If the antichrist were among us, how would we know?
According to the Bible, the antichrist can be recognized by the way he works against the teachings of Jesus, spreads lies, exalts himself, and fundamentally denies the gospel of love.
The antichrist embraces pride, deception, cruelty, and false worship in ways that harm the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable—those whom Jesus especially cared for and called His followers to love and protect.
"He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God." 2 Thessalonians 2:4
When a true Christian witnesses someone preaching against the radical compassion and justice of God (Proverbs 14:31), they know they we are witnessing the work of the antichrist.
Enter Paula White
At an April Fool's Day event at the White House this week, "prosperity gospel" TV evangelist Paula White compared Donald Trump, a man who has spent a lifetime preying on the weak and vulnerable both sexually and financially, to Jesus Christ himself.
White herself is precisely the kind of false prophet Jesus warned us about.
The first giveaway that White is on the side of the Devil is, of course, that her "Christian" beliefs are a fundamental departure from the compassion-focused, self-sacrificial teachings of Jesus.
The second is her Trump-like history of ripping off viewers by hawking products like $1,144 "resurrection seeds."
Christians on all sides were quick to slam White for her latest "blasphemy."
Black theologians who spoke with theGrio, "scoffed at White-Cain’s comparison of Trump to Jesus, considering the president’s policy agenda and many public statements while in office."
Right-wingers from Milo Yiannopoulos to Erick Erickson also slammed the remarks, reports MS NOW.
Trump is embracing his exalted status
Before Paula While spoke at Wednesday's White House Easter lunch, Trump himself invited the Jesus comparison in a rambling, almost 45-minute-long speech in which joked that both he and Jesus has been called a "king."
"On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as crowds welcomed him with praise honoring him as king," he said. "They call me king now. Can you believe it?" he added with a smile.
Trump then added, jokingly but ominously, "If I was a king, we’d be doing a lot more."
In the same speech, Trump explicitly abandoned Christ’s clear command to care for the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40) by telling attendees that he had told Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought:
"Don’t send any money for day care, because the United States can’t take care of day care. That has to be up to a state. We can’t take care of day care. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care. You got to let a state take care of day care, and they should pay for it, too."
In addition to prioritizing warfare over daycare, the FIFA Peace Prize winner acknowledged this new pro-war approach would lead to higher state taxes.
As Timothy Snyder explained on Substack on April 4, the debt-busting war in Iran sets the stage for "The Next Coup Attempt" by Trump and his anti-christian, anti-democracy allies.
Pope Leo tries to put the "holy" back into Holy Week
While Trump was celebrating Holy Week by equating himself with Jesus as he asked for a nearly 50% increase to America's military budget, Pope Leo also had something to say.
America's first pope reminded us that he, at least, was still asking the question Republicans once loved: "What would Jesus do?"
On Palm Sunday, Leo took direct aim at those who say they are bombing schools and civilian infrastructure in the name of Jesus, telling worshipers:
"Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."
And in case Trump, Vance, and Hegseth needed an additional reminder, Leo used his first Easter message, delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, to call upon humanity to "abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power."
"Let those who have weapons lay them down," he said. "Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue!"
To get back to my original question: If the antichrist were among us, how would we know?
How to spot the antichrist
According to the Bible:
He's a deceiver.
He pretends to be religious.
He exalts himself.
He speaks proud and blasphemous words.
He demands loyalty or worship.
He uses impressive signs to fool people.
And it gets really scary when he gains worldwide influence while building a system of control.
Don't say you haven't been warned.
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