COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Thousands sang, cheered and prayed as several preachers declared Donald Trump to be God’s favorite candidate to defeat the so-called “powers of darkness.”
Headliners denounced Democrat Kamala Harris – Trump’s campaign rival – as influenced by the devil and the spirit of the evil biblical queen Jezebel.
The audience stood up and said together the “Guardian’s Decision”, proposing a government that honors God and has “just” laws and “biblical” judicial decisions. They promised to “take back and permanently control” leadership positions in sectors such as government, business and culture.
“We break every curse against Donald Trump – we break every satanic incantation against his presidency,” declared the host preacher, Hank Kunneman, at the annual Heaven Opening conference, held in mid-September at the Mid-America Center arena in Council Bluffs. .
The conference was one of several of its kind across the country in this election year, featuring great worship and speeches by influential preachers. This represents the highly politicized wing of charismatic Christianity, a large movement that emphasizes spiritual gifts such as healings, prophecy and speaking in the mother.
As a sign of the influence of this movement, the Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance recently appeared at the same conference, called the Courage Tour, in Pennsylvania.
The goals for the conference include getting out the vote for Trump and his allies, and mobilizing believers to pray and join what is being proclaimed to be a literal spiritual war surrounding the election.
“Get off your butt and vote. Get off your voice and go!” said Kunneman, who pastors Lord of Hosts Church in nearby Omaha, Nebraska, with his wife, Brenda. “Let every demon fall. … We push back all attempts to steal the executive office.”
The conference emerged from a movement that emphasized authoritative direction from leaders considered modern apostles and prophets. It is also included Christian nationalismfusion of American and Christian identity.
Critics view the move with alarm, seeing it as anti-democratic and supporting candidates with authoritarian ambitions and incendiary rhetoric. Many of its leaders rallied behind Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen though overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
“The attitude coming into 2024 is, ‘Satan is probably going to try to steal this election again, so we need to do spiritual warfare beforehand to prevent that,'” said Matthew Taylor, author of a new book about the movement. , “The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement That Threatens Our Democracy.”
“It’s very difficult to have a pluralistic democracy,” Taylor said, when there are many do not believe in the election system.
Several leaders of the movement attended a rally in Washington protesting Biden’s presidential victory before and on January 6, 2021, Taylor said.
Leaders were not among the Capitol rioters, but some issued decrees and prayers that the certification of Biden’s victory be blocked and Trump returned for a second term.
Such ideology “was one of the golden threads” in the social media feeds of many of the Jan. 6 rally participants, said Taylor, a Protestant scholar at the Baltimore-based Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies.
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Headliners at the Council Bluffs conference several times spoke of being in a true spiritual war, merging decrees of political victory and Christian revival.
“The favor of the Lord” is on Trump, said one preacher, Dutch Paper. “America will be saved, and I believe this election is part of that.”
His brother and fellow preacher, Tim Sheets, said he saw a vision of a warrior angel shooting an arrow that landed in front of the White House, claiming his territory for God.
“We must turn to war for God,” he said. “The drum of the spiritual war is beating.”
The preacher repeatedly denounced abortion – wrongly described as the outpouring of blood craved by the devil – and the “mutilation” of children, because it is described as gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth.
The arena appeared a little more than half full, with thousands of attendees from several states. Many wore T-shirts with slogans such as, “Defenders of the Territory” and “We Believe in Jesus,” while some were bundled up in American flag-themed fur blankets amid the chilly air conditioning.
Participants in the Council Bluffs conference, mostly but not exclusively white, Blok and larger Evangelical Christian support of Trump.
About 8 in 10 white evangelicals support Trump in 2020, according to the report AP VoteCast. A Pew Research Center-authorized voter survey found similar levels of support in 2016.
This year, about 7 in 10 white Protestant Evangelicals show the Republican nominee favorably, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found.
Behind the supermajority is evangelicalism of various kinds. The charismatic exuberance and focus on the supernatural contrasts in tone with the relatively restrained approach of groups such as Southern Baptists, although they have allies in their political conservatism and opposition to abortion and LGBTQ + rights.
And the charismatic movement has its own diversity. This highly politicized branch teaches that today, God has re-established the ancient biblical role of apostle – authoritative leader – and prophet, someone who issues divine proclamations.
The movement is not a denomination. Churches and ministries generally operate independently, even as their leaders speak at each other’s conferences, endorse each other’s books and appear on each other’s broadcasts.
As one example of the overlap: The Opening the Heavens conference in Council Bluffs featured a segment called FlashPoint Live – a personal version of a television show that mixed charismatic Christianity with conservative politics. This is one of several FlashPoint Live conferences this year, organized by pastor Gene Bailey – whose recent interview with Trump shows the close relationship between the movement and the former president.
The ReAwaken America tourStarted by Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, has been equally blended politics and rallies like revival and featured members of Trump’s family.
While a number of evangelicals served as Trump’s faith-based advisers during his administration, the charismatic leader in particular stood out.
The apostle-and-prophet movement overlaps with two related, popular ideas: dominionism, which says that Christians should be responsible for society, and the “Seven Commandments of the Mountain,” which define seven areas where Christians will lead – politics, religion, media, business , family, education and art and entertainment.
Bailey led the reading of the Watchman’s Decree in Council Bluffs, which included a promise to “permanently control a position of influence and leadership on each of the seven mountains.”
Bailey and Kunneman declined interview requests through media representatives.
Taylor says that according to this strand of charismatic theology, Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit have the power not only to ask God for results but to speak them.
“It’s not just praying or praying,” he said. “They believe they are changing reality with this Watchman Decision.”
He added: “It looks wild when you find it, but it’s very popular, and very dangerous.”
Separate from the Bluffs Council conference committee, but with overlapping speakers, is the Courage Tour. Led by Lance Wallnau, who popularized the Seven Mountain concept and was an early pusher of Trump’s 2016 candidacy.
Tours have been held in key war-torn countries, mixing worship, praying for miraculous healings and enlightened politics – including calls for Christians to become election workers or poll watchers to “fight fraud” in swing states.
Taylor said this is likely to be the groundwork for a campaign to delegitimize the 2024 election results if Harris wins.
When movement leaders talk about spiritual warfare — that is, angels vs. demons rather than humans vs. humans — Taylor said such rhetoric can lead some people to take matters into their own hands.
He said it is not surprising that some rioters in the Capitol in 2021 are loud pray and show Christian symbols.
“I’m really worried that we could see more political violence,” he said.
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