Paul Luckraft reviews ‘God’s Chaos Candidate’ by Dr Lance Wallnau (2016).

One of the big questions of 2016 was, ‘How did Donald Trump get elected to the highest office in the USA, if not the world?’ As his inauguration happens today many will be repeating that question and wondering how it will all work out. Here is a fascinating book that provides insights into the personal journey of the new President and the state of the country he is about to lead.

The title itself is an interesting one, based upon Jeb Bush’s description of Donald Trump as “the chaos candidate”. Lance Wallnau has taken this and given it a prophetic twist, advocating that Trump, rather than being the candidate of chaos, is the right man to lead America through and out of the chaos that has descended upon the nation in recent decades. Hence the phrase in the subtitle, the American Unraveling, to which he devotes a whole chapter towards the end of the book.

A Wrecking Ball?

The first chapter is available as a free download on the author’s website and I would recommend reading this as a taster for the book as a whole. In sum, Dr Wallnau believes that God has chosen Trump to be a “wrecking ball to the spirit of political correctness” (p7) and that he is God’s anointed leader for the coming years in the same way that the Lord chose Cyrus in the past (Isa 45).

The author is clear that Trump’s personal faith is not the main issue here, though he does argue that while Trump is far from being an evangelical Christian, he does support many Christian values and offers a new opportunity for America’s Christian heritage to flourish again.

Wallnau advocates that Trump, rather than being the candidate of chaos, is the right man to lead America out of the chaos that has descended upon it in recent decades.

A New Cyrus?

The author’s thesis is that God can use those who are not specifically ‘one of his own’, just as he has in the past (as well as Cyrus, Wallnau cites, among others, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill). In emergency situations (especially those of a chaotic nature), what is required is a different kind of leader, someone with a transformational agenda and the capability of putting it into practice - rather than one committed to maintaining the status quo with all its self-interest and propagation of political power.

Trump’s emergence as a “rugged wilderness voice” has created a “destabilizing threat to the vast deal making machinery” (p8) that permeates the Washington scene in both political parties. And this, the author believes, is exactly what is needed at this time.

Warning - Dominionism

Quite a bit of the book is devoted to the US political scene, which may be of more interest to some readers than others, but it does not prevent the book being a readable account of how the USA has been affected by the strategists of the Progressive Left. The author argues that the ‘seven mountains of culture’ (Religion, Family, Education, Government, News Media, Entertainment, Business/Economics) have been hijacked to reduce the impact of Christianity in the nation and to attack Christian values.

As such, Wallnau suggests, the USA is now facing its ‘Fourth Crucible’, a defining moment on a similar plane to events like the founding Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression and WW2. Another four or eight years of the same kind of government, from either party, could lead to a permanent unravelling and even ultimate collapse.

There are many interesting insights in this part of the book, but it is also important to note at this point the author’s clear and problematic devotion to dominion theology, specifically the ‘Seven Mountains’ branch. Dominion theology involves dangerous and deceptive interpretations of Scripture that this magazine does not endorse – neither can we endorse the highly influential ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ (NAR) group in the USA, out of which many of these teachings emanate.

Nevertheless, despite Wallnau’s clear connections here, this book provides a valid perspective on Trump and his entry into modern American politics that is worth weighing and holding in the context of a broader understanding of God’s word and purposes.

The author's thesis is that God can use those who are not specifically 'one of his own' - he cites Cyrus, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, among others.

Trump the Man

Furthermore, Wallnau is not writing from a distance. He has met Trump personally and had regular access to him as part of a group of Christian pastors and leaders with whom Trump has had several meetings in recent years.

Wallnau has also researched Trump’s past and gained an understanding of what makes him tick as a businessman and family man, and how he thinks and operates today. These sections of the book provide revealing insights into the man who is about to become one of the world’s most powerful leaders. If our view of Trump so far is based on mainstream media output, then here is a welcome balance. The author has sought to put the record straight - or at least to straighten it out a bit.

Trump may be an unpolished performer politically, and he will make mistakes, but he is someone who tells the truth as he sees it and who will shake things up where necessary. As a very successful businessman and CEO his approach to the American economy will be to treat it as one big enterprise, a company that needs to pay its way rather than get deeper and deeper into debt.

God’s Common Grace

Inevitably the author faces questions along the lines of 'Is Trump a Christian?' He admits that Trump is no choir boy but believes that he does pray and is genuine in seeking God and re-establishing Christian principles which he does understand. His declaration to church leaders that they “have gotten soft” (p49-50) is most revealing! He has had personal moments of soul-seeking and spiritual transformation, and many encounters with anointed preachers (mainly African-American clergy who remain a key influence).

The author firmly believes that God’s ‘common grace’ is upon him, which he explains more fully in chapter 5. He asserts that “It has gradually dawned on evangelicals that having the right person in the Oval Office may be more important than voting their favorite Christian” (p68). Perhaps that answers the question posed earlier of how Donald Trump did get elected.

There are many interesting insights in the book, but it is also important to note the author's clear and problematic devotion to 'dominion theology'.

Seeing a Different Future

If we believe that God really does control nations and their destinies, then a critical consideration of Dr Wallnau’s book is important – whether or not you agree with the rest of his theology.

Perhaps, as the author suggests, Trump has been able to see a different future and is not afraid to go there. And if he has offered himself to the task of guiding America there, then at least he deserves our prayers. Perhaps he will find the Presidential office a transformational one for himself. If God has called him, then he will want to equip him.

God’s Chaos Candidate (156 pages, Killer Sheep Media Inc.) is available from Amazon for £10 (less on Kindle). For more information about the book and to read its first chapter, visit the official website.