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Before bringing this series to its conclusion, there is one more important subject which I wish to discuss in particular with my American Christian friends. Most of you will already be more than aware of the extremely dirty, and very divisive, presidential campaign/election which just concluded. Sadly, it appears that the ugliness is still not quite over yet, and some sectors -- such as the liberal mass media -- are still busy slinging mud at the victor, in the hopes of spoiling his inauguration, and whatever follows after that. Furthermore, it is my understanding that some very massive demonstrations are being planned for actual inauguration day on January the 20th, 2017.

It seems very obvious to me that the liberals are just not going to leave Mr. Trump alone, and partisan politics will continue in the USA, as usual. Now, if you expect anything otherwise, you will probably be majorly disappointed. The liberals are clearly sore losers, and apparently, they don't want us to forget it. They are intent on continuing to be disruptors right up to, and through, the inauguration. They don't want Donald Trump to savor one minute of his victory in peace, it seems. Seriously, their post-election tactics have reached the point of absolute absurdity, in my view.

I realize that for many of you -- at least those of you who took the time to vote -- it was a very difficult time, and a very difficult choice to make. Not because you would have ever dared to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton, but because voting for Mr. Trump was just about as difficult for you. I understand that for many of you, it was the proverbial choice between what you perceived as the lesser of two evils. For others of you it required a serious strain on your pragmatism to overlook President-elect Trump's obvious flaws -- which the liberal press made sure you knew about in every possible regard -- and just do what you felt was best for the sake of the GOP -- that is, Grand Old Party, or the Republicans, for benefit of my foreign readers -- as a whole.

I am of course referring to Mr. Trump's controversial remarks regarding certain minorities, women and sex, some of his own same-party competitors, etc. The man clearly stuck his foot in his mouth more times than I can count, and he didn't make it easy to vote for him, if you did. In fact, it appeared as if he was sinking his own ship, even without any help from Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. Yet, in spite of his own loose tongue, he still won an impossible election against a much more experienced and well-financed opponent, as well as against the vast majority of his own party who pretty much abandoned him.

That is one of the big reasons why I can only conclude that Trump was apparently God's choice as well, for whatever His divine reasons. Donald Trump overcame every obstacle and all odds, almost seemingly miraculously, as if there was a hand propelling him to his destiny. Time will indeed tell if this is truly the case; that is, if he's really God's man for the hour. Also, as I have shared with you many times before, I can only stand upon the following verses, and assume that they must apply to Mr. Trump as well:

"Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another."


"Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:"


"This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men."


"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."


"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel."


Having said all of the above, I need to take a few paragraphs to balance out my previous statements. I fully realize that now that the election has concluded, some of you are feeling quite positive regarding Mr. Trump, and are filled with hope for the new year 2017. You obviously want to believe that the President-elect is going to be a catalyst for positive change in America, particularly for those American Christians who have been facing a negative onslaught for quite a number of years now. After all, we Christians certainly didn't get "the change you can believe in" with outgoing president Barack H. Obama. I understand your hope and desire for better things under the incoming president. But at the same time, I believe that some words of caution are in order here as well, so please bear with me.

Some of you may recall that a number of months ago, I believe even before Donald Trump was declared the official Republican presidential candidate, I made a blog post on my Bill's Bible Basics Blog in which I offered my honest assessment regarding the man, based on my limited knowledge of him at that time. Due to problems I had with my blog in July of this year, that post was actually lost; so allow me to state the following for your benefit and personal consideration. You may or may not agree with my assessment.

For me personally, Donald Trump is going to have to prove that he is truly the man that he claims to be. In my case, it will be an uphill battle for him from the start, because I already harbor some serious doubts regarding the man. It is no secret that Trump is an extremely worldly and very materialistic man. His god is money. Make no mistake about it. His approach to life has always been, make the best deal possible. In a word, everything he seems to publicly stand for as a worldly businessman is contrary to the Scriptures. If you are being honest with yourself, then I am sure that you are already aware of this. However, let me share a set of verses with you to serve as a reminder:

"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words."


"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand."


"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also . . . No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."


". . . Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."


"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"


". . . Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"


"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."


"Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."


"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."


"And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away."


"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."


"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."


"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."


"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."


"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."


"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."


"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."


"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."


"And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it."


"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."


"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


My friends, let's be honest. The previous verses describe Mr. Trump to the letter. He is a man of the world. Everything the Scriptures warn against regarding this topic, he embraces. If you saw TV images of the inside of his Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan, then you already know exactly what I am talking about. Those images are the perfect picture of opulence and wealth. You can see exactly what Mr. Trump believes in simply by looking at those televised images. That is why it is very difficult for me to embrace the thought that President-elect Trump is going to be some kind of great blessing to the poor.

Regarding his spirituality, all I can suggest is that we take a hard look at his life, his relationships, and his business dealings. Even those have come under serious fire in the mass media, and have for some time now been the object of a number of legal suits.

As some of you will know, I don't like to judge anyone when it comes to the topic of their Salvation, or lack thereof, because I can't see deep into their heart. Besides that, it is really between them and the Lord anyway. Only God knows who is truly saved, and who is not saved, so it is foolish for any of us to attempt to make that determination on our own. As the Lord said in the following verses, we can make a kind of general determination regarding an individual simply by looking at the "fruit" their life bears; but I think that deciding whether or not they are truly saved is taking it a bit too far:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."


All I am willing to say is that from the start, Trump has impressed me as being a rather superficial man. He is also rather proud, boastful and overly confident, and he loves to exaggerate to the point of lying, or at least being extremely inaccurate in his public remarks. This does worry me, and I am concerned that even though he began with no real political experience, he found himself in the middle of political boot camp, and quickly picked up some of the tricks of the trade.

I will say this though. I love the man's spunk and energy. At seventy years of age, I'd have to say that he has a lot more energy than I do, and I am not quite as old as he is yet. I find it quite amusing the way he has not backed down from the liberal press, or from the traitors within his own party who all abandoned him, because they were obviously more concerned about their own political futures. We need a man with guts in the office of the presidency, who is not afraid to speak the truth; so that part of his personality may possibly serve Mr. Trump well. Of course, there also needs to be a balance with diplomacy, so that he is not always sticking his foot in his mouth, as he was prone to do on the campaign trail.

At the same time, I do have some concerns about his beliefs. Does he truly practice some degree of Christianity from his heart which isn't readily apparent on the surface? And I am talking about more than just making the usual Sunday church appearances for the benefit of public consumption, as many politicians love to do. Or is it simply rhetoric fashioned to mold public opinion, and keep us Christians under the deception that we have a true Christian president?

My friends, please don't take offense, but these are serious questions that we need to ask ourselves. If we are honest with ourselves, we need to recognize that over the years and decades, we have seen way too many politicians use, abuse and discard the American Christian electorate. They have all smooth-talked us for that all-important vote, and then what? True or not? That is why this sudden casting of Mr. Trump as a dedicated Christian has bothered me. Again, look at the fruits.

On the more mundane and political side, based on certain things which he has stated, and the conservative Republican company which Mr. Trump now keeps -- who are obviously no doubt applying some very serious pressure to the man right now -- I have other concerns. Because of that company, and his strong ties to the business world, I am very concerned that Mr. Trump may eventually hurt the poor, the sick and the elderly, due to stringent Republican financial policies which will primarily benefit the rich and the elite, at the expense of the aforementioned groups. For example, if you are a senior citizen who depends on some form of Social Security, or someone living in poverty who depends on the Medicaid program, will you find your benefits hit sometime in the not-to-distant future? In other words, will Trump rob Peter to pay Paul, as so many politicians tend to do?

Even if you have just a cursory understanding of American politics, and a general understanding of human nature, if you are completely honest with yourself, you should be able to realize and consider, that not much different from every other president who has preceded him, and despite all of the promises that he made on the campaign trail, President Trump may eventually disappoint American Christians, and fail to fully meet their expectations. Trump will more than likely compromise some of his personal convictions. He'll probably cave in to certain political pressures and backtrack on some issues. I think it is inevitable. He will not fully deliver the promised goods. Also, Mr. Trump may make some deals which are not to our benefit as Christians. If you honestly believe otherwise at this current time, I think you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.

The bottom line is that there is no such thing as the perfect president. They are as human and imperfect as you and I are. They are a mixed bag of tricks. Please don't forget that men of force are also men of faults, and the incoming president has clearly demonstrated that he is a man of force. After all, he steamrolled right into the White House beyond expectations. Therefore, I think it would be wise for some of you to lower your expectations a bit, and prepare yourself for at least a few disappointments from Mr. Trump.

The President-elect will no doubt get some things right, but he will also get some things wrong, maybe even very terribly wrong. After all, as has become clearly evident from Trump's famous Twitter account -- some of you may prefer to refer to it as his infamous battering ram -- he is a man who is given to sudden impulses. Hopefully, his cabinet members and staff will keep him in check, and will provide a sufficient amount of moderation. Time will tell.

From what I have seen thus far, I think he recognizes his own limitations, particularly in the political sphere; and that is why he's already delegated many important responsibilities to individuals who are more knowledgeable and experienced than himself. I can't say that I agree with all of his choices, but I do applaud him for taking the time to finally listen to the voices of other people. That is something which is very hard to do for men like Mr. Trump who are at the helm of business and power. They always want to run the whole thing, and that could be Trump's downfall if he is not careful. The entire nation is now depending on him, and not just his corporation.

So aside from the main lesson of this article, which is that we should never underestimate our spiritual enemy, or the level of his craftiness, the second important point I wish to convey to you is that we should not place our faith in any elected leader, because they are all worldly men, prone to sin and imperfection, who are all susceptible to negative spiritual influences and worldly forces. More often than not, in my view, as a result, they are also destined to disappoint God-fearing and Bible-believing Christians such as ourselves. Therefore, we should not set our expectations too high with such men. We should really only place our faith in God above, because He is our Savior, Helper, Protector and Provider.

Now, I don't want to overly discourage you. I do want to give President-elect Trump the benefit of the doubt. I would also like to see him succeed in the areas where I agree with him, and fulfill some of the commitments that he made to the public while on the campaign trail. However, given my age, and all that I have seen over the past six plus decades, it has made me rather skeptical, so that I am naturally inclined to not trust individuals such as politicians. I hope that I am wrong about Mr. Trump, and it would in fact be a pleasant surprise if he does prove me wrong in the long term. We shall see.

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were also mentioned in this article, or which are related to the topics which were discussed in this article. They are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abomination of Desolation: Explained!
Abortion: The Slaughter of the Innocent
America: Land of the Free . . . and Hypocrisy!
Apostasy of Oprah Winfrey: America's False Prophetess?
Beholding the Evil and the Good
Bloody But Unbowed: Timothy McVeigh and the Death Penalty
Child of the Lamb or Child of the Goat?
Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
Did the Devil Make You Do It?
Do You Want Love and Light, or Rod and Wrath?
Elijah: Where Are the True Prophets of God?
Famous Forties in the Bible
Free Will and Personal Choice
Modern False Prophets and Worldly Ecumenism
Nostradamus: Prophet of God, or Messenger of Satan?
Not Everyone is a Child of God
Should We Pray for Our Leaders?
The Fruits of Disobedience
The Fruit of the Womb
The Gay and Lesbian Agenda: To the Point!
The Misguided End of the World Predictions of Harold Camping
The Office of Prophets and Teachers
The Overhauling of Straight America
Queen James Bible: Blasphemous Abomination Exposed!
Who is the Real Terrorist?
When Sin is No Longer a Sin

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