what left behind taught me about deception
There’s this one scene from Left Behind that has been popping into my mind since 2016. It’s the one where the Antichrist rises to power, speaks with this creepy calm confidence, and everyone just believes him—except Buck (the main character played by Kirk Cameron). They hang on his every word, cheer him on, look the other way when he does terrible, indefensible things, and fall right into line. When I first saw it as an evangelical, I remember feeling terrified, thinking, “Wow, it’s going to be so obvious when this guy shows up. How could people not see it?”
And yet, here we are.
Every time I watch that clip now (here it is if you want to see what I’m talking about: YouTube Link), I can’t help but think of how Trump has controlled evangelicals. Not just politically, but spiritually. It's like a real-life version of that fictional scene, only instead of disbelief and horror, there's applause. Instead of warning sirens, there are worship songs and public, showy prayers.
How did we get here?
When Trump came on the scene, he wasn’t seen as a politician by my fellow evangelicals, he was seen as a deliverer. A modern-day Cyrus, a divine wrecking ball sent to defend "Christian values." Never mind the lies, the cruelty, the ego. After all, he was God’s man. Some of the people I used to sit beside in church pews now post memes calling him “the chosen one” and share prophecies saying God anointed him to “restore America.”
It’s the same energy from that Left Behind scene: a room full of people blindly clapping while someone manipulates their deepest fears and desires. Except this time, it’s not a fictitious story in a terrible movie.
Watching this has been surreal, and honestly, heartbreaking. I used to be a part of that world. I know what it feels like to want so badly to be on “the right side of prophecy,” to defend your beliefs, no matter what. But at some point, defending your faith turns into defending a man. And that man becomes the measure of your loyalty, your goodness, even your salvation.
I’ve had people tell me I’ve been “deceived” because I never supported Trump. Some say I’ve fallen away, or that my faith is weak. But I think walking away from blind allegiance is an act of faith. It’s trusting in the real Jesus, not a political caricature propped up by fear and Christian nationalism.
I used to think the scariest part of the end times would be being left behind. Now I wonder if the scariest part is getting swept up in something you were never meant to follow in the first place.
If the Left Behind movies taught us anything, it’s that deception isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it comes wearing a suit, holding a Bible with his autograph in it, selling cologne and quoting just enough Scripture to make it sound holy.
I’m convinced now: Those of us who walked away from that are not lost or deceived. No, we’re finally seeing clearly, the way Buck did in that boardroom. And it’s breaking our hearts that people we love, respected and worshipped alongside of are completely blind to it.
