God’s Man in the White House. James A Beverley

      Introduction by James A. Beverley

      Millions of Evangelical Christians supported Donald Trump and helped lead him to victory on November 8, 2016, in the stunning upset of Hillary Clinton. They voted for him in part because they believe Trump is God’s “man for the White House.” In particular, many Pentecostal and charismatic Christians supported Trump because they believed the Christian prophecies that Trump was the divine choice for president.

      It is widely reported that Kim Clement, one of the most famous Christian prophets, announced Trump’s presidency in 2007. Mark Taylor—firefighter turned prophet—has become famous for his 2011 announcement that Trump was to be commander in chief, though Taylor originally thought that prophecy was for the 2012 election. Other prophecies about Trump can be traced to the summer and fall of 2015, when Jeremiah Johnson, Lance Wallnau, and Lana Vawser (Australia) made known their belief that God was going to use Trump for divine purposes. (Remarkably, they came at a time when most Evangelical leaders were supporting Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio—and Donald Trump was doing very poorly in polling.) Prophecies about Trump increased with a frenzy during 2016, leading up to the November election. Prophets also issued divine warnings about Barack Obama, Clinton, and the Democrats in general.

      While there has always been a prophetic dimension in church history and there are prophets in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, the current manifestation of prophets owes most to the rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements in the early twentieth century. In the last few decades, the prophetic element was dominant in several parts of the larger Pentecostal and charismatic world: the Kansas City Fellowship (led by MikeBickle), the Vineyard Movement (connected most famously with John Wimber, now deceased), the Holy Laughter movement (Rodney Howard-Browne), the Toronto Blessing (John and Carol Arnott), the Pensacola Outpouring (John Kilpatrick), and through the New Apostolic Reformation (most often associated with Peter Wagner, now deceased, and Cindy Jacobs).

      These movements form some of the matrix for the prophets who focus on Donald Trump. Providing important support, the prophetic angle to Trump’s victory and presidency has been endorsed by leading figures in Pentecostal Christianity, including Stephen Strang, Jim Bakker, Rick Joyner, and Lou Engle.

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      In answer to the question “Is Trump God’s man in the White House?” there are four main responses from Christians and from Christian prophets:

      Whether one supports Trump or not, three facts should be noted about Christians who believe in the gift of prophecy. First, they do not accept everyone who claims to be a prophet. Steve Shultz, for example, does not cover every prophet named in this book in his famous Elijah List because he actually doubts some who claim to speak for God. Given this, it is not fair to lump all the prophets together.

      Second, it should be remembered that Pentecostal and charismatic Christians do not believe that modern-day prophets are infallible. They can and do make mistakes—as in various predictions that Mitt Romney would win in 2012 and that Republicans would win both the House and the Senate in the 2018 mid-terms.

      Third, while almost all contemporary Christian prophets are pro-Trump, they are not unaware of his past or present weaknesses. Jeremiah Johnson, for example, issued a prophetic warning in early 2018 about Trump’s need for improvement in character.

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      While I leave it up to my readers to make their own judgments about Trump and prophecy, two observations are in order.

      First, as Larry Willard notes and bears repeating, decisions about Trump should be based primarily on consideration of matters beyond the prophetic. We have in mind moral integrity in leadership and the best policies and actions regarding economic welfare, terrorism, foreign policy, health care, gun rights, immigration, social security, the education system, Supreme Court appointments, trade policies, the environment, and a pro-life agenda.

      Second, in terms of style and emphasis, most prophets studied in this work are offering messages they believe are from God via dreams, visions, natural signs, and inspired thoughts. Other prophets focus on the interpretation of biblical material to talk about Trump’s role in God’s plans. (Of the latter, Jonathan Cahn, a messianic Christian rabbi in New Jersey, is a prime example.) Readers should assess both types of prophetic claims.

      I realize that nothing can bridge the divide in society or the Christian church about Donald Trump, as shown recently in the impeachment battle and by the reaction to Christianity Today magazine’s recent call for Trump to be removed from office. Regardless of how readers judge Trump and prophecy, I hope this resource is helpful in the task of ethical, political, and spiritual decision making as the November 2020 USA election approaches.

      James A. Beverley

      Tyndale University, Toronto, Canada

      Institute for the Study of American Religion, Woodway, Texas, USA

       www.jamesbeverley.com

      March 5, 2020