On the 29th, marking the one-month mark of the war with Iran, President Donald Trump posted a letter from a pastor on his social media. The letter is said to have been sent to President Trump on October 15 of last year by Franklin Graham, a prominent evangelical pastor from North Carolina.
In the letter, Pastor Graham stated, “The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the return of the hostage’s home are remarkable achievements,” adding, “Your leadership is historic.” He then quoted a passage from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew stating, “Peacemakers are blessed,” and wrote, “Mr. President, that is exactly you.” Pastor Graham said, “You told the press that you might not go to heaven,” adding, “You may have answered as a joke, but it is a very important matter to know with certainty that your soul is safe in God’s presence and will spend eternity there.”
On October 13 of last year, when asked by reporters on his private plane whether he thought his chances of going to heaven had increased due to mediating the Gaza ceasefire agreement, President Trump replied, “I don’t think I’m going to heaven. I probably am not going to heaven.”
In a Fox News interview on August 19 of last year, President Trump also said, “I want to try to go to heaven, if possible,” while expressing his desire to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and save people. Emphasizing to President Trump the importance of repentance for sins and faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross, Pastor Graham said, “If you accept it by faith… you will certainly go to heaven. I promise.”
Reverend Graham is the son of the late Reverend Billy Graham, who led large-scale evangelical rallies in Korea. Immediately after President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, he stated that the results were not official and that one should be cautious in accepting them; however, he later revealed that “President Trump definitely lost.”
He also served as a bridge for Trump’s visit to Korea during his first term. Attention is focused on the background of President Trump’s decision to disclose a letter on the theme of “peace” that he received about five months ago while mediating a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, amidst the ongoing war with Iran that has caused heavy casualties and a global economic crisis. The day President Trump disclosed Reverend Graham’s letter also falls within the Christian season of Lent, which commemorates the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus mentioned in the letter.