(RNS) — He is a kind of Cyrus, the ancient Persian emperor. Or a modern Job, defiantly enduring diabolical persecutions. He is Esther, positioned by providence “for such a time as this.” Now he is a David, an imperfect but anointed man of God…

Meet Donald Trump, biblical role model.

In the last decade, Trump’s Christian theologians, whom I write about in my new bookThey have made it a hobby to connect the famously profane, womanizing, greedy real estate magnate with biblical heroes and quotable Bible verses. The mix of biblical characters, all mirrors of Trump and his cosmic destiny to lead America, are a pillar of his appeal to evangelical Christians.

More recently, however, these biblical allusions and correlations have taken a threatening turn. The latest version of this trope is Trump as the dark character from the Hebrew Bible, King Jehu, an equivalence that may indicate a tacit acceptance that Trump is stirring up a tide of violence.

Almost as soon as Trump entered the political scene in earnest, charismatic prophetswhose evangelical followers believe They literally speak the word of God today, they have presented Trump as a figure of biblical prophecy. The original and perhaps even most emblematic comparison was presented by the Alabama pastor Jeremiah Johnson just a month after Trump became a presidential candidate in 2015, pairing Trump with Persian king Cyrus the Great.

After Cyrus and his Persian armies conquered the Babylonian Empire, Cyrus sent the Israelites, then captives in Babylon, home to rebuild Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah refers to Cyrus as the “brother” of God.anointed”, pointing out that the Gentile king does not recognize the Hebrew deity. In Isaiah’s vision, Cyrus is a secular liberator, an instrument in the hand of God.

This Cyrus-Trump comparison became one of the key evangelical rationalizations for supporting Trump in 2016: he is not a believer, not even a good man, but he is a man of God. Johnson and the handful of other The prophets who bet heavily on Trump’s victory became celebrities in the evangelical media. Charismatic prophets like Lance Wallnau and Paula White then mediated the porcupine-hugging partnership between Trump and his ever-loyal base of evangelical voters by presenting Trump as God’s chosen pseudo-biblical instrument to restore American Christianity.

Thus began a avalanche of such prophecies. Incented to feed their Christian supporters’ voracious demands for increasingly positive messages about Trump, hundreds – perhaps thousands – of charismatic evangelical prophets have jumped into the pro-Trump prophecy market.

But since Harris became Trump’s opponent, the dominant biblical figure invoked in these prophetic circles has begun to move away from Cyrus (or Job, Esther, or David) and toward Jehu, a chilling model for the post-election season.

Jehu ascended the throne of Israel after the infamously evil rule of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, two of the most repugnant characters in the biblical narrative, who had led the people of Israel to worship false gods, persecuted the pious Israelite remnant and confronted . against the famous prophets Elijah and Elisha.

The name Jezebel was once a common synonym for an scheming woman, but in charismatic circles, where images from the Hebrew Bible loom larger than real life, it still has force as a description of sexual promiscuity, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and other attributes of what they see as evil feminism. For decades, charismatic prophets have lamented how the “Jezebel spirit” has taken over American culture, and Harris, upon becoming the Democratic nominee, was almost instantly labeled with name.

Jehu, anointed king after Ahab’s death, he presides over the annihilation of Jezebel. He demands his servants throw her from a high tower and then tramples her body with his horse. Wild dogs come and eat his corpse. The message of the story: Jezebel was so unholy, so heinous, that all memory of her was eradicated.

“Queen Jezebel being punished by Jehu” by Andrea Celesti, late 17th century. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

A few weeks ago, tens of thousands of evangelicals gathered on the National Mall for a day of prayer, worship and prophecy to influence the elections. Upon completion of 10 hours of politicized religious fervorone of the most respected charismatic Christian leaders in the country, a California pastor and apostle named Ché Ahn, who this week was photographed At the center of a circle of Christian leaders laying hands and praying for Trump, he stood to declare the will of God: “Donald Trump is a type of Jehu and Kamala Harris is a type of Jezebel. As you know, Jehu expelled Jezebel. … I decree in the mighty name of Jesus, and I decree by faith, that Trump will win on November 5th, he will be our 47th president, and Kamala Harris will be ousted and lose.”

Linking the vice president (herself a Baptist Christian) with Jezebel in our politically violent moment borders on a threat to her life.

Another provocation came when Trump gathered with your National Faith Advisory Board, your formal circle of evangelical advisors, on October 25, and messianic rabbi Jonathan Cahn, best-selling author books on prophecypronounced this pronouncement about Trump from the stage:

President Trump… God called him to walk after the model of Jehu, a warrior king. He called Jehu to make his nation great again. Jehu came to the capital city with the goal of draining the swamp… If (God) now takes you to the top of power, it will be for his glory. It will be America’s last act and perhaps America’s last chance at redemption.

Cahn and the other prophets who use this image do not simply note interesting parallels between Trump and Jehu. Rather, they are ordering Trump to operate according to the Jehu model, a biblical script that must be fulfilled.

Consider, for example, how Jehu “drained the swamp” of Israel, a story recounted in the Bible. second book of kings. Jezebel’s execution pales in comparison. After Jezebel’s defenestration, Jehu becomes enraged and kills all of Ahab and Jezebel’s children, piling their heads at the city gates. He then murders hundreds of Israelite citizens, including religious leaders who supported Jezebel. One of the most brutal and vengeful scenes in the Bible, Jehu’s revenge is offered as a divinely ordained blueprint for a second Trump term.

We might dismiss the Jehu comparisons as a metaphor if we hadn’t heard Trump’s recent speeches at rallies. These biblical quotes echo Trump’s own campaign rhetoric, which in turn has taken a more vengeful and violent turn. He launched his 2024 campaign for declaring“I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am their retribution.” He closes it with promises to eradicatethe enemy within” and calling out his American opponents “vermin.”

Like Jehu’s attack on the old regime, Trump promises to purge government and society (with violence if necessary) of the evil forces his people hate and fear.

These biblical invocations reveal the adaptations Christians have made to embrace a vulgar populist authoritarian. As a sourcebook of all truth and guide to evangelical belief, the Bible shapes the imagination of evangelical Christians. Presenting Trump as a Jehu creates theological permission for Christians to accept Trump’s promised violence.

If he wins this election, Jehu’s image tells Trump’s Christian supporters that some real-world violence may be necessary to purge America of its demons. If he loses, particularly to Kamala Harris, the Jehu model prescribes revenge and violence until the Harris regime is annihilated.

(Matthew D. Taylor is a senior scholar at the Institute of Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore and author of the forthcoming book “The violent ones take it by force: The Christian movement that threatens our democracy. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service).