The Fake & Fraudulent Prophets Around the President
September 4, 2026 |
Daniel Henderson
Not a chance in hell (and Jesus would know.)
How do I know? I believe we can glean from the writings of the ancient texts of scripture what type of Jesus would do now, based on how he is said to have responded to the religious and political climate of the first century.
In the Gospels, Jesus tells stories about people being “taken.” Some modern Christians interpret these as references to the “rapture,” but that interpretation didn’t even exist until about 150 years ago – a brand-new heresy in the scheme of Christian theology.
No, Jesus was warning his followers to stay alert—because people were being taken. Snatched away. The Greek word is harpazo, meaning “to seize or snatch away by force.” It’s a violent word. One Jesus’ audience would have recognized from firsthand experience. It was the word used to describe Roman military raids—when soldiers would storm into homes in the night and drag someone away, sometimes never to be seen again. No charges. No due process. Just unaccountable state violence.
Snatched away was also a word Jesus used when making a a promise of refuge in a world where even your home wasn’t safe.
So no—Jesus wouldn’t cheer the resurgence of state-sanctioned harpazo. And yet, we are seeing it happen.
Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the United States—a green card holder—was harpazo’d by the Trump administration. Taken without a warrant, without charges, without notification to his family or lawyer. His “crime”? Protesting. A constitutionally protected right.
It took days to find him in a Louisiana detention facility. Even if he had committed a crime (he hadn’t), this is a violation of due process and human dignity.
Still, some try to dismiss it with, “Well, what about all the crimes committed by illegal immigrants?”
Let’s be clear: Undocumented people commit far fewer crimes per capita than American citizens. Also, no matter what you might here, it is not a dangerous crime to exist as an undocumented human being on American soil. Your swimming pool or car are infinitely more likely to harm you or your family than an immigrant.
Perhaps we can all understand, this isn’t just about crime, it’s about power. It’s about the normalization of authoritarian tactics.
Because if the government can harpazo Mahmoud Khalil – without trial, without transparency – it can happen to anyone. If the state can say, “We know you’ve committed a crime” and never be required to prove it? No one is safe.
Once again, people are being taken. Snatched away by masked ICE officers while walking their kids to school. While showing up for court. While clocking in at work. Trying to follow the rules “the right way” as demanded of the very system designed to expel them.
Jesus said his sheep would never be harpazo’d from his hand. But today, some Christians celebrate the same cruelty being used against people just trying to survive.
Many of these same Christians still use harpazo to build the idea of the Rapture. But I have to ask—do you really think a word soaked in state terror and historical trauma was ever meant to describe something good?
The Jesus I follow wouldn’t call harpazo a blessing. He’d call it oppression.
Let’s remember:
And He never once commanded prayer for Herod, or Cyrus, or David to come save the faith. Jesus came to dismantle systems of domination, not partner with them.
So please help me understand: How does the story of Jesus in the Gospels look anything like the right-wing American Christian church today?
Maybe it’s time we stop defending the systems doing the snatching—and start following the one who offers refuge from them.
