In yesterday's post, I went into some of the initial detail on a statement given by Thomas Muthee in the infamous sermon where he "annointed" Sarah Palin and also claimed to literally run a traditional religious practitioner out of his home base.
Today, we look into how the "Seven Mountains" concept is promoted in Joel's Army circles--including some of the incredibly disturbing code-phrasing used (including literal references to genocide and extirpation of opponents), and how Palin is being used as merely a rook in what amounts to a "50-year plan" for national and societal steeplejacking by a group that can be literally described as calling for holy war with the rest of humanity. We also look at how the mere candidacy of Palin--and McCain's other overtures towards Joel's Army--are a symptom of a serious systemic problem in the GOP that could have literally apocalyptic consequences if unchecked.
Update 7 October: Troutfishing on DailyKos now has an extremely important diary on the subject of Palin, Palin's mentor (and major Joel's Army promoter) Mary Glazier, and the explicit use of "Seven Mountains" theology in promotion of Palin to the Joel's Army community. This post serves as important backgrounder info.
More on the seven-point plan, revealed
"Seven Mountains" imagery, as we dig into it, becomes rapidly very disturbing. For starters, the "seven mountains" are directly equated with seven historical peoples and nations that formerly occupied what is now Israel, and who were driven out or completely extirpated during the pre-royal era of Israel (when the prophets and priests were running the country). This in itself is symbolic--many Joel's Army groups actually have claimed Israel started on a downward path when they changed their rule from a theocratic/theonomic model to a king with divine right of rule (this is seen as the "will of man", not the "will of God").
A particularly revelatory look regarding what Joel's Army has intended for the rest of us is at a site called Reclaim 7 Mountains, which is to say--succinctly--"convert or else":
As the blessed seed of Abraham according to Galatians 3:29, possessing the gates of our enemies and taking dominion of the earth to bless all mankind is the church’s chief responsibility. Like it was for Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joshua and David, it will take warfare, strategy, teamwork, ingenuity and patience but the redeemed seed will prevail in taking the message of the Kingdom of God around the earth.
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:14
In other words, the church is not sitting around waiting for the return of Jesus. It is working for the return of Jesus. It is the job of the redeemed sons and daughters of God to make disciples of every nation and prepare the earth for His return.
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
Revelation 19:7
Notice in the above verse that the bride (the corporate church comprised of all the nations of the earth) has made herself ready. This implies two things. First, John saw the corporate church finally becoming complete in the last days. Secondly, he saw that it was the primary responsibility of the church to make these preparations happen.
The first time that Jesus came, He came to redeem the seed. Now he is waiting for the redeemed bride to make herself ready by taking dominion of the earth. Her preparations will be complete as she adorns herself with the nations of the earth. Then the end will come.
Note the subtle reference to "serpent seed theology"--many Joel's Army groups have a concept that all of humanity is descended from either sons of God (through Adam) or of the devil (through Cain--who is believed to have been the result of Eve having sex with the Serpent). Christian Identity takes a racist version, whilst Joel's Army promotes itself and "Elijah's Army" as the literal sons of God with its opponents being literal descendants of the Devil.
Interestingly, "Reclaim 7 Mountains" seems to embrace the "Joshua Branding" here (as opposed to the "Elijah Branding") of Joel's Army, based on a quote re an upcoming conference on workplace prosyletism and the use of the "parallel economy" as a recruiting tool--and also explains the "seven" fetishism:
When God called the people of Israel out of Egypt to form a new nation in the Promised Land, He told them that they would be the head, not the tail, if they obeyed the commands of the Lord. He told them to divide the land into 7 parts (Joshua 18:5). They would also have to displace 7 enemies that currently resided in the Promised Land. "This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out 7 enemies before you including the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and the Jebusites (Joshua 3:10).
Have you noticed a pattern yet — 7 mountains, 7 parts of land, and 7 enemies that needed to be displaced? 7 is the perfect number in scripture. It is the number for completion. He made the world in six days and rested on the 7th.
The 2008 Church in the Workplace Conference will be focused on the 7 mountains that shape culture. This conference will be unlike any you've experienced becausey ou will hear from people who are having an impact rightnow in each of these 7 areas and understand the role you can play in reclaiming these 7 mountains.
And remember, we ARE the Church in the workplace!
Yes, you're hearing this right:
a) "Joel's Army" is directly equated with the founders of Israel (this ties into theology indicating that they are in fact the "chosen people" along with Jewish people).
b) Their enemies are being directly equated with seven nations that were either displaced or the victims of wholescale genocide by the founders of Israel.
c) They are on a literal mission from God, in their minds, to do this--by hook or by crook.
"Reclaim 7 Mountains" goes into much more detail regarding this imagery--including potentially setting up kids as targets of child abuse for normal moves towards independence:
(re "family")
The family unit is clearly under assault by Satan. More specifically, it’s fathers who have failed, although Satan’s assault shows up in other areas too. The Mountain of Family is in dire need of an infusion of Elijah Revolutionaries. It could also be called the Mountain of Social Justice because the true greatest social injustice we currently face is that the hearts of fathers are not turned toward their children and the hearts of the children are not turned towards their fathers. All other social injustices spin off of that central injustice.
Scripture says that in the last days, it’s not just the parents "fault"—something evil will be released on children to turn them against their parents.
But know this that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1-4).
The italicized words specifically describe the kind of children’s behavior we may be familiar with, but their intensity and degree in the latter days will be worse. It is Satan’s attempt to subvert the last days work of the spirit of Elijah with a preemptive strike.
The commentary re kids is worrisome for an entirely different reason than much of the rest of this section--it's a case where they indicate a willingness to turn against their own flesh and blood to maintain the party line.
Neopentecostal dominionists--and in particular those involved in the Joel's Army movement--are among some of the leading proponents of the beating of babies and toddlers with "chastening rods" in the name of "spiritual warfare". At least one major promoter of "Bible-based baby beating"--Bill Gothard, who has known connections to Palin via the International Association of Character Cities--explicitly runs a paramilitary training camp for "Joel's Army with Guns", among other fronts including "Bible-based" boot camps; Gothard, as well as many other promoters of religiously motivated child abuse (including Michael and Debbie Pearl, whose books are linked to the deaths of children), explicitly refer to Joel's Army concepts of "spiritual warfare" and driving out "generational curses".
In fact, there is a very strong component of religiously motivated child abuse connected with accusations of "witchcraft" in Joel's Army revivals in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere of the exact type promoted by Thomas Muthee--it's in fact enough of a problem in the United Kingdom (not exactly a place known as a huge Joel's Army hotbed) that formal advisories are given to social services groups on how to spot "deliverance ministry" related abuse and in Africa itself has resulted in a massive--and under-reported--humanitarian crisis. There is also a non-negligible crisis of religiously motivated child abuse of this type in the States--but, unfortunately, considerable barriers exist in regards to successful prosecutions.
In a particularly relevant note re Palin, the Assemblies runs a chain of "faith-based rehabs" called Teen Challenge where not only coercive tactics are rife, but parents are encouraged to send their kids there if they're seen as "disobedient"--and yes, being a gay kid in a Joel's Army household, or even being a walkaway or having questions about one's faith, is most certainly seen as being "disobedient".
Unfortunately, it's not just their own kids they turn on. A hidden call for genocide against LGBT people is given, as well as literal comparison of women's clinics to pagan temples of a particularly infamous god:
(re "family")
The seventh nation listed in Deuteronomy 7 is the Jebusites. The name Jebusites means "a place trodden down, rejection." That’s the spirit on the Mountain of Family that must be dispossessed. The Jebusites represent rejection as it applies to our understanding of a main enemy on this mountain.
. . .
One could serve Baal by serving Molech, the one to whom children were brutally and cruelly sacrificed. [note: Worshippers would heat up statues of Molech and then place their children in the statues’ red-hot arms and watch them burn to death.] For us, this represents the prevailing god and influence over abortion. Since the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, more than 50 million children have been sacrificed at this altar of convenience. Baal worship in our land has cost millions their life. Abortion is the rejection of a child by a parent, evidence of the Jebusites of rejection at work. We see the heart of a parent turned not toward their children, but rather against them in a deadly way.
Homosexuality is also a manifestation of Baal worship and why male prostitution was integral to Baal ceremonies. Homosexuality is the rejection of one’s natural sex drive. This rejection isn’t necessarily a conscious choice; it’s the fruit of rejection that has been sown in someone and defiled him. The point is not whether one is born homosexual or not.
. . .
A mass homosexual parade and celebration that was to bring many millions of dollars to New Orleans was scheduled the week Katrina hit the city. Baal was doubling up in the city by adding homosexual decadence to his existing active altar there. Hurricanes Wilma and Rita also each brought judgment on cities that were about to host major gay events—Key West and Cancun—thus seriously curtailing the celebration of gay acceptance. God loves homosexuals so much that he will spare no expense in making it clear that homosexuality is an abomination to Him, and that He can deliver someone from it. The name Katrina even means "purity"—perhaps a message of God’s intent for that hurricane. What looks like God’s anger against homosexuals is really His passionate love working to spare them from greater judgment—lifetime in a real hell.
. . .
We haven’t touched on that last phrase yet, but it’s important. If this family restoration doesn’t come, the earth will be struck with a curse. That word "curse" means "annihilation." The earth will suffer annihilation if true family is not restored on earth. AIDS is a disease that has its roots in the violation of God’s mores for the family. It’s a sin disease that decimates families and leaves millions of orphans behind. A man and a woman who marry as virgins have provided themselves with the ultimate protection against AIDS. There are innocent AIDS carriers, but the source of the disease is sinful, anti-family behavior. Forty million people in the world are now infected with a death sentence that is directly attributable to violating God’s known standards for family life. Could the curse of Malachi 4:6 be an even worse disease or virus that takes out the disobedient? Elijah Revolutionaries will not stand by and allow that possibility to unfold. We will receive and carry the restorative work of the spirit of Elijah to the nations.
(Note the shift in branding to "Elijah Revolutionaries", a variant of "Elijah Branding" of Joel's Army.)
Yes, you're reading this right. LGBT people and workers at women's clinics are not only directly equated to worshippers of a pagan god (equated with the devil and child sacrifice) but to a group that were ultimately forced into serfdom by rabbinical tradition (modern archaeologists state it is arguable whether Jebusites ever existed as a distinct people). Oh, and they're among the legions who claim Hurricane Katrina was some form of divine retribution (if so, God has aim worse than the Stormtroopers in Star Wars--the French Quarter actually made out pretty well) and I can only imagine what lovely things are being said about Hurricane Ivan being God's Wrath. :P
Oh, and the fact that bitty babies and haemophiliacs die of AIDS is apparently the fault of allowing the queers to exist. :P
It should be noted that one area they explicitly have targeted is the Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court, then, is probably even more influential on the Mountain of Family than on the Mountain of Politics. It decided Roe v. Wade and is the only entity with the power to reverse it. Its justices have the power to determine, for legal purposes, what a family is. They are involved in all morality-related rulings. To fully dethrone Baal and take this mountain, we will have to "take" the Supreme Court. The emerging Elijah Revolution will begin to bring God’s order to the top of this mountain.
If anything, their bit on the "mountain of government" is even worse:
(Re "Government")
The second enemy nation mentioned in Deuteronomy 7 is the Girgashites. The name means dwelling in clayey soil and represents being motivated by earthy desires and ambitions. In essence it represents corruption brought on by the "pride of life" (1 John 2:16). The definition of corruption is "the impairment of integrity, virtue, or morality." This is what presently rules in politics and government.
All governments suffer from corruption, a built-in sabotage that guarantees their eventual implosion. The only government that will never have any corruption is the theocratic Kingdom of God. Here on earth, there will always be something less than a perfect government. We can (and should), however, insist on high ideals, principles, and individual character—people who can help manifest a form of government that is a blessing to a nation. We cannot instill a theocracy in a human government because theocracy is transcendent to humanity. The Kingdom of God can be superimposed on people through influence, but only God Himself can be "theo." Therefore, any attempt to establish a physical theocracy is ill-conceived unless it is reinterpreted as something other than what it actually means. (-cracy—government, theo—of God). A government can potentially function as a virtual theocracy, but only as the individuals in power allow themselves to be puppets (i.e. servants) of the theocracy (God’s rule and reign). The goal is to bring the influence of heaven to bear on whatever political machinery that exists.
. . .
The Mountain of Government is perhaps the most important of the mountains because it can establish laws and decrees that affect and control every other mountain. Therefore, we find Lucifer himself entrenched on this mountain as the usurping "prince" over the nations. Whereas God’s government is established through service and humility, Satan’s government is established through manipulation and pride. Lucifer sits at the top of this mountain, where he specifically functions as the Antichrist. His role over the nations is to stir and raise up whatever would defeat the purposes of God on earth. When he is firmly entrenched in a nation, that nation will manifest the following "antichrist" distinctives.
- Working to destroy Israel
- Working to destroy the next generation (abortion, wars, and plagues)
- Working to destroy Christians
- Working to suppress women or release "Jezebels"
- Working to pervert sexual mores (homosexuality, adultery, etc.)
Every one of these topics deserves a book of its own, so we won’t be able to develop them much deeper here. The point is that Lucifer tries to weave into all aspects of governmental influence the seeds of these five distinctives. He attempts to change and arrange laws, pacts, and agreements that will advance his antichrist agenda. And he still thinks he can succeed—which will just make the end result a little sweeter. Anyone attempting to climb this Mountain of Government must understand who is ruling and what he is looking to perform. The Girgashites of corruption serve his purposes because they condition people to be pawns of his master plan. The displacement of Lucifer is guaranteed by God, and nation by nation will be pulled out of his clutches.
OK, step one: literally all secular government is compared to an obscure tribe of Caananites who were apparently entirely extirpated; secondly, pretty much any nation allowing reproductive health services or tolerating LGBT people is in direct control of the son of the devil himself.
Going back to the "Reclaim Seven Mountains" site, one of the most unintentionally hilarious parts of this speech is where the Apostles are almost literally compared to Larry the Cable Guy:
A quick look at the original twelve apostles should convince us that none of the natural qualities I’ve listed above define the role. Peter and the gang were primarily unlearned, redneck-type fishermen, and their natural gifts did not indicate the level of spiritual call upon their lives. Through them, we see a manifestation of God’s divine strategy of choosing "nobodies" to turn the world upside down.
(And now you know why so much is made of Palin being able to field-dress a moose!)
In a note that is a very subtling--and very damning "from the horse's mouth" indictment--there's a segment that notes that "apostles will know one of their own" in regards to those appointed for government steeplejacking...disturbingly relevant in regards to those who've blessed Palin:
It will take true prophets and "wise men" to uncover true apostles. Whether or not the title comes into play, God is now preparing and raising up apostles to possess the Mountain of Government. They will be humble, intimate servants of the Lord who carry great spiritual power and authority. They may either be the advisors (intercessors) of politicians or the politicians themselves. (These will be the natural "disguises" for an actual apostolic anointing. Many will be women, who are the key for the church being released into her full destiny.) Daniel, for example, had an apostolic anointing from a position of influence. Esther and Joseph had actual positions they operated from—as well as influence beyond the position. King David was a good example of a presidential/apostle type. He had the highest spiritual authority and natural authority in the land.
And it should be noted that...well...if you're not a Joel's Army member, you're not seen as Christian enough and they intend to put you to the convert-or-die sword, too...because if they don't, God will allow the entire country to be screwed over:
This apostolic positioning will increase more and more among the nations of the world as the mountain of the Lord’s house is exalted above all others. One reason we haven’t advanced as far as expected in this area is that "Christians" who have come into power in various national governments haven’t always been apostolic Christians. By apostolic Christians, I mean that they have made it to the top of the mountain without carrying apostolic authority. Apart from apostolic anointing, there is no displacement authority. Therefore many of these Christians have fallen to the same corruption as their predecessors. Lucifer and his corrupting Girgashites have not been spiritually displaced by the angels that would normally accompany a true apostle.
The goal is not just to have Christians in high places, but rather to have Christians who are called to be in high places step into that role. And wearing a "Christian" label on our sleeve isn’t the point. We need to learn to be "as wise as serpents and harmless as doves" and realize that stealth authority and influence are much preferred over overt authority and influence. A low profile diffuses resistance from the opposition. Political righteousness isn’t determined by whether someone calls himself a Christian or not anyway. That’s established by whether the political values they are prepared to defend or establish are actually righteous. A Christian who espouses abortion rights or the validity of gay marriages, for example, is worthless as a "Christian" candidate. If candidates don’t understand righteous politics, they aren’t anointed for this mountain. They may have enough Christianity in them to enter heaven, but they don’t have enough Christianity to bring the rule and reign of God down to earth.
This will change as the Elijah Revolution is released upon the nations. Sons and daughters of the King who understand the call to take the seven mountains will rise to the mountaintops. More important than their confession of faith will be their understanding of Kingdom issues. Do they understand God’s redemptive plan for Israel in these last days? Do they understand that "if you touch Israel, you touch the apple of His eye"? (Zechariah 2:8). Entire nations will be severely judged or highly blessed and favored based on this issue alone. Governing cannot be done by the flesh anymore, as the issues will be increasingly highly charged spiritual matters that God will directly address—often through devastating judgments (Isaiah 26:9).
The world will come to learn, for example, that though God passionately loves every homosexual, remaining in that sin will cause someone to fall under the sword of His judgment. Feelings don’t validate a homosexual lifestyle any more than they validate a murderer’s desire to kill. We are all born with feelings that we must curb and cut off, and the sooner we embrace God’s standards, the sooner we have a chance to be at peace with Him. It is well understood that any child, when left to his or her own standards based on a feeling, will become a spoiled, unruly brat. What comes to us naturally is sin. We will lie, cheat, fornicate, dishonor our parents, and commit every other form of sin when we define righteousness by whatever we think we were born with. The sooner we understand that God expects righteousness—regardless of what our innate tendencies tell us—the sooner we will be able to eliminate His judgments from our personal and corporate lives.
And now you see just WHY Palin is so damn dangerous--and why there's things like imprecatory prayers for McCain's death. Palin is seen, literally, as one of their Chosen--one of the few that, in their view, is sufficiently "in line" with Joel's Army theology to establish their own little Republic of Gilead, where anyone who doesn't toe the line will be driven out or killed.
And yes, Palin is pretty explicitly promoted as being one of the chosen of Joel's Army. In addition to that "Deborah Annointing" stuff, none less than Palin's mentor and darling of the Joel's Army movement Mary Glazier is rather actively promoting her as the Chosen One, politically speaking:
Just a few minutes ago Eleanor Roehl, a powerful Eskimo intercessor and prophet, called me to say she senses an imminent attack against our nation. Then Karen Fink came into my office to share the following revelation she had this past Friday with increasing weight on her heart ever since:
She received the scripture Gen. 50:3,"A period of NATIONAL MOURNING". She then saw Sarah Palin standing alone and she was mantled with the American flag. The flag was upside down because things are inverted (upside down) right now. I knew she was stepping into an office that she was mantled for."
(Of note, there's an interesting bit of scripture-twisting going on--and particularly disturbing, at that; Gen. 50:3 describes the 40-day embalming period and 70 days of mourning for a leader--in context with the rest of Gen. 49-50, the death of Jacob. Also, an inverted flag is a universal symbol of national emergency.)
And yes, they do pretty explicitly see themselves as divine agents:
Jesus has no intention of visiting temporarily to see who wants to "get saved." He will release His government and rule upon the earth—through His sons and daughters—and His Kingdom will never stop growing. He never gives the planet to Satan! The takeover of the affairs of earth is somehow tied into bringing order to the entire universe. Our planet is the last bastion of rebellion, and He will overwhelm it on His terms here on this planet. His terms? That His weak, foolish, simple, love-struck sons and daughters finally wake up to their inheritance and become the instruments that crush Satan—here and now.
This is also why prosyletisation is perfectly accepted...and why George W. Bush, and the Iraq War, are explicitly seen as divine mandate:
As I write this, President George W. Bush is a Christian who also serves as civil leader of the most powerful nation on earth. This position carries great responsibility—beyond what most people understand. "Most powerful nation" status is given by God; just as He places leaders in nations, He also establishes leadership among nations. President Bush has a responsibility before God to terrify terrorists and rogue nations. He probably relies on his personal walk with the Lord for guidance for the correct strategy to do so. But it’s important to know that he has a biblical, God-ordained command to exercise "the sword" to stop those who would do evil. Confronting evil and delivering practical justice is a central call of those in civil positions of authority.
And lest anyone doubt, their primary allegiance is with Joel's Army, not constitutional rule:
We must approach this mountain as those whose citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). In the latter days, the Lord will use citizens of heaven who live on earth to exalt the His mountain above all other mountains. This citizenship must transcend our natural citizenship. Our natural citizenship is still important, as it establishes a specific arena where we’re called to be active. But it’s as citizens of heaven that we are sold out to our King and consumed by a deep love for Him, positioning ourselves to receive empowered strategy from heaven to fast forward His prayer while He was on earth: "Your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
Both the Federal government and--bizarrely--Harvard University are explicitly targeted:
If Washington, D.C., is the geographical top of the mountain, then at some point we must embark on a holy invasion of that stronghold. We see this already taking place with new ministries coming and physically spending a lot of time in the D.C. area. Prayer warriors, as well as those called to be the new visible faces on this mountain, need to invade.
If Harvard is a seedbed for the future leaders who will occupy the top of the mountain of politics, then it needs to be invaded as a part of the multi-pronged strategy. We need a host of Elijah revolutionaries to go and attend that school and bring the order of heaven to that place—a strategy we’ll discuss in much greater detail in the next chapter. Christians at Harvard is not a new concept, but Elijah Revolutionaries on that campus would be. An Elijah Revolutionary lives out of his Kingdom identity. He or she is first and foremost a citizen of heaven, and only secondarily is he a citizen of his nation. A revolutionary will carry the zeal of the Lord for righteousness and justice—which are the foundations of His throne (Psalm 97:2). Harvard will again burn with transformational governmental righteousness that will bring light to the nations of the world. As I’m writing, I’m prophetically seeing these things for Harvard and how that is a key part of the action strategy for taking the land that the Lord has given us at the top of the Mountain of Government.
...and trust me, it only gets worse from there.
Rick Joyner, a "founding father" of the Joel's Army movement (and actually one of the persons who originally coined the term "Joel's Army"), also dropped hints as to how this particular band of "Christian nationalists" plans to deal with such complications as the Constitution (using terminology that could have been straight out of the Aunt's "Freedom from" speech from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale) on a post made on 19 June 2007 to the ElijahList (a major Internet mailinglist and forum for the Joel's Army crowd):
The kingdom of God will not be socialism, but a freedom even greater than anyone on earth knows at this time. At first it may seem like totalitarianism, as the Lord will destroy the antichrist spirit now dominating the world with "the sword of His mouth" and will shatter many nations like pottery. However, fundamental to His rule is II Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Instead of taking away liberties and becoming more domineering, the kingdom will move from a point of necessary control while people are learning truth, integrity, honor, and how to make decisions, to increasing liberty so that they can.
. . .
The kingdom will start out necessarily authoritative in many ways, or in many areas, but will move toward increasing liberty--so do all true churches and movements that are advancing toward the kingdom. You may have to be very controlling of toddlers, but the older they get, the more they can be trusted, and the more freedom they should have if they are going to develop into true maturity, which requires personal responsibility.
(Emphasis actually in Joyner's post.)
The post seems disturbing enough on its face (with lip service towards religious freedom--after a period of totalitarian rule--in phrasings that would do the North Korean propoganda agencies proud) but the true threat comes across when one realises that the Joel's Army folks are also among some of the biggest promoters of literally using "chastening rods" to beat toddlers into submission--giving a further, veiled, very dangerous threat that they intend to literally "beat the devil out of people" if deemed necessary.
Pretty much anyone who is not a neopente dominionist in "Joel's Army" is at grave risk should anyone with connections get near the Oval Office, or the Supreme Court, or Congress--and we already have some in Congress, though thankfully not a majority. And no, the risk isn't just restricted to Palin--McCain made some very overt gestures towards Joel's Army promoters John Hagee and Rod Parsley even before the selection of Palin, which makes those of us watching wonder whether it's a matter of an "olive branch" or possibly a sign that the Republican Party is so thoroughly steeplejacked that it may soon be impossible for nominations to occur without a candidate having "Elijah's Army cred".
And here's where it matters in this election
The Hagee connections in particular are worrisome--Hagee's church operates what may be one of the most abusive coercive religious groups ever formally documented, in some ways actually managing to be worse than Scientology in sheer intensity and amount of thought-reform tactics used (and that takes some major doing!). Hagee's group Christians United for Israel not only uses Joel's Army terminology in a way that even confirmedly Joel's Army churches in the Assemblies won't touch with a 40-foot barge pole but has explicitly called for essentially a massive holy war against the non-Jewish population of Israel and its surrounding countries, and has also hinted at Joel's Army endtime theology regarding nuclear war with Russia and the Moslem world.
In fact, McCain did not drop his association with Hagee and Parsley until too much came out regarding the promotion of "hunters and fishers" theology by Hagee--a virulent covert-anti-Semitic theology becoming increasingly common in Joel's Army circles in which Israel is rather explicitly promoted as a divinely-ordained "megaghetto" to which Jewish people must either be "lured" by "fishers"...or "herded" by "hunters". (A brief glimpse on how truly anti-Semitic this stuff is--Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and modern neo-Nazi groups, are explicitly promoted as "hunters" literally doing the work of God to herd Jewish people to Israel as if they were sheep and slaughtering them if they are "obstinate".)
And sadly, the bloodlust isn't just restricted to Jewish groups who refuse to act as good little end-time pawns on the Joel's Army chessboard. As I've noted in a previous post, Joel's Army groups have literally used the same "Phinehas Priesthood" imagery used by Christian Identity groups to promote omnicide against anyone not falling in line (including, notably, one of the "founding fathers" of Joel's Army--Rick Joyner)--the "Phinehas Priests" taking their cue from the Biblical leader Phinehas, infamous for a number of bloody purges (including the complete decimation of the Midianite people save for virgins--taken as spoils of war--and what very nearly resulted in the extermination of the Israeli tribes of Reuben and Gad over a case of mistaken identity re a temple) and the impalement of not only a Midianite but her Israeli fiance (who was seen as guilty by association).
More associations with what amount to a war on humanity come from the "horses' mouth". An increasingly popular rebranding of Joel's Army in their own circles is "Gideon's Army"--and an increasing fad is with Gideon Conferences, devoted to promoting "Seven Mountains" planning and typically limited to 300 people apiece. Why 300? It's not Frank Miller's comic re the Battle of Thermopylae they're thinking of--no, supposedly Gideon (who ran Israel after Deborah) managed to beat back a Midianite occupying force of 100,000 with only 300 men. (Much more will be discussed on this in future posts.)
This imagery has even been subtly referenced in regards to Sarah Palin, amazingly. An analgous imagery used in Joel's Army circles to "Phinehas Priests" is the concept of "Deborah Annointing" in women--that is, comparison to the Biblical prophetess Deborah, who led a bloody revolt against the Canaanites and whose right-hand woman literally killed the leader of the occupation by driving a tent peg through his head. In other words, women with "Deborah Annointing" are seen basically as "Mommy Phinehas Priests"--and Joel's Army promoter J. Lee Grady explicitly has promoted Palin in this regard.
This is by far not the only especially blatant salutation of Palin as essentially a member of Joel's Army, WACS Division. Thomas Muthee explicitly describes her as a canonical example of the kind of person they'd like to see taking the "Mountain of Government" during his "annointing" of her during her run for governor in 2005:
And the last area is in the area of government. Hello? We need believers there. We need men and women of integrity. You know, as the Secretaries of State. We need them right there. People that are born again, spirit filled, people who know God, and people who are serious with God.
So in a moment if you do not mind, I’ll ask, you know, even before I go to do this thing, you know, I’ll ask Sarah, would you mind to come please? Would you mind? Come, please. Let’s all stand up, and let’s hold hands all over this house. Come, Pastor, come.
[Sarah Palin comes to the stage in front of the congregation. Sarah Palin bows her head stretches her forearms forward and places the palms of her hands upward. Thomas Muthee lays hands on Sarah Palin’s head. Pastor Ed Kalnin and unidentifed man lay hands on Sarah Palin’s shoulders.]
Thank you, Jesus. Let’s all pray. Let’s pray for Sarah. Hallelujah! Come on, hold your hands up and raise them. Hold them and raise them up here! Come on, talk to God about this woman! Come on, talk to God about this woman we declare favor from today. We say favor, favor, favor! We say praise my God! We say grace to be rained upon her in the name of Jesus. My God, you make your judgement, you make room. You make ways in the desert, and I’m asking you today, we are asking you as the body of Christ in this valley, make a way for Sarah, even in the [inaudible]. Make her way my God. Bring finances her way, even in the campaign in the name of Jesus, and above all give her the personnel, give her men and women that will back her up in the name of Jesus. We want righteousness in this state. We want righteousness in this nation. Because you say [inaudible] in the name of Jesus. Our Father, use her to turn this nation the other way around. Use her to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers so that the curse that has been there long can be broken. In the name of Jesus. Father, we thank you today. We come in the hindrance of the enemy, standing in her way to there. In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus! Every form of witchcraft, it will be rebuked in the name of Jesus. Father, make her way now. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
With the previous explanation that they claim to "know their own" in office, and explicitly referring to some of the other "seven mountains" memes--this and yesterday's post should hopefully give you some insight as to just why this is far from an innocuous blessing.
The sad thing is...this is just scratching the surface as to the depths of connections with Palin, McCain, and Joel's Army stuff. (In fact, just today Ruth at Talk to Action has posted on how the links may go prior to Palin's political career--a subject we will be going into much deeper detail on in the days and weeks to come.) In future posts, we will reveal more info on how deep the rabbit-hole goes (and it goes very deep indeed)--issues which could have very real implications for the US and the world at large, especially considering that not only will Palin be a heartbeat away from the Presidency if McCain is elected--but McCain himself is likely to lend an ear to these folks, if his prior associations with Hagee and Parsley are any clue. In fact, there are some indications that McCain still has associations with Hagee via Joe Lieberman--indicating that the ties aren't so much broken as hidden.
And that could be a Very, Very Bad Thing Indeed for America and the world.