Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:9-11
I wonder at times how God feels when He sees all the hatred in the world. Surely, it must drive a knife straight into the heart of Jesus Christ. Isaiah was so right; our Savior was a man of sorrows, yet that sorrow persists even today. How He most grieve over our hate, and our unwillingness to face the ugly truth. God sacrificed so much for us, yet we are not willing to do this one simple thing He requested - to love one another. Why is that so hard?
You might wonder what do the title above mean. Extremist and white evangelicals who rallied at the Capitol on January 6, have their god confused with someone else. I do not recognize this “Jesus” they have written on their signs when they raided and vandalized the U.S. Capitol. Their “Jesus” is nowhere to be found in God’s Word. But their god unbeknownst to them is in the Bible, and he is the god of this world - Satan.
Don’t thinks so? Read the verse under the title again. There you will find the answer to how God see all of this. It is His words – not mine. Satan is the god of darkness, and what happened at the Capitol was not carried out in the light – it emanated from a spirit of hate. God says even more...
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.1 John 4:20
I’m sorry, but I must come out and say it - any mentally sound person knows the presidential election was not rigged or stolen. There is no mass conspiracy in America – there are only overwhelming facts that clearly establish Joe Biden won the election. For those who truly believe it was rigged – it is only because you want to believe this based on Donald Trump’s lie. There is not a shred of evidence the election was tampered with - even many people who voted for Trump affirmed this fact.
Donald Trump lied to America because he believed through the use of force he could turn the election in his favor. The past 4 years Trump has lied literally thousands of times and violated our Constitution repeatedly. Taking the low road always worked for him - until now. Donald Trump is not a democratic leader at heart; he was attempting to establish an autocratic role in order to stay in power. He would have not been the first by any means; Putin, Assad, Hitler, Stalin, Hussein, and others have accomplished what Trump was trying to do.
Don’t you think after 60 federal court cases that some merit would have been found in at least one of his cases about the election being fraudulent? A good number of the federal judges who presided over these cases were actually appointed by Donald Trump. Even the three justices Trump appointed to Supreme Court threw out his case, because there is no credibility or evidence to suggest voter fraud. This is solely the case of an immoral loser who desires to stay in power at all cost – even at the expense of human life and the destruction of our country.
But if you take a closer look at the photos and videos of the crowd on that day at the Capitol, something starts to become more apparent. And that “something” is really what this whole thing is about. What is the driving force behind this movement, if it is not just the election in and of itself? Quite simply, it is the spirit of hate.
This racist spirit in America has been brewing long before the riot of January 6 - actually for well over 200 years. Donald Trump however, revived and reinvigorated white nationalism. White evangelicals can whitewash this all they want, but this is the core element – the driving force behind this movement. It is racism; a disdain and resentment for other races God has created. They share the same contempt that Donald Trump has for other races. This is the catalyst uniting white evangelicals with right-wing extremists.
I can't say all white evangelicals are racist; I'm sure there are some who are not. Unfortunately, however, I personally believe the majority are. You have some white liberals who are racist too, and don't even realize it; but their numbers pale in comparison to conservatives. How have I come to this conclusion you might ask? It was very easy. What a person is like on the inside ultimately manifest on the outside in one way or another.
Donald Trump took advantage of this, and senators like Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and most Republicans in the House did as well. Donald Trump is a master at manipulating others; it is how he became so successful. He is a pathological liar from a clinical sense, and has no conscience to tug at him when he does wrong or evil things. Trump believed just by repeating the lie the election was rigged over and over again, that his supporters would take his word at face value. They did.
If you recall, Trump was proclaiming the very same thing all the way up to Election Day in 2016. After he found out he had won, he turned around and said, “I guess the election wasn’t rigged after all.” But during that campaign he said the election was rigged every day until he finally won. As far as 2020 - the facts, votes, recounts, rechecks, and court cases all validate Trump lost the election.
Trump supporters have simply ignored the facts in an effort to keep their racist leader in power. What is even more tragic is they fail to realize Trump thinks very little of them – their lives are meaningless to him other than their support and money to keep him in power. The “Stop the Steal” campaign has brought in big bucks for Trump – far more than his election campaign ever did. Unlike an official campaign, he is free to do whatever he wants with the money.
It is ironic Donald Trump has insulted his base repeatedly, yet they still keep following him. He has mocked, mimicked, and made fun of evangelicals behind their backs. A former aide to Mike Pence heard Trump say, he did not want to shake the “disgusting hands” of those who are in his base. So why are these people still following him? Why are they ignoring and dismissing the derogatory comments he has made about them?
The answer is he shares their same spirit of hate. What drives the extremist and white evangelicals together is their racism. Hate is a strong motivator. That is at the heart of the issue, and it is paramount over anything else in their lives. Donald Trump’s white nationalist disposition is the antecedent variable. His base and white evangelicals must not have read the memo (a.k.a Bible); that it is impossible to hate others and have Jesus as Lord over your life.
If you hate other races or elevate yourself over them, then Satan is in control of your life. White evangelical supporters of Trump window dress their hate, and try to present it as something else; often cloaked as so-called “conservative values.” Jesus is not impressed, nor is He fooled by them. The rest of Trump’s base is more overt in their hatred – for them there’s no pretense involved.
When you think of Jesus Christ and what He stands for the answer is very easy – love. There are other negative forces that are powerful such as greed, lust, jealousy – but the grandest one of all for the god of this world is hate. Hate blinds others to truth. It is not based on facts – it is a spiritual force fueled and empowered by the hounds of hell.
Hate is diabolical to nature of God. You cannot have a true relationship with Jesus Christ if you are ruled by hate. If this is the case, your relationship is with Satan. Hate is where Satan lives – it is where his essence thrives. If you espouse hate in your heart, then you walk in darkness. Anything you say or do is meaningless in life if you are consumed with hate. No prayers, no words, no actions from those who hate will exonerate anyone in the eyes of God.
It is sad there are those who despise the races God created; and yet elevate themselves by believing their own race is superior. It is shameful and deplorable if you believe God feels that way. How audacious can one be to believe his or her race is more valuable than another? Did Jesus elevated himself over the people in His community? The answer is no. Again, I don’t know the “Jesus” whose name was paraded on signs at the riot at the Capitol last week, and I don’t want to know him.
It’s no wonder so many in this world don’t believe in Jesus Christ, with so many poor representations of Him out there. We have rules and customs which we falsely assume are the essence of Him, and convince ourselves by obliging them that somehow we are okay. Many do not know the true heart of Jesus Christ or have a real relationship with Him. This makes it so much easier for extremists and white evangelicals to rationalize and maintain their hate because they have become alienated from Jesus without ever realizing it.
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Matthew 15:8-9
Donald Trump from the very beginning enticed his supporters with an “us versus them” mentality. That struck a chord with his base and white evangelicals, and he has seized the opportunity in the past 4 years to promote division. His purpose was to secure votes by appealing to niche groups; in this case his base and white evangelicals. He has lied repeatedly to them, just as he is lying about losing the election.
By the way, the New York Times wrote an article on how white evangelicals and extremist have gravitated towards each other because of Trump Here’s a link to it below:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/how-white-evangelical-christians-fused-with-trump-extremism.html
Donald Trump simply sprinkle Jesus’ name over racist rhetoric to draw in evangelical support and for the most part it has worked. The white nationalist does not require any special seasoning. Trump has mocked God repeatedly and prostitutes His name in an effort to gain financial support and votes from his supporters. His strategy worked.
The hallmarks of Donald Trump are strife, hate, lies, corruption, darkness, and division. I can say without hesitation that Donald Trump’s life is clearly ruled by Satan. If you were a part of this movement at the Capitol on January 6, care to wager who is lord over your life? Besides Trump, I mean…
The truth of the matter, it is very easy for one to determine which god is in control of his or her life. The whole essence of Jesus Christ is love – the whole essence of Satan is hate. To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Proverbs 8:13 Of course, none of us are perfect and all of us sin; but I’m talking about something far deeper than that.
Hate is a state of being – it is the antithesis of Jesus. The spirit of hate has no honor, and does not require telling the truth. It does not require facts or reasoning. When you use God’s name to hide behind evil, do you realize that is blasphemy? If you have hate in your heart, no matter how hard you try to disguise it, in the end it will catch up to you. If you die hating, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Don’t take my word for it…
Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 1 John 3:15
Donald Trump’s deliberate and false accusation the election was rigged has torn our nation apart. But he does not care; he’s never cared about America, his supporters, or anyone else for that matter. He only cares about himself – it is how a textbook sociopath operates. He has left America in shambles, and has divided our country possibly beyond repair. What he has done is reprehensible and depraved.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8
Don’t kid yourself that Donald Trump is the first leader who has lied about the truth, and succeeded in his lie. He is not alone in going to extremes. Donald Trump had no problem destroying our country, simply for his own self-centered need to retain the presidency. But then again, this whole thing is not just about the election – it is way more. He knows this, and he has used this to his advantage.
Simply because someone repeats something over and over again, does not make it true. There is only one thing I know of that would supersede hard core facts, and it is the spirit of hate. It is the “R” word – racism. Donald Trump has become the Republican Party's “White Savior.”
Donald Trump does not care what his lie cost, and the price has been catastrophic. His lie, and the senators and representatives that supported him in his attempted coup, were complicit in the death of five Americans from the riot at the Capitol. It is amazing how people can idolize and worship a single individual to the point they throw out all reason and the facts.
Let’s just keep it real here - people are drawn to Donald Trump because of his spirit of hate and racism. Racists recognize when others feel the same way, sort of like an inner antenna. It’s something like how when one pothead recognize another. This is ultimately how white nationalist have amalgamated with white evangelicals.
There was once an event in world history concerning those who had similar motives akin to Trump’s - they went to extremes as well. Their primary concern like Trump, was being able to hold on to their power at all cost. Intense hatred was involved too; however it was not racial hatred. What happened was even more significant than Trump’s scheme, but I share this to demonstrate how far people are willing to follow a “leader.”I will tell you a few lines of the story, nah, I will let someone else do it – his name is Matthew.
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Matthew 26:57-59
In a nutshell, the Jewish leadership perceived Jesus as a threat to their positions and authority. Caiaphas and others in the Sanhedrin went to Pontius Pilate (Emperor of Rome) and requested Jesus be arrested. The Jewish leadership also influenced those in the community to ask Pilate to release Barabbas instead, and crucify Jesus. Pilate told the crowd he could not find anything Jesus had done, but the crowd became adamant He be crucified.
The motive among Caiaphas and other leaders in the community was primarily the fear of losing their power. To Donald Trump power means everything. They, like Trump, were jealous and self-serving. They did not care what it cost. People are just as impressionable now as they were then. The crowd did not bother to determine if Jesus had actually committed a crime. They were cajoled by Jewish leadership in the community and that was good enough for them.
Today’s crowd consists of white evangelical supporters and the white extremists in Trump’s base. They are not alone. There are Republican House and Senators who are even more culpable than they are. They have forsaken our Constitution and democracy.
In the history of America, we have never had a president of the United States incite a riot – right before our very eyes. Not only his supporters did as he directed; they actually killed a police officer, and vandalized the Capitol significantly. Five people in total died January 6, 2021 from the riot Donald Trump incited and encouraged.
Again, before Jesus Christ was crucified, the crowd took a firm stand against Him at the behest of their leaders. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. Matthew 27: 20 Paradoxically, today’s crowd consist of white evangelicals and Trump’s base that have united under their reinvented hate-filled "Jesus." Just as the crowd 2,000 years ago, they too stand against Jesus Christ - the Son of God, and all He has ever stood for.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. John1:10.
We still do not know Him.
