Thread by @TaylorMatthewD

I was at the New Apostolic Reformation's "Million Women March" event on the National Mall today.

I gave comments to several reporters there but thought I'd offer a more extended set of reflections on this very alarming Christian nationalist episode. 1/

amillionwomen.org

1st, on crowd size: I'm suspicious of almost all claims about counting large crowds (unless there's a long history of benchmarking that exact space, e.g. Presidential inaugurations).

To illustrate: the NT Times story says there were "hundreds" there. 2/

nytimes.com/2024/10/12/us/…

By contrast, Cindy Jacobs claimed park rangers told the organizers it was 250K. That's closer.

Here's a National Mall map w/ the space marked. It was definitely into the tens & maybe the low hundred thousands.

The Times way understated it. 3/

This was a full-blown NAR spectacle (which they're very good at doing).

All the elements of NAR spiritual-warfare iconography on display: shofars, tallits (Jewish prayer shawls), Israel flags, Appeal to Heaven flags, Let Us Worship branded gear.

It looked like January 6th. 4/

Most of the major (& many minor) NAR cast of characters spoke from the stage:
-Lou Engle
-Jenny Donnelly
-Ché Ahn
-Dutch Sheets
-Cindy Jacobs
-Lance Wallnau
-Robert Henderson
-Will Ford
+
-Bill Johnson (Bethel)
-Jonathan Cahn (Messianic rabbi)
-Jason Sobel (Messianic rabbi) 5/

In NAR terminology, this was an "identificational repentance" & spiritual warfare event -- they purposely staged it on Yom Kippur to make it about atoning for America's sins.

The specific sins: antisemitism, LGBTQ rights & recognition, everything trans, abortion, feminism. 6/

The apex of the spectacle was Jonathan Cahn (wearing has tallit as a cape) smashing a reconstructed altar to Ashtoreth, an ancient Canaanite goddess they claimed was a demonic principality dominating modern America.

They staged it w/ WWF-style hype. 7/

On a side note: Evidently, they literally constructed an altar to an idol, an ancient pagan goddess. Talk about biblical no-nos!

They even (or some reason I couldn't ascertain) carved Hebrew letters on it.

It called to mind this infamous NAR tableau: 8/ facebook.com/watch/?v=33018…

This was also, functionally, a pro-Israel rally with constant references to blessing Israel, supporting Israel ("unequivocally"), sympathizing w/ Israeli suffering, & appropriating Jewish symbols.

I didn't hear even a slight gesture of compassion toward Palestinian suffering. 9/

The entire day was framed around the Esther story, w/ all the women being called "Esthers" & all the men "Mordecais."

I'd estimate the crowd was about 60% women, & there were lots of messages of empowering women but also bad-talking feminism as a demonic, false liberation. 10/

Not for nothing: this was one of the most multi-ethnic Christian crowds I have ever seen.

If you took a cross-section of American Christianity, it was all here: white folks, African Americans, Latina/os, Asian Americans, immigrants, tattoos, conservative dresses, etc. 11/

I attended 1 of Wallnau's Courage Tour events this summer (), this event was less overtly partisan, but the crowd was littered w/ Trump paraphernalia.

Trump-support was assumed by all.

Kamala supporters & feminists not welcome at this women's march. 12/

I talked to Rebecca, a Chinese-Amer naturalized immigrant, wearing an Ashli Babbitt martyr t-shirt.

She'd was there on Jan 6th, & she compared it to Tiananmen Square (police attacking peaceful protesters).

She said she couldn't trust the results of the 2024 election. 13/

I talked to Luis who drove from Boston. He was carrying an Appeal to Heaven flag & shofar. I noted those symbols were prominent on January 6th.

He said: some Xns were praying in DC on J6, but "the media has found a way to sabotage us... portray us as here to cause problems." 14/

The most disturbing part of the day happened very late, after the altar-smashing & after most reporters had filed their stories, so I don't expect to see much news coverage of it.

Ché Ahn got up to make an apostolic decree. You can see it here:

15/

Lou Engle's been Ché's right-hand prophet for 30+ years. Plus Ché was the one who ordained Jenny Donnelly as an apostle, so, in the NAR theology, Ché was the apostolic overseer of this movement & event.

The altar-smash was pageantry, Ché's declaration was the real finale. 16/

Ché basically reprised his speech on January 5, 2021 (ugetube.com/watch/pastor-c…) that I spent a whole episode of Charismatic Revival Fury unpacking (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epi…).

He repeated the typology of "Trump as Jehu", but now specifically cast Harris as a "type of Jezebel." 17/

Ché Ahn said, "Jehu will cast down Jezebel."

Then: "I decree it by faith that Trump will win on Nov the 5th. He will be our 47th president. And Kamala Harris will be cast down. She will lose, in Jesus' mighty name."

In case the biblical ref is obscure, here's 2 Kings 9. 18/

This is among the most violent, vindictive stories in the Hebrew Bible: Jehu is an instrument of divine wrath, who commands Jezebel be executed by her own servants throwing her out of a tower (i.e., "cast down").

Jehu then tramples her w/ his horse, & dogs eat her body. 19/

The message of the story is that Jezebel is so profane that her body must be reduced to dog dung. Importantly, this was prophesied by Elijah.

So, here, Ché Ahn is prophesying that story & that imagery to cast the 2024 election as Jehu (Trump) "casting down" Jezebel (Harris). 20/

& in case you're thinking, "perhaps Ché is just making an allusion to victory that doesn't intend to invoke violence," here's an image from his friend & fellow NAR apostle James Nesbit imagining that very scene.

This is NAR politicized spiritual warfare at its most ghastly. 21/

This was literally the spiritual imagery & rhetoric that instigated Christians to violence on January 6th.

Here Ché Ahn is invoking it w/ an even more targeted, just-veiled-enough-to-be-deniable, spiritual assassination order on Kamala Harris.

That was the msg of the day. 22/

If Trump wins in Nov, the NAR will be jubilant, regularly pointing back to this event as a moment of spiritually securing his victory, a cosmic Christian nationalist breakthrough.

But I'm honestly more worried about the role this event will play if Trump loses. 23/

We saw, in late 2020, how NAR-led mass events like these, leading up to the election, segued directly into Jericho Marches & spiritual warfare at the Capitol on January 6th.

If Trump loses, I fear we will look back on the Million Women March as a mass radicalization event. 24/

Of course, if real violence occurs, the NAR leaders will deny it had anything to do w/ them & claim this was just an event about revival, saving America from her demons. Just worship & prayer, nothing to see here.

History shows: spiritual violence begets real world violence. 25/

It definitely got more full throughout the day. By the end of the day 2.5 (almost 3) of the sections they had broken apart with megatron's were full. And there were lots of people under surrounding trees for shade, because it was pretty hot.

@SieNoel Pretty galling when you consider it's their friends Mike Bickle, Robert Morris, and Chris Reed (to name just a few!) who've been accused of abuse.