U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War ‘Anointed by Jesus’ to Bring on Armageddon, Watchdog Says
US commanders from every arm of the military have told their units that the war on Iran is “anointed by Jesus” and would bring about his return to Earth as part of the Armageddon, resulting in scores of complaints from serving members of the military.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an organisation dedicated to ensuring that all members of the US military are guaranteed religious freedom, told Middle East Eye on Tuesday that it had received more than 200 similar complaints from personnel serving in the army, navy, air force, marine corps, and space force.
The complaints received by the MRFF, first reported by journalist Jonathan Larsen, have come from more than 40 units and span at least 30 military installations.
According to MRFF, one combat unit commander told non-commissioned officers (NCOs) at a briefing on Monday that the Israeli-US attacks on Iran are part of God’s “plan” and that US President Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth”.
A US NCO who wrote to the MRFF said their commander had told them the war with Iran was “all part of God’s divine plan”. The commander referred repeatedly to the Bible’s Book of Revelation and to Armageddon, the story about the battle between good and evil, in which Jesus triumphs and establishes a lasting peace on Earth.
The commander is quoted by the NCO as saying: “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”
“He had a big grin on his face when he said all of this, which made his message seem even more crazy,” the NCO wrote in his complaint. “Our commander would probably be described as a ‘Christian First’ supporter. He has been this way for a very long time and makes it clear that he desires all of us under him to become just like him as a Christian.”
The Pentagon did not respond to MEE’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Christian nationalist influence in US military
Michael L Weinstein, founder of MRFF and a veteran of the US Air Force and Reagan White House, told MEE that his organisation was continuing to be inundated with complaints from serving US military personnel who had been told that they should be excited to be part of the war on Iran, as it would bring about “Armageddon” and the return of Jesus Christ.
“This is not just one rogue commander,” Weinstein said, pointing to the growing influence of Christian nationalists and fundamentalists in the US military.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, an ultra-conservative Christian nationalist who has been described as the Pentagon’s “holy warrior”, sponsors a weekly Bible study that preaches support for Israel.
As Larsen reported, while some Christians claim biblical prophecy requires Israel to exist for Jesus to return, Hegseth’s Bible study leader, Ralph Drollinger, teaches that Israel should be supported because God blesses Israel’s allies and curses its enemies.
Weinstein said that MRFF received similar complaints about fundamentalist Christian, end-of-the-world theology in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
Back then, the organisation reported a complaint about an air force commander who said at a briefing that the “war between Israel and Hamas has all been foretold by the Book of Revelation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and no one can do anything about that”.