A large number of Evangelical pastors view President Donald Trump as a present-day messiah, likening him to the Biblical King Cyrus.
Messiah translates to “Anointed One” in Hebrew. While Christianity regards Jesus as the Messiah, old testament scriptures name several other messiahs or anointed ones who were meant to fulfill God’s purpose.
King Cyrus is considered a messiah in a specific biblical context. In the Hebrew Bible, the term “messiah” (Hebrew: mashiach, meaning “anointed one”) is used to describe individuals chosen by God for a specific purpose, such as kings, priests, or deliverers.
The idea that links President Trump to King Cyrus, an ancient Persian king in the Bible who played a crucial role in freeing the Jews from Babylon and rebuilding the Second Temple in Jerusalem, began circulating in 2016 after Evangelical thinker Lance Wallnau made comments on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Wallnau likened Trump to a “modern-day Cyrus,” saying “With Trump, I believe we have a Cyrus to navigate through the storm.”
Evangelical pastors compare Trump to a messiah
It can be difficult to link an ancient king to a contemporary President, even though both held leadership roles. However, this is exactly what the Evangelical community has done.
The Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon around the 6th century BC, toppling one of the world’s most prominent powers and freeing the Jews from captivity. He is prominently featured in the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, depicted as a divinely appointed deliverer who allows the Jewish people to return to their homeland.
Despite being a pagan, King Cyrus was divinely selected to liberate God’s chosen people, which is the basis for this contextual comparison. Trump may not have the ideal Christian lifestyle, but Evangelicals are willing to get behind him, believing he is sent from God like Cyrus.
In Wallnau’s book God’s Chaos Candidate, he describes his first encounter with the 45th and 47th President of the United States. He writes how he believes God spoke to him when he first met Trump, how the Lord said Trump was “a wrecking ball against the spirit of political correctness,” and how He whispered in his ear “Isaiah 45.” Wallnau said out of intrigue he read the Old Testament scripture, which begins:
“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him— and the gates shall not be closed…” (Isaiah 45:1).
The sentiment of anointment is further emphasized by Wallnau’s comment on another Evangelical TV program, the Jim Bakker Show saying “If he is anointed…, I will work with him because he loves evangelicals and is surrounded by evangelicals!”
However, this interpretation is not universally accepted. Other individual theologians criticize the comparisons. Episcopal priest and Bright Divinity School Hebrew Bible professor Wil Gafney conveyed her concerns to NPR that passages are being taken out of context.
“What does it mean to read scriptures set in the context of monarchy as inspirational and authoritative in conversation with our system of government?” she said in the interview. “They are not a manual for how to run a nation or a people, though they are often ethical texts on how not to run a nation or a people, how not to behave, how not to conduct oneself.”
The Christian demographic was vital to Trump’s 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns. At one point, there was an “Evangelicals for Trump” movement, with most of the constituency backing him in his efforts to win the Presidency. However, according to Times of Israel, 79% of Jewish Americans who voted in November’s election cast their ballots for Kamala Harris.