In AD 312, Constantine was in a battle for the throne of the Roman Empire. He was set to succeed his father, Constantius, but faced opposition from a rival named Maxentius. Firmly planted in his belief that he was the rightful heir to the empire, Constantine marched toward Rome, where Maxentius had established his own leadership.
Shortly before the battle, Constantine had a vision. He saw a giant cross in the sky. And on it, these words: “By this sign, conquer.” Constantine had been considering converting to Christianity, and now he had the confirmation he needed. Christ would grant him victory if he would only march in Jesus’ name.
And so that’s what Constantine did. The shields of his soldiers were soon emblazoned with crosses and the banner under which the army marched was the banner of Christ—or at least Constantine’s version of him.
Scholars have long debated whether Constantine had a genuine conversion experience or if he merely used Christian imagery for pragmatic or political purposes. It’s hard to say based on the documentary evidence. But what we do know for sure is that Constantine did indeed use Christian iconography for military and political gain, waging war and committing violence in the name of the Prince of Peace.
Last week, someone attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. But the bullet that was intended for his head missed its mark and grazed his ear, by God’s grace. I say that with sincerity. I also mourn with the family of the bystander who was killed and pray for the two others who were seriously injured.
Nevertheless, in the wake of the attack, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that a vision of Christian victory not dissimilar from Constantine’s had protected Trump.
“I believe we all witnessed a miracle, literally,” Greene said in an interview. “Before it happened, the flag above got blown in the wind and got tied into literally what looked like an angel.”
“It was truly—it was like an angel coming down,” she went on to say. “It was the American flag tied; they had to bring it down, and all the people in the stands helped unravel it. And it was literally before he came out on stage.”
I looked it up and was able to confirm that the wind did blow a large American flag into a tangle. From the images, an argument could be made that it looked like an angel—much in the same way that we sometimes see news stories about folks finding icons of Christ in their morning toast.
Be that as it may, Greene spoke about the shooting as though it were akin to the moment when Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove. Only this time, it was an angel draped in Old Glory descending on Donald Trump.
Greene hasn’t been the only one to frame Trump’s brush with death in miraculous—if not christological—terms. Earlier this week, conservative political commentator Benny Johnson asked fellow conservative Charlie Kirk, “Is this the most viewed miracle in human history?”
“The answer is, I think, yes,” Kirk said. “It was absolute divine intervention. And we need a revival in this country. Don’t you agree?”
To be sure, when Kirk speaks of revival, what he specifically envisions is a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. He has made this abundantly clear through his work at Turning Point USA.
“And this image should bring people back to Jesus Christ,” Kirk continued. “God is not done with Donald Trump, and God is not done with America. He has his hand on Donald Trump, and this image is Genesis 50:20: ‘What the enemy meant for evil, God will use for good.’”
“The enemy meant to try to destroy our president and destroy our movement,” Kirk continued. “The enemy wanted this week to be a funeral and to be chaos and division. Instead, we have joy, gratitude, and celebration…and unity.”
It isn’t just politicians and pundits who are speaking this way. Some pastors are entering this fray, including Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.
The day after Trump was shot, Hibbs, a longtime and vocal Trump supporter, preached a Sunday sermon while wearing a colonial robe to illustrate that we are living in “times of tyranny.”
Referencing Leviticus 14:14, Hibbs preaching, “God said, all those who represent me in the priesthood, there’s to be a sacrificial basin of blood.”
“And I want the toe of the priest to be dipped in the blood, the big toe, the right toe, dipped in blood. I want the priest’s thumb dipped in blood because his feet and his decision-making is covered in my blood,” Hibbs continued. “And then take the blood from the basin and put it on your right ear.”
“Mr. President,” Hibbs said, “your right ear was bloodied.” After seeming to suggest that Trump had been appointed by God to a priestly office, Hibbs called upon Trump to bend his knee to Christ.
Revival. Angels. Consecration through blood ahead of a campaign to take the country back and save America from the godless left in the name of Jesus.
Holy Roman Empire, Batman.
While Constantine bore the name of Christ, his mission was not to love his enemies but to defeat them. His moment is not incredibly dissimilar from our own.
It has been disturbing to see how many voices have seemed to celebrate the attempt on Donald Trump’s life—or to lament that the would-be assassin wasn’t a better shot. Some of those voices have been Christian, which makes it all the more disturbing. The idea of murdering political opponents runs as contrary to the Constitution as it does the holy Scriptures.
Simply put, the way of Jesus demands that we never celebrate violence—even when that violence is directed at people we hate. Also, we’re not supposed to hate anybody. But I digress.
At the same time, what I also find disturbing is the continued deification of Trump. It isn’t new. But even after nearly a decade of religious rhetoric, memes, and prophetic endorsements painting Trump as a messianic figure, I am still baffled.
And while it is not my place to judge whether Donald Trump’s faith is genuine, it is clear that he is pragmatic enough to mobilize evangelicals as a voting bloc by using the language and iconography of their religion.
Not unlike Constantine, what we have in Trump is a man who claims the name of Christ in his quest to amass power and influence over the government. But Christians must reject the ethic of empire and resist being leveraged to legitimize its cruelty.
Whenever Christians have allowed our faith to be co-opted by militaristic and imperialistic government powers, great harm has always been done both to our witness and the well being of fellow image-bearers. From the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition and Manifest Destiny, it always ends up in the dehumanization of others.
Not surprisingly, this is exactly what we have seen from the stage at the Republican National Convention—the utter demonization of immigrants and the abandonment of pro-life values that are no longer considered politically expedient.
Whether you plan on voting for Trump in November is irrelevant to my point here. Despite what many Christians say, your ballot is not a litmus test for your faith. But your general approach to your ballot might be.
We live in a politically volatile time, and America faces significant challenges. But we must not allow fear and uncertainty cause us to compromise our faith. Instead, we should invite Jesus to purify it.
Revival is found not in political coalitions. Revival is a gift of God to those who reject the pursuit of worldly power and seek not military might but the Prince of Peace.
