Evangelical MAGAs Want an Apocalypse to Wipe out Unhumans
The California fires, the flood, and the 7 Mountains Mandate of the NAR
I think something that compassionate Democrats and progressives don’t realize about evangelical Trump supporters is how invested they are in the apocalypse.
This came up for me when I witnessed several evangelical MAGA supporters expressing glee over the amount of suffering caused by the fires in California. I remembered: they can’t wait for the planet to be ruined.
They aren’t interested in solutions.
The apocalypse signals the return of Christ. Christian dominion. Evangelicals on top.
What the rest of us see as problems that could be fixed or suffering that calls for compassion and relief, they see as a sign that they’re about to “win.” Their victorious redemption and salvation are before them. It’s all they froth for and see.
Their posts come off as cruel and heartless, but they don’t see it that way. “Lost people” aren’t human to them, the same way the sea of people lost in Noah’s flood were dismissed in favor of their arc, animals, and rainbow. In fact, those outside of their belief system are considered “unhuman;” an idea endorsed by our new Vice President.
The ideas have seeped into Trumpworld, influencing the agenda known as Project 2025, as well as proposals set forth by the America First Policy Institute. A new book called Unhumans, co-authored by the far-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec and endorsed by J. D. Vance, describes political opponents as “unhumans” who want to “undo civilization itself” and who currently “run operations in media, government, education, economy, family, religion, and arts and entertainment”—the seven mountains. The book argues that these “unhumans” must be “crushed.”
- quote from “The Army of God Comes Out of the Shadows” by Stephanie McCrummen for The Atlantic
Evangelical MAGAs serve a version of Christianity that delights in the suffering of their so-called “enemies.” And if they don’t delight in it, they see it as a relieving sign of coming rescue.
“Jesus will save us from this mess” is their blessed assurance. This mindset is the resistance you might have encountered with them if you’ve ever attempted to discuss climate change with an evangelical MAGA, or even plans for the future. They aren’t interested in a just and free society or democracy. They’re pursuing Christian dominion through war, and they feel impervious to the consequences.
For every scripture they cling to about seeing their loved ones in heaven one day, the blood sacrifice of Jesus, prosperity in exchange for faithful obedience, or how wives should submit to their husbands, there’s a bunch more about cruelly vanquishing their enemies. To evangelize others, they led with the pretty parts—the thoughts and prayers, the streets of gold, the hope of reunion at weepy happy funerals.
But they show themselves in moments like this, with their response to devastating fires and with the congressional hearings that condone disqualified, violent men.
“Know them by their fruit” is supposed to disqualify them as Christians. But Christian Nationalists have reached enough mass to override that. They don’t care if their fruit is rotten. They’re about to win. (at least in their minds, they are. They won the election. They’re getting the green light for Project 2025. They’re RTG)
When Trump and his Fox News manosphere podcast bros convinced evangelical Christians to hate “dems,” they were tapping into a Biblical narrative where Christians dominate and everyone else suffers.
It’s the lead into the apocalypse: worldwide annihilation after a period of tribulation, where evangelical Christians will be saved to blissful eternity with God and everyone else will burn, forever.
Signs of the apocalypse include:
False teachers who spread misinformation
A 7-year period of persecution and distress
The 6th Seal: A sign in the sky
The 4 Horsemen: Conquest, Famine, War, and Death Earthquakes, floods, fires, etc
To evangelical MAGAs, the California fires are proof that apocalyptic salvation is already happening.
“Signs and wonders” that the apocalypse is underway offer evangelical MAGAs a “hands off” way to blame others for the painful consequences without involving themselves in (probably messy and expensive) solutions. Instead, they position themselves in two ways:
Laughing and ridiculing those taking it seriously
Spiritualizing their distance as a contrast blessing
Pointing out their good fortune against someone else’s pain reinforces their narrative that joining them as an evangelical is the way to avoid suffering. This may seem heartless and cruel to the rest of us. To them, it’s a promise that refusing to join earns punishment.
Evangelicals MAGAs love it when their enemies “get what’s coming to them” because the Christian Patriarchy is a power structure built on guilt and punishment.
Guilty for what? Not joining them and not believing as they do. If you don’t “get saved,” you won’t “be saved,” even from suffering of their making.
They create that punishment themselves. It doesn’t come from the sky.
The apocalypse is a self-fulfilling prophesy they make happen through:
Spreading misinformation
Their persecution narrative
Denying humanitarian aid and human rights
Conspiracy theories
Rejecting climate change Bullying, lording, self-righteously boasting, or emotionally guilting
Casual Christians and non-MAGAs who want to “not all Christians” this apocalyptic investment may initially think they can pick the parts of Christianity or the Bible that they like and leave the rest. And I keep thinking about all those lathered celebrity Christians who actually live in L.A., who surely must be having more than one WTF moment right now. How could anyone claiming to follow Christ and call themselves a Christian be happy about any part of these fires, including prevention and response?
But that’s just the point: Jesus said to love your enemies, and his example was active.
You can’t really have Jesus and love your violence, too.
So what do we do now?
With the 7 Mountains Mandate becoming a more open topic of discussion, we have a chance for a more open form of resistance, too. MAKE ART. Value the humanities.
They want to turn our media, government, education, economy, family, religion, and arts and entertainment into Christian expressions only. Faith-based everything will become unavoidable without deliberate action on our part. This is something all of us can do—you don’t need a voice or a big platform to resist their indoctrination.
Follow journalists who are not corporately owned
Downvote religious shows and music that slip into streaming chosen by the algo
Be conscientious when it comes to AI: it might make us more fundamentalist
Share art that demonstrates diversity
Financially support artists and writers
Patronize secular businesses and restaurants
If we value a society that protects the religious freedom of all, including freedom FROM religion, we need to examine our tiny practices, routines, and habits for areas where we can engage in active resistance.
Do you have more ideas? I’d love to hear them.
More ideas? You bet. Let's start by recognizing that we are all impacted by the narratives around us. As a die-hard liberal, I for one, need to continually practice restraint and self-care to avoid falling into the trap of demonizing and blaming ALL of them. Let's take in the facts AND avoid creating more 'us vs them' dynamic that further polarizes us. Let's practice ambiguity tolerance - so our nervous systems can be resilient enough to withstand the storms to come.
I grew up with JWitness grandparents, and even though Evangelicals don't think they are real Christians, every bad event that happened in the world was a sign that the "end of this system of things" was coming and that I needed to become a Witness so that I would see my grandparents again on Paradise Earth. This is what I heard my entire life. No wonder I have an anxiety disorder.