The New Messiah

America is the greatest country in the history of the world. This is still true and not a matter of opinion, as there are plenty economic, historical, geographical and geopolitical realities to support and explain that fact. However, the adjacent "American Exceptionalism" has a worrying and perhaps dangerous religious dimension as well...

One of the first settlements in what would later become the United States of America was by Puritans in New England. They took up an older idea, inherited from the old England, that they enjoyed a covenant with God. This had been done before in Europe, when after the Reformation, for example, the Dutch and English nations understood themselves as a New Israel. This was done in order to justify the uniqueness and liberty of their respective national societies in opposition to empire. Parallels were drawn with the Exodus of ancient Israelites from Egyptian slavery. This concept of a New Israel was based directly on the old Israel as a vehicle to convey adherence to the idea of the freedom of self-government.

Puritan minister John Cotton "preached the 'land of promise' to . . . Puritan voyagers aboard the Arbella as they were about to set sail from Southampton in 1630, drawing his text from II Samuel 7:10: 'Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more'"
_{source: United Church of God}

However, the covenant between God and Abraham Isaac and Jacob is supposed to be eternal and the original Israel is supposed to be their promised land. And their religion doesn't acknowledge the Christian Messiah. The manner in which the chosen people of the New Israel and those of the original promised land relate to each other is shaped by the idea of an American calling to help complete God's plan for the Jews. America's strong alliance with Israel, the existence of American Zionism, the Zionist Organization of America and other pro-Israel movements and organizations isn't just founded on mutual geoplolitical interests, but on historical and religious circumstances as well.

Christian Zionism has been part of American culture and has played a role in its politics since its founding. America's first president, George Washington, has been named "America's First Friend Of Zion" by the "Friends of Zion Museum" in Jerusalem:

Washington’s letter has had an enduring impact well beyond the Jewish community. Its words have been cited by Supreme Court justices in at least three religious liberty cases. “Bigotry,” Washington wrote, would be given “no sanction” and “persecution no assistance” by the federal government. Thank you, George Washington, for being a true Friend Of Zion.
_{source: Friends of Zion Museum}

If Washington was America's first friend of Zion, then perhaps Donald Trump is America's best friend of Zion, especially after he announced on December 6, 2017, that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018. These moves were of course not in the interest of what's left of the peace-process between Israel and the Palestinians. But, as we all know, Trump threatens peace at home too, as he's the most divisive president in U.S. history. This divisiveness is fueled in great part by the religious wing of his base who bring with them a passionate opposition to feminism, LGBTQ+ people and general progressivism, and the cultivation of a cult of personality around his person.

Much of the Christian religion is based on the Second Coming, the return of Jesus Christ just before the Apocalypse of the Book of Revelation. I'm sure you've all heard of the Rapture:

The rapture is an eschatological theological position held by a few Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."
_{source: Wikipedia}

Many devout Christians in America are convinced that the Second Coming and Rapture will occur in their lifetime. Now what if I told you that many of them can be found among the MAGA supporters, QAnon believers and Evangelicals who constitute Trump's core base? You wouldn't be surprised, I'm sure. But what if I told you that some of them believe that Trump is the Messiah returned? And that they believe that Biden is stopping him from enacting prophecy? That they want Trump to usher in the End Time? I've explained some of America's religious history to provide a background for the below linked video that deals with this disturbing belief among Trump's Evangelicals. If you want to learn more about the history I can recommend you read the review of America: The Israel of Our Time, but be sure to watch the video as well to see several "televangelists" spread the word about their new Messiah...

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