on this project on Donald Trump and prophecy since before the November 2016 victory of Trump over Hillary Clinton. I am grateful to Rebekka Paul, my administrative assistant, for her enormous help on many items and tasks. As well, thanks to Janice Van Eck and Cindy Thompson for their work on design and format issues. I am grateful to Annette Johnson for help on researching details about various prophets and leaders mentioned in this book. For computer problems, I have been rescued by Robert Weiland (former IT specialist, Tyndale) and Dave McPherson (Softec Solutions). Thanks to Brian Cogswell for help on social media.
This guide illustrates that the most important place to go for modern Christian prophecies is The Elijah List, founded and run by Steve Shultz. I am grateful to Steve for help in my continuing research on the topic of prophecy and for assistance in contacting various prophets.
I appreciate the endorsement from my friend Rodney Howard-Browne, one of the great leaders in the charismatic and Pentecostal world. As well, thanks to Gordon Melton, founder of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, for his support and endorsement. This is my fourth book with Larry Willard, my publisher and long-time friend. It is a privilege to work with him.
Further, I am grateful to a circle of family and friends who have provided love and encouragement to me in my life and work, though not necessarily agreement with the contents of this or other books I have written. Thanks to Bob Beverley (my twin brother), my son (Derek Beverley), my daughter (Andrea Beverley), my son-in-law (Julien Desrochers), my uncle (Keith Beverley), my uncle (James Beverley—my namesake), John Wilkinson, Don Wiebe, Larry Matthews, Charis Tobias, Reg Horsman, Gordon Melton, Randy McCooeye, Bruxy Cavey, Ken MacLeod, Kaarina Hsieh, Kevin Rische, Robert Spencer, John Kessler, Carol Greig, Bill Webb, Sam Mikolaski, Gary LeBlanc, Craig Evans, Darlene Keirstead, Jill Martin-Rische, Terrance Trites, Gary Habermas, Sherrilyn Hall, Dave Collison, Sharon Geldart, John Reddy, Todd Johnson, Eileen Barker, Marta Durski, Miriam MacLeod, Wayne Hsieh, Bruce Fawcett, Bruce Preston, Mark Galli, Lorne Gillcash, Paul Standring, Nina Cavey, Stephen Stultz, Mary-Lynne Rout, Bryan Taylor, Cheryl Nickerson, Johnnie Moore, Trish Wilkinson, Tom Dikens, Jim Sutherland, Annie Bain, Craig Keener, Chad Hillier, David Sherbino, Sandra Quast, Jon Atack, Ian Scott, John Stackhouse, Brian Stiller, Cheryl Geissler, John Axler, Linda Horsman, Hye Sung Gehring, Doug Markle, Bill Rout, Jon Thompson, Rick Anderson, Jerry Reddy, Carolyn Preston, Rick Tobias, Boris Lawryshyn, Norm Keith, Jeannie Taylor, Cathy Clark, Darren Hewer, Ralston Nickerson, Linda Gillcash, Randy Campbell, Andy Bannister, Pat Markle, Steve Matthews, Drew Marshall, David Keirstead, and Massimo Introvigne for their encouragement and help in various ways.
Most important, I am grateful for the support and patience of my wife, Gloria, as she has had to listen to details about all my research over many years.
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:
1 Most Christian prophets say yes and believe that God chose Trump to make America great again. These prophets are supported by millions of Pentecostals and charismatics who celebrate Trump’s presidency, though often with concerns about various moral and spiritual aspects of his life.
2 A few Christian prophets say that Trump represents God’s judgment on America and that he is part of an unfolding apocalyptic scenario, either wittingly or not. From this perspective, Trump is a sign that things will get worse as the world awaits the return of Jesus Christ.
3 Many Christians do not believe that the gift of prophecy is for today but believe Trump is God’s man for other reasons, like his pro-life stance, views on immigration, and boost of the economy.
4 Christians who oppose Trump usually dismiss the prophets as deluded, lying, or gravely mistaken, at least about Trump. Disagreements over Trump’s perceived moral and political failings lead these Christians to a repudiation of the prophetic angle on the president.
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
