COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) 鈥� Thousands sang, cheered and prayed as multiple preachers declared Donald Trump to be God鈥檚 favored candidate to defeat what one called the 鈥渇orces of darkness.鈥�
Headliners denounced Democrat Kamala Harris 鈥� Trump's campaign rival 鈥� as influenced by demons and the spirit of the wicked biblical queen Jezebel.
Attendees stood and recited in unison a 鈥淲atchman Decree,鈥� invoking a government that honors God and has 鈥渞ighteous鈥� laws and 鈥渂iblical鈥� judicial rulings. They pledged to 鈥渢ake back and permanently control鈥� positions of leadership in sectors such as government, business and culture.
鈥淲e break every curse against Donald Trump 鈥� we break every satanic incantation against his presidency,鈥� declared the host preacher, Hank Kunneman, at the annual Opening the Heavens conference, held in mid-September at the Mid-America Center arena in Council Bluffs.
The conference is one of several of its type around the country this election year, featuring exuberant worship and speeches by influential preachers. It represents a highly politicized wing of charismatic Christianity, a larger movement that emphasizes spiritual gifts such as healings, prophecy and speaking in tongues.
As a sign of this movement's influence, Republican vice presidential nominee appeared recently at a similar conference, called the Courage Tour, in Pennsylvania.
Goals for the conference included getting out the vote for Trump and his allies, and mobilizing believers to pray and take part in what鈥檚 proclaimed to be a literal spiritual war surrounding the election.
鈥淕et your butt out there and vote. Get your voice and raise it!" declared Kunneman, who pastors Lord of Hosts Church in nearby Omaha, Nebraska, with his wife, Brenda. "Let every devil fall. ... We push back any attempt to steal the executive office."
The conference emerges from a movement that emphasizes authoritative direction from leaders considered to be modern-day apostles and prophets. It also incorporated , a fusion of American and Christian identity.
Critics view the movement with alarm, seeing it as anti-democratic and supporting a candidate with authoritarian ambitions and incendiary rhetoric. Many of its leaders rallied behind Trump鈥檚 claims that the 2020 election was stolen despite .
鈥淭he attitude coming into 2024 is, 鈥楾he demons are probably going to try to steal this election again, and so we need to do spiritual warfare in advance to prevent that,鈥欌�� said Matthew Taylor, author of the new book on the movement, 鈥淭he Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to have a pluralistic democracy," Taylor said, when many .
Several leaders in this movement were present at rallies in Washington protesting Biden鈥檚 presidential victory before and on Jan. 6, 2021, said Taylor.
Leaders weren鈥檛 among the Capitol rioters, but some issued decrees and prayers that the certification of Biden's win be blocked and Trump returned for a second term.
Such ideology 鈥渋s one of those golden threads鈥� in the social media feeds of many participants of the Jan. 6 rallies, said Taylor, Protestant scholar at the Baltimore-based Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies.
Headliners at the Council Bluffs conference repeatedly spoke of being in a true spiritual war, merging decrees of political victory and Christian revival.
The 鈥渇avor of the Lord鈥� is on Trump, said one preacher, Dutch Sheets. 鈥淎merica is going to be saved, and I believe this election is a part of it."
His brother and fellow preacher, Tim Sheets, recounted seeing a vision of a warrior angel firing an arrow that landed in front of the White House, claiming the territory for God.
鈥淲e must move into battle for the Lord,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he drums of spiritual war are beating.鈥�
Preachers repeatedly denounced abortion 鈥� one described it as an outpouring of blood craved by demons 鈥� and the 鈥渕utilation鈥� of children, as they depicted gender-affirming treatment for transgender youths.
The arena appeared a little more than half full, with thousands of attendees from multiple states. Many wore T-shirts with slogans like, 鈥淒efender of Territory鈥� and 鈥淲e the People Trust Jesus,鈥� while several bundled up with American flag-themed fleece blankets amid chilly air conditioning.
Participants at the Council Bluffs conference, mostly but not exclusively white, aligned with the larger .
About 8 in 10 white evangelicals supported Trump in 2020, according to . Pew Research Center鈥檚 validated voter survey found similar support levels .
This year, about 7 in 10 white evangelical Protestants the Republican nominee favorably, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found.
Behind that supermajority is a diverse evangelicalism. The charismatic exuberance and focus on the supernatural contrast in tone with the relatively restrained approach of groups such as Southern Baptists, though they have allied in their political conservatism and opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
And the charismatic movement has its own diversity. This heavily politicized branch teaches that in the present day, God has re-established the ancient biblical roles of apostle 鈥� an authoritative leader 鈥� and prophet, someone issuing divine proclamations.
The movement isn鈥檛 a denomination. Churches and ministries largely operate independently, even as its leaders speak at each others鈥� conferences, endorse each others鈥� books and appear on each others鈥� broadcasts.
As one example of the overlap: The Opening the Heavens conference in Council Bluffs featured one segment called FlashPoint Live 鈥� an in-person version of a television show that mixes charismatic Christianity and conservative politics. It鈥檚 one of several such FlashPoint Live conferences this year, hosted by pastor Gene Bailey 鈥� whose recent interview with Trump demonstrated the close ties between the movement and the former president.
The , started by Trump鈥檚 former national security advisor Michael Flynn, has similarly blended the political with revival-like rallies and featured members of Trump's family.
While a range of evangelicals served as Trump鈥檚 faith-based advisors during his administration, charismatic leaders were especially prominent.
The apostles-and-prophets movement overlaps with two related, popular ideas: dominionism, which says Christians are to be in charge of society, and the 鈥淪even Mountain Mandate,鈥� which specifies seven areas where Christians are to lead 鈥� politics, religion, media, business, family, education and the arts and entertainment.
Bailey led in the reciting of the Watchman Decree at Council Bluffs, which included a pledge to 鈥減ermanently control positions of influence and leadership in each of the seven mountains.鈥�
Bailey and Kunneman declined interview requests through a media representative.
Taylor said that according to this strand of charismatic theology, Holy Spirit-filled Christians have the power not just to ask God for results but to speak them into being.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just spouting off or praying prayers,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey believe that they are changing reality with these Watchman Decrees.鈥�
He added: "It looks wild when you encounter it, but it is very popular, and it鈥檚 very dangerous."
Separate from the Council Bluffs conference organizers, but with an overlapping cast of speakers, is the Courage Tour. It鈥檚 led by Lance Wallnau, who popularized the Seven Mountain concept and was an early booster of Trump鈥檚 2016 candidacy.
The tour has been held in crucial battleground states, mixing worship, prayers for miraculous healings and overt politics 鈥� including a call for Christians to become election workers or poll watchers to 鈥渇ight the fraud鈥� in swing states.
Taylor said this appears to lay groundwork for a campaign to delegitimize the 2024 election results if Harris wins.
While movement leaders speak of spiritual warfare 鈥� that is, angel vs. demon rather than human vs. human 鈥� Taylor said such rhetoric can stoke some people into taking matters into their own hands.
He said it鈥檚 no surprise that some rioters at the Capitol in 2021 were loudly .
鈥淚 really do worry that we could see a lot more political violence,鈥� he said.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Peter Smith, The Associated Press
