It's No Big Deal, We Just Want to Take Over the World...
How religious radicals seeking world dominion have twisted scripture to justify their Christo-Fascist lust for power and control over all aspects of society...
Whenever a group of fanatics believe they have a mandate from God to take power by any means necessary in order to impose their will on the world, we should be concerned. Alarmed. Maybe even terrified.
This is exactly what believers in the Seven Mountain Mandate think they are entitled to — global dominion over all of human society.
This religiopolitical theory first began rearing its head in the 1970s when three evangelical fundamentalists claimed to have received a message from God ordering them to conquer the “Seven Mountains” of society and seize control of the world.
The Seven Mountain Mandate
The Seven Mountains are religion, government, family, business, education, media and entertainment… basically all aspects of society.
A handful of cherry picked Biblical passages are cited to support this “spiritual dominionism.”
Genesis 1:26, in which God calls humans to have dominion over the earth, twisted into Christians should have dominion over all nonbelievers.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19, in which God provides a Ministry of Reconciliation through Christ, twisted to mean evangelicals must “reconcile” society by controlling it.
Revelation 17:9, in which the “whore of Babylon sits on a throne of 7 mountains” through which she influences the whole earth, twisted into taking back these aspects of society from evildoers, the crux of the Seven Mountain Mandate.
Once evangelicals are in control of the world, the theory goes, the End Times will come, Jesus will return to Earth, all sinners will face terrible retribution, the world as we know it will end, and there will be a new Heaven and Earth established.
Sound crazy? It does to me… and to most mainstream theologians, who argue there is simply no such mandate in the Bible.
“The Seven Mountain Mandate, or as it’s sometimes called, the Seven Mountain Prophecy, is about as anti-biblical and damaging of a movement that can be found in Christianity. It attempts to change the world for Christ, but is that what Jesus commanded us to do? They clearly have a different agenda and they are following a different Jesus than what the Bible teaches.” Pastor Jack Wellman-What Christians Want to Know
This Christo-Fascist “mandate” forms the nexus of the most radical elements of the right wing movement from Christian Nationalism and White Supremacy to QAnon, The Proud Boys and MAGA.
It’s also where the Awaken Church cult comes in…
The Awaken Church, which is currently seeking to establish a full time presence in Coronado, adheres to the mandate and is implementing it in all seven spheres. The megachurch, which arose from two scandal-plagued megachurch empires, seeks to infiltrate and control public schools, put its candidates into public office, define what the American family should look like, create a media empire, grow its coffers through heavy tithing of its parishioners, and - in its own words - take territory, including the taking of Coronado.
Awaken’s founder, Jurgen Matthesius, preaches that our democracy must be replaced with a theocracy. THEIR theocracy, of course, and if they have to rise up in arms to take over the world, so be it... because it’s God’s will
Here’s My Take
Although they are still a powerful voting bloc, these fanatical ideologues know their numbers are dwindling. The percentage of White Christian Evangelicals is down to some 15-percent of the US population, about half of what it was in the 1990s.
Prevailing at the polls in a popular vote is an elusive enterprise, so ending democracy and seizing power is a seductive alternative, especially if you delude yourself into believing it’s God’s will.
We will continue to see these folks gin up a flood of contrived controversies, spread wild conspiracy theories, and disseminate endless disinformation in hopes of prevailing. It’s up to us to stand up, speak out, continue to support our democracy, and just say no to those who would destroy it.
Resources:
Is the Seven Mountain Mandate Biblical?
What Are the 7 Mountains of Influence and Is It an End Times Prophecy?