Dear friend,
I want to show you something this morning that I have been sitting with for a long time.
I am going to say something carefully and I want you to hear it carefully.
I am not saying Donald Trump is Jesus. I am not claiming he is sinless or divine or that his story is the same as the story of the Son of God. Anyone who says that is saying something Scripture does not say and I will not say it.
What I am saying is something different. And I think it is something more interesting.
I am saying that the specific playbook used against Jesus — the exact methods, the exact sequence, the exact type of people involved — has been used again. In our lifetime. Against one specific man.
Not because Trump is Jesus. Because the people who oppose what God is doing have always used the same methods. They used them against Joseph. They used them against Moses. They used them against David. They used them against Paul.
And they used them against Jesus.
And I believe they are using them again right now.
Let me show you what I mean.
Before I do, I want to place something in your hands.
I wrote a guide called They Tried To Stop Him: What The Bible Says About Donald Trump. It traces this exact pattern — the methods used against the men God chose — through Scripture and maps it against what you have been watching happen. Many of you have told me it gave you language for something you already felt but could not say. You can find it by clicking on the image below:
Alternatively, you may find it here: https://fatherthomasletters.com/products/they-tried-to-stop-him-what-the-bible-says-about-donald-trump
Now let me show you the seven things.
One. False witnesses.
In Matthew chapter 26 verse 59 the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.
False evidence. Paid witnesses. People brought in specifically to say things that were not true so that a predetermined conclusion could be reached through a process that looked like justice.
Now think about the years of investigations. The witnesses who changed their stories. The charges that were filed, tried, and in many cases dismissed or overturned. The specific people who came forward with specific accusations that later fell apart under scrutiny.
The method is the same. Find the witnesses first. Build the case around them. Make the process look legitimate.
Two. Rigged trials.
In Luke chapter 23 verse 14 Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd — I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.
Pilate found him not guilty. Three times in the Gospel of Luke Pilate declares Jesus innocent. And he crucified him anyway. Because the verdict had already been decided before the trial began. The process was the performance. The outcome was never in doubt.
Think about the trials. The venues chosen. The judges assigned. The specific jurisdictions selected. The choreography of a legal process designed to produce a specific result regardless of the evidence.
The method is the same. Use the courts. Make it look like justice. Reach the predetermined conclusion.
Three. Betrayal from the inside.
In Luke chapter 22 verse 48 Jesus said to Judas — are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?
Not a stranger. Not an enemy from outside. Someone who had been at the table. Who had eaten with him. Who knew him. Who had been trusted and given access and included in the inner circle.
The betrayal that hurts most and does the most damage always comes from the inside.
Think about the members of his own party who turned against him. The people who had stood beside him and praised him and then crossed the aisle at the critical moment. The former allies who became the most vocal critics. The insiders who became the most damaging sources.
The method is the same. Find someone on the inside. The betrayal lands harder and looks more credible coming from someone who was supposed to be loyal.
Four. Mockery.
In Matthew chapter 27 verse 29 the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. Hail, king of the Jews they said.
They made it into a performance. A joke. They dressed it up in the costume of the thing he claimed to be and turned it into ridicule. The goal was not just to hurt him. It was to make him look ridiculous. To make the people who believed in him feel embarrassed for having believed.
Think about the late night shows. The golden statue mocked on the streets of New York. The specific, sustained, coordinated effort not just to oppose him but to make supporting him feel embarrassing. To make his followers feel ashamed of what they believed.
The method is the same. Mockery is not just cruelty. It is a weapon designed to make belief feel like stupidity.
Five. An attempt on his life.
In Luke chapter 4 verse 29 the people of Nazareth took Jesus to the brow of the hill on which the town was built in order to throw him off the cliff.
Not the crucifixion. Earlier. An attempt before the final attempt. A moment when the people who felt threatened by him tried to end it before it got further.
One inch. Butler, Pennsylvania. July 13 2024.
I do not need to say more than that.
The method is the same. When the legal process feels too slow and the mockery is not working and the betrayals have not been enough — there are always people willing to go further.
Six. Abandoned by allies at the critical moment.
In Mark chapter 14 verse 50 it says this about the disciples when Jesus was arrested.
Then everyone deserted him and fled.
Everyone. The men who had said they would die for him. The ones who had walked with him for three years. Who had seen the miracles. Who had heard the teaching. Who knew better than anyone what he was and what he stood for.
They fled.
Think about the Republicans who distanced themselves at the moment the legal pressure was highest. The evangelicals who went quiet. The donors who stepped back. The allies who calculated that the cost of standing with him had become too high and chose their own safety over their stated convictions.
The method is the same. Apply enough pressure and the people around the target will scatter. Isolate him. Make him easier to finish.
Seven. They were certain it was over.
In Matthew chapter 27 verse 66 the chief priests and the Pharisees sealed the tomb and posted a guard.
They sealed the tomb themselves. They posted the guard themselves. They did everything they could think of to make absolutely certain the story was finished. They went home satisfied. The problem was solved. The threat was eliminated. The movement would dissolve now that the man at the centre of it was gone.
They were certain it was over.
Three days later the stone was rolled away.
Think about every moment in the last ten years when the people opposing him were certain it was finished. After the Access Hollywood tape. After the first impeachment. After the second impeachment. After the conviction. After the indictments. After Butler.
Each time they sealed the tomb. Each time they posted the guard. Each time they went home satisfied.
And each time he was still there.
I want to say one more time what I said at the beginning.
I am not saying Donald Trump is Jesus. Scripture does not say that and neither do I.
What I am saying is that the enemy of God's purposes has always used the same playbook. False witnesses. Rigged processes. Inside betrayal. Mockery. Violence. Abandonment by allies. And the absolute certainty that this time it is finally over.
He has used it against every man God placed in an important moment. And it has never worked. Not once in the entire history of Scripture has the playbook produced the final result it was designed to produce.
Because the God who rolled away the stone in Jerusalem is the same God who is watching what is happening in America right now. And He has already seen how this ends.
In Psalm 2 verse 4 David wrote this. The One enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.
Not panics. Not scrambles. Laughs.
Because He has already seen every sealed tomb opened. Every crown of thorns turned into a crown of glory. Every betrayal turned into the mechanism that carried the mission forward.
He is not worried about the playbook. He wrote the ending before the playbook was ever used.
God bless you, friend. He is not finished yet.
With you in prayer always, Father Thomas
This week I want you to do three things:
One. Read Matthew chapter 26 and 27 this week. The whole account of the trial and the crucifixion. Read it slowly. As you read each section write down which of the seven methods you see being used. Let the pattern land fully before you move to the next chapter.
Two. Read Psalm 2 out loud this week. All twelve verses. Pay attention to verse 4. The One enthroned in heaven laughs. Let that verse be louder than anything the news says this week.
Three. Read They Tried To Stop Him this week: https://fatherthomasletters.com/products/they-tried-to-stop-him-what-the-bible-says-about-donald-trump
I wrote it to show you the full pattern — not just the seven things I described tonight but the entire Biblical case for what I believe God is doing in this moment. Read it and see if what you have been watching starts to look less like chaos and more like something you have seen before.
P.S. If you want to go deeper on anything I have written, everything is available at fatherthomasletters.com/products — including The Signs Are Here, which maps today's headlines directly against the specific passages that described them, and the Father Thomas Prayer Card Collection, which many of you have told me you return to every morning. Take a look when you have a moment.