An anonymous source told me about an invitation-only gathering of apostles & prophets (from the New Apostolic Reformation & other movements) last week.
My source--who is anti-Trump & devastated by the prophetic debacle in 2020--expressed real worry about what they witnessed. 1/
Unlike other NAR conferences with thousands in attendance, this gathering (titled the National Apostles & Prophets Conference 2024) was specifically for the dozens of apostles & prophets themselves to collaborate.
(h/t to @KiraResistance who dredged up photos from the event). 2/
A major focus of the gathering was to honor Bill Hamon, a long-time prophet who was part of C. Peter Wagner's inner circle in the NAR (a.k.a., EVAT - the Eagles' Vision Apostolic Team).
Hamon turns 90 this year, & they were celebrating his 70 yrs in ministry. 3/
Other EVAT members in attendance included Lance Wallnau, Ché Ahn, Becca Greenwood, John Kelly, & Chuck Pierce.
Many of these leaders were at the molten core of Christian mobilizing for January 6th, as I detailed in Charismatic Revival Fury:
My source (who was present for the gathering, not hearing about it secondhand) described a disturbing environment of absolute certainty in the prophets & the growing number of prophecies about Trump in 2024.
These folks truly believe that their prophets are hearing from God. 5/
My source also described constant conversation at the conference about "reformation," which is code in these circles for the full-blown Christian "takeover of society" through conquering the Seven Mountains -- this is from an insider, not my theory, spin, or interpretation. 6/
My source, who has operated in these circles for years and who knows many of these folks personally, said they left the conference more anxious about how Independent Charismatics are operating politically in 2024 than they've ever felt before. 7/
I know that this looks like a friendly gathering of middle-aged & senior-citizen church leaders, but we have to recall that these NAR folks lead networks that touch hundreds of thousand if not millions of Amer charismatic Christians, who believe these ldrs are divine oracles. 8/
I also observed to my source that I'm seeing increasing evidence of collaboration & cross-pollination between these Independent Charismatic, Trumpy leadership circles & overt right-wing militias & white nationalist groups, & my source said they were seeing the same thing. 9/
E.g., here you see the Appeal to Heaven flag, a Revol. War symbol repurposed by NAR apostle Dutch Sheets to be a key NAR prophecy & Christian nationalism symbol (these flags were everywhere on January 6th), being flown by Oregon neo-Nazis alongside the Nazi Sonnenrad flag. 10/
To be clear, this NAR-militia collaborative dynamic is relatively new post-January 6th. It might have happened marginally before 2020, but it's much more in the open now, all of them unified by their ardent support for Trump & Trump's authoritarian leadership style. 11/
The people who were gathered at this conference are among the top-tier Christian propagandists & instigators who have theologized Donald Trump & made him a Christian icon. They built the spirituality of January 6th, & that spirituality is, if anything, more popular today. 12/
Put simply, my source conveyed that as bad as the Trump prophecies, righteous certainty, & spiritually violent ideation was in these circles around the 2020 election & January 6th, what they saw last week was even more scary & unified. 13/
Yes, the violence of January 6th was incubated in online message boards & Proud Boys group texts. But the theology of January 6th was incubated in rooms like this, w/ these NAR leaders syncing up their visions of Christian supremacy & casting Trump as their prophetic vehicle. 14/
If you want to see how that prophetic-theological synchronization & organizing played out in late 2020 and early 2021, watch this 25-minute documentary produced by @ICJSBaltimore:
. 15/
And, if you want the full story of the New Apostolic Reformation, where it came from, who were the NAR leaders that served as the principal theological architects of January 6th, & how they're threatening our democracy again, buy my book:
These folks are well-connected, organized, compelling communicators with captive audiences of ardent Christians who are bought into this Christian supremacy project.
These are the true believers who would gladly see our society move into a Trumpian autocracy. 17/
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What's the evangelical theology behind Trump's Israel (& Iran) strategy?
Many analysts & pundits point to "Dispensationalism" (a.k.a. Rapture theology), but it's actually much weirder & more alarming than that.
Here's a sample from Dutch Sheets... 1/
A bit of background: Popular evangelical theology in the 20th century was shaped by "Dispensationalism."
Most 20th-cent American Christian Zionism is rooted in Dispensational views of the Rapture & Israel.
Here's a 5-minute briefing I did about it. 2/
But over the last 50 yrs, we've seen a massive shift within Christian Zionism that one scholar has titled "The Pentecostalization of Christian Zionism."
Basically, more Pentecostal-charismatic leaders & theologies have supplanted Dispensationalism. 3/
A full-blown website written & sourced from ex-employees & ex-leaders in Sean Feucht's various ministries detailing his abuses, financial misconduct, & general scumball-ery.
I devoted a whole chapter to Feucht in The Violent Take It by Force, because he's molten core Christian MAGA.
He's skyrocketed to far-right political fame since 2020 with abrasive, confrontational tactics, relentless self-promotion, & savvy media spin. 3/ broadleafbooks.com/store/product/…
This is one of the most disturbing videos I've seen recently, so prepare yourself...
I'll give some context for what's happening here, and why it should have all of us concerned about the spread of far-right Christian supremacy in America. 1/
The NAR leaders were also the theological architects of the Jan 6th Riot, mobilizing their followers thru prophecy & spiritual warfare rhetoric to believe Trump's lies & show up on his behalf to stop the "demonic conspiracy" to prevent his coronation. 3/
I was asked to identify which NAR or NAR-affiliated people I see in this pic of religious leaders from the White House today.
I did you one better and labeled the picture with all the major nondenom charismatic players I see in the room. I probably missed some in the back:
1/
From Right to Left, I see:
-Malachi O'Brien - acolyte of Paula White-Cain, apologist for IHOPKC abuses, I believe he's S. Bapist
-Todd Lamphere - Paula White's right-hand pastor assoc
-Pasqual Urrabazo - respected NAR prophet, a pastor at ICLV who prophesied over Trump
2/
-Jenny Korn - administrator of the National Faith Advisory Board, who, according to LinkedIn is now "Deputy Director and Special Assistant to the President at The White House"
-Jentezen Franklin - Church of God royalty and a key religious adviser to Trump from early on
3/
Amid the many crises & distraction-chaff of Trump 2.0 we're all reeling, but you should pay attention to what Trump announced today at the Nat'l Prayer Breakfast.
He not only aligned his admin w/ Christian nationalism, he's plans on enforcing it. 1/
I've argued for years that, in the Trump era, charismatic (i.e. ecstatic, supernaturalist, revivalist) evangelicals have displaced the old guard of the relig right & brought a new more aggressive evangelical politics.
That was on vivid display in TX today.
h/t @RobertDownen_ 1/
That video is of charismatic prophet & pastor, Brandon Burden--who's associated with the Dutch Sheets wing of the extremist New Apostolic Reformation networks--praying Ekklesia/dominion theology (that Christians should rule over all societies) over a group of lawmakers. 2/
Burden is locally famous for telling his congregation on 1/10/21 (a few days after the violence of January 6th, much of it perpetrated by right-wing Christians) to "keep their guns loaded & stock up on food & water" before Joe Biden's inauguration. 3/