NOTES ON THE LAST DAYS OF THE AMERICAN ORDER: DONALD TRUMP, JONATHAN CAHN, AND THE CHURCH’S CONSTRUCTION OF A FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER – (WITH VIDEO)

1. THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “For they who lead this people cause them to err, and they who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up (destroyed). Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will He have compassion on their fatherless and widows, for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly.

For all this, [God’s] anger is not turned away, but His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. For wickedness burns like a fire; it devours the briers and thorns, and it kindles in the thickets of the forest; they roll upward in a column of smoke.” – ISAIAH 9:16-18, AMPC

KEY TERMS:

• “ERR.” ‘Taah’ [מַתְעִ֑ים]: “From a primitive root word, ‘To vacillate’ [i.e., to fluctuate in mind or opinion; to waver; to be unsteady or inconstant]; to cause to go astray, to deceive or dissemble; to wander or stray [from the truth of God’s Word]. NOTE: “The Hebrew verb ‘taah’ primarily conveys the idea of ‘straying or wandering,’ both physically and metaphorically. It is often used to describe the act of going astray from a path, whether it be a literal path or a figurative one, such as the path of righteousness or truth. The term can imply a sense of being lost or misguided, and it is frequently used in contexts where individuals or groups deviate from God’s Commandments or guidance.”

• “FOLLY.” ‘Nebalah’ [נְבָלָ֑ה]: “From a root word meaning, ‘Stupid, wicked, impious, foolish, or vile;’ a [serious] crime deserving [severe] punishment; disgrace or senselessness; i.e., ‘To fall away’ [apostatize].’” NOTE: “The term ‘nebalah’ is used in the Hebrew Bible to denote acts of foolishness or disgrace, often with a moral or ethical connotation. It implies a lack of wisdom or understanding, leading to behavior that is shameful or dishonorable. The word is frequently associated with actions that are contrary to God’s Commandments and societal norms, highlighting a departure from righteousness and wisdom.”

• “DESTROYED.” ‘Bala’ [מְבֻלָּעִֽים׃]: “From a primitive Hebrew word that means, ‘To make away with, as with swallowing up;’ to cover, devour, or eat up [entirely]; to be brought to an end; to engulf; used to describe the rebellious Israelites who will suffer an all-consuming destruction.” NOTE: “The Hebrew verb ‘bala’ primarily means to swallow or engulf. It is often used in the context of ‘something being consumed or destroyed,’ either literally or metaphorically. The term can describe the physical act of swallowing, as well as the idea of being overwhelmed or consumed by something more powerful.”

QUOTATION. “‘The Myth of America’s Religious Founding’ provides an explanation for those who needed to sanctify the past before they could go forward with America’s chosen mission and its ‘Manifest Destiny.’ This Myth, promoted in patriotic addresses, sermons, essays, and in schoolbooks, became the Dominant Narrative of America’s Founding …

Whether it was celebrated or lamented, ‘the Constitution was universally seen as a Secular Document, establishing a Civil Frame of Government.’ In essence, few in the First Generation would have viewed America as a ‘Christian Nation,’ insofar as that term implied that the government was specially ordained by God or founded on Christian Principles. ‘That perspective would shortly change.’” ― STEVEN K. GREEN, Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious Founding, 2015; edited

COMMENTARY. “We have here a Defence of the Divine Judgment, taken from the Universal Corruption of the people, wherein God sets forth the Justice of His proceedings, and shows, that not from choice, but from the iniquities of the people, He is compelled to punish!

‘The leaders of this people’ — Their Governors, both civil and ecclesiastical, especially the latter, their Teachers, or the False Prophets, last-mentioned; ‘cause them to err!’ — Their Governors compelling them by power, and their Teachers deceiving them by false doctrines, and evil counsels and persuasions. ‘They that are led, &c., are destroyed’ — Shall certainly perish; nor will it avail them to plead, in their excuse, that they followed the counsel and conduct of their leaders. ‘The Lord shall have no joy in their young men’ — Shall not rejoice over them to do them good, as he doth over his Faithful People, Isaiah 62:5; Zephaniah 3:17. ‘Neither shall have mercy on their fatherless’ — Who generally are the special objects of his care and pity, and much less upon others. 

‘For every one’ — Not precisely; for there were seven thousand pious persons among them, when they seemed to Elijah to be universally corrupt; but the Body or Generality of the people are intended; ‘is a hypocrite’ — For though they professed to worship the true God, yet indeed they had forsaken Him. ‘Every mouth speaketh folly’ — That is, wickedness, which is commonly called folly. They are not ashamed to proclaim their own wickedness; and the corruption of their hearts breaks forth into ungodly speeches.

‘For wickedness burneth as fire,’ &c. — Rageth like a fire, destroying and laying waste the Nation. We have here the Third Great Evil, on account of which Divine Vengeance was about to come upon them; namely, ‘The power of reigning and barefaced impiety;’ the Punishment whereof, denounced in the subsequent verses, is, as usual, assimilated to the vice, namely, destructive factions, ‘which should overthrow their Republic.’ Having rendered themselves hateful to God by their crimes, they shall be destroyed by those crimes, by their dissensions, animosities, divisions, tumults, insurrections, and civil broils, arising from the wickedness of their own dispositions, and issuing in their mutual destruction. Inflamed by envy, avarice, and impurity, they shall perish in this very Fire let loose among them by the Wrath of God, and permitted to rage uncontrolled, like fire among briers and thorns, Isaiah 9:19.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

1. TEACHING

“POWER WITHOUT INTEGRITY.” This is the title of an insightful analysis by guest contributor to Christianity Today, JUSTIN GIBONEY (Nov. 8, 2024; edited). This man’s resume reads like a Fortune 500 ranking of one of the Nation and Church’s “mighty men,”of whom there are precious few these days.

Giboney is an African American ordained minister, attorney, and political strategist in Atlanta. He is also the president of the AND Campaign, a Christian civic organization. Giboney has managed successful campaigns for elected officials in Georgia and referendums relating to Atlanta’s transportation and water infrastructure. A former Vanderbilt University football player and law student, Justin served on the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Board of Directors.

And he’s a Democrat.

Do with that whatever you please, but wherever I find Unbridled Truth and Wisdom on a topic, I will unashamedly travel there to learn what I can learn about it. Beloved: I cannot find it in the White Maga Church. I cannot find it in the Republican Party. Nor can I hardly find it anywhere these days, except in the distant corners of our country where the former never, ever look.

I am here reminded of the words of THE PROPHET AMOS: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord” (8:11, AMPC).

So here are some of his MAIN IDEAS to ponder for the Ominous Era that we now face: Even The Great Tribulation prophesied for thousands of years by the Lord’s Sages. It is now at America’s Door, and we are to confront it by Word and Spirit – or perish.

• PERSPECTIVE. “In 1874, [British West Indies born Republican] ROBERT B. ELLIOT, one of South Carolina’s first Black attorneys and congressmen, left Washington, DC, and took a trip home to Columbia to address some serious concerns. The State had become the subject of national ridicule due to the alleged corruption of its elected officials. Among other things, [Republican Secessionist] GOV. FRANKLIN MOSES, JR., known as the ‘Robber Governor,’ had been using taxpayer funds to cover his gambling addiction.”

• PRINCIPLE. “[Moses] and Elliott were in the same political party, both Republicans, but Elliott wouldn’t turn a blind eye to corruption and incompetence. One of American history’s greatest orators, he told the people of his State, ‘The power we have will be our condemnation, unless we arouse ourselves to our responsibilities.’ Elliott knew that political victories void of honor become pyrrhic victories, and ‘Power detached from Integrity destroys us in the end.’”

• MAGA-GLEE. “Pro-Trump Evangelicals are understandably in a celebratory mood after Tuesday’s victory. President-elect Donald Trump just pulled off what some are calling the greatest political comeback in American history. ‘And many, [yea, nearly all!] White Evangelicals, though often anxious about their ‘persecuted’ status, find themselves in proximity to power once again, sticking with Trump.’ This despite his long and public record of misdeeds, including refusing to comply with the peaceful transfer of power after the last election.”

• CORRUPTION. “I believe this loyalty was grossly misplaced and this victory was achieved through Unacceptable Compromises. I can’t ignore Trump’s words and actions, and I’m baffled by the far-fetched rationalizations it takes for my fellow Pro-life Christians to continue supporting him after ‘Trump explicitly disavowed the Pro-Life position’ [‘My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” Truth Social, Aug. 24, 2024].”

• DUTY. “If Christian Trump voters neglect their responsibility here, overlooking his errors, it will have a devastating impact on the American Church in general and Evangelicalism in particular. Without a doubt, Trump’s First Term served to discredit the Church’s moral authority and caused many Christians to question their faith altogether. If Trump’s Christian supporters want to avoid that kind of damage to the Church’s credibility in his Second and Final Term, ‘[The Church] MUST acknowledge his wrongdoing and relentlessly use their influence to hold him to account!’”

THE QUESTION: ‘What is in store for an Unrepentant Church in 2025?’ This presupposes the Suffocating Reality that there is nary a Whisper of Repentance or Repudiation of the Trump Sedition ringing from the American Pulpits today. We now turn to an examination of that painful truth in the section that follows.

1. AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY IN 2025

After a numbing and very unsuccessful effort of scouring The Internet for even one article that addressed this lack of repentance in the American Church at the beginning of 2025, I found only ‘a single analysis’ that dared even hint that we are in trouble.

THE DANGEROUS JONATHAN CAHN. I remember reading a book by this Messianic Jewish evangelist in 2011 titled, The Harbinger. In his debut release he issued a “Divine Warning” that the 9/11 Terrorism Attack on New York’s Twin Towers was “Harbinger” of God’s Judgment on its way for America’s generational sins against the very Jesus Christ she proudly claimed to follow.

Oh, but how a few years and a power-wielding, mesmerizing Political Hustler promising prosperity, power, and national hegemony can change things. At least for so-called “Christians” who pose as followers of Christ but who have decided to follow ‘Another Messiah – Even Antichrist!’ – as he fits the Mold of a Man rather than the Commandments of the True King, Jesus Christ.

To delve into to some of the depths of this Historic Depravity we turn to the work of ASAF ELIA-SHALEV, writing here for The Atlantic in his hard-hitting article, “Why Evangelicals Are Comparing Trump to This Biblical Monarch” (Nov. 5, 2024; edited).

Shalev is a senior reporter with the Jewish international news agency, JTA, and is based in Los Angeles. He is also the author of ‘Israel’s Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation’s Founding Myth,’which was published by UC Press in 2024.

What follows are his MAIN POINTS regarding this complex and quite confused and dangerous Jewish Darling of the Christian Right, Jonathan Cahn.

• OPEN. “Donald Trump’s fans and critics alike have compared him to some of history’s most famous rulers: Cyrus the Great, Adolf Hitler, King David, and more. But on the Eve of the Election, a “Celebrity Pastor” named Jonathan Cahn wants his Evangelical followers to think of the Republican candidate as a present-day manifestation of a far more obscure leader: the Biblical King JEHU, who vanquished the morally corrupt house of Ahab to become the Tenth Ruler of the Kingdom of Israel.

• PROPHECY. “‘President Trump, you were born into the world to be a trumpet of God, a vessel of the Lord in the hands of God. God called you to walk according to the template; he called you according to the template of Jehu, the warrior king,’ Cahn told the hundreds of Christian leaders who gathered last week for the National Faith Summit outside Atlanta. He also shared a clip of his prophecy about Trump on his YouTube channel, which has more than a million followers.”

• BACKSTORY. “Cahn, 65, is the son of a Holocaust refugee and grew up in a Jewish household in New Jersey. When he was 20, he says he had a ‘personal revelation’ that led him to Jesus, and he eventually became the head of a Messianic congregation, blending Jewish rituals with Christian worship and a focus on Doomsday Prophecies. Cahn helped popularize the interpretation of 9/11 as an Apocalyptic Biblical Allegory. In his telling, the terrorist attacks were akin to God’s Rebuke of the Biblical Nation of Israel, and they happened because God wanted the United States to revert to a time before legalized abortion and gay rights when religion held a more central place in society—or else. His book on the topic, The Harbinger, came out in 2011 and spent months on the New York Times best-seller list.

• DECEPTION. “During Trump’s first term, many Evangelical-Christian supporters explained his lack of religiosity by comparing him to Cyrus, the Pagan ruler of Ancient Persia, who served as God’s agent by, according to the Bible, helping the Israelites return home from exile … But Cahn had spun a different prophetic narrative about the new American president. He released a book called The Paradigm the year after the 2016 election, which cast TRUMP AS JEHU, the Biblical King who took control of and restored the Kingdom of Israel … ‘Just as Jehu KILLED the idol-worshippers who had taken over the kingdom, Trump would “Drain the swamp” of Washington and “make America great again’ [Selah]. In this contemporary rendition, Hillary and Bill Clinton play the role of Ahab and Jezebel, the evil rulers who had led the kingdom astray. Jezebel is also seen as wicked in the Jewish tradition, but she is far more prominent as a symbol in Evangelical discourse today, representing Feminism, sexual promiscuity, and moral decay.”

• TAPROOTS. “Two weeks before Cahn spoke at the National Faith Summit, an ally of his named CHÉ AHN evoked the comparison at another mass religious event. Ahn heads Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, California, as well as a Network of thousands of ministries all over the world. He is a leader of a spiritual movement known as the [I] NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION, which aims for Christians to Dominate society and government. Major Republican figures such as Mike Pompeo, Sarah Palin, and Josh Hawley have visited Ahn’s church, reflecting the growing influence of [II] CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM on the Republican Party.”

• OMEN. “‘If Trump WINS in this election, the Jehu “Template” tells Trump’s Christian supporters: Some Real-World Violence may be needed to Purge America of her demons [i.e., the Left].’ MATTHEW TAYLOR [a scholar of the Christian right at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies] wrote. ‘If Trump LOSES this election, particularly to Kamala Harris their ‘Jezebel,’ the Jehu template prescribes “Vengeance!’”                                       

Selah. Selah.

1. LAST THOUGHTS: AMERICA’S FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER

MAUREEN DOWD. ”I’m reading ‘Frankenstein’ [1818] by Mary Shelley for school and the Monster is magnificent. He starts out with an elegance of mind and sweetness of temperament, reading Goethe’s ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ and gathering firewood for a poor family. But his creator, Victor Frankenstein, abandons him and refuses him a mate to calm his loneliness. The Creature finds no one who does not recoil in fear and disgust from his stitched-together appearance, his yellow skin and eyes, and black lips. Embittered, he seeks REVENGE on his Creator and the world.’” – “Donald Trump, American Monster,” New York Times, June 11, 2022; edited

Beloved friends, I am reminded of a TERRIFYING QUESTION that Yahweh once asked of the firstborn son of Adam named Cain from the distant shadows of Humanity’s earliest history:

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].” – GENESIS 4:10, AMP

The great English Methodist theologian and contemporary of John Wesley, JOSEPH BENSON eloquently captures the Gravitas of this Stupendous Moment:

“Thou thinkest to conceal it; but the evidence against thee is clear and incontestable: ‘The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth from the ground!’ — He speaks as if the blood itself were both Witness and Prosecutor, because God’s own Knowledge testified against him, and God’s own Justice demanded satisfaction.” – Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

As it must in today’s America, as we stand precariously at The Brink just now of entering into a Grotesque Darkness so dense that JESUS described its Later Stages in this way:

 “And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.” – MATTHEW 24:22, AMP

CODA. Only the Fool, the False or the Blind would deny this Reality at this late point in the Nation’s Concourse. So please, I beg you once again: ‘Get your house in order!’ Starting with shoring up your priceless Relationship to Jesus Christ, the soon coming Judge, to execute his stored-up Justice on a Land and an Earth that has been Desecrating Him for so long.

Even 120 Years, and more!

It’s Time, beloved. Indeed, long Past Time itself. Therefore, to the Righteous Remnant: ‘Look up!’ Your Full Redemption draweth nigh and is even at the Very Door!  Selah.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ghX_s4vfFOk