Israel and Evangelicals [TEASER]

In this week’s bonus show, we dig into Israel and evangelicals, two fellow travelers that shaped U.S. politics and the world together. Many evangelicals believe God will protect Israel, as long as they accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior, or they'll burn in hell with other nonbelievers when Jesus returns. That means the destruction of Israel, a Jewish state. Digging into Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch evangelical, and the other MAGA Christian nationalists blocking aid to Ukraine in the House, it turns out Ukraine also plays a role in evangelical “end times” prophecy. The path of the destruction of Israel goes through Ukraine, according to Pat Robertson and other evangelical leaders featured in the show notes. Does Johnson believe this? 

 

Johnson proudly proclaimed his worldview is the bible, telling Fox News: "Someone asked me today in the media, they said, 'It's curious, people are curious: What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?' I said, 'Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That's my worldview.” Johnson was featured in a German documentary about taking his daughter to a purity ball where she signed a pledge to never have sex before marriage. Purity balls are seen as dehumanizing to young girls and women

 

Pat Robertson, one of the most consequential evangelical leaders to build white Christian nationalists into a political force, taking over the GOP, claimed in a video featured in this week’s bonus show, the path to Israel's destruction begins with Russia's destruction of Ukraine. Ray Comfort, another evangelical minister with a large social media following, wrote the book Russia Will Attack Israel, and plays up Russia’s war in Ukraine as “end times” prophecy. David Jeremiah, the evangelical pastor of a megachurch, also promotes this idea in his work. The argument goes: Putin is a tool of God to raise the forces of evil against Ukraine on Russia’s path to waging war against Israel. In their logic, Ukraine must be destroyed so the final battle of good vs. evil can begin, ushering in the return of Jesus. 

 

Obviously Christian nationalists like Johnson and others in the MAGA cult blocking aid to Ukraine are motivated by power and money. They align with strongmen like Trump to consolidate their support and enrich themselves. Both Putin and Orban used Christianian nationalism to entrench their regimes. Johnson was caught taking Kremlin-linked donations in 2018, as discussed in the recent bonus show for Patreon subscribers, The Kremlin Owns Mike Johnson. 

 

Russia does its part to feed into these “end times” fever dreams. The philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, Russia’s Steve Bannon, recently said, "Jerusalem will be a Russian city or it will not exist at all.” As Trump’s white Christian nationalist base cheers on Putin’s genocide in Ukraine and Netanyahu’s genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, Russia oppresses and kills evangelicals in occupied Ukraine, according to a recent PBS Newshour report, and Christians are increasingly harassed and pushed out by ultra-Orthodox Israelis. 

 

The persecution of fellow Christians may likely mean nothing to Johnson if he shares the belief that accelerating global conflicts will ultimately bring back Jesus. What he has made clear through his words and actions is that he takes the bible literally, like many evangelicals. With Ukraine increasingly in the crossfire of “end times” prophecies, spun in megachurches and their disinformation echo chambers, we have to come to terms that we’re up against a doomsday cult, not a political party. Biden cannot shame or reason with these people. He must work around them to save Ukraine. 

 

Contact your rep today through this site by a Gaslit Nation listener and demand they ensure the discharge petitions are signed, successfully forcing a vote on Ukraine aid: https://helpukrainewin.com/

 

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Thank you to everyone who attended the Make Art Workshop: The Business Side of Things on Thursday April 11. We will soon publish the recording along with the transcript and resources mentioned in the discussion as a bonus episode exclusively for our subscribers at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon. We’re also launching a chat group for our Patreon community dedicated to artists and those who love art, called Art is Surival. This idea came out of our Q&A discussion at the end of the Make Art Workshop on Thursday, and it’s a way for our community to share ideas, inspiration, support, and amplify our work and promote accountability to, little by little, get our projects out into the world. To join, be sure to be signed up at the Truth-teller level or higher at Patreon.com/Gaslit. That chat group will launch on Tuesday with next week’s episode, featuring Ari Berman of Mother Jones and his new book Minority Rule The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It. 

 

Show Notes:

 

Watch the documentary Bad Faith, available everywhere April 26, pre-order it now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WYseVO29ZU

 

Opening Clip: Vox Short Documentary: How a Bible prophecy shapes Trump's foreign policy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmWL0I3oytw

 

Clip: Here's Evidence That Russia Will Attack Israel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBvloYWyyms

 

Clip: Arizona State Senators Speaking in Tongues Before Banning Abortion https://twitter.com/tcani/status/1777829756400263618

 

Clip: Hundreds of Israelis told evangelical Christians who were praying at an archeological park bordering the Western Wall in occupied East Jerusalem to “go home”, underlining the strained relationship between them and religious Israeli nationalists. Jerusalem’s Christian community says there has been a rise in attacks from Israeli ultranationalists on its churches and practices.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vio53jUpJz0

 

David Jeremiah: Russia’s Role in End Times Prophecy: https://davidjeremiah.blog/what-does-the-bible-say-about-modern-russia/

 

Speaker Mike Johnson and daughter were profiled attending 'purity ball' in 2015 German TV news segment

https://abcnews.go.com/US/speaker-mike-johnson-daughter-profiled-attending-purity-ball/story?id=105785626

 

Pat Robertson Clip: 'God Is Getting Ready to Do Something Amazing': CBN Founder Pat Robertson on Russia and Prophecy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMEj52pYWq0&t=2s

 

How evangelicals set in motion today’s violence in the Middle East

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4548756-evangelicals-caused-todays-mess-in-the-middle-east/

 

How Christian Nationalists, Big Oil and the Big Lie Seized the Speaker’s Gavel

https://washingtonspectator.org/how-christian-nationalists-big-oil-and-the-big-lie-seized-the-speakers-gavel/

 

Putin and Doomsday: The Far Right’s Fascination With the Apocalypse Fox News, the evangelical fringe, and the right wing have been peddling “End Times” thinking for decades. Armageddon has become a backdrop now that Russia has invaded Ukraine.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/03/putin-and-doomsday-the-far-rights-fascination-with-the-apocalypse

 

Jay in Kyiv on Twitter: “Putin wheels out Dugin to let us know that Jerusalem is also on Putin's acquisition list.

 

"Jerusalem will be a Russian city or it will not exist at all".

 

Meanwhile, the west wants to "negotiate" with this creature.” 

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1777051211654430842

 

Ukrainian Christian groups face violent crackdown from Russian forces

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ukrainian-christian-groups-face-violent-crackdown-from-russian-forces

 

Congress must let Ukraine win, say Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Imagine Dragons, Timothy Snyder and other luminaries https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/opinions/sean-penn-barbra-streisand-imgaine-dragons-congress-ukraine-snyder/index.html

 

These Evangelicals Are Cheering the Gaza War as the End of the World Thousands have died in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Some far-right Christian leaders believe the bloodshed portends the second coming of Christ

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/gaza-war-evangelical-leaders-cheer-end-world-1234884151/