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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Cooper: Fort Oglethorpe billboard picturing Trump with messianic words is wrong-headed

Contributed photo by Dr. Jeff Scott / A billboard in Fort Oglethorpe last week seemed to link former President Donald Trump and a messianic verse from the Old Testament. The billboard message has been replaced.
Contributed photo by Dr. Jeff Scott / A billboard in Fort Oglethorpe last week seemed to link former President Donald Trump and a messianic verse from the Old Testament. The billboard message has been replaced. Contributed photo by Dr. Jeff Scott / A billboard in Fort Oglethorpe last week seemed to link former President Donald Trump and a messianic verse from the Old Testament. The billboard message has been replaced.

The billboard apparently wasn’t up for long, but it was up long enough last week to make more than a few people boiling mad.

Perhaps it made a few people happy, but we would submit they may be confused about their allegiances.

The billboard, just outside of Chattanooga in Fort Oglethorpe, near Cloud Spring Road on Highway 27 going north, featured an image of former President Donald Trump, an American flag and the words “Unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.” Below that image were the words “Joint Heirs” and the Bible reference of Romans 8:17.

Let us do a little unpacking.

First, the words “Unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders” are from Isaiah 9:6. Christians and biblical scholars believe the words prophesy the coming of Jesus Christ.