Did God anoint Trump to lead America?

A biblical investigation.

If you’re a regular reader of The Racket News™, you know that from time to time I get into Biblical teachings here, and as everyone knows, it’s not everyone’s cup of cocoa. This particular topic is bound to be fraught with argument, so let me start out with my intent and a prayer. I pray this post leads to thoughtful contemplation and meditation, not argument or mean-spirited condemnation. Amen.

I’m also going to keep this at a very simplified level. I’m not going too far into the weeds. It will be relatively short and hopefully provide some background for believers and non-believers to deal with this topic. Honestly, it is a very deep rabbit hole and I couldn’t cover it completely if I tried. So let me begin.

About kings and governance

The concept of governance is Biblical. In the days of Abraham, there were tribes, and there were kings. In Genesis 14, eleven kings are mentioned by name; Abram defeated Kedorlaomer (the king of Elam) and the kings allied with him: Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphen king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar. These kings were not the kind like King Charles III, the sovereign of the United Kingdom and its commonwealths. They were more like family patriarchs, or even the modern equivalent of mob bosses and gang leaders who took and held power because of their strength.

In Genesis, five kings went to war against four. Abram defeated Kedorlaomer and his force, and the king of Sodom came to meet him. Then Melchizedek king of Salem, who was also priest of God Most High, came and brought bread and wine, and a blessing for Abram, who then gave Melchizedek a tenth of his worth. This is the first mention of the “tithe.” The Bible doesn’t say how Melchizedek came to be a priest or the king of Salem (Shalom: peace, or Jerusalem).

In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews, in chapter 7, recalls this passage and calls Melchizedek “without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” (v. 3) So, according to Christian scripture, the King of Salem is a form of Christ evident in the Old Testament. But Abraham, though he is the father of the Hebrew people, was never a king.

The children of Israel didn’t have a king, even after Joshua led them into the promised land. Judges were set up, based on the law received by Moses—the Torah—and the tribes of Israel, with the Kohanim (priests), Levites, and the rest of the tribes separated out as commanded. Judges heard issues from the people, applied scripture, and listened for God’s answer—the high priest using the Urim and Thummim in the breastplate of his garment to reveal divine truth.

It was not until Samuel was called by God as a prophet that the Israelites demanded a king. Samuel prayed, and the Lord answered, calling the people out for disobedience, as God himself was to be the King of His people (1 Samuel chapter 8). Samuel warned the people that a king would enforce tyranny on them, but the people dug in and wanted a king like other nations. So God gave them a king: Samuel anointed Saul by God’s own command.

A king rules over his people by his own word, with anointing by God giving authority. A judge rules by the elements of the law, divine truth, and revelation. God never desired his people to be ruled by a king, but the people greatly desired it. God gave the people their desire.

The main concept here is:

God is sovereign but we have free will. The people wanted a king, and God did not refuse them, though it was not God’s will.

God’s will versus ours: Arminianism vs. Calvinism

There are two schools of thought regarding God’s will and human free will. There is the “standard” theological distinctive, known as Arminianism, which came from the Five Articles of Remonstrance in 1610, also known as Wesleyan theology, and there’s “reformed” theology, or Calvinism. The Calvinists have consumed whole forests of pulp in writing treatises and systematic theology tomes supporting their views, while Arminians generally stick to straightforward Biblical exegesis.

The differences between these two groups is, if you’re not into Christian religious history and systematic theology, arcane. Arminians believe that Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient for all, but the choice to believe or not lays with the person. In layman’s terms, you determine your own eternal fate, but you do not save yourself; the ability to believe is God-given and is a free gift, as is Christ’s atonement.

Calvinists believe that our omniscient God has pre-determined who is saved and who is not. The saved are known as “the elect” and are recipients of the gift of belief, which is known as “common grace.” If someone does not choose to follow Christ, then by definition, that person is not in the elect, because God’s grace is irresistible. Christ died for all, but only those who are in the elect, recipients of common grace, get to experience the gift. In layman’s terms: you don’t get to choose, because it’s been chosen for you.

In the end, no living human knows either the mind of God, or the hearts of other humans, so we have no way of definitively proving, outside of personal testimony, which view of theology is correct and which is in error. From the perspective of believers and unbelievers, the results are identical. Some will choose to follow Christ and be saved, others will not and will be condemned. The essential difference during the lives of individual people is that Arminianism accounts for those who leave the faith because of their own experiences: they walk away from salvation, willingly. To the Calvinist, this is impossible.

My personal beliefs generally lie with Arminianism¹, as a longtime adherent of Assemblies of God churches². But that doesn’t mean I show any less respect or friendship with Calvinists or members of Reform Theology churches. They, in many cases, carry much less error than my Pentecostal brothers and sisters.

Christian duty to obey authority

Scripture, in Romans 13:1-2 tells us that Christians must submit to governing authorities, “for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Those who resist “will bring judgment on themselves.” What scripture does not specify is whose judgment. “Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.” Scripture does not specify who will do the commending.

Arminians and Calvinists have slightly differing takes on this. Arminians say that rightly functioning authority is divinely ordained, and it is a duty to God to obey. But God must always be first (Acts 5:29). Calvinists believe that lawful resistance to tyranny is recommended, because there is a “kingdom of God” and a “kingdom of the world.” Reformed believers might question a potential tyrant more than Arminians, but then they also believe that God has worked this out beforehand.

The point here is that if individuals, as Arminian believers hold, have personal authority to resist the very grace of God, and to walk away from the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and knowledge of the Savior (which Romans 1 clearly demonstrates in my opinion), then how much more authority do we have in the choice of our own human leaders and governments? And for Reformed believers, if God works all things for the good of the elect (Romans 8:28), then how can we resist the government he allows?

God allows us choice of our leaders, but He bids us obey the ones we choose.

The anointing

In the Old Testament, Moses wrote the formula (Exodus 30) for “anointing oil,” a fragrant scented oil that was used to designate people and things as sanctified—set aside for holy purposes to God. The oil was used to ordain priests who maintained and ministered in God’s Tent of Meeting, and later, the Holy Temple and the Holy of Holies within, which contained the Ark of the Covenant.

In the First Epistle of John chapter 2, the apostle refers to an “anointing from the Holy One,” which is the truth. John warns against “the antichrist” who teaches lies, denying the Father and the Son. He warns against “those who are trying to lead you astray.” John says “that anointing is real, not counterfeit.” This implies that there is a counterfeit anointing, one taught by liars and deniers, who will lead away from the truth.

It is incumbent upon believers to discern the difference between the authentic anointing and the counterfeit. Some deny that the modern church has any use at all for an anointing. I agree that the physical oil is not for today—the days of the Temple and sacrifices has been replaced by the age of grace. There are no Old Testament prophets who anoint leaders and kings. There is Christ, and His righteousness, and the faith to believe and follow.

John clearly says that anointing is real, so Christians should reject teaching that there is no anointing on believers. However, some self-styled prophets and leaders say that God has anointed certain individuals, who may not themselves be believers, to do certain things for God, or to be rescuers of His people. They refer to the Old Testament, where Samuel anointed Saul, or to Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire and freed the Jews from captivity.

Cyrus was no believer in the God of the Hebrews—he was a Zoroastrian. No prophet anointed Cyrus and he was never a king of the Hebrews.

“That anointing is real, not counterfeit.” — 1 John 2:27.

“If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.” — 1 John 2:29

Is Trump anointed?

To believe that Donald Trump is anointed by God, a Christian has to swallow a lot of strange theology, and make bedfellows of some rather competing views of God’s will, His grace, and human authority.

• God chooses leaders to rule over nations; and

• We choose our leaders as God reveals anointing to us through modern prophets; and

• We must obey scripture and support leaders who would deliver believers in the kingdom of this world; and

• We must choose a leader who God revealed to rescue us, though that believer is not among the elect.

Biblically, none of this makes sense. We may as well choose a prophet in chief, hand him a vial of anointing oil made using the formula in the book of Exodus, and bid him consult God for us and anoint a leader to deliver us.

The only way I know to interpret God’s will is to rely on scripture, and to stand on the people before me who studied scripture and its interpretation. Anything else is simply my opinion. It is the same for other believers, even those who claim some mantle of anointing or special office within the body of Christ. If they are not speaking from interpretation of scripture, relying upon 2,000 years of scholarship, discussion, and history, then they are simply stating opinion.

Based on my own, admittedly very shallow—but consistent and open-minded regarding large swaths of Protestant belief—research, along with prayer and discernment, I don’t see how I could swallow the belief that Donald Trump is anointed to do anything for Christians.

Therefore, any promises Trump makes (most of which he has dialed back, like on abortion), are simply the promises of a politician asking for your vote. The playing field in our election is now reset. There is no more Joe Biden versus Donald Trump. It is now either Kamala Harris, or some other Democrat, versus Donald Trump. American Christians do have an obligation to vote—it is a right and a duty for Americans to participate in our political life. But Christians have a greater duty to Christ to uphold His righteousness and to not be led astray by a counterfeit anointing.

The anointing is real, and it lies with you, to discern the truth. Pray, consult scripture, and act as a member of the body of Christ, not a political party. That’s what the Spirit of God recommends.

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1. ASSURANCE of SALVATION (ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL PRESBYTERY IN SESSION AUGUST 5-7, 2017)

2. AN ASSEMBLIES of GOD RESPONSE to REFORMED THEOLOGY [POSITION PAPER]