You’ve been in the news a lot lately because you have some sort of monomania regarding the antichrist. As a theologian, I may be able to help you understand some things in order to assuage your seeming fears. I can’t tell you precisely who the antichrist “is” because there is no 21st century person who is “The Antichrist.” I can, however point you in the direction of a mirror so you can see what someone who is antichrist looks like. I can assure you, the image will not look like Greta Thunberg. Allow me to explain…

To start with, the apocalyptic Book of Revelation, is not in any way shape or form a book that foretells 21st century events despite what people like you, Hal Lindsey, or the authors of the absurd Left Behind series Timothy LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins proclaim. Revelation is a piece of Christian apocalyptic literature that John of Patmos wrote about the Roman Empire. In it John uses a great deal of symbolic imagery and uncompromising authoritarian language in an attempt to convince first century Christians to take no part in supporting or participating in the things the Roman Empire did. For John, there was no gray area when it came to Rome. Perhaps the authoritarian language is what speaks so much to you Peter. You might want to listen to our interview with Dr. Greg Carey about Revelation. Carey, unlike you, is a biblical scholar whose area of expertise is apocalyptic Christian literature. He encourages readers to reread Revelation as a “call to resist empire,” and not a secret code for the “end times.” In short, the Bible does not predict a 21st century leader who will become “The Antichrist.”

As a theologian however, who has read the gospels many times, I can readily spot people whose beliefs and behaviors are clearly anti-christ. People who hoard wealth for instance, instead of using their vast resources to alleviate poverty and suffering are readily identifiable as people who are anti-christ. Jesus had a great deal to say about people like that. People like you Peter, and like the current wealthy predator in the White House, whose campaign you financially supported, are precisely the kind of people Jesus preached against. Your personal fortune is well known. You are a multi-billionaire. There simply is no way that a billionaire can simultaneously maintain that level of wealth and truly follow Jesus. If you don’t believe me, please consult the Gospel narratives Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Jesus had a lot to say about people who were brazen hypocrites. You are a gay man and you have a husband. There is absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong with gay people getting married — despite what unaffirming Christians believe the Bible says. Despite that, you support a President whose Christian nationalist platform targets LGBTQIA people. Your wealth and proximity to power shield you from the worst aspects of the Christian nationalist homophobic and transphobic agenda. They are pushing for gender essentialism and so-called “traditional” heterosexual values based on their misguided reading of the Bible. They want to outlaw your marriage and all gay marriages. The Trump DOJ just released a memo that proclaims anyone who is “anti-Christian” or “anti-traditional values” is a terrorist. The people behind this memo believe that you, by virtue of your sexual orientation and marriage are both, yet you support them anyway.

In doing some background research on you, I learned that your world view is shaped by the Nazi philosopher Carl Schmitt. When it comes to Nazis, generalizations are actually appropriate. There were no Nazis who were good people. There were no Nazis who truly followed Jesus. Jesus was famously both Jewish and anti-authoritarian. Nazis were virulently anti-Jewish and pro-fascism. Can you see where I am going here Peter? Go re-read Matthew 20:24-28. In that passage Jesus tells his disciples not to be like the gentiles who are tyrannical when holding power, but rather to serve people as Christ showed them how to do. One can’t choose to incorporate Nazi philosophy into their world view and follow Jesus. As you stand before your mirror, you should ask yourself why you choose to serve power and wealth while promoting authoritarianism that looks nothing at all like Jesus.

The Earth is the only planet we as humans have to inhabit. The biblical narrative in Genesis readily proclaims the God created it and called every aspect of creation good. That tells me as a theologian that we should protect, conserve, and help to reverse ecological damage in order to promote human thriving and the biodiversity that God called good. As I have said many times, most recently on the Christianity without Compromise podcast, we cannot love our neighbors by destroying the planet and the ecosystems our neighbors rely on to maintain life. You seemed to have missed that important memo.

Love of neighbor and the golden rule are core Christian teachings that come directly from Jesus. You have a disdain for caring for the only planet humanity has, the one planet the Bible says God created and called good. That to me is definitely anti-christ. You have speculated that one of the planet’s most well know environmental activists is the antichrist and that Armageddon’s coming will be presaged by fear of climate change. You can deny reality all you want, but climate change is an existential threat to all humanity. Your wealth won’t save you from that. Once again, your wealth and desire for authoritarian power, put you on the wrong side of history and of Christianity. Your support for environmentally destructive technologies and for unregulated libertarian style capitalism put you directly at odds with biblical teachings.

Jesus is also known as the Prince of Peace. You on the other hand continue to promote technologies for warmongering in order to increase your wealth and power while supporting authoritarian regimes. Your company Palantir is supporting the U.S. military industrial complex as well as Israel’s genocide. Tolkien is probably turning in his grave. Palantir also provides support for ICE as they engage in fascist immigration crackdowns in order to promote white supremacy and white Christian nationalism. All of those things are anti-christ. The Bible can be arcane at times, but it is never ambiguous about how immigrants are to be treated. Once again, you’re on the wrong side of Jesus and of history.

It is clear to me Peter that you should stop worrying about the apocalypse and start actually trying to follow Jesus since you claim to be a Christian. Jesus was not about gaining and maintaining power over others. He made that clear in the temptation narratives and in the passage noted above. Jesus was not about amassing wealth as he made clear in many of his parables and other teachings. Jesus was not about waging war or engaging in retributive violence as his healing of the centurion’s slave and in the way he nonviolently withstood state sponsored terrorism by Roman crucifixion. You, on the other hand, have made your life and work about amassing wealth, gaining and maintaining authoritarian power, militarism, ecological destruction, and being a xenophobic bigot. It’s past time for you to repent, and by that I mean to truly turn away from and renounce all of those anti-christian beliefs and behaviors.

As a theologian, I encourage you to divest from your wealth by using it to truly serve the poor, the vulnerable, the hungry, the thirsty, the displaced, the intentionally marginalized. Go enact Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19:16-26. If you choose not to do so, you might as well stand in front of a mirror contemplating the antichrist as you gaze at your reflection…

Peace be with you.

If you appreciate my work, show me some love via Cash App: $dilloncruz1972 or pick up a copy of my books: Dillon Naber Cruz