scorecard. 11 Wild Predictions About Trump.”
3. Mark Taylor is a former Orlando Fire Department lieutenant mentioned in my Houston Press story. He stated that God had chosen Donald Trump “for such a time as this.” Here is an excerpt from his initial 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…The Spirit of God says, the enemy will quake and shake and fear this man I have anointed…for this man will be fearless…”
Taylor recently prophesied that Trump would be re-elected. He has built a cottage industry around his Trump prophecies, writing a book and releasing an independent film.
I’ll cut to the chase and say that I particularly respect Vawser’s voice, because she has made no attempt to merchandise her Trump prophecy. In my next post, in fact, I want to look closer at a recent “word” of hers that raises important points. I also want to make clear that I have not read Wallnau’s book or downloaded the more recent Trump prophecies on Taylor’s website. I am speaking only to their original words, with the inestimable benefit of hindsight. And here is what I see:
● Though each of these prophecies indicated that God played a role in Donald Trump becoming president, none of them contained direction from God telling the Church to align herself politically with Trump.
That’s an important distinction. When God gives revelation, the revelation is pure. But prophetic ministers often go off the rails when they attempt to apply the word of prophecy in accordance with their own human understanding and biases.
We now have a situation in which many of the leading figures in the Pentecostal-charismatic churches have linked their ministries to President Trump as advisors, enablers, and cheerleaders. They’ve given tacit approval to his misogynist and racist words and divisive actions following the killing of George Floyd. This has caused a huge amount of wounding and confusion in the body of Christ, and we have reached a point where Black and white Christians are on the verge of separating forever in the United States. If this happens, we’ve lost our witness of Jesus Christ.
● While Wallnau and others have made a compelling case that Trump has a biblical parallel in Cyrus, the king of ancient Persia whom God used as an instrument of deliverance for the Jews, the Bible never tells us to worship Cyrus, or attach our ministries to him, or even regard him as a believer. He was a pagan tool in God’s hand; no more, no less.
The biblical prophet Daniel gave us the blueprint for living a life without compromise under pagan rule. Daniel declined to partake of the Babylonian king’s rich food, lest it cause a snare to his soul. And when God gave him a prophecy rebuking the king’s successor and son, Daniel spoke it boldly, though it could have cost him his life. He later refused to bow down to King Darius and ended up in the lion’s den. Daniel never clung to his status as a high-ranking officer in the kingdom. Though he served several kings faithfully, at any moment he was willing to risk it all in service of the Lord God Almighty—his true king.
Contrast this with today, when we have prominent Pentecostal-charismatic ministers scarfing down Trump’s rich food. They go around maskless to advertise their loyalty and say little or nothing as the president tramples on the concerns of the vulnerable, the sick, and people of color, even though these are some of the same folks who come to these leaders’ churches every Sunday searching for crumbs of hope and comfort.
I understand how compelling these Trump prophecies were to many of us. Still, we must exercise careful judgment before giving our support to a politician. We can’t think like simpletons, or apply lazy dichotomies such as Trump = God and Biden = the devil.
Get used to wearing your N95 filter, because every news outlet and too many religious leaders inject their own agendas these days. Better to expend your energy drawing close to God’s heart, not his tool of the moment.
