WND's New Favorite Bible Hero

WorldNetDaily pushes the purported divinity of President Trump again by likening him to the biblical figure Cyrus. It's also pretending that Trump's actions regarding Israel aren't hastening the End Times it so fervently wishes for.

By Terry Krepel
Posted 7/11/2018

A May 15 WND article highlighted how Fox News host Jeanine Pirro "is comparing the president to the biblical King Cyrus," adding: "Cyrus, a Persian king, founded the Achaemenid Empire, conquered Babylon and made history by allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple. The prophet Isaiah wrote of him as an 'anointed one.'"

This is far from the first time WND has likened Trump to Cyrus. Even before the election, an October 2016 article by the notorious Jerome Corsi touted a sermon "sweeping quietly across evangelical America" featuring "a minister asking a simple question: 'Would you have voted for Cyrus the Great?'" The sermon didn't mention Trump but implicitly argued that God would "use a pagan king like Cyrus the Great to advance his glory" like he would purportedly use Trump.

A representation of the commemorative coin the Sanhedrin plans to sell with the image of Trump and Cyrus, with proceeds going toward activities designed to further the creation of the third temple.

Another pre-election article cited an Israeli rabbi and "international Bible codes expert" who "sees Trump as a leader in the mold of Cyrus the Great of Persia, who helped free the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity in Old Testament times. They were then able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem."

A September column by editor Joseph Farah touted how "Michael Freund, an American-Israeli political activist, pleads with President Donald Trump to follow in the footsteps of Cyrus the Great by fulfilling his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to the nation’s capital, Jerusalem." Farah concluded: "All I can add is this: From Freund’s keyboard to Trump’s heart to God’s ears."

In December, WND promoted a claim that Trump's moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem would help lead to the construction of the third temple, citing the spokesman for a group of organizations working towards making the Third Temple a reality, claiming that "Trump’s role similar to the one played by Cyrus, the Persian king who ended the Babylonian exile and helped build the Second Jewish Temple."

Even washed-up signer and rabid Obama-hater Pat Boone got into the act. In a column published June 11 at WND and Newsmax, first rehashed some old Obama conspiracy theories, insisting that he prayed for Obama every day even though "had doubts about his legitimacy to even be president." Of course, Boone embraced every malicious lie and smear against Obama that he could find, and he was a rabid birther to boot, even issuing a veiled threat against the president's life.

Boone then hypocritically attacked those who he thinks are doing to Trump what he did to Obama, while likening Trump to, yes, Cyrus while pronouncing divine judgment against Trump-haters (italics his):

Remember, God chose a shepherd boy to be King of Israel. He chose pagan King Cyrus to commission the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He chose Saul of Tarsus, the chief persecutor of Jesus to become the pre-eminent Apostle, and Jesus chose Judas as one of His 12 closest disciples. God’s ways are not always for us to understand. But He governs in the affairs of men.

Meanwhile, I shudder as I hear Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, all the late night “comedians” like Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, Alec Baldwin, an unhinged Bobby DeNiro, and a porn “star” and her conniving lawyer participating in pure blackmail and extortion, rail and curse and accuse and call outright for impeachment, of the man appointed by God as our authority.

And I remind Pelosi, Baldwin, DeNiro, Colbert and Kimmel, all Catholics who should know better, what the Scripture warns: “whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God...and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves.”

They’re not just mocking their president and ours. They’re mocking God Himself and His Word.

We don't recall Boone ever denouncing himself for "mocking God Himself and His Word" by spreading lies and hate about Obama.

Trump, the Third Temple and the End Times

A Feb. 15 WND article stated:

When President Trump in December recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, two decades after Congress authorized it, he drew the wrath of Arab nations and their allies.

Now Israel’s recently re-constituted Sanhedrin is honoring Trump for the move by putting his image on a privately minted half-shekel coin.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz reported at Breaking Israel News the nascent Sanhedrin and the Mikdash (Temple) Educational Center are creating a replica of the silver half-shekel coin that the Bible mandates be donated by every Jewish male in the Temple.

The Sanhedrin is a group of far-right rabbis who have no actual power over anything in Israel, though they would like some. The ultimate goal of the Sanhedrin -- whose agenda WND has touted in the past -- is to get the Third Temple built on the Temple Mount. Interestingly, the WND article soft-pedals that:

According to a proposed image presented on a website dedicated to raising money for the construction of a temple and more, the coin will feature an image of Trump on the front and the Holy Temple in Jerusalem on the back.

Also on the front will be an image of the ancient Persian King Cyrus, who was key to the construction of the Second Temple, BIN reported.

[...]

BIN reported the coin is to have at least 9.5 grams of silver, as required by Jewish law.

However, the report noted that since the coin itself is not intended to fulfill a biblical commandment, it is not officially designated for use in the Temple.

[Rabbi Hillel] Weiss said the coin “is intended to help in preparations for the Temple and anyone can take part in that at any time.”

But the Breaking Israel News article from which WND cribbed its report made it clear which temple the coin's revenues are meant for: "Proceeds from the sale of the coin will be used in reenactments of Temple services as well as in other educational and practical endeavors that help prepare for the Third Temple. Should the need arise, the proceeds will be used for the actual building of the Temple." The article also quotes Weiss as saying, "Trump’s political agenda can only succeed if it is focused on building the Third Temple on the place that God chose: the Temple Mount. He must not advance any two-state solution or this will lead to his downfall."

That, again, is the same temple that, when constructed, is a key step to the biblical end of the world -- the same idea WND's Farah denies is driving his support for Trump despite his own website promoting it.

Notice the conflation of moving the embassy to Jerusalem and building the Third Temple. The temple reconstruction on the Temple Mount -- currently home to a mosque -- is something WND has been cheerleading for years, in part because it sets in motion certain End Times prophecies.

Farah has tried to deny there is any link between support of Trump by himself and his fellow evangelicals and trying to fulfill biblical prophecy. He huffed in his Jan. 21 column:

Here is a headline in Newsweek from Jan. 12: “Trump Will Start the End of the World, Claim Evangelicals Who Support Him.”

Did any evangelicals actually say that in the article? No.

Is there any truth to the claim? No.

In fact, I think I can better speak for evangelicals than the headline writers and fake-news purveyors at Newsweek. I’ve been one for over 40 years. I founded and run the largest Christian website in the world. I write books on the subject – including many on prophecy.

Evangelical Christians do not overwhelmingly support President Donald Trump because they believe he’ll cause the world to end, as Newsweek asserts, without any substantiation or evidence.

[...]

I could go on ad infinitum.

But I neither know nor have I ever met a single evangelical Christian who supports Trump because he’s going to end the world. Neither has anyone at Newsweek. And that’s what demonstrates it’s a fake-news machine.

The Newsweek article went on to say “many evangelical Christians believe that Trump was chosen by God to usher in a new era, a part of history called the ‘end times.’ Beliefs about this time period differ, but it is broadly considered the end of the world, the time when Jesus returns to Earth and judges all people.”

Newsweek quotes one misguided pastor to build its narrative, concluding he represents “many.” He does not. He is quoted as saying: “What kick-starts the end times into motion is Israel’s political boundaries being re-established to what God promised the Israelites according to the Bible.” That’s just silly.

God doesn’t need the help of Donald Trump to set His timing for the return of the Jewish Messiah to Earth.

It will not surprise you to learn that Farah is being less than honest here. Here's how the Newsweek article lays it out in a way Farah won't tell you it did:

Jerusalem has a central role as the city of prophecy and the place where the end of times plays out. According to the prophecy, a 1,000-year period of peace must be followed by seven years of tribulation, during which wars, disease, and natural disasters will lay waste to the earth. In the book of Revelation, Israel is described as a nation that exists during the time of tribulation, and Jerusalem's Jewish temple is resurrected during this period. The last temple was destroyed around 70 A.D, and today there is a mosque on the Temple Mount where the previous two temples are believed to have stood. Evangelicals believe that a unified Israel with control over Jerusalem will facilitate the construction of a new Jewish temple, and set the groundwork for the end of times.

That’s where Trump comes in.

[...]

“Most evangelicals subscribe to a belief in pre-millennialism, the belief that the second coming of Christ will begin a 1,000-year period where Christ will rule over a peaceful and prosperous earth,” Neil J. Young, a religion historian, told Newsweek. Young, who holds a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University, writes frequently on evangelical culture and politics.

“Israel is a key part of this story, too, as Christians believe that events there are fundamental to bringing about the end times,” Young continued. “At this point, Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is the only concrete thing that his evangelical supporters can point to as part of fulfilling biblical prophecy to bring about the second coming of Christ."

You know who else has promoted the notion that Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is one in a series of events -- including building the third temple -- that will start the end times? Farah's own website.

An April 2017 WND article touted one of its favorite pastors, Mark Biltz -- whom we last saw trying to hijack last year's eclipse as a possible warning from God -- as confirming the idea that the construction of the third temple signifies the start of the end times:

Biltz says Christians need to be closely following these developments. Though he cautions “of that day and hour no one knows,” the reconstruction of the Third Temple would be a critical sign the last days are actually at hand.

“In the Christian community many are waiting for the Temple to rebuilt as a sure sign of the last days about to be fulfilled,” he said. “One thing we know for sure is history keeps repeating itself. We don’t know the form yet. Whether it’s a full-blown Temple or just a prefab one that can be thrown together quickly, we will have to wait and see. It may not be anything more than an altar doing Passover sacrifices.

“But one thing is for sure. If the Temple is rebuilt and sacrifices are resumed, hold on to your shorts as the time is short!”

Then, a Dec. 10 WND article promoted a claim that Trump's recognition of Israel would help head to the construction of the third temple (and, of course, invoked King Cyrus):

While Muslims jeer, Israelis cheer President Trump’s Jerusalem declaration, prompting Jewish religious activists to suggest building the Third Temple is closer to reality than ever before.

“What he did ... was an enormous step in bringing the Temple,” said Asaf Fried, official spokesman for the United Temple Movement, an association of organizations working towards making the Third Temple a reality.

He added, “This necessarily had to come from a non-Jew in order to bring them into the process, so they will be able to take their part in the Temple.”

Fried sees Trump’s role similar to the one played by Cyrus, the Persian king who ended the Babylonian exile and helped build the Second Jewish Temple.

“There have been amazing advances towards bringing the Temple this year. It was clear that Trump was part of that process, guided by Hashem (God),” Fried declared.

Curiously, the article didn't reference WND's previous claim that construction of the third temple would signify the start of the end times.

One can also argue that Farah himself ascribes to this view. In a 2016 column written on one of his Holy Land tours (the one in which he and Jonathan Cahn staged a publicity stunt on the Temple Mount by violating the Israeli government's ban on Christian and Jewish prayers there), Farah touted "an amazing prophecy dating back to 1217 by a scholarly and highly respected rabbi by the name of Judah Ben Samuel":

It was not until the Six Day War in 1967 when the entire “west bank” of the holy land was conquered by the Israeli army that the whole city of Jerusalem passed back into the possession of Israel. So once again the prophecy made by the rabbi 750 years previously was fulfilled to the letter.

It certainly would be significant if indeed both 1917 and 1967 were Jubilee years, considering the significance of what happened in Jerusalem in those years. But it gets better.

The rabbi also prophesied that during the 10th Jubilee, Jerusalem would be under the control of the Jews and the Messianic “end times” would begin. The 10th Jubilee began in 1967 and will be concluded in – 2017.

What should we expect to happen in 2017? I will leave that to your imagination.

But one thing is certain: Judah Ben Samuel made some truly remarkable prophecies that came to pass. We’ll have to wait until next year to see if his final prediction does as well.

Remember: Farah is a guy who claimed that "I have no doubts that someone actually colluded with the Trump campaign to bring it victory in 2016. That someone was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel who repeatedly promised in the Bible to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse it." So he's totally down with the idea of Trump fulfilling prophecy.

Farah may not be supporting Trump for the explicit purpose of bringing about the end times -- his column lists "many good reasons" why he and his fellow evangelicals do, one of which just happens to be "He respects Israel and recognizes Jerusalem as its eternal capital and the capital of no other nation or people in the history of the world" -- but he certainly can't be displeased that Trump's actions are in line with his own eschatological beliefs.