When war looks like prophecy: How U.S. ‘end time’ narratives frame the war with Iran

After the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, killing some of the government’s top leaders — including its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei — some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s most loyal evangelical supporters quickly framed the war as a religious battle. On the morning the attacks started, American evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and founder of Samaritan’s Purse, posted on X: “Pray for our military in the operation against Iran, for President @realDonaldTrump, and that the people of Iran will be set free from the bondage of Islam.” More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Iran. In my book, American Evangelicals for Trump. Dominion, Spiritual Warfare and the End Times, I explain how one of the contemporary interpretations of the “end times,” premillennial dispensationalism, remains widely influential among U.S. evangelicals. Dispensations are seen as distinct periods in history, believed to be appointed by God to govern and organize the affairs of the world. Dispensationalism functions both as a method for interpreting the Bible and as a framework for understanding its history. It teaches that Christ will return before the end times and inaugurate a thousand-year reign of peace and justice on Earth, commonly referred to as the Millennium A systematic roadmap Since the U.S. attack on Iran, Greg Laurie, founder and pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, has done a series of videos promoting his dispensational reading of current events. For Laurie, the next event on “God’s calendar” is known as the Rapture of the Church, when “born-again” believers are taken up to heaven. In some readings of biblical prophecy, the Rapture is followed by the Great Tribulation, a seven-year period of turmoil. During that time, it is believed that the Jewish people will rebuild their temple in Jerusalem, divine judgments will strike the Earth and a political figure known as the Antichrist will rise to power. The period culminates in a final confrontation between Jesus and the nations gathered by the Antichrist against Israel, called Armageddon. After that conflict, Christ is expected to establish his millennium of rule from Jerusalem, with the nations of the world ultimately brought under his authority. Some evangelicals interpret the struggle between Iran and Israel through the same eschatological or “end times/end of history” lens. According to their reading, Iran, known in antiquity as Persia, is identified in certain prophetic readings as one of the nations destined to play a role in a conflict described in Ezekiel 38–39, often called the battle of Gog and Magog. The evangelical influencer Traci Coston also used a numerological twist to bolster characterizations of Trump as a new King Cyrus, a notion popularized by Lance Wallnau, an influential Pentecostal entrepreneur. Coston wrote that Iran has been under “the oppressive Islamic regime” for 47 years and Trump is the 47th president. She likens Trump to “a pagan political leader” who God anoints “to break open gates and shift history for the sake of His people.” Trump leveraged such views about himself and reposted on March 9 a 2007 prophecy by Kim Clement, a musician, pastor and popular prophetic figure who died in 2016, on his Truth Social account. Spiritual warfare and an end times revival Among some pro-Trump leaders in neo-Pentecostal and neo-Charismatic circles, the conflict with Iran is interpreted as spiritual warfare. They view global events as part of an ongoing struggle between divine and demonic forces and believe the prayers of Christians help push back what they see as evil powers. Lou Engle, a U.S. neo-Charismatic prophet, posted one day before the attack, that in 2006, a group of 70 believers gathered in Boston for a prolonged period of prayer lasting 40 days and nights. He referenced the prophecy of Jeremiah 49:34-38, which names the judgment against Elam — an ancient region located in what is now southern Iran. Mobilizing this text, he said believers prayed “God would break the bow of Islam and set His throne in Iran.” The Jewish feast of Purim, which was celebrated on March 2 and 3, was leveraged to explain the current conflict as spiritual warfare. This framing is rooted in how some of these pro-Trump Pentecostal leaders see examples of cosmic battles in biblical texts, such as Daniel 10,12-21 which depicts supernatural forces at work in conflict among nations. What is the ‘Seven Mountains Mandate’ and how is it linked to political extremism in the US?

Citing such passages, influential proponents of this spiritual warfare way of thinking, like Wallnu, have argued that a “territorial spirit” fuels conflict. According to this view, only spiritual warfare can dislodge its influence; the reason to wage this spiritual battle is to dispel the nefarious influence of demonic forces that prevent the preaching of the gospel in closed areas. Many of these pro-Trump neo-Pentecostal leaders adhere to a Victorious Eschatology, where the expansion of the Kingdom of God will be seen worldwide, and Christianity will rise in power, unity, maturity and glory before Christ’s return. This framework is another end-times scenario, where some believe that a great spiritual awakening will occur, leading to massive conversions to Christianity. Views not new The idea of an end-times global awakening isn’t new. Early Pentecostals initially believed they lived in the end times and that the gift of tongues was given for the mission. Equipped with the supernatural capacity of speaking unlearned languages, they could now go throughout the world and preach the gospel before the return of Christ. Later, the mid-20th century movement known as the New Order of the Latter Rain, a group that experienced a revival in 1948 in North Battleford, Sask., shared a similar outlook. Their views ended up having a profound impact on the charismatic movement and the independent charismatic church movement globally. The New Order broke away from the classical Pentecostals in Canada, due to the “spiritual drought” they felt among Pentecostals and were now seeking a fresh spiritual experience. ‘Decisions on the basis of theology’ When U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the Iranian regime makes “decisions on the basis of theology, their view of theology which is an apocalyptic one,” and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth states that “crazy regimes, like Iran, hell bent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons; it’s common sense,” the rhetoric frames Tehran as uniquely driven by religious extremism. Yet pro-Trump Christian leaders have been welcomed into the Oval Office to lay hands on the president in prayer, while Trump has amplified prophetic messages about his rise to political power, signalling to his supporters that his presidency was divinely ordained. The contrast is striking. When religious belief shapes the politics of rivals, it is labelled dangerous theology. Yet, when it appears in Washington, it is cast as divine providence.

André Gagné does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.