Okay, let’s do this. A thread.

1. Donald Trump is *an* anti-Christ. He has twisted, perverted, & manipulated the Christian Faith. He has sowed seeds of discord & has nurtured profound disunity in the body of Christ & even garnered the support of prominent Christian leaders...

2. We keep talking about how he is power hungry, how he’s a Narcissist, & about how he is immoral; but we aren’t naming this stuff using the various categories scripture gives us when dealing with someone like Trump. The man is an “anti-Christ” (notice I said “an” & not “THE”).

3. He hasn’t just garnered the praise of right-wing Christian Nationalists who’ve never championed orthodoxy or the gospel; he has also garnered the unwavering support & affirmation of prominent preachers & theologians who only a few years ago declared him evil.

4. We too quickly dismiss this almost hypnotic power Trump has over otherwise respectable Christian leaders as if it’s natural; we have 3 options.

1. He has something on them.
2. They are just power hungry.
3. There is some dark hypnotic power Trump has.

Maybe it’s all 3. 🤷🏽‍♂️

5. We’ve seen Trump demand stage presence in the church of David Platt (a godly brother who I’ve met personally & truly believe is a faithful brother & pastor) and next thing we know he is on stage, in the middle of the service, & all Saints forced to pray for him.

FYI
1. Esther was a sex slave. She was kidnapped by a foreign ruler who was her King while in exile. In that society & at that time, she was given one night to either “please” the King & be made a bride, become one of his many concubines, or be sent away as “damaged goods”.

2. The “One Night With the King” was not an romantic evening, it was an evening of desperation whereby she had to do all she could to win over the King are have a terrifying and unknown future. She won over the King, & her later fear to speak was wrapped up in this context.

3. When Mordecai warned her that if she didn’t speak God would raise up another, wasn’t Mordecai rebuking her for faithlessness. Esther was Queen, but she was a slave to that position; this wasn’t a Disney movie situation. Her fear of being killed was legit & Mordecai knew this.

4. The story of Esther includes 2 women.

1. A Queen (Vashti) who risked death by refused to be objectified & was ultimately sent away. Her exile made way for another woman.

2. Queen (Esther) who was objectified, but whose circumstances made possible salvation of God’s people.

5. So what was the “such a time as this?”

God in his cosmic wisdom that transcends space & time raised up two strong women who would stand against the violent misogyny of a Pagan world. Thru their courage & insistence to rise above circumstances their moves prevented a genocide.