So I’m reading American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelism by Matthew Sutton as part of some research I’m in the middle of, and this passage jumps out at me:

While premillennialists expect the Antichrist to appear initially as the Jews’ savior, they believe he will soon demand worship from the Jews. Those who refuse will encounter horrific persecution. (21)

Now if I’d read this say, last week, I wouldn’t have made the connection. But God (aka FSM) works in mysterious ways and she made me hold off on starting this book until the time was ripe and I would understand the hidden message.

Well, in Dec 2017 Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which could be interpreted as “appear[ing] initially as the Jews’ savior” — though really what it did was upset a perfectly workable status quo and made it that much more impossible to get any kind of peace in the region. It did, however, help Netanyahu.

And now, this week, he is “demand[ing] worship from the Jews” — “Trump quotes conspiracy theorist claiming Israelis ‘love him like he is the second coming of God’” (Not that Jews believe in a second coming anyway.) And if we refuse, he threatens “horrific persecution” :

In my opinion, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re being very disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel. And only weak people would say anything other than that. WaPo

And we all know how Trump loves to persecute those he thinks are “disloyal” — to him, of course, which is what he means here.

Now there’ve been all kinds of other signs Trump is the Antichrist — the lust, the corruption, the gluttony, the greed, the stirring up the world for war. But here we have him doing exactly what the the Protestant apocalypticist William E. Blackstone (1841-1935) predicted the Antichrist would do.

Signs and wonders, my friends! Signs and wonders!

/Snark (well, mostly snark).