In the days following the July 13 assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump, an application of Scripture related to the situation (see image below) is making the rounds on social media and drawing growing concern from ministry leaders in the process.
Derek Allen, pastor of First Baptist Church Tillman’s Corner in the Mobile area, addressed the concern earlier today (July 17).
“I don’t want to be unnecessarily cruel, but this post is way out of bounds,” Allen wrote on Facebook. “If you are a follower of Christ and have shared any version of this post, please take it down. In the future, please check with a solid, conservative Bible scholar/pastor before posting something like it. There are so many issues with it that I’m not sure where to start.”
Allen outlines his concerns:
1. “The blood placed on the earlobe of Aaron, his sons and cleansed lepers came from a sacrifice made at the Tabernacle and later the Temple. It did not come from the person being ritually purified. The whole point was that something else had to die for the person to be purified and set apart.”
“This is an example of gross mishandling of Scripture,” Allen said. “When one small part of something kind of fits something that supports something we want, we run with bad interpretations and applications of Scripture. Those of us who believe the Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God often criticize liberal interpretations of Scripture that take the same approach. We have to guard ourselves from letting our emotions take us to such places.”
3. “The blood used in purification under the Mosaic Covenant points to the substitutionary atonement accomplished through Jesus’ death. It does not point to an American presidential candidate. The only blood that can cleanse Donald Trump or any of us is the blood of Jesus.”
4. “We have so much hope and truth in the gospel. There is no need to reach for a far-flung interpretation of an obscure passage of Scripture misapplied to our current situation to find hope. Jesus is King! Jesus has conquered death! Jesus forgives repentant sinners and brings them into God’s family! Jesus is returning to rule and reign for all of eternity!”
‘Corrective response’
Scott Guffin, a ministry leader in the Birmingham area, is among several who commended Allen for his response and among a growing number of pastors speaking out across various social media channels.
“Please read this well-written pastoral reply to a post filled with gross scriptural misinterpretation that has been making the rounds on Facebook,” Guffin wrote on his Facebook page. “I’m greatly indebted to pastor Derek Allen for this strong, biblical corrective response.”
No need for ‘wrongly applying Scripture’
Zac Reno, a Birmingham-area pastor, added (also on Facebook), “It is absolutely right for Christians to celebrate the fact that former President Donald Trump survived an attempted assassination. I believe it is also right to credit God for His protection since every good and perfect gift comes from God.
“This would be true for anyone in this same situation, regardless of what political party they represent. However, we must NOT use this situation to misrepresent Scripture as some are doing with the post that Pastor Derek is referring to. There is already enough in this story to thank God for without having to read anything else into it, especially by wrongly applying Scripture that has nothing to do with the situation.”
‘Bible is not a prop’
Montgomery-area pastor Daniel Atkins also posted a plea on social media for believers to be careful about applying the Word of God to political leaders and situations.
“The Bible is not a prop,” Atkins said. “The Bible is not to be used for political gain. It is the revelation of God to lead us to repentance and salvation through Jesus.
“Rightly handle the word of truth,” he said. “There’s a lot of borderline — maybe even blatant — blasphemy happening on social media right now. We should be thankful that President Trump is still alive. We should grieve the loss of the life of a very heroic man.
“But, we must be very very careful in how we read, interpret and apply the Word of the Holy God.”
Leviticus passages being shared
The Alabama Baptist has not confirmed where the information being shared originated, but it focuses on Leviticus 8:22–24 and Leviticus 14:28 and seems to indicate that Trump having blood on his right ear is significant from a spiritual standpoint.
This is a screenshot of the post being shared:
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