Donald Trump and the Antichrist Archetype
Are Donald Trump and the MAGA movement the Antichrist? It’s a provocative question posed by mystic-activist Matthew Fox in an urgently written, little book he released before the seismic U.S. election. To anticipate Fox’s thoughts and my own, too: yes and no. An individual cannot be identified as the Antichrist. That’s too easy and falls into the fundamentalist trap of literalizing biblical symbols and applying them to current events. Many Christians have predicted the end of the world, reading the “signs of the times,” calling this Pope or that King absolute evil, only for the world to keep going and for their claims to become cringeworthy with time. It’s relatively easy to fling evil titles at one’s opponent without groundedness in what structural evil might be, the witness of Jesus, and what it might mean to be against the good, true, and beautiful mission that Jesus was about.
I hope I am doing something different with my ongoing book of Revelation series, which is to read the “apocalyptic” through a symbolic lens of love that does not assume that God is a Terminator out to kill us (no “I’ll be back” theology here). Matthew Fox sees Antichrist as one way of identifying an archetypal reality of coalescing evil, a symbol that names systemic injustice and the abusive wielding of power—and one that I believe we can apply responsibly to the incoming President and the racism, sexism, and reality-denying movement that embraced him.
I view Fox as a spiritual genius, integrating his decades of study, teaching, and writing on topics as varied as healthy archetypes for men, the Cosmic Christ, the spirituality and science of angels, and creativity. I’ve learned so much from him. And, of course, Fox’s many books on the impact of mystical spirituality for our time have contributed mightily to the rise of interest in mystics such as Hildegard of Bingen and Meister Eckhart. So, when Matthew Fox releases reflections entitled Trump & the Maga Movement as Anti-Christ, I pay attention. It’s a quick read, surveying the concept of the Antichrist in art, psychology, and mystical teachings through the fire of Fox’s political passion. Once I read it, the ideas lingered and grew stronger, which I usually take as an impetus to write—even if I’m uncomfortable doing so.
Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash
The way that Fox uses Antichrist is not as a single person or specific movement but as a universal symbol or archetype. He is inspired by the work of Carl Jung, who identified the Antichrist as an archetype that can become activated when mass delusion, abuse of power, and religion mix. Here’s Jungian scholar Sue Merhtens, from a riveting article: “Throughout the course of history Antichrists have used this [numinous] quality of the archetype to stir up the crowd, encourage ‘mass-mindedness (which Jung regarded as dangerous and dehumanizing), and sway their followers to commit atrocities in the name of tribe, country, or God.” Antichrist is the polar opposite archetype and the “shadow self” of Christ, mirroring the positive attributes of Christ with evil.
When viewed this way, it is very easy to point out the anti-Christ, polar opposite behaviors of Trump (and many have done so better than me). Consider:
Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20), but Trump’s entire persona is built on boasted wealth as a “successful” businessman who knows how to pursue the “art of the deal.”
Jesus said to disciples, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26), but Trump’s obsession with “the greatest” and “the best” is built on alpha-male dominating power that mocks the weak and the “loser.”
Jesus taught us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), but Trump insults his opponents and calls for jailing his political foes.
Jesus welcomed the hungry, thirsty, sick, and impoverished stranger (Matthew 25), but Trump is threatening mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Jesus said that the “grain of wheat” or self must die to find true life (John 12:24), but Donald Trump’s selfishness almost knows no bounds. I think of how his downplaying of mask-wearing during COVID directly undermined public health recommendations and undoubtedly caused deaths.
Jesus said, “I am the Truth” (John 14:6), but Donald Trump is such a serial liar that it’s impossible to count his untruths. CNN fact-checked just two Pennsylvania speeches and counted forty lies. The “Big Lie” about how he won the 2020 election when he was roundly defeated snowballed into a lie that millions of people believed so fervently that they attacked the United States capitol to try to stop the election certification process for Biden.
I could go on and on and on.
Matthew Fox summarizes:
As Jesus represented the Christ, so others can represent the opposite at different times in history. As Jesus taught love and forgiveness, others teach hate and revenge; as Jesus represented the good and the sacred, others stand for the bad and for evil; as Jesus represented joy and peace, others can bring darkness, strife, and war; as Jesus represented justice and compassion, others can represent injustice and chaos, greed and envy. As Jesus represented dignity for the lowest in society and therefore democracy, others can represent narcissism and autocracy…. It is the entire MAGA movement that puts hatred ahead of our better angels.
For those new readers who have joined since the release of my book The Holy Ordinary, I’ve been slow-writing on the book of Revelation for over four years. These times seem ripe for regularly revisiting the Bible’s most notorious book. Revelation does not use the term Antichrist, but later Christians read Revelation and found the Antichrist there.
In particular, Christians have read the beasts of Revelation 13 through the legend of the Antichrist. In that chapter, John the seer envisions three monstrous beasts, a “trinity of evil”: a dragon, a beast that rises from the sea, and another beast that rises from the earth. Each has horns, multiple heads, and fearsome traits. The people worship the sea beast and say, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (13:4). He’s so strong and victorious—what a winner! For its part, the sea beast exercises power on behalf of the first beast. It has two horns like a lamb—meaning that it looks like and convinces others that it is Christlike—but speaks like a dragon. This second beast deceives the people of the earth, causing rich, poor, free, and slave to be marked on the hand or forehead (red ball caps, anyone? Note: I’m being playful, not literal). This is the famous “sign of the beast,” made popular by apocalyptic fearmongering.
With its beastly visions, Revelation provides surprisingly nuanced and overlapping symbols of domination power. The danger of Antichrist is not one person but how one person like Trump can participate with larger forces of power. Trump represents a melding of domination power through cultic personality, big money and empire, because beasts in the Bible are associated with empires. If that’s a new idea for you, check out the four beasts representing four kingdoms dreamed by the prophet Daniel: one like a lion with an eagle’s wings, one like a bear, another like a leopard, and another with four heads and wings like a bird (Daniel 7). John’s beasts in Revelation are an updated mixtape of Daniel’s nightmare. This “trinity of evil”—dragon, sea beast, and land beast—“is the way John communicates a broader theology about evil and how it becomes manifest in the world.” (Robyn Whitaker)
The antidote to Antichrist is Christ. The book of Revelation can help us understand the symbolic architecture of evil, but the way forward is not new or that complicated. It is the nonviolent way of Jesus, the symbolic lamb in the book of Revelation, who chooses death rather than domination. It is loving God and our neighbors—the ones who are similar to us and the ones who are different, including the planet itself—as we love ourselves. But sometimes love becomes revolutionary, depending on the times we are living in.
P.S. For those new here since my book’s publication, if you only want to receive “holy ordinary” posts and not my apocalyptic musings, you can manage your subscription by clicking “unsubscribe” at the bottom of this email and unchecking the “Revelations” subscription. I hope you’ll stay, but no hard feelings. Revelation is not for everybody! Otherwise, see you next week.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said here, Mark - I would point out that the success of the archetypal anti-Christ depends on deception. This deception, of course, is used to gain power and abuse that power (as you’ve pointed out). The infuriating, perplexing, worrisome thing is that in our current times those who are deceived are the Christian Nationalists - in other words, those who call themselves the “best” Christians. They are brainwashed, deluded, and deceived into believing that they are fighting for Christ, when literally everything about the movement is anti-Christ (as you’ve also pointed out masterfully).
I love the line that God is not The Terminator! I'm grappling with the resonance of the anti-Christ mythology. On the one hand, it can describe the tyrant who appeals to hatred and fear to win allegiance. But I also wonder if Hal Lindsey has ruined the metaphor for all of us. Does using the anti-Christ label allow us to place evil and injustice outside of ourselves, and project it completely on to others? If active love and non-violence is the way, does the term anti-Christ help or hinder the work?