A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers Monday that the Iran war was part of God's plan to usher in the End Times and bring about Jesus Christ's second coming, according to a complaint filed with a religious freedom watchdog.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has fielded more than 110 similar complaints about commanders in every branch of the U.S. military between the war's start on Saturday morning and Monday night, reported journalist Jonathan Larson on his Substack page, and the group told him the complaints came from more than 40 different units stationed in at least 30 military installations.
"These calls have one damn thing in freaking common; our MRFF clients [service members who seek MRFF aid] report the unrestricted euphoria of their commanders and command chains as to how this new 'biblically-sanctioned' war is clearly the undeniable sign of the expeditious approach of the fundamentalist Christian 'End Times' as vividly described in the New Testament Book of Revelation," said MRFF President and Founder Mikey Weinstein, a veteran of the Air Force and the Reagan White House.
"Many of their commanders are especially delighted with how graphic this battle will be zeroing in on how bloody all of this must become in order to fulfill and be in 100 percent accordance with fundamentalist Christian end of the world eschatology," Weinstein added.
Weinstein pointed out prohibitions in the U.S. Constitution and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) against inserting religious beliefs into official military instruction or messaging, and a non-commissioned officer who filed a complaint with MRFF said their commander's comments "destroy morale and unit cohesion."
"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," that non-commissioned officer said in a complaint filed Monday. "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."
"He said 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 complaint continued. "He had a big grin on his face when he said all of this which made his message seem even more crazy."
"Our commander would probably be described as a 'Christian First' supporter," the complaint added. "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. But what he did this morning was so toxic and over the line that it shocked many of us in attendance at the ops readiness briefing."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has elevated a Christian nationalism theology that has simmered within the military for decades, Larson wrote, and he attends a weekly White House Bible study session led by right-wing pastor Ralph Drollinger, who preaches support for Israel is required by the Scriptures.
"Some Christians claim biblical prophecy requires Israel to exist for Jesus to return," Larson wrote. "But Hegseth’s Bible study leader, preacher Ralph Drollinger, teaches that the reason to support Israel is that God still blesses Israel’s allies and curses Israel’s enemies, even though Israel killed Jesus (this smear, the historic root of antisemitism, has been rejected by every major religion)."
The non-commissioned officer's complaint states that those views were passed down from their commander to troops deployed in their "ready-support" unit, and that individual said the group was troubled by the apocalyptic religious framing of the military operation.
"I and my fellow troops know that it is completely wrong to have to suffer through what our commander said today," that non-commissioned officer said. "It’s not just the separation of church and state as we discussed Mr. Weinstein. It’s the fact that our commander feels as though he is fully supported and justified by the entire (combat unit’s name withheld) chain of command to inflict his Armageddon views of our attack on Iran on those of us beneath him in the chain of command."
