Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword away! All who use a sword will be killed by a sword.” Matthew 26:52 (God’s Word Translation)
Dozens of newsfeeds from across the political spectrum have reported that military commanders have been telling their troops that “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.” The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group that works to ensure that military personnel have religious freedom, has reportedly received over 200 complaints from personnel serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Space force.
One of the complaints from a non-commissioned officer (NCO) received by MRFF said, “This morning our commander opened up the combat readiness status briefing by urging us to not be ‘afraid’ as to what is happening with our combat operations in Iran right now. He urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.'”
You can read the full text of the complaint at Journalist Jonathan Larson”s Substack. (It was redacted to protect the identity of the NCO.) The Pentagon has not officially commented on the complaints, but referred journalists to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Monday briefing on the bombings of Iran. In that briefing, Hegseth said that “crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons,” leading many people to assume that the US is hell-bent on a holy war against Islam.
Because no one in authority is commenting on the record, it is impossible to know the veracity of the complaints or the claims in them. However, the story has gone viral. For many people, the story rings true–thanks to Christian Zionists like Franklin Graham, who posted, ““Pray for our military in the operation against Iran, for [President Trump], and that the people of Iran will be set free from the bondage of Islam.” On Sunday, March 1, Pastor John Hagee–another Christian Zionist–delivered a sermon entitled, ““God’s Coming “Operation Epic Fury” Against Iran,” before his 25,000 member congregation in San Antonio, TX. This sounds like a Holy War to me.
I grew up with “end-times” theology and the search for evidence that the prophecies from the book of Revelation were being fulfilled. The war with Iran is putting “end-times” speculation into overdrive. Some people are almost gleeful about what is happening when the bombs fall because they are convinced that the more the war escalates and the more nations are involved, the more likely Jesus will show up to takes us all out of here in the rapture and then usher in the final battle (Armageddon), the end of human history and the start of the 1000 year reign of Christ. (THE Millennium). According to this particular brand of eschatology (study of the end), to be opposed to this war is equivalent to opposing God. And opposing God puts the opposition on the side of evil, which God will destroy. Our only hope of salvation is to be on God’s side–the side of the state of Israel and the United States.
The theological sanctification of this war is dangerous because it will only promote escalation. It is destructive to human life. Christians should never gloat about lethality, ruthlessness or killing our enemies. And we should never celebrate acts that kill and maim children or accept the deaths of civilians as just “collateral damage.” Finally, it is damaging to the Christian faith because it promotes arrogance and hatred of those who are not like “us”–the exact opposite of the love ethic that Jesus embodies; and it distracts us from what Jesus actually calls us to do–announce good news of Jesus’s “already presence” in the world and invite the world to embrace God’s reign of peace.
The only sword we are instructed to carry is the sword of the spirit–the life-giving, love-affirming, grace-filled, liberating Word of God. Any other sword needs to be put away or be turned into a plowshare or a pruning hook.
Tongue on Fire 