I am glad the attempted assassination on Donald Trump failed, because his martyrdom would have torn the country apart.

But the current outcome is also very bad, not only for how it terrifies/polarizes the U.S., but also for how it ignites the prophecy/conspiracy theory world. 1/ I've argued that a major--& underestimated--rationale driving the violent mobilization for January 6 were a massive group of charismatic Christian prophecies about Donald Trump winning the election.

Millions of Xns believed it was God's will. 2/

icjs.org/charismatic-re…

ICYMI, Indiana Congressman Jim Banks pin-tweeted an Appeal to Heaven flag on the night Trump was convicted in New York (~1 week after the Sam Alito ATH flag story broke).

@NOTUSreports asked him about it, & his answer is menacing. 1/

notus.org/newsletter/000…
As a refresher, Banks supported Trump's 2020 election lies () & was slated to be a right-wing plant (along w/ Jim Jordan) to derail the January 6th Cmte, until Nancy Pelosi put the kibosh on that little plan -- to the feigned outrage of Banks/Jordan. 2/facebook.com/RepJimBanks/po…

I'm not certain with what intent this is posted, but I'll engage it in good faith.

I have never said the Appeal to Heaven flag only & exclusively means "Christian nationalism." Of course, there are history nuts & Americana collectors who love this flag for many reasons. 1/

https://twitter.com/RekLeCounte/status/1801045852787515559

In my view, traditions of flying the Appeal to Heaven flag along with other historical American flags -- as seemingly has been a practice in San Francisco & Los Angeles for some time -- is perfectly fine.

Especially if those traditions pre-date 2015 & Sheets' ATH campaign. 2/

A common objection I've seen since the @jodikantor story broke in the @NYTimes on Alito's Appeal to Heaven flag:

"The ATH flag was used at a BLM protest, so it can't be coded right wing, right?"

I'll address this claim seriously (recognizing many who use it are trolls). 1/

https://twitter.com/ingelramdecoucy/status/1793661871889031173

1st off, I'm suspicious of "trump card" photos online these days b/c of AI, but this does appear to have happened.

Photos of it were posted on this Substack in Sept 2020: and in other places online.

So, yes, the flag did show up at a BLM protest. 2/ravenewworld.substack.com/p/midnight-joy…

I'm very pleased to see my research featured in today's breaking news from @nytimes by @jodikantor.

The Appeal to Heaven flag is deeply entwined with the New Apostolic Reformation.

For the those new to the NAR & Dutch Sheets, I have 3 resources. 1/

nytimes.com/2024/05/22/us/… First, the appetizer option is to watch this award-winning, 25-minute documentary created by @ICJSBaltimore (my employer) about the NAR, Dutch Sheets, the Appeal to Heaven flag, & January 6th.

After that, you'll be thinking: where do I find more? 2/

Fantastic reporting by @FredClarkson on close coordination between Trump world & Lance Wallnau (+ other New Apostolic Reformation leaders) in this 2024 campaign:



For context, there's an escalating pattern of NAR leaders intervening in elections. 1/religiondispatches.org/wheres-wallnau… 1st, we need to dispel some conspiracy theories & myths about the NAR:

*the NAR is not a hierarchy w/ marching orders
*the NAR is not a shadowy cabal of highly coordinated activists
*also, the NAR is not even a single org that people belong to or affirmatively identify with. 2/

This is New Apostolic Reformation apostle Ché Ahn, praying yesterday at Sean Feucht's "United for Israel" march at USC.

Some Jewish folks might be tempted to think he's advocating for them. He's not.

His language is coded, so let me do some context & translating... 1/

https://twitter.com/LCRWnews/status/1788378784615608640

ICYMI, I did a whole episode on Ché Ahn in my Charismatic Revival Fury series ().

Also, I have a whole ch. on him in my forthcoming book ().

I've interviewed him before & followed him for some years. He's compelling & dangerous. 2/ icjs.org/charismatic-re…
icjs.org/the-violent-ta…

Here is an interfaith PSA: When Christian supremacists masquerade as interfaith champions & allies, don't believe them!

I'll give further examples below, but 1st watch this despicable clip by prominent charismatic Christian prophet Chris Reed in a sermon to pastors last week. 1/

https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1787904205849870757

Chris Reed is the heir apparent of prophet Rick Joyner's Morningstar Ministries charismatic empire. He's seen as one of the up-and-coming younger prophetic voices in the US. There's a growing trend w/in global Christianity to see prophets as leaders. 2/

christianitydaily.com/news/rick-joyn…

So glad to have published this new piece in @RNS with @PaulDjupe that offers survey data -- for the 1st time! -- on the spread of New Apostolic Reformation ideas & beliefs into broader American Christianity:



This story is huge for several reasons... 1/religionnews.com/2024/05/06/how… First, read the story, then read this great thread by my co-author @PaulDjupe.



Paul deserves mucho credit here. I helped come up w/ some questions correlated with major NAR ideas, but Paul designed the survey, put it the field, & organized the data. 2/

https://twitter.com/PaulDjupe/status/1787515804663140355

An important story by @dbonny about survivalist & combat training going on in some Pacific Northwest New Apostolic Reformation-adjacent networks:



This is part of a broader convergence I & others are seeing bw right-wing militias & NAR-style groups. 1/ yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin…
We have seen (& I write about in my forthcoming book ) Sean Feucht using local militia groups to provide security for his "worship concerts"/far-right rallies.

Feucht has even threatened counter-protesters w/ militia members' violence. 2/ icjs.org/the-violent-ta…

A roundtable of New Apostolic Reformation & other charismatic prophets issued a collective prophecy this week that traffics in some unbelievable Islamophobia & paranoia. This is very important.

You can watch a condensed clip here. I'm going to explore the full video below. 1/

https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1783519150360449089

This group of prophets is called the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders. It was 1st convened in 1999 by prophet Cindy Jacobs & her mentor apostle C. Peter Wagner. As I outlined in Charismatic Revival Fury, ACPE was 1 of the core networks of the NAR. 2/

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epi…

I'm very honored to have my research featured on 2 segments of this week's @onthemedia episode.

I realize that to the uninitiated (& even to some Christians) the forms of Christian supremacy I describe in this interview sound bizarre.

Consider these my interview footnotes. 1/

https://twitter.com/onthemedia/status/1781487991489262062

1st, if you want to understand the Christian nationalism & Christian theology that spurred much of the spirituality on display at the Capitol Riot, check out this award-winning, 25-minute documentary by @ICJSBaltimore titled "Spiritual Warriors." 2/

"We are going to put on the armor of God. And maybe strap on a Glock on the side of us just in case.”

That is AZ Senate candidate (2x election denier) Kari Lake speaking at a rally on Sunday.

Alarm bells should be klaxoning in your head right now. 1/

nbcnews.com/politics/2024-… 1st, I'm sure some of Lake's supporters will claim this was a joke. But if you read the context, she's also talking about sacrifice, "lawfare" (a new favorite term on the right), & the intensity of the 2024 election.

She may have said it with a chuckle, but it's no joke. 2/

Today's Sean Feucht podcast episode offers a textbook example of the charismaticization of the far-right & the radicalization of young Christians.



That might sound like an odd combo, but it's a very real & unstable paradox in our politics. Read on... 1/podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hop… As I gestured to in Charismatic Revival Fury (), a major & underreported trend in right-wing politics is the spread of charismatic Christian spirituality.

"Charismatic" here means focused on restoring supernatural & ecstatic aspects of Christianity. 2/ icjs.org/charismatic-re…

This is such a great question, & one I've pondered much:

Is the New Apostolic Reformation still Protestant?

As Lindsay raises, they say they've undergone a new reformation & step past strict sola scriptura by adding in new prophecy.

I have many semi-organized thoughts... 1/

https://twitter.com/beyerstein/status/1776993329848148404

First, let me be clear that no NAR leader I've spoken to & no NAR-authored book I've read says they don't believe in the absolute primacy of the Bible. The NAR is contiguous enough with broader evangelicalism to know that crossing that line would be a big no-no. 2/

Among my most painful cuts in writing Charismatic Revival Fury was I didn't get to lay out Lance Wallnau's own disavowal of the origins of his Seven Mountains prophecy.

I'm so glad @wthrockmorton has told that story in his latest Telling Jefferson Lies:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… In truth, my Charismatic Revival Fury episode on Wallnau (Ep. 3) was already verging on 2 hours - yikes! - & I couldn't justify the 10-15 minutes it'd take to contextualize & explain how Wallnau admitted the Seven Mountains image was based on a fake (or imagined?) prophecy.

Please, please, please pay attn to what is happening here:

Lance Wallnau is one of the most effective Christian Trump propagandists. He was central to mobilizing Christians for #January6th through this exact style of rhetoric -- literally demonizing their political enemies. 1/

https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1770873525835829639

If you doubt it, watch this 25-minute documentary that demonstrates how Christian leaders (especially Wallnau) & their demonizing rhetoric fed directly into the Christianity on display on #January6th:

2/

Many New Apostolic Reformation leaders & other charismatic apostles & prophets posted photos from an invitation-only conference of apostles & prophets in Dallas last wk.

Here we can see the inklings of another January 6th...

Keep reading! 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 found photos from the event). 2/

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/

There's a lot of talk of "Christian nationalism" today, & many Christians in the U.S. are pushing back, saying that CN is just a slur against conserv Christians.

Take a minute to watch this clip of OK State Sen Dusty Deevers preaching at a conf this month, then read below. 1/

https://twitter.com/hemantmehta/status/1767926702024380525

As a scholar of religion who's studied this for years, "Christian nationalism" is not a slur but a diagnostic, descriptive term for how people blend their Christian religious ID w/ their national/political ID.

This is not unique to Christianity, nor unique to America. 3/

Charismatic worship leader & far-right provocateur Sean Feucht had AZ senate candidate Kari Lake on his podcast today.



She said something that is very much worth noting... Recall that Kari Lake denied the results of her lost bid for AZ gov'r in 2022. 1/podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cou… W/ Feucht, Lake said : "We have to continue fighting. The devil is working. Evil is working. Those stolen elections [i.e., hers in 2022, Trump's in 2020] were meant to make us feel like we have been beat down and there's no hope... We cannot sit here feeling wounded." (22:30) 2/