In the three and a half years since Donald Trump incited an insurrection on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Americans have come to learn how much Christian nationalism played a role in the riot. What is less known, however, is how the fringe Christian movement the New Apostolic Reformation dominated and shaped the effort to overturn the 2020 election. The group, once considered extreme even by most white evangelicals, was instrumental in organizing and spurring the crowd that stormed the Capitol that day. 

In his book "The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy," religious studies scholar Dr. Matthew Taylor explores how this group of self-proclaimed "prophets" and "apostles" became central to the MAGA movement and, eventually, an attempted coup. He spoke with Salon about this poorly understood fringe religious group and why they matter so much to Trump.

One of the things that is distinct about independent charismatic sector of Christianity is that people believe in modern-day apostles and prophets. This is not something that mainstream denominations recognize. Wagner became convinced that he was an apostle. He surrounded himself with these modern-day prophets. When he talked about the New Apostolic Reformation, he saw a change like the Protestant Reformation that would have a lasting impact and become a new branch of Christianity. By the early 21st century, that group of leaders became increasingly radicalized around American politics, increasingly fixated on visions of taking over society. They embraced a prophecy called the Seven Mountain Mandate. Sarah Palin was mentored by one of these prophets in Wagner's networks. They really believe they're this vanguard that God had placed on Earth to bring about the Kingdom of God. They want a global revival and to take over whole societies and turn them into Christian nations.

The NAR leaders had a theology that was primed for a figure like Trump. They were some of the first Christian leaders to embrace him, to endorse him. They created the theologies and the propaganda that made Trump palatable to broader American evangelicalism. They became some of his closest advisers and helped structure a lot of the policy during the Trump era. They truly believed that God had willed Trump to win the 2020 election. They had hundreds of prophecies about that idea. When Trump refused to concede, all these prophets and apostles decided that it was that their prophecies were not wrong, but that God was going to intervene in a miraculous way to reinstate Donald Trump. They started a mass spiritual warfare campaign, mobilizing charismatic Christians. to pray against the demons that they believed were stealing the election. That spiritual warfare campaign was a major factor in the Christians who showed up on January 6.

Salon.com