MONOGRAPH: Strategic Implications of American Millennialism

Strategic Implications of American Millennialism 

A Monograph 

by 

MAJOR Brian L. Stuckert 

U.S. Army 

School of Advanced Military Studies 

United States A l Staff College 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 

AY 2008 

rmy Command and Genera 

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 ii

Abstract 

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF AMERICAN MILLENNIALISM by MAJOR Brian L. 

Stuckert, U.S. ARMY, 61 pages. 

 Since the beginning of the Republic, various forms of millennial religious doctrines, of 

which dispensational pre-millennialism is the most recent, have shaped U.S. national security 

strategy. As the dominant form of millennialism in the U.S. evolves, it drives changes in U.S. 

security policy and subsequent commitment of the instruments of national power.  Millennial 

ideas contribute to a common American understanding of international relations that guide our 

thinking irrespective of individual religious or political affiliation. Millennialism has great 

explanatory value, significant policy implications, and creates potential vulnerabilities that 

adversaries may exploit.  

 In the simplest usage of the word, millennialism refers to any belief system, religious or 

secular, which anticipates a purification of society or the world through dramatic and sweeping 

change. In the U.S. today, the most well-known and influential form of millennialism is a 

religious variant known in formal, theological parlance as dispensational pre-millennialism. This 

contemporary form of millennialism took shape during the 1970s and has significantly shaped 

current U.S. security policy. Dispensational pre-millennialism is loosely based on depictions of 

battle between the forces of good and evil in the biblical Book of Revelation. In the U.S., 

dispensational pre-millennialism contends that in the very near future Jesus Christ will ‘rapture,’ 

or remove his church from the Earth. A period of intense tribulations and battles will follow, 

culminating with a cataclysmic defeat of Satan. Jesus would then establish an earthly kingdom for 

1,000 years – the millennium. Today, the theological doctrines of dispensational pre- 

millennialism contribute significantly to American culture. This has resulted in a pervasive sense 

of determinism and pessimism that has significant implications for U.S. security policy around 

the world. 

 iii

 iv 

 Military leaders, planners and strategists require greater understanding of American 

millennial thought. Millennialism shapes both American culture and U.S. government policy. 

While most Americans are influenced to some degree by the ideas of pre-millennialism, many are 

unaware of the philosophical or theological underpinnings. Military leaders charged with 

interpreting policy into strategy and acting on behalf of the nation on the international stage 

cannot afford to remain ignorant of the effects of pre-millennialism. Due to a general lack of 

awareness of millennialism and an uneasy reticence to discuss religious factors, understanding 

and analysis of our own policies and motives is often deficient. Additionally, the cultural imprint 

that derives from millennialism impairs our understanding of the words, actions and motives of 

other actors on the world stage. These factors can be problematic for any military leader or 

planner attempting to achieve U.S. Government policy objectives through strategy, operations 

and programs. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

WHY MILLENNIALISM MATTERS...........................................................................................1 

THE ROLE OF CIVIL RELIGION AND CULTURE...................................................................4 

MILLENNIAL THEOLOGIES IN AMERICA..............................................................................6 

POST-MILLENNIALISM AND THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA...........................................21 

CIVIL WAR, WORLD WAR AND THE RISE OF PRE-MILLENNIALISM............................24 

ISRAEL, NUCLEAR WAR AND THE LAST DAYS.................................................................27 

CONTEMPORARY PRE-MILLENNIALISM IN THE AMERICAN ELECTORATE..............33 

CONTEMPORARY PRE-MILLENNIALISM AND AMERICAN CULTURE.........................38 

THE HOLY LAND AND ARMAGEDDON: U.S. POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST..............44 

ANTI-CHRIST, GOG, MAGOG, AND ARMIES FROM THE EAST........................................51 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................57 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................................62 

 v

WHY MILLENNIALISM MATTERS 

The impact of American millennial religious ideas on U.S. Government policy will add to 

strategic hubris, compel increasingly reckless international action, and continue to over-commit 

the military in ways the Nation cannot afford. Military leaders, planners and strategists require 

greater awareness and understanding of American millennial thought. Millennialism has always 

been a feature of the American culture and has shaped not only the objectives of U.S. government 

policy, but also the way in which we interpret the words and actions of other actors on the 

international stage. Since the beginning of the Republic, various forms of millennial religious 

doctrines, of which dispensational pre-millennialism is the most recent, have shaped U.S. national 

security strategy. As the dominant form of millennialism in the U.S. evolves, it drives changes in 

U.S. security policy and subsequent commitment of the instruments of national power.  

Millennial ideas contribute to a common American understanding of international relations that 

guide our thinking irrespective of individual religious or political affiliation. Millennialism has 

great explanatory value, significant policy implications, and creates potential vulnerabilities that 

adversaries may exploit.  

In the simplest usage of the word, millennialism refers to any belief system, religious or 

secular, which anticipates a purification of society or the world through dramatic and sweeping 

change. In the U.S. today, the most well-known and influential form of millennialism is a 

religious variant known in formal, theological parlance as dispensational pre-millennialism. This 

contemporary form of millennialism took shape during the 1970s and has significantly shaped 

current U.S. security policy. Dispensational pre-millennialism is loosely based on depictions of 

battle between the forces of good and evil in the biblical Book of Revelation. In the U.S., 

dispensational pre-millennialism contends that in the very near future Jesus Christ will ‘rapture,’ 

or remove his church from the Earth. A period of intense tribulations and battles will follow, 

 1

culminating with a cataclysmic defeat of Satan. Jesus would then establish an earthly kingdom for 

1,000 years – the millennium. Today, the theological doctrines of dispensational pre- 

millennialism contribute significantly to American culture. This has resulted in a pervasive sense 

of determinism and pessimism in that has significant implications for U.S. security policy around 

the world. 

While most Americans are influenced to some degree by the ideas of pre-millennialism, 

many are unaware of the philosophical or theological underpinnings. Military leaders charged 

with interpreting policy into strategy and acting on behalf of the nation on the international stage 

cannot afford to remain ignorant of the effects of pre-millennialism. Due to a general lack of 

awareness of millennialism and an uneasy reticence to discuss religious factors, understanding 

and analysis of our own policies and motives is often deficient or flawed. Additionally, the 

cultural imprint that derives from millennialism impairs our understanding of the words, actions 

and motives of other actors on the world stage. These factors can be problematic for any military 

leader or planner attempting to achieve U.S. Government policy objectives through strategy, 

operations and programs. 

Military leaders and planners must recognize that, to the extent that actual and potential 

adversaries may analyze American millennial thought, there may be significant advantages 

available to the enemy. First, millennial thought and its policy implications may create strategic 

transparency that affords adversaries an advantage in decision-making. Second, an understanding 

of American millennial thinking may provide adversaries with the means to manipulate American 

policy and subsequent action. Third, the enemy may exploit American millennialism to increase 

the fragility of and even disrupt coalitions. Fourth, adversaries may exploit American 

millennialism to demoralize or terrorize joint forces and the American people. By recognizing 

these potential vulnerabilities, military leaders and planners may take action now to mitigate the 

effects. 

 2

This monograph will define and describe the basic theological concepts associated with 

millennialism. I will explain the development of the philosophy of dispensational pre- 

millennialism, with an emphasis on how dispensational pre-millennialism has been shaped by 

U.S. policy and global events. I will then explore the inverse of the relationship by examining the 

ways in which religion, and specifically various forms of millennialism, has shaped U.S. history 

and policy. The synthesis of American history and millennial theology will highlight the role of 

early American post-millennialism and the resulting tendency toward isolationism during the 

same period. I will examine the role of the U.S. Civil War in undermining the philosophy of post- 

millennialism and the influence of dispensational pre-millennialists such as Darby and Scofield in 

filling the philosophical void on the stage of American religion following that conflict. I will 

examine the interaction between World War I and the emerging ideas of pre-millennialism and 

the subsequent influence of this philosophy on shifting U.S. strategic attitudes. Most importantly, 

I will examine the import of the establishment of the state of Israel to American millennialism 

and subsequent security policy implications that dominate U.S. foreign relations today.  

This monograph will employ 1967 to the present as the era of contemporary 

millennialism and illustrate how American religion provides extraordinary explanatory power for 

current conflicts and policy. I will consider the current religious psyche of the American 

electorate, shared cultural resources and current apocalyptic influences. I will explore potential 

impacts on policy making by examining the relationship of prominent millennial thinkers to U.S. 

presidential administrations, the influence of millennial thinkers and groups on the U.S. congress, 

and the impact of millennialism on contemporary U.S. culture as a component of the policy 

making environment.  I will examine patterns of U.S. security policy in the Middle East, to 

include patterns of security cooperation with Israel. Finally, given a framework for understanding 

the relationship between millennialism and U.S. policy, I will suggest areas of concern, 

vulnerabilities and make suggestions for future action. 

 3

THE ROLE OF CIVIL RELIGION AND CULTURE 

“You can't look at the headlines these days — the Middle East is on the brink of all-out war, 

stifling heat waves are blanketing the United States and fundamentally different belief systems 

are clashing in the stem cell debate — and not conjure up apocalyptic visions.” – Chuck Raasch 

in USA Today, 20 July 20061 

According to American sociologist Robert Bellah, within the U.S. “there actually exists 

alongside of and rather clearly differentiated from the churches an elaborate and well- 

institutionalized civil religion2 in America...this religious dimension-has its own seriousness and 

integrity and requires the same care in understanding that any other religion does.”3 Americans 

are accustomed to frequent use of religious language by U.S. presidents, especially when 

discussing foreign affairs or security policy. The use of religious language and concepts to 

explain U.S. foreign policy is a common example of the influence of civil religion.  

The U.S. bases its foreign affairs and security goals on Protestant millennial ideas that 

date back to seventeenth-century England.4 Millennialism has always been a feature of the 

American culture and has shaped not only the objectives of U.S. government policy, but also the 

way in which we interpret the words and actions of other actors on the international stage. 

Americans have always practiced some form of millennialism. Protestant millennialism can take 

many forms. These different forms of millennialism can lead one to very different conclusions 

when used as a guide for government policy. Before the U.S. Civil War, Americans were heavily 

influenced by the dominant form of millennialism of that day known as post-millennialism. Since 

                                                           

1 

 Raasch, Chuck. ‘In the Headlines, Glimpses of the Apocalypse,’ USA Today, 20 July 2006. 

Available on-line: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2006-07-20-raasch_x.htm, 

retrieved on: 11 January 2008. 

2 

 Rousseau coined the term ‘civil religion’ in chapter 8, book 4 of The Social Contract. Rousseau 

asserted that civil religion was common agreement on the existence of God, the life to come, the reward of 

virtue and the punishment of vice, and the exclusion of religious intolerance. All other religious opinions 

are outside the cognizance of the state and may be freely held by citizens. 

3 

 Bellah, Robert N. ‘Civil Religion in America,’ Dædalus: Journal of the American Academy of 

Arts and Sciences, Winter 1967, Vol. 96, No. 1, pp. 1-21. Available on-line: http://www.robertbellah.com/ 

articles_5.htm, retrieved 5 December 2007. 

4 

 Judis, John B. ‘The Chosen Nation: The Influence of Religion on U.S. Foreign Policy,’ Policy 

Brief, 37, March 2005, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1. 

 4

the Civil War, a new form of millennialism, known as dispensational pre-millennialism, has 

emerged as a significant component of American culture. Dispensational pre-millennialism and 

its concomitant apocalyptic worldview will continue to have numerous foreign policy and 

security implications for the United States in years to come.  

Millennial ideas contribute to a common American understanding of international 

relations that in many cases transcend individual religious or political affiliation. Eschatological 

beliefs inform a culture's interpretations about how Christians are to be ‘in the world but not of 

the world’5 and “function to influence and justify collective action.”6 Where contemporary 

American millennialism is concerned, collective anxiety over things like apocalyptic war, an 

Anti-Christ alive and at work somewhere on the Earth and the need to secure our eternal destiny 

by our own hand will lead to a misguided foreign and security policy that increasingly relies upon 

employment of the military instrument of power. 

Contemporary American millennialism, and especially its contributions to the broader 

culture, derives from and adapts to specifically political circumstances and concerns for which 

religion provides an underlying framework. Most scholars see a definite connection between 

apocalypticism and times of crisis.7 In a period of crisis, there seems to be something within the 

human psyche that compels us to look for a different worldview as a coping mechanism. Pre- 

millennialism is psychologically appealing. Like other theologies, it offers an interpretive 

framework for events around us. Pre-millennialism is especially adept at explaining the more 

                                                           

5 

 Gospel of John, 17:15-18. 

6 

 Bruce, Steve. ‘Y2K, The Apocalypse, and Evangelical Christianity: The Role of Eschatological 

Belief in Church Responses,’ Sociology of Religion, Summer 2001. Available on-line: http://findarticles. 

com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_62/ai_76759009/pg_3, retrieved 27 December 2007. 

7 

 Collins, John. ‘Apocalypticism Explained:  The Apocalyptic World View,’ Frontline, originally 

broadcast on 22 November 1998, available on-line: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ 

apocalypse/explanation/doomindustry.html, retrieved 6 November 2007. 

 5

troubling aspects of our world. More importantly, pre-millennialism offers not only a hope, but 

also a genuine expectancy that there may be a way to go to Heaven without dying.8  

The determinism of millennialism is the quintessential linear thought pattern and coping 

mechanism. One of the most dramatic effects of millennialism is the underlying theme that the 

world is moving toward a definite end.9 The prevalent form of millennialism in America 

functions as a type of deterministic fatalism. Much of the western world has come to accept that 

this is simply the way things are and we are disinclined to view the world as cyclical.10 This 

makes American thought fundamentally different from the thinking of much of the rest of the 

world. Our thinking is affected by themes of inevitability and immediacy that results in a 

compulsion to act. This feature of western thought affects both religious and secular 

philosophies.11 Secular considerations notwithstanding, the single most important factor in 

western apocalypticism are the Bible, specifically the books of Daniel and Revelation. In the 

Bible and subsequent philosophical interpretations, we can trace the source of our linear, 

teleological view of deterministic history.12  

MILLENNIAL THEOLOGIES IN AMERICA 

Millennialism, and especially dispensational pre-millennialism, derives in large part from 

extraordinary literalism of even the most figurative passages of the Bible. In America, literalism 

in biblical interpretation is most closely associated with fundamentalism. Theologically, it is best 

to begin a discussion of American millennialism with a brief review of fundamentalism as the 

                                                           

8 

 North, Gary. ‘The Unannounced Reason Behind American Fundamentalism's Support for the 

State of Israel,’ 19 July 2000. Available on-line: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1585. 

htm, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

9 

 Collins, John. ‘Apocalypticism Explained:  The Apocalyptic World View,’ Frontline, originally 

broadcast on 22 November 1998, available on-line: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ 

apocalypse/explanation/doomindustry.html, retrieved 6 November 2007. 

10 

 Ibid. 

11 

 Marxism is an example of this. 

12 

 Collins, John. ‘Apocalypticism Explained:  The Apocalyptic World View,’ Frontline, originally 

broadcast on 22 November 1998, available on-line: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ 

apocalypse/explanation/doomindustry.html, retrieved 6 November 2007. 

 6

term applies to the contemporary American religious tradition. Fundamentalism is a frequently 

misunderstood term in America.13 Although it has connections to each, fundamentalism is 

distinct from evangelicalism, the charismatic14 movement or conservative Christianity in g 

Fundamentalism is also poorly understood when we attempt to define it as a personality style, a 

form of militancy, or a particular worldview. 

eneral. 

                                                          

15 

 The central doctrine of fundamentalism is that the 

Bible is inspired by God and is an infallible account of the words of God. There are, however, 

two other important heritages associated with American fundamentalism:  dispensational pre- 

millennialism and the holiness or Pentecostal movement.16 Fundamentalism can be understood 

through the inverse of the relationship by examining the late 19th-century American development 

of pre-millennialism and the holiness-Pentecostal movement and how these have grown in 

tandem with fundamentalism and one another.  

In order to understand the impact on culture and policy, we must recognize the uniquely 

American aspect of our prominent religious traditions. While influences from a general European 

and North American spiritual renewal are evident,17 New England Puritanism, as shaped by the 

13 

 Within the American context, the term has its beginnings in the 1880s at the Princeton 

Theological Seminary. Archibald Hodge and Benjamin Warfield were noted for their defense of biblical 

accuracy and authority in the face of modernist criticisms. After 1919 fundamentalism become an 

organized movement when 6,000 people attended the World's Christian Fundamentals Association 

conference in Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, fundamentalist coalitions began to form within Baptist and 

Presbyterian churches. It is important to note that while Presbyterians may be sympathetic to the doctrine of 

biblical inerrancy, they generally do not concur with the doctrine of dispensational pre-millennialism. 

14 

 Within a religious context, this term generally applies to individuals and groups that profess a 

supernatural indwelling of the Holy Spirit, many times manifested in the form of supernatural spiritual 

gifts, such as speaking in tongues. 

15 

 Wuthnow, Robert. ‘The World of Fundamentalism,’ The Christian Century, April 22, 1992, pp. 

426-429. Available on-line: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=230, retrieved 28 

December 2007. 

16 

 Ibid. Pentecostals are well known for their public confession of sins, affirmation of belief in 

Jesus, speaking in tongues and miraculous healing; they claim to experience a spiritual renewal, which they 

attribute to a supernatural action of the Holy Spirit. 

17 

 Kostlevy, William. ‘The Dispensationalists: Embarrassing Relatives or Prophets Without 

Honor: Reflections on Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind,’ Wesley Center for Applied 

Theology, Northwest Nazarene University, 2003. Available on-line: http://wesley.nnu.edu/Wesleyan 

_theology/theojrnl/31-35/32-1-10c.htm, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

 7

First Great Awakening,18 is distinctly American. Although no longer known by that name, it 

remains fundamentally opposed to Protestant orthodoxy. This tendency has left America with a 

strong proclivity for experiential religion leading directly to the phenomenon of contemporary 

evangelicalism. American evangelicalism emerged after World War II and did “much to unify 

and revitalize conservative Protestantism.”19 While incorporating many of the same ideas, 

evangelicalism generally had a moderating effect on American fundamentalism. In the 1970s, the 

trend began to move the other way with fundamentalism exerting more influence in response to a 

perceived decline in the moral condition of America.20 This influence is most pronounced within 

non-denominational, Southern and independent Baptist and Pentecostal churches. The 

phenomenon of pre-millennial ideas has successfully crossed denominational boundaries during 

the last three decades, owing much to the success of publishing, broadcasting and other media 

efforts designed to spread pre-millennialism. 

An understanding of different philosophical and interpretive approaches to the Book of 

Revelation is essential to an appreciation for millennial theologies, and especially dispensational 

pre-millennialism. Philosophical approaches to the Book of Revelation center on two important 

interpretive questions. The first concerns the historical referent or context in which one 

understands the visions related in Revelation chapter 6:1 through chapter 18:24.  The second 

question concerns the way in which the thousand-year period of Revelation chapter 20 is 

characterized. In America, millennial philosophies reside within a larger debate related to 

interpretive methods for reading the New Testament book of Revelation. 

With respect to the first question of historical context or referent, we can discern four 

broad methods. These methods generally determine an outlook on the text from chapter 6:1 

                                                           

18 

 The Great Awakening was 1725-1760. Based on widespread optimism and expectation of future 

triumphs in the cause of righteousness, post-millennalism was widely accepted and fit well with the Puritan 

idea that the colonists were a chosen people. 

 8

through chapter 18:24 of the Book of Revelation, but have significant implications for millennial 

thought. These different interpretive methods are commonly referred to as historicist, preterist, 

spiritualist and futurist. 

With respect to the second question, there are three broad methods within the idea of 

millennialism. It is here that the influence of fundamentalism, with its unique literalism, becomes 

important. Millennialism actually refers to any system of belief or interpretation that employs a 

literal thousand years, or chiliad, in reading and applying Revelation 20:1-7: 

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to 

the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient 

serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and 

threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not 

deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he 

must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were 

those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of 

those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, 

and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its 

mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ 

for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand 

years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who 

shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but 

they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a 

thousand years.” 

The word millennial or millennium is Latin in origin and therefore does not appear in 

Scripture. The Greek word used in Revelation 20:1-7 is from "chilioi," which means "a 

thousand." Historically, the concept we refer to as millennialism was originally known as 

chiliasm and the associated period of time was referred to as the chiliad.  

The historicist or historical method interprets the Book of Revelation as a “panoramic 

outline of church history from the apostolic era to the Second Coming of Christ.”21 The historicist 

                                                                                                                                                                             

19 

 Wuthnow, Robert. ‘The World of Fundamentalism,’ The Christian Century, April 22, 1992, pp. 

426-429. Available on-line: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=230, retrieved 28 

December 2007. 

20 

 Ibid. 

21 

 Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts. Nashville, 

Thomas Nelson, 1993, p. 486. 

 9

approach asserts that prophecy has been unfolding since shortly after Revelation was written and 

continues to unfold now. This method renders Revelation as a “prewritten record of the course of 

history”22 and was the traditional Protestant23 interpretation for many centuries. The historicist 

method may be used with the post-millennial or amillennial philosophies.  

The preterist24 method of interpretation places the events of the Book of Revelation 6:1 

through 18:24 during the times of the Roman Empire, normally the late first and second centuries. 

Preterists are divided on the fulfillment of the prophecies in the final chapters of Revelation. 

Some believe they had their fulfillment in the past, while some believe that the final chapters 

speak of yet future events.   

The idealist, spiritual or symbolic approach25 interprets the Book of Revelation as 

describing the general nature of the conflict between good and evil, but does not attempt to 

correlate events or symbols within the book to any specific point in history. Within this 

interpretative method, we may discern two distinct schools of thought. While most see the Book 

of Revelation as providing insight to “transcendent spiritual realities,”26 some see fulfillment as 

entirely spiritual. Most idealists, however, believe that the conflict between good and evil 

manifests itself in the physical, temporal world as conflict between Christians and anti-Christian 

world powers, eventually leading to vindication. They tend to see these interactions as recurrent 

and do not see fulfillment in any single, specific historical events. Many borrow freely from the 

preterist method and find a primary application in the Roman Empire while seeing a secondary, 

spiritual application continuing to this day. Idealists typically subscribe to some form of 

amillennialism, since a figurative rendering is consistent with this interpretive approach.  

                                                           

22 

 Gregg, Steve (ed.). Revelation Four Views: A Parallel Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson 

Publishers, 1997, 2. 

23 

 As the leading Protestant interpretation, several versions of the historicist method have 

specifically demonized Catholicism, especially after the Reformation. 

24 

 From the Latin word for ‘past.’ 

25 

 The literature offers no clear consensus on a label for this interpretative approach. 

26 

 Gregg, Steve (ed.). Revelation Four Views: A Parallel Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson 

Publishers, 1997, 3. 

 10

Finally, the futurist approach interprets the Book of Revelation as describing still yet 

future events that will accompany the end of the world. The futurist interpretive method is 

essential to pre-millennial philosophical systems and will be the focus of much of the discussion 

that follows.  

Turning now to the second question, there are essentially three major philosophies with 

respect to millennialism that derive from Revelation 20:1-7. These are commonly referred to as 

post-millennialism, pre-millennialism, and amillennialism. Millennialism is not unique to 

Christianity. Most religions feature some future time when good will overcome evil and peace 

will reign. Zoroastrianism27 featured a period of a thousand years of peace from evil. Zoroastrians 

believe they first promulgated the concept of a singular, all-powerful god, and the coming of a 

redeemer to save the world from the evil. The Apocrypha28 contains numerous references to a 

time of universal peace, which would be ruled by the people of God.  

Up to the close of the tenth century, many Christians could and quite likely did assume 

that the 1,000 years was a literal measure of time between the first and second comings of Christ. 

Since this coming was universally identified with the last judgment, the approach of the year 

1000 was terrifying for many.29 When the year 1000 came and went without the return of Christ, 

most concluded the number was intended figuratively or symbolically. The impetus of millennial 

philosophies is found in the hope for a better world. Their view of Revelation was that Christ 

would intervene, at the right moment, and bring about a change in world events. Elwell 

emphasizes this aspect when he writes "... the essential apocalyptic message remained as the book 

taught the living hope of the immediate direct intervention of God to reverse history and to 

                                                           

27 

 Zoroastrianism is the religion based on the teachings of Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra. 

The religion originated in Persia in the 5th century b.C. and had its greatest number of adherents then. 

28 

 I am not attempting to present a list of apocryphal texts. I am using the term in its most general 

sense to refer to religious or Jewish historical texts that are normally not included in the canon of Scripture 

due to uncertain authenticity or questionable authorship. 

29 

 Sarver, Mark. Dispensationalism: Part I - Millennial Views Prior to the Rise of 

Dispensationalism, Grace On-line Library. Available on-line: http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/ 

articles/full.asp?id=9|21|653, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

 11

overcome evil with good. Such an outlook brought great comfort to believers who suffered from 

persecution by the forces of Imperial Rome. Expressed in a form that has been called historic 

premillennialism, this hope seems to have been the prevailing eschatology during the first three 

centuries of the Christian era, and is found in the works of Papias, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, 

Tertullian, Hippolytus, Methodius, Commodianus, and Lactanitus."30   

Post-millennialism views the millennium as a type of golden age of the church, which is 

sometime in the future. In post-millennialism, the millennium precedes the second coming of 

Jesus Christ. Post-millennialism bases its theories on the method of biblical exegesis known as 

covenant theology. Using this method, humanity's redemption is centered on the covenants God 

made with various figures throughout the biblical narrative. For example, in the Garden of Eden, 

man was given the covenant of work to tend the Garden; Adam after the Fall received one of 

grace, Noah, Abraham, Moses David, and the New Covenant. In theory, all of these covenants are 

one, as opposed to pre-millennial dispensationalism, which teaches two different Divine salvation 

plans for Christians and Jews. 

Today, post-millennialism is most powerful as part of an undefined Christian ideal, 

especially in discussion of moral or social issues within the realm of domestic policy.31 This 

particular philosophy can be seen in Dominion Theology and Reconstructionist movements. The 

domestic policies of many pre-millennialists often reflect the ideas and urges that we would 

recognize from the post-millennialist program of early America. Post-millennialism was very 

popular in the first of American history. Religiously motivated public policy was common and 

                                                           

30 

 Elwell, Walter A. Ed., Evangelical Dictionary Of Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 714. 

Papias was the Bishop of Hierapolis in the early part of the second century. Irenaeus was the Bishop of 

Lugdunum and Christian apologist in the late second and early third centuries. Justin Martyr Christian 

apologist in the first half of the second century. Justin Martyr was a prolific writer and much of his writing 

survives to this day. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, a Christian apologist in Carthage during the 

late second and early third centuries. Hippolytus was a disciple of Irenaeus and prolific Christian apologist 

in the late second and early third centuries. Methodius was the Archbishop of Great Moravia in the ninth 

century who is best known for translating the Bible into Old Church Slavonic. Commodianus was an 

obscure Christian poet in the third century. Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius was a Christian apologist 

in the late third and early fourth centuries. 

 12

often had as its goal a millennial society. Americans generally believed that things were getting 

better. One example is the Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth through the mid-nineteenth 

centuries which led many to think in terms of the dawning of a new age. The replacement of post- 

millennialism with pre-millennialism has not necessarily obviated the behaviors associated with 

the civil religion of American Exceptionalism, which derived from post-millennialism. 

Within the American tradition, one of the logical results of post-millennialism was the 

impulse to establish utopian, millennial societies to create and preserve the millennial conditions 

that would hasten the second coming of Jesus Christ. These efforts manifested themselves in a 

variety of forms and on vastly different scales.32 The millennial society that is most familiar to 

Americans is also the most overlooked:  America itself. From its inception, the American 

Republic was sincerely intended to be one nation, under God. The goals of the founding fathers 

were straightforward where the formation of a ‘more perfect union’ was concerned. The primary 

argument in the early days of the Republic for public funding of education was to enable every 

citizen to read the Bible. Post-millennialism asserted itself repeatedly in the early days of our 

nation’s history with concepts such as American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny. Post- 

millennial America was characterized by optimism and a sense of confidence concerning what 

America, as God’s chosen nation, could accomplish. The reality of the U.S. Civil War made 

many of these ideas untenable and today few Americans have an optimistic worldview, so post- 

millennialism appears confined to history for the time being. 

Since World War I, the philosophy of dispensational pre-millennialism has steadily 

gained acceptance and since the 1970s has come to dominate. The popularity of pre- 

millennialism, and especially dispensational pre-millennialism is such that it is usually what is 

meant when people use the word millennialism. Prominent pre-millennialist writers such as Hal 

                                                                                                                                                                             

31 

 This is sometimes referred to as Neo-Reconstructionism or Dominion Theology. 

32 

 One well-known example is the creation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by 

Joseph Smith and the subsequent westward migration to Utah by Mormons led by his successors. 

 13

Lindsey, John Walvoord, Tim LaHaye, J. Dwight Pentecost, John Hagee and others assert that 

their philosophy about the return of Christ has always been the doctrine of the historical church. 

Walvoord makes the following statement regarding the historical nature of pre-millennialism: 

"The testimony of history unites in one river of evidence that the theology of the Old and New 

Testament and the theology of the early church was not only pre-millennial, but that its pre- 

millennialism was practically undisputed except by heretics and skeptics until the time of 

Augustine. The coming of Christ as the prelude for the establishment of a kingdom of 

righteousness on earth in fulfillment of the Old Testament kingdom prophecies was the almost 

uniform expectation both of the Jews at the time of the incarnation and of the early church. This 

is essential pre-millennialism however it may differ in its details from its modern counterpart."33   

Walvoord and others refer to statements made by Justin Martyr34 as proof that the early 

church believed in a millennial reign of Christ upon the earth. "I, and others, who are right- 

minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a 

thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, as the prophets 

Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare. ... And, further, there was a certain man with us whose 

name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to 

him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that 

there after the general and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment of all men would 

likewise take place."35 The first decided opponent of whom we have knowledge was Caius,36 

about the year 200 A.D. The way in which chiliasm entered into the philosophy of Montanism37 

created significant opposition to millenarian views. The Alexandrian school, particularly 

                                                           

33 

 Walvoord, John. The Millennial Kingdom, Zondervan, 1973, p. 113-114 

34 

 Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) was a Christian author in the early second century.  

35 

 Terry, M. a quote from Justin's Dialogue with Trypho, Biblical Hermeneutics, p. 484 

36 

 Caius was a Christian author who lived around the beginning of the third century. 

37 

 Montanism was a Christian sectarian movement named for its founder, Montanus. The 

movement centered on Asia Minor and was in existence from the second to the eighth centuries. 

Montanism is perhaps most well known for its belief in continuing revelation, which normally took the 

form of ecstatic utterances. The most well known follower of Montanism was Tertullian.  

 14

Origen,38 opposed millennialism. Millennialism was still common, however, in the time of 

Jerome, who himself was one of its opponents. 

Augustine39 is noted for his opposition to millennialism (chiliasm). In his City of God, 

Augustine argued strongly for a distinction between the city of God, which he identified as the 

church, and the political cities of man. Augustine’s philosophy argued that the church was the 

spiritual kingdom of God upon the earth, and that the church was presently in the millennium. 

The bulk of scholarly work indicates that amillennialism has been the dominant view of the 

church since its inception. According to Louis Berkhof, "Some premillennialists have spoken of 

Amillennialism as a new view and as one of the most recent novelties, but this is certainly not in 

accord with the testimony of history. The name is indeed new, but the view to which it is applied 

is as old as Christianity. It had at least as many advocates as Chiliasm among the Church Fathers 

of the second and third centuries, supposed to have been the heyday of Chiliasm. It has ever since 

been the view most widely accepted, is the only view that is either expressed or implied in the 

great historical Confessions of the Church, and has always been the prevalent view in Reformed 

circles"40 Martin Luther taught amillennial eschatology as well. 

The word amillennialism is essentially an acknowledgement of the importance of 

millennial philosophies since it seeks to define the absence of millennialism with respect to the 

millennium. The amillennial view is that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be the end of the 

world. 

From the time of Augustine, the prevailing view on the return of Christ was amillennial. 

There were, at times of severe persecutions, those who would arise with a renewed interest in 

millennialism. It was not until the nineteenth century that a more effective advocate for 

millennialism would arise in John Darby.  

                                                           

38 

 Origen (c. 185-c.254) was an early Christian author. 

39 

 Aurelius Augustinus, 354-430. Bishop of Hippo Regius in present-day Algeria. Well known for 

his formulation of the concepts of original sin and just war.  

 15

A pre-millennial eschatology is the belief that when Christ returns to earth, he will 

conquer Satan and establish a 1000-year reign on earth. Pre-millennialists see the world as getting 

progressively worse, moving toward an apocalyptic end that signals the return of Christ. Social 

events are interpreted through this viewpoint that is predisposed toward and anticipating God's 

intervention in world events.41 

John Darby42 is rightly considered the father of dispensational pre-millennialism. His 

view on the Second Coming (or advent or parousia) of Jesus Christ is what most Americans have 

in mind when they speak of pre-millennialism. Darby’s theology divided the scheme of God's 

redemption into various dispensations, or periods of time,43 during which God tests man in 

respect to his obedience to some specific revelation from God.  

Darby's dispensational pre-millennialism defines the millennium as the future period of 

human history during which Jesus Christ will reign personally and visibly with His followers on 

                                                                                                                                                                             

40 

 Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, 708. 

41 

 Bruce, Steve. ‘Y2K, The Apocalypse, and Evangelical Christianity: The Role of Eschatological 

Belief in Church Responses,’ Sociology of Religion, Summer 2001, 3. Available on-line: http://findarticles. 

com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_62/ai_76759009/pg_3, retrieved 27 December 2007. 

42 

 1800-1882, educated at Trinity College in Dublin, he was ordained an Anglican minister after 

abandoning the practice of law. He became influential among the Plymouth Brethren. In the 1830s, he 

developed ideas that the ‘kingdom’ prophesied in the Book of Isaiah referred to something other than the 

Christian church. In 1832 at the Powerscourt Conference, he set forth his concept of a secret rapture 

(catching up). Over the next several decades, he developed the doctrine known today as dispensational pre- 

millennialism, which he effectively promulgated on numerous preaching tours in the United States 

following the Civil War. At about the same time that Darby was developing the doctrine of dispensational 

pre-millennialism, William Miller developed his own version of pre-millennialism. Miller believed that the 

year 1844 was significant in Bible prophecy. In this year, Jesus Christ was to return and establish His 

kingdom upon the earth. This year came and went, but Jesus had not returned as Miller had predicted. 

Miller then abandoned this particular belief, but some of his followers persisted with renewed prophetic 

visions. Today, this group is known as Seventh-Day Adventists. 

43 

 These periods of time, or dispensations, are known in a number of ways, and have refined their 

terminology over the last 150 years. After reviewing much of the leading literature, I compiled a taxonomy 

of the most common terms. The First Dispensation is known as the Creation or Innocence Dispensation and 

generally encompasses the state of paradise found at the creation of the world, includes the Fall, or crisis of 

conscience, and ends with the Noahic Flood. The Second Dispensation is known as the Noahic Covenant 

and is said to represent a period of time characterized by human government. The Third Dispensation is 

known as the Abrahamic Covenant and is also known as the period of promise. The Fourth Dispensation is 

known as the Israelite or Sinai Dispensation and is characterized by the Mosaic Law. The Fifth 

Dispensation is known as the Pentecost, Church or Gentile Dispensation. The Sixth Dispensation is known 

as the Spirit Dispensation and will feature the Great Tribulation. The Seventh Dispensation is known as the 

Millenial Kingdom or simply as the Millennium and features the Great White Throne Judgment which will 

 16

and over the earth for a literal thousand years. Darby developed additional concepts with respect 

to the millennium. He taught that a visible coming of Christ would precede it. This coming will 

be in two stages, the rapture and the appearing, with a considerable interval of time between 

them, in which important events will take place. Pre-millennialists base their theory of the rapture 

on First Thessalonians 4:16-17: 

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the 

voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in 

Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up 

together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will 

always be with the Lord.”44 

Throughout most of church history, this passage was almost exclusively understood to refer to the 

day of final judgment.45 In the middle 19th century, first in England, then in North America, it 

began to be associated with the newly developing ideas of a pre-millennial rapture. According to 

pre-millennialists, the rapture may take place at any moment, and will certainly precede a period 

of time that Darby referred to as ‘the great tribulation.’ Darby correlates references in Scripture to 

the "blessed hope" of the church with the rapture. Inherent in this philosophy is a definition of the 

church as those, and those only, which are saved between Pentecost and the rapture. The church 

age is a mystery period which Darby explained as a ‘parenthesis’ dispensation that he could not 

locate within prophecy between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks of the prophetic time table 

based on Daniel chapter nine. Between the rapture and the appearing, Darby placed the events of 

the last week of the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9, Matthew chapter 24, and Revelation chapters 

                                                                                                                                                                             

initiate the millennial reign. Darby believed that each dispensation had its own system of salvation, which 

allowed future dispensations to possess a different scheme of redemption. 

44 

 While this passage is the basis for ideas about the rapture, the word does not appear in this 

passage or anywhere else in the Greek text or any English translation. The word is derived from the Latin 

rapturo, which Jerome used in this passage to translate the Greek harpazo, which means to seize or catch 

up. The Greek is most commonly translated into English as ‘caught up,’ as it is here in the English Standard 

Version. 

45 

 North, Gary. ‘The Unannounced Reason Behind American Fundamentalism's Support for the 

State of Israel,’ 19 July 2000. Available on-line: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1585. 

htm, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

 17

four through nineteen. After the rapture, a Jewish ‘remnant’ will take the place of the church as 

God's instrument for the conversion of others remaining on the Earth.  

Allis states that the "primary features of this movement were two in number. The one 

related to the Church. It was the result of the profound dissatisfaction felt at that time by many 

earnest Christians with the worldliness and temporal security of the Church of England and of 

many of the dissenting communions in the British Isles. The other had to do with prophecy; it 

represented a very marked emphasis on the coming of the Lord as a present hope and immediate 

expectation."46 Clarence B. Bass points out that the system of dispensational pre-millennialism 

revolves around its principle of interpretation. "The paradox of the system lies precisely at this 

point: one cannot logically accept the chronology of dispensationalism without also accepting its 

basic principle of interpretation - that God works under different principles with mankind in 

different dispensations."47   

The growth of dispensational pre-millennialism in the United States is an interesting 

phenomenon.  Most scholars point to the effective advocacy of two writers:  W.E. Blackstone48 

and Cyrus Scofield. Blackstone is the author of Jesus Is Coming, which was published in 1878 

and served largely to communicate the concepts of Darby’s theology. As effective as 

Blackstone’s work was, it was soon eclipsed by The Scofield Reference Bible, first published in 

1909 and revised in 1917. A contemporary revision was published in 1967. Allis, referring to The 

Scofield Reference Bible, says: "This is the Bible of Dispensationalists, and has probably done as 

much to popularize the prophetic teachings of Darby and the Brethren as all other agencies put 

                                                           

46 

 Allis, Oswald T. Prophecy And The Church, The Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co., 9. 

Oswald T. Allis, 1880-1973. Professor of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Author of 

Prophecy and the Church (1945) and God Spake By Moses (1951). 

47 

 Bass, Clarence B. Backgrounds to Dispensationalism, Its Historical Genesis and Ecclesiastical 

Implications, Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2005, 19. 

48 

 William E. Blackstone, 1841-1935. Blackston was a student of Dwight Lyman Moody and took 

a special interest in writing and teaching about the pre-millennial return, rapture of the church, and the 

restoration of Israelites to Palestine. In 1881, he published the influential Jesus is Coming. 

 18

together."49 Vlach simply refers to the Scofield Reference Bible as the “greatest influence in the 

spread of dispensationalism.”50 

In addition to the efforts of individual authors, dispensational pre-millennialism also 

benefited from two other efforts of the late 19th century: the Bible Conference Movement and the 

Bible Institute Movement. Beginning in the 1870s, dispensational pre-millennialists began to 

spread their ideas through a number of large Bible Conferences throughout the U.S. Two 

especially well known conferences were the Niagara Conferences, which ran from 1870 until the 

early 20th century, and the American Bible and Prophetic Conferences, which ran from 1878 to 

1914. During the same period of time, individual authors and Bible Conferences were reinforced 

and abetted by the Bible Institute Movement. Notable examples of schools established during this 

time include the Nyack Bible Institute founded in 1882, Boston Missionary Training School 

founded in 1889, and Moody Bible Institute founded in 1886. The most well known of these 

today is Moody Bible Institute with a large campus in Chicago undergraduate and graduate 

programs and nationwide publishing and broadcasting subsidiaries. The current doctrinal 

statement of Moody Bible Institute shows that the school’s purpose of teaching dispensational 

pre-millennialism is just as strong and clear today as it was when first established.51  

American dispensational pre-millennialists have shown themselves especially adept at 

adapting the exigencies of contemporary geo-politics to bolster the appeal of their theology. 

Without questioning the effectiveness of Blackstone and Scofield in writing or persuading, it 

would be an oversimplification to think that their writings alone could have wrought such a 

profound impact on American religion. Dispensational pre-millennialism owes at least as much to 

                                                           

49 

 Allis, Oswald T. Prophecy And The Church, Phillipsburg, NJ: The Presbyterian & Reformed 

Publishing Co., 13-14. 

50 

 Vlach, Michael J. ‘What Is Dispensationalism?,’ TheologicalStudies.org. Available on-line: 

http://www.theologicalstudies.org/dispen.html, retrieved 30 December 2007. 

51 

 Moody Bible Institute. Organizational web-site. Available on-line: www.moody.edu, retrieved 

11 December 2007. 

 19

the U.S. Civil War, World War I and the Balfour Declaration as it does to Blackstone and 

Scofield, neither of who would have sold many books without these events.   

The U.S. Civil War shook the foundations of American post-millennialism, which had 

been the dominant philosophy within American religion up until the War Between the States. 

Before the Civil War, American civil religion centered on the Revolution, which was commonly 

seen as the “final act of the Exodus from the old lands across the waters.”52 Adding to the 

intensity of emotion evoked by the fratricidal nature of the conflict, the U.S. Civil War was one of 

the bloodiest conflicts of the 19th Century by any measure. The Civil War convinced a significant 

number of American Christians that their notions of a millennial state on the North American 

continent were clearly misguided, or tragically failed at best. In the place of post-millennialistic 

ideas of a developing utopian society, new ideas of death, sacrifice, and rebirth emerged from the 

conflict.53 This created a philosophical void, which was immediately filled by Darby, Blackstone 

and Scofield. The Scofield Reference Bible appeared genuinely prophetic to many when World 

War I and the Balfour Declaration followed it so quickly. 

Today, books promulgating dispensational pre-millennialism have grown exponentially. 

Leading dispensational pre-millennialists such as Hal Lindsey, John F. Walvoord,54 Tim LaHaye, 

Paul Lalonde, and John Hagee are mainstream best sellers. In their task, they have continued to 

be abetted by world events such as the creation of the political state of Israel and its attendant 

Middle East strife, the post-World War I rise of the Soviet Union and the post-World War II 

emergence of China as an eastern power. The result is that the concepts of pre-millennialism have 

grown into a common, normative frame of reference rooted in faith through which many 

Americans interpret the world and especially events within the foreign policy arena.  

                                                           

52 

 Bellah, Robert N. ‘Civil Religion in America,’ Dædalus: Journal of the American Academy of 

Arts and Sciences, Winter 1967, Vol. 96, No. 1, pp. 1-21. Available on-line: http://www.robertbellah.com/ 

articles_5.htm, retrieved 5 December 2007. 

53 

 Ibid. 

 20

  POST-MILLENNIALISM AND THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

Dr. Leo Ribuffo of George Washington University suggests that the relationship between 

religion in America and foreign relations exists on many levels.55 First, it is important to 

understand how American religious beliefs contribute to American exceptionalism. 

Exceptionalism is an important concept because it contributes to the idea that America has a 

unique, divinely appointed purpose in the world. Both Presidents Carter and Reagan clearly 

subscribed to exceptionalism and frequently echoed John Winthrop’s call to “build a city on a 

hill.”56 Tensions between religiously oriented interest groups and religious issues in other 

countries may influence U.S. foreign policy. It is important to examine the implications of 

religious doctrines and the specific actions they seem to call for in terms of U.S. foreign policy. 

Finally, foreign religious influences affect U.S. foreign policy directly and indirectly.   

Prior to the founding of the U.S., English Puritans believed that England was to be a ‘new 

Israel.’ They practiced a form of post-millennialism that caused them to be optimistic about 

England’s role as a force for righteousness in the world. Following the collapse of Cromwell’s 

revolution in 1658, most believers lost faith in their millennial theories with respect to England 

and transferred their hopes to the colonies of New England. This new, American version of 

Protestant millennialism was described in the 1740s as “the dawning, or at least the prelude, of 

that glorious work of God.”57 Before the Revolution, Protestant theology made important 

contributions to American culture. Notable among these are the ideas of covenant theology, 

                                                                                                                                                                             

54 

 1910-2002. President of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986 and a prolific author 

with more than 30 published works, the majority of which deal with dispensational pre-millennialism. 

55 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

56 

 Winthrop, John, "A Model of Christian Charity", in Conrad Cherry, God's New Israel: Religious 

Interpretations of American Destiny (Englewood: Prentice Hall, 1971), pp. 39-43. 

57 

 Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a noted Congregational preacher and theologian, quoted in 

Judis, John B. ‘The Chosen Nation: The Influence of Religion on U.S. Foreign Policy,’ Policy Brief, 37, 

March 2005, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2. 

 21

original sin, the chosen people concept58 and millennialism in its various forms. Covenant 

theology, in concert with the chosen people concept, provided the rationale and moral 

justification for the American Revolution. The theological doctrine of original sin formed and 

continues to influence our ideas about the size and role of government as well as the relationship 

between society and the individual. Unlike these other theological components of American 

culture, the effects of millennialism are neither consistent nor easily explained. The Great 

Awakening was 1725-1760. Based on widespread optimism and expectation of future triumphs in 

the cause of righteousness, post-millennalism was widely accepted and fit well with the Puritan 

idea that the colonists were a chosen people. In this way, Protestant millennialism gave us the 

themes and language of American civil religion and exceptionalism. 

American millennialism responds to the exigencies of the times. In the case of pre-Civil 

War America, the chosen people became the members of the churches who were one in the same 

with the citizens of the new nation. During this period of national optimism, the millennium was 

understood to be a sometimes literal, sometimes figurative one thousand-year reign of religious 

and political liberty that would hasten the Second Coming of Christ. The enemy of the ‘chosen 

people’ was seen in English rule, Catholicism, the native peoples, and other competitors for the 

resources of the continent. The ideas and language of millennialism so thoroughly infused the 

broader civil religion and political speech of the time that they are nearly indistinguishable from 

one another. It is in this way that millennialism framed the specific foreign affairs and security 

policies of the time and gave shape to American objectives. 

The American Revolution served to further entrench the dominant millennial theory of 

that day. The U.S. was founded on the basis of a post-millennial expectation that America would 

                                                           

58 

 Wald, Kenneth D. Religion and Politics in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Congressional 

Quarterly, 1992, 45. 

 22

be “the fertile soil bed for the New Kingdom.”59 Following American independence, preachers 

such as Timothy Dwight and David Tappan predicted America would have established by the 

year 2000 a righteous kingdom prepared for Christ's millennial reign.60 In a manner similar to the 

Israelite conquest of Canaan, the post-millennial beliefs of that day engendered broad consensus 

that America should grow in power, acquire additional territory and become an important 

economic force in the world. These beliefs were the direct result of post-millennial religious 

beliefs, which held sway in the early days of the Republic. In 1783, Ezra Stiles said that the 

example of the United States would spread the "empire of reason" and thus hasten the 

establishment of God's kingdom on earth.61 In the first half of the 19th century, the impulse to 

expand, by force when necessary, enjoyed broad support.62 Today, we refer to this widely 

understood phenomenon as Manifest Destiny.63  

Manifest Destiny coincided with the second Great Awakening.64 One important impact of 

American religion on U.S. foreign policy was the impulse to engage in missionary activity 

associated with the second Great Awakening. American Protestants sought to influence U.S. 

governmental policy to facilitate missionary undertakings. Ribuffo’s analysis indicates that many 

Protestant missionaries came to act in a way that would cause us to label them as lobbyists 

today.65 Another important feature of this period of American history was the initial fracturing of 

                                                           

59 

 Bruce, Steve. ‘Y2K, The Apocalypse, and Evangelical Christianity: The Role of Eschatological 

Belief in Church Responses,’ Sociology of Religion, Summer 2001. Available on-line: http://findarticles. 

com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_62/ai_76759009/pg_3, retrieved 27 December 2007. 

60 

 Ibid. Dwight lived 1752-1817 and Tappan lived 1752-1803. 

61 

 Quoted in Leo Ribuffo, Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex 

Relationship.  The National Interest, Summer, 1998 

62 

 Quakers and Mennonites were notable for their dissent on the use of force under any 

circumstances, least of all for the purpose of territorial acquisition. 

63 

 John O’Sullivan coined the phrase Manifest Destiny near the end of this period, in 1945. The 

American claim to Oregon was "by right of our manifest destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the 

continent which Providence has given us for the great experiment of liberative and federative self- 

government entrusted to us." 

64 

 Seventh-Day Adventism and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints both came into 

existence during this time. 

65 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. Missionary activities at this time were focused on Asia.  

 23

mainstream Protestant groups over the increasingly contentious issue of slavery. Methodists split 

on the issue in 1844, followed by Baptists in 1845 and Presbyterians in 1857. 

CIVIL WAR, WORLD WAR AND THE RISE OF PRE- 

MILLENNIALISM 

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:  

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;  

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:  

His truth is marching on.   

Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! 

Glory, glory, hallelujah!  

His truth is marching on. The Battle Hymn of the Republic, 186266 

Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: The LORD will roar from 

on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout 

like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth. Jeremiah 25:30 

The American Civil War was the turning point for eschatology in this country. Since the 

founding of the Republic, the vast majority of Americans were post-millennialists of one type or 

another. They generally viewed the United States as God’s chosen people with a special role in 

the world. Their worldview was one of overall optimism in that they believed that things would 

generally improve until they ushered in an age (for some literally one thousand years, for others a 

figurative period of time) of Christian righteousness and peace followed by the Second Coming 

of Jesus Christ. The Civil War falsified the American version of post-millennialism in the starkest 

of terms. Americans killing each other in all-out war was clearly incompatible with the ideas of 

post-millennialism. Throughout the War, southerners attempted to recast post-millennial theories 

to fit the Confederacy, but this proved unworkable with the eventual defeat and Reconstruction.67 

The Civil War contributed several features to the mosaic of American civil religion. 

National cemeteries were created to cope with the large numbers of dead. The national holiday 

                                                           

66 

 Howe, Julia Ward. The Battle Hymn of the Republic, originally published in the Atlantic 

Monthly, February 1862. 

67 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 143. 

 24

known as Memorial Day was created. Even now, Memorial Day can involve entire communities 

in “a rededication to the martyred dead, to the spirit of sacrifice, and to the American vision.”68 

Thanksgiving was formally established as a national holiday during the Lincoln presidency. 

While Thanksgiving integrates the family unit into civil religion, Memorial Day seeks to operate 

on the community level.69 As immigration increased diversity, that diversity affected domestic 

political pressures and their concomitant foreign policy issues. Immigration of Catholics and Jews 

from Eastern and Southern Europe made the most significant changes to the American religious 

landscape. Intellectual challenges from Darwinian evolution and biblical criticism began to bring 

about changes that would solidify into liberal and fundamentalist divisions within American 

Protestantism.70  

U.S. foreign policy and strategy continued to show signs of religious influence during the 

Progressive Era. President Roosevelt spoke regularly of ‘righteousness.’71 President Wilson was a 

theologically liberal Presbyterian. Both were willing to use the military instrument overseas. 

When the First World War began in 1914, both President Wilson and Secretary of State Bryan 

were Presbyterians convinced that the United States had a special mission in the world. Their 

different responses to the crisis of their day are illustrative of the different ways that American 

religion influences U.S. foreign policy. Secretary of State Bryan believed that it was his Christian 

duty to help bring about world peace. Bryan designed several treaties to try to avoid war. He 

celebrated some of these treaties by melting swords, which he had fashioned into plowshares. In 

1915, Secretary Bryan resigned because he believed that President Wilson was not truly 

                                                           

68 

 Bellah, Robert N. ‘Civil Religion in America,’ Dædalus: Journal of the American Academy of 

Arts and Sciences, Winter 1967, Vol. 96, No. 1, pp. 1-21. Available on-line: http://www.robertbellah.com/ 

articles_5.htm, retrieved 5 December 2007. 

69 

 Ibid. 

70 

 In its extreme forms, theological liberalism came to emphasize Biblical ethics while accepting 

evolution, denying original sin, and doubting biblical miracles. Some theological liberals developed a 

liberal, social gospel. At this same time, Christian Scientists, several Pentecostal Protestant groups, and the 

International Bible Students' Association (today known as the Jehovah's Witnesses) came into existence. 

71 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

 25

committed to peace. After U.S. entry into the war, nationally recognized evangelist Billy Sunday 

hailed American soldiers as "God's grenadiers."72 The interfaith League of National Unity 

promoted America’s participation in World War I across denominational lines.73  

It is important to note that World War I influenced American religion more than 

American religion influenced the War. The war brought about important religious responses U.S. 

religious responses such as Walter Rauschenbusch's social gospel and the beginning of a militant, 

anti-modernist movement that would come to be known as Christian fundamentalism.74 Perhaps 

the single most important change to American religion was the emergence among theological 

conservatives of the doctrine known as pre-millennial dispensationalism.  

The intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine as expressed in the Balfour 

Declaration and ratified by the League of Nations significantly energized pre-millennial thinking 

and laid the foundation for an eventual religious co-optation of U.S. foreign policy. It is important 

to note that the publication of The Scofield Bible, World War I and the Balfour Declaration can be 

directly correlated with a significant rise in numbers and influence between two American 

religious groups with significant roles in American political life today:  the Southern Baptists and 

the Assemblies of God. Between the two World Wars, Southern Baptists added 1.5 million 

members and the Assemblies of God increased their numbers four-fold.75 The philosophy of 

dispensational pre-millennialism and the attendant world events offer the best explanation for the 

phenomenal growth of these two groups and laid the foundation for post-World War II revival 

among evangelicals and the subsequent rise to political power in the 1980s. 

                                                           

72 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

73 

 Ibid. 

74 

 Brasher, Brenda. "Thoughts on the Status of the Cyborg: On Technological Socialization and Its 

Link to the Religious Function of Popular Culture," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 64, 

Issue 4, 1996, pp. 809-830. Available on-line: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=404, 

retrieved 27 December 2007. 

75 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 114-115. 

 26

ISRAEL, NUCLEAR WAR AND THE LAST DAYS 

"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who 

scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.' For the LORD 

has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him”...Thus says the 

LORD: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your 

work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope 

for your future, declares the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country.” 

Jeremiah 35:10-17 

World War II was important because it appeared to put into place the conditions and 

potentialities that American pre-millennialists had been searching for: Israel, significant threats 

from Russia and China, and, for the first time ever, a tangible, literal method by which humanity 

could be destroyed by fire in the twinkling of an eye – nuclear weapons. The impacts on 

American policy and culture were immediate with the end of isolationism and revival among 

conservative Protestants.76 After World War II, isolationism was no longer considered viable and 

the debate centered not on whether the United States should engage internationally, but rather 

how the country should go about it.77 National religious revival renewed the impulse to carry out 

mission work, especially overseas, which had significant implications for U.S. foreign policy. 

The extent of the influence is easy to demonstrate by invoking the name of Billy Graham. No one 

in America could ignore the importance of Graham’s ability to draw huge crowds, some 

numbering 50,000, from coast to coast.78 The influence was important within government as 

Christian realist Niebuhr became influential in the opening days of the Cold War and influenced 

the thinking if George F. Kennan, the author of containment.79 President Eisenhower’s 

denouncement of "Godless Communism" resonated strongly with the majority of Americans.80  

                                                           

76 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

77 

 Internationalists ranged from publisher Henry Luce, the son of missionaries in China, who 

envisioned an "American Century," to former Vice President Henry A. Wallace, a social gospel advocate 

who promoted a "century of the common man." 

78 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 115. 

79 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

80 

 Ibid. 

 27

In the minds of American dispensational pre-millennialists, the beginning of the Cold 

War initiated the beginning of the prophesied ‘last days’ with two key developments: the creation 

of the state of Israel in 1948 and the invention and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.81 Pre- 

millennialists in America have come to agree that the establishment of the state of Israel fulfilled 

their interpretation of chapter 24 in the Gospel of Matthew. This passage is significant for pre- 

millennialists because they read it as a key to understanding the ‘end times’ that will hasten the 

end of the world. The passage adjures followers to watch for signs, which would include wars, 

rumors of wars, false Christs, and the renewal of the fig tree, which is a symbol of Israel. Most 

pre-millennialists believe that based on this passage, some who were alive in 1948 will live to see 

the Second Coming.82  

The formal recognition by the United States of Israel in 1948 is an important study in the 

influence of religion on United States policy-making. United States foreign policy toward Israel 

and the second and third order effects of that policy can be difficult to explain or predict using 

traditional political science models and methods. Dr. Ribuffo suggests that the recognition of 

Israel is the result of “grassroots lobbying.”83 It is important to note that diplomatic and military 

advisors recommended against recognition and oil companies lobbied hard against supporting 

Israel with formal recognition.84 Some of President Truman’s decision may still be explained in 

terms of rational policymaking.85 American Jews had some political power as a voting bloc and 

the President probably wanted to minimize Soviet influence in Israel. Most importantly, however, 

                                                           

81 

 Leopold, Todd. Between God and a Hard Place, CNN.com, 16 November 2000. Available on- 

line: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/news/11/16/end.of.days/index.html, retrieved 2 November 2007. 

82 

 Bruce, Steve. ‘Y2K, The Apocalypse, and Evangelical Christianity: The Role of Eschatological 

Belief in Church Responses,’ Sociology of Religion, Summer 2001, 4. Available on-line: http://findarticles. 

com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_62/ai_76759009/pg_3, retrieved 27 December 2007. 

83 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

84 

 Ibid. 

85 

 Additional considerations include sympathy for Holocaust victims and nativist desires to 

provide a destination other than the United States for Jewish refugees. 

 28

Zionists found themselves with Christian allies who believed that the "regathering" of Jews in the 

Holy Land fulfilled dispensational pre-millennialist Bible prophecy.86  

With a broad foundation built during post-World War II revival, the Christian right began 

to form as a political force after Barry Goldwater’s failed bid for the Presidency in 1964. As a 

backlash against secular liberalism, the Christian right found much to admire in the conservative 

agenda of deregulation and smaller government.87 The movement gained momentum following 

the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which evangelical conservatives and Catholics found particularly 

troubling.88 Within four months of the Roe v. Wade decision the National Right to Life 

Committee was formed. Other organizations such as Concerned Women for America, Focus on 

the Family and the Eagle Forum quickly followed. Sustained by this momentum, the political 

apparatus of the Christian right has grown so that “the connections among the boardrooms, 

petroleum clubs, and conservative preachers are well established” in the southern and mountain 

states.89 One prominent example is the work of Joseph Coors who worked during the 1970s and 

1980s to found and fund Republican business-religious groups such as the Heritage Foundation 

and Mountain States Legal Foundation. Coors worked closely with preacher and Left Behind 

author Tim LaHaye to found the Council for National Policy. Coors also funded the Coalition on 

Revival90, which works to unify Christian political action by attempting to bridge differences 

between dispensational pre-millennialists and post-millenialists.91 The influence of these 

organizations on the highest levels of government is easy to demonstrate:  no fewer than four of 

                                                           

86 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

87 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 71. 

88 

 Ibid, 131. 

89 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 64. 

90 

 Ibid, 65. 

91 

 Many post-millennialists in America prefer to refer to themselves as Reconstructionists. 

 29

President Reagan’s cabinet secretaries held prominent positions in either Mountain States Legal 

Foundation or the Council for National Policy before joining the Reagan administration.92   

In 1976, the two major political parties nominated Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, both of 

whom were known for their religiosity. Some have characterized the 1976 election as a backlash 

against too little evidence of religious conformity at the highest levels of government. A well- 

known theologian at the time, Albert Outler, argued that religious Americans "want a society 

ruled by those who know what the Word of God is. The technical name for that is 'theocracy,' and 

their Napoleon, whether he likes it or not, is Jimmy Carter."93 1976 marks an important point in 

time where we begin to see remarkable consistency in terms of foreign policy across parties and 

administrations. Like his predecessor, President Ford, President Carter sought to promote human 

rights and mediate a Middle East peace. During the 1970s, significant numbers of Jews began to 

shift to the right94 of the American political spectrum and critics of détente were often motivated 

by concerns for Jewish emigration.95 

The Christian right was widely recognized as a powerful political force in 1980 when 

President Carter’s fellow southern evangelicals and other Christians abandoned him in favor of 

Ronald Reagan.96 For many Christians, President Carter's diplomatic and military humility was 

the wrong approach for solving problems around the world.97 Although not known for his own, 

personal religious credentials, President Reagan clearly understood the role of the religious right 

in his own rise to power. In his first substantive meeting with the Soviet ambassador, President 

                                                           

92 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 64. 

93 

 Outler, Albert quoted in Gerson, Michael. A 2nd Home for Religious Voters?, Real Clear 

Politics, 2 November 2007. Available on-line: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/ 2007/11/ 

democrats_and_religious_voters.html, retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

94 

 President Carter received the smallest percentage of Jewish votes for any Democrat since the 

1920s. 

95 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. The Jackson-Vanik Amendment was designed to pressure the Soviet 

Union into increasing Jewish emigration.  

96 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 71. 

 30

Reagan raised the issue of Russian Pentecostals living in asylum in the U.S. embassy in Moscow 

and quickly secured permission for them to emigrate. In spite of nearly two decades of détente, 

President Reagan resumed the practice of denouncing the Soviet Union as atheistic evil. The 

1980s saw the trend of Protestant theological conservatives favoring hawkishness continue in way 

that combined foreign policy, domestic policy and religious doctrine into an ever widening chasm 

separating liberals and conservatives – and perhaps galvanizing and radicalizing both groups 

along the way. While conservatives may have been more philosophically inclined to use military 

more or act in interventionist ways, they did not set forth an agenda of suggested expeditions. It is 

important to note that theologically conservative Protestants sided with Reagan primarily because 

they concluded that Democrats would not pursue their agenda on issues as abortion, 

homosexuality, and school prayer. Conservatives did not have an elaborate foreign policy agenda 

with one important exception:  a non-negotiable, theologically based commitment to Israel from 

which all other foreign policy considerations devolved.  

The Council for National Policy98 is an important example of religious influence on 

policy making that operates independently of the larger American electorate. Founded in 1981 by 

dispensational pre-millennialist Tim LaHaye, the Council for National Policy operates largely in 

secret and serves to ally religious and corporate conservatives.99 Today, the Christian Coalition is 

a mature, well-funded umbrella organization with hundreds of local and national membership 

                                                                                                                                                                             

97 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

98 

 According to its web site, the Council for National Policy is “an educational foundation 

organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We do not lobby Congress, support 

candidates, or issue public policy statements on controversial issues. Our over 600 members include many 

of our nation's leaders from the fields of government, business, the media, religion, and the professions. 

Our members are united in their belief in a free enterprise system, a strong national defense, and support for 

traditional western values. They meet to share the best information available on national and world 

problems, know one another on a personal basis, and collaborate in achieving their shared goals.” Available 

on-line: http://www.policycounsel.org/24508.html, retrieved 12 November 2007. 

99 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 74. 

 31

organizations.100 It features extensive radio and television efforts reaching audiences numbering 

in the tens of millions, think tanks, political action committees and lobbies. The Christian right 

has focused considerable effort on the Republican Party. In 2002, a survey found that in 44 states 

Christian conservatives controlled 25% or more of the votes within the state Republican Party and 

had outright control in 18 states.101 This has facilitated extraordinary access and control over the 

national platform. 

During the 1984 election, the shift in American politics became even clearer. The official 

platform of the Democratic Party stated that abortion was a fundamental right.102 Walter 

Mondale, the Democratic nominee, criticized the influence of religious conservatives in the 

Republican Party. Throughout the Reagan and Bush administrations the times became closer and 

easier to discern. President George Bush invited Billy Graham to spend the night at the White 

House on the eve of the Gulf War in 1991.103 President Bush's ubiquitous invocations of God 

prompted some Muslims to complain that he was leading a religious war against Islam itself, 

rather than a limited effort to roll back the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.104  

This clear alignment has held true in recent elections where more than 66% of religious 

conservatives voted for President Bush and about 75% of self-identified secular Americans 

supported Democratic candidates.105 In assessing the 2004 Presidential elections, political analyst 

Bill Moyers attributed President Bush’s victory to “many who have made the apocalypse a 

powerful driving force in modern American politics...the invasion of Iraq was for them a warm- 

                                                           

100 

 Ibid, 72-73. 

101 

 Ibid, 73. 

102 

 Gerson, Michael. A 2nd Home for Religious Voters?, Real Clear Politics, 2 November 2007. 

Available on-line: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/democrats_and_religious_voters. 

html, retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

103 

 Ribuffo, Leo.  Religion and American Foreign Policy: The Story of a Complex Relationship.  

The National Interest, Summer, 1998. 

104 

 Ibid. 

105 

 Gerson, Michael. A 2nd Home for Religious Voters?, Real Clear Politics, 2 November 2007. 

Available on-line: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/democrats_and_religious_voters. 

html, retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

 32

up act, predicted in the Book of Revelation...war with Islam in the Middle East is not something 

to be feared but welcomed – an essential conflagration on the road to redemption.”106 

CONTEMPORARY PRE-MILLENNIALISM IN THE AMERICAN 

ELECTORATE 

"This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy." – U.S. Representative 

Christopher Shays (R-CT), 23 March 2005107 

In any effort to use religious factors to analyze American foreign policy, numerous 

considerations serve to confuse and diminish the effectiveness of any proposal. Protestant 

majorities notwithstanding, there are significant Catholic and Jewish blocs. Protestantism itself 

resists coherent analysis with its innumerable and sometimes incomprehensible divisions. It is 

increasingly clear that Americans are capable of perceiving a number of different policy positions 

within the Bible and theories of interpretation continue to multiply exponentially in an 

increasingly complex religious landscape. This plurality of religious views notwithstanding, 

Gerson has correctly surmised, “America is moving toward the development of one secular party 

and one religious party...a danger to democracy. This trend turns nearly every political 

disagreement into a culture-war conflict. When the sides view each other as infidels or ayatollahs, 

it adds jet fuel to the normal combustion of American politics.”108 

Most importantly, policy is also the result of secular concerns such as economic 

advantage and survival of the state. The impact of religion is best understood as operating in two 

distinct ways. First, religion provides a worldview and a cultural resource, which we draw upon 

to explain events around us and shape preferences of which we may or may not be aware. J.R. 

                                                           

106 

 Moyers, Bill quoted in Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 

68. 

107 

 Shays, Christopher quoted in Adam Nagourney. ‘G.O.P. Right Is Splintered on Schiavo 

Intervention,’ New York Times, 23 March 2005. Available on-line: http://www.theocracywatch.org/ 

terri_conservatives_ times_mar23_05.htm, retrieved on: 19 January 2008. 

 33

Dunn asserts that “religious belief is hard-wired into human beings, by what means and for what 

purposes we don't yet understand.”109 Secondly, we do consciously pursue a religious agenda, but 

only after we have addressed the traditional strategic, economic, and political considerations of 

statecraft. Murchison would argue against my analysis here by stating the “ultimate nature of 

religious concerns -- heaven, hell, death, judgment -- makes them easily eclipse managerial 

questions like budgetary "earmarks" and deficits in health insurance coverage.”110 

In understanding the actual and potential impact of religion on politics, some effort 

should be made to understand where the electorate stands. America has a degree of religious 

pluralism that is unrivaled in the world. There are so many denominations that no single group 

comprises more than 40% of total adherents.111 Phillips uses a wide variety of polls and surveys 

over time to conclude that about 25% of Americans are affiliated with either a fundamentalist, 

evangelical, holiness or Pentecostal Protestant church.112 The two largest denominations in 

America, the Southern Baptists and the Assemblies of God, are in this group. This 25% of 

American adults are the bedrock of dispensational pre-millennialism in America. Phillips analysis 

suggests that about 15% of Americans are associated with one of the older Protestant 

denominations that would be considered mainstream Protestants.113 While these groups do not 

necessarily espouse dispensational pre-millennialism in any formal sense, analysis suggests that 

some of their members are amenable to the ideas of pre-millennialism.  

                                                                                                                                                                             

108 

 Gerson, Michael. A 2nd Home for Religious Voters?, Real Clear Politics, 2 November 2007. 

Available on-line: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/democrats_and_religious_voters. 

html, retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

109 

 Dunn, J.R. A Necessary Apocalypse, Real Clear Politics, 2 February 2007. Available on-line: 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/a_necessary_apocalypse.html, retrieved on 2 November 

2007. 

110 

 Murchison, William. Fall of the Religious Right?, Real Clear Politics, 30 October 2007. 

Available on-line: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/10/fall_of_the_religious_right.html, 

retrieved 2 November 2007. 

111 

 Wald, Kenneth D. Religion and Politics in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Congressional 

Quarterly, 1992, 19. 

112 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 119. 

113 

 Ibid, 119. 

 34

Based on conservative demographics, Phillips convincingly shows that the trend over 

time is that more than 40% of Americans recognize and draw upon some form of apocalypticism 

in their interpretation of world events and their subsequent exercise of individual and group 

political influence.114 Not surprisingly, the influence of apocalypticism is most significant when 

considering issues such as the Middle East, Israel, oil production stability, natural disasters, and 

epidemics such as HIV/AIDS.115 This is the best explanation for the results of surveys showing 

that between 33% and 40% of Americans interpret world events in accordance with the 

philosophy of dispensational pre-millennialism.  

Phillips use of demographics is highly credible and enlightening, but may underestimate 

the influence of apocalypticism on Americans and their policy making. Phillips, in the interest of 

accuracy, employed the lowest range of numbers and probably undercounted to some degree, but 

this is a minor point. His data reveals important dynamics at work. The polling data on 

apocalypticism can only reconcile to demographic data if all mainstream Protestants (15 per cent 

of American adults) are included with the fundamentalist-evangelical-Pentecostal category (25 

per cent of American adults), which is almost certainly not the case based on their stated beliefs 

and voting patterns. Additionally, hints of apocalyptic thinking are shown in higher numbers by 

polls with less specific questions.  For example, a poll conducted by Princeton Research 

Associates for the Pew Research Center showed that 44 per cent of Americans believe Jesus 

Christ will likely return to Earth within the next 50 years.116 Additionally, these numbers 

undervalue the effect of religion on conservative politics in some important ways:  at least one 

million Mormon voters, one million Jehovah’s Witness voters, and one million Christian 

Restoration voters are not counted and the numbers under-represent Pentecostals by perhaps as 

                                                           

114 

 Ibid, 88. 

115 

 Ibid, 68. 

116 

 Nettleton, Steve. Apostles of the Apocalypse: Are We Ready for the End?, CNN.com, 24 

December 1999. Available on-line: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/at2000/stories/religion/, 

retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

 35

many as ten million adults. While these groups, less the under-counted Pentecostals, are not 

motivated by apocalypticism, their votes and broad consensus on other issues add to the 

impression of a coherent religious right mandate. In the end, Phillips himself concluded that the 

best way to describe the role of religion in American politics and war was as “widely 

underestimated.”117 

The best way to reconcile the empirical demographics with the polling data is by 

acknowledging millennialism as a powerful cultural resource and American worldview. As a 

cultural resource and worldview, the philosophy may exist only at the conceptual level, devoid of 

the elaborate details associated with full-fledged dispensational pre-millennialism. Of the almost 

half of American adults potentially operating through this paradigm, more than half come from 

the fundamentalist-evangelical-Pentecostal category and employ dispensational pre-millennialism 

in a conscious and deliberate way. Less than half of the group, or about one in five Americans, 

while influenced by an apocalyptic worldview, probably does not employ it in a conscious or 

deliberate fashion and likely lacks the specialized vocabulary associated with dispensational pre- 

millennialism. This is significant because even those who consider themselves non-religious or 

religious, but decidedly non-millennialist, may not be free of these influences in their thinking.  

The ideas of dispensational pre-millennialism have crossed the boundaries to varying 

degrees of most major Protestant denominations.118 Many Americans are influenced by the 

philosophy of dispensational pre-millennialism and have developed an apocalyptic worldview 

without being consciously aware of it.119 The polling data and demographics suggest that the 

range varies over time and is best explained by the intensity of world events and perceived danger 

felt by Americans. Americans are vulnerable to apocalyptic interpretations of world events 

                                                           

117 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 121. 

118 

 Sarver, Mark. Dispensationalism: Part I - Millennial Views Prior to the Rise of 

Dispensationalism, Grace On-line Library. Available on-line: http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/ 

full.asp?id=9|21|653, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

 36

emanating throughout American culture and media. By adopting the geopolitical vision of 

dispensational pre-millennialism Americans have developed a shared framework through which 

they interpret and understand world events, which enhances knowledge retention and overall 

interest in certain world events with pre-millennial relevance.120 Prior to 9/11, but a month before 

the year 2000 arrived, a Princeton Research Associates poll conducted for Newsweek found 40 

per cent of Americans believed the world would end with the battle of Armageddon as described 

in the Book of Revelation.121 It is in this sense that pre-millennialism functions as an underlying 

cultural resource even for Americans who do not formally embrace the particular theology or 

belong to one of the groups identified with pre-millennialism. In other words, I would suggest 

that in times of intense crisis we should expect to see 40 to 45 per cent of American adults 

interpret world events apocalyptically while the steady state number will hover around 33 per 

cent in times of relative peace.  

It is next important to understand the extent to which religious beliefs transfer to or 

manifest in the form of political action. Religious affiliation and involvement often indicates a 

high level of “community attachment that translates into concern for public affairs.”122 The 

complexity of the American political system provides numerous avenues of action and levels of 

government to act upon. These include legislative, administrative and judicial actions at the local, 

state and federal levels. Perhaps the most important point is that more Americans belong to 

                                                                                                                                                                             

119 

 Nettleton, Steve. Apostles of the Apocalypse: Are We Ready for the End?, CNN.com, 24 

December 1999. Available on-line: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/at2000/stories/religion/, 

retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

120 

 Dittmer, Jason. ‘Of Gog and Magog:  The Geopolitical Visions of Jack Chick and 

Premillennial Dispensationalism,’ ACME:  An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 6(2), 297, 

Statesboro, Georgia:  Georgia Southern University, 2007.  Available on-line:  http://www.acme- 

journal.org/vol6/ JDi.pdf, retrieved on 10 December 2007. 

121 

 Nettleton, Steve. Apostles of the Apocalypse: Are We Ready for the End?, CNN.com, 24 

December 1999. Available on-line: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/at2000/stories/religion/, 

retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

122 

 Wald, Kenneth D. Religion and Politics in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Congressional 

Quarterly, 1992, 36. 

 37

religious organizations than to any other voluntary organization, therefore politicians will always 

be ready to listen. 

CONTEMPORARY PRE-MILLENNIALISM AND AMERICAN 

CULTURE 

“I don’t think it surprises me. I think Hollywood ought to reflect a mixture of the culture and 

that’s certainly a huge element of American culture.” Tom Selleck, commenting on the success of 

a feature film dealing entirely with Bible prophecy at the world premiere of Left Behind at the 

Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles, California, February 2, 2001.123 

The influence of millennialism in America may be demonstrated in a number of ways. 

According to Boyer, “what we see in contemporary American mass culture really is that 

apocalyptic belief has become big business...a kind of synergistic process where a successful 

televangelist will publish a book which is successful, which will then spin off into videotapes and 

movies and sometimes prophecy magazines, and even we have bumper stickers and wristwatches 

and other kinds of material, all of which reinforce popular belief and interest in Bible 

prophecy.”124 The books, articles, television shows, radio programs and movies centered on pre- 

millennialism are too numerous by far to catalogue or discuss here. There are, however, some 

works that are notable for the extraordinary impact on American culture and policy. 

Dispensational pre-millennialism has spread quickly throughout the U.S. during the last 

100 years, greatly aided by the 1909 Scofield Reference Bible and its subsequent editions. In the 

U.S. today, dispensational pre-millennialism is taught at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, 

Dallas Theological Seminary, and more than 200 other lesser-known Bible institutes. It is 

regularly promoted by television evangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, 

and Jack Van Impe. 

                                                           

123 

 Selleck, Tom quoted in Cloud Ten Pictures’ Left Behind, special features section of the digital 

video disc directed by Vic Sarin, 2001. 

124 

 Boyer, Paul. ‘Apocalypticism Explained:  America’s Doom Industry,’ Frontline, originally 

broadcast on 22 November 1998, available on-line: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ 

apocalypse/explanation/doomindustry.html, retrieved 6 November 2007. 

 38

The influence of Hal Lindsey’s 1970 Late, Great Planet Earth cannot be overstated. It 

was the top-selling non-fiction work in the U.S. for the entire decade of the 1970s.125 Lindsey’s 

book was theologically identical to Darby’s dispensational pre-millennialism. Lindsey drew upon 

contemporary geo-politics and assigned literal correlations within the Book of Revelation for the 

Cold War, nuclear weapons, rivalry with China, and, most importantly, the establishment of the 

state of Israel and that country’s recent capture of Jerusalem in the Six Days War. The first three 

chapters explain Lindsey’s ideas on Bible prophecy and chapter three is devoted to our need to 

take immediate action in light of Lindsey’s predictions. Chapter explains how Israel, under the 

system of dispensational pre-millennialism, continues today as God’s ‘chosen people’ the defense 

of which is of paramount importance. Chapter five is titled ‘Russia is a Gog’ and identifies Russia 

as the principle antagonist in the Battle of Armageddon. Chapter six discusses the threat from 

various Middle Eastern states and Iran, while chapter seven is devoted to the threat posed by 

China. Chapters eight, nine and ten set forth Lindsey’s assertion that the Anti-Christ is coming to 

power in the form of the Trilateral Commission, now the European Union.  

Lindsey was instrumental in moving dispensational pre-millennialism beyond the 25 per 

cent of the American population in the fundamental-evangelical-Pentecostal demographic and 

into the mainstream consciousness. Perhaps more importantly, Lindsey’s broader popular appeal 

quickly translated into access and influence at the highest levels of the U.S. government. During 

the 1970s, he lectured at the Pentagon and the National War College. During the Reagan 

administration, he was a consultant to both the Departments of State and Defense.  

In 1996, a leading dispensational pre-millennialist, Tim LaHaye, launched a series of 

books known collectively as the "Left Behind" series. The series has sold more than 50 million 

copies and in the last decade has only been outperformed by the Harry Potter books. While 

technically a work of fiction, many Americans consider the books an important guide to 

                                                           

125 

 Ibid. 

 39

understanding world events. The story is at times more like LaHaye’s commentary on the Book of 

Revelation:  it begins with the Rapture, has a great deal of geo-political analysis of the Anti- 

Christ (which LaHaye clearly associates with the European Union and the United Nations), and 

features the Battle of Armageddon prominently. 

It is important to remember that Tim LaHaye is much more than an amazingly successful 

fiction author. LaHaye co-founded the Council for National Policy and since the early 1980s has 

been a close confidante and advisor to conservative Presidents and policy makers. When Jack 

Kemp ran for president in 1988, LaHaye initially served as his campaign chair. 

Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth and LaHaye’s Left Behind series are hardly the 

only examples of cultural manifestations of apocalypticism. As with straightforward religious 

commentators such as Lindsey and LaHaye, nuclear war is most often associated with apocalypse 

in culture. Prominent examples include The Day After and On the Beach. Dispensational pre- 

millennialism offers much more than just nuclear war, however, and these other considerations 

have made their mark on American culture as well. The Seventh Sign starring Demi Moore 

attempted the most literal reading of the symbols in Revelation that is probably possible. Stephen 

King replaced nuclear war with biological warfare in The Stand. The blockbuster movie titled 

Armageddon starring Bruce Willis and the very similar Deep Impact starring Morgan Freeman 

both featured cataclysmic meteors. Another product of apocalypticism in American culture is the 

idea of extraterrestrial intervention and threats such as those portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Independence Day. 

Dr. John C. Hagee is the founder and leader of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, 

Texas, a non-denominational evangelical church with more than 18,000 active members. Dr. 

Hagee also heads John Hagee Ministries, which telecasts his radio and television programs on 

 40

160 television stations, 50 radio stations, and eight networks in the United States.126 His media 

presence is only one indicator of Hagee’s influence. He has hosted events attended by notable 

persons such as Senators Lieberman and McCain and opened with personal letters of greeting 

from President Bush. Hagee points to Genesis 12:3 as “God’s foreign policy statement”:127 “I will 

bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.”128 Hagee sees this as an 

inviolable requirement to “protect and defend Israel at all costs.”129 There are three prominent 

policy implications that appear throughout Hagee’s media messages. First, Iran is an immediate 

threat. Second, there must be “one Jerusalem.”130 Third, war is part of God’s plan. 

Lindsey, LaHaye and Hagee are representative of the vast cultural and governmental 

influences of pre-millennialism. In his book, Israel's Final Holocaust, Jack Van Impe, founder of 

one of the world's largest evangelical Christian ministries devoted to prophecy, applies an almost 

literal view of Revelation to a modern context. "Following the defeat of Russia and her armies by 

Israel, the final world dictator, the Antichrist, will be revealed for who he is -- a ruthless, 

satanically controlled, evil person," Van Impe writes. "The length of his reign after the Israeli 

defeat of Russia will be three and one-half (forty-two months; see Rev. 13:5) and during that time 

he will bring the world to its most violent hour."131 James Dobson is the founder and chairman of 

Focus on the Family which is a Christian media powerhouse. Tony Perkins heads the 

Washington, D.C. Family Research Council, which is closely linked to Focus on the Family. The 

pre-millennialist camp includes well known political operatives like former presidential candidate 

                                                           

126 

 John Hagee Ministries. Pastor Hagee. Retrieved from http://www.jhm.org/pastor.asp on 4 

September 2007. Hagee’s show is weekly. In addition to the United States, it is seen Canada, Africa, 

Europe, Australia, New Zealand and several Third World nations. Hagee is a prolific author with ten major 

published works and several best-sellers.  

127 

 Hagee, John. Quoted in Cable News Network’s God’s Christian Warriors. Television 

broadcast on 23 August 2007. 

128 

 The Holy Bible, Genesis 12:3, English Standard Version. Crossway Publishers, 2001. 

129 

 Hagee, John. Quoted in Cable News Network’s God’s Christian Warriors. Television 

broadcast on 23 August 2007. 

130 

 Ibid. 

 41

Gary Bauer and Ralph Reed, the “brash Evangelical who transformed the Christian Coalition into 

a populist power center, then helped usher Republicans into control of Congress and George W. 

Bush into the presidency.”132 Were it not for the Abramoff scandal, Reed would likely be the 

governor of Georgia preparing for his own presidential run in 2012. Reed is more adept at policy 

than theology, but his Assembly of God credentials place him squarely in the dispensational pre- 

millennialist camp. 

While the psychological make-up of the American population is significant for its impact, 

it pales in comparison to the importance of the thinking of senior leaders and policy makers. 

While the fundamentalist-evangelical-Pentecostal group is about one-quarter of the population at 

large, their representation at the senior levels of the United States government is domineering. For 

example, in 1996, the President, Vice-President, Senate President pro tem, and Speaker of the 

House were all Southern Baptists.133 Senator James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, stated, 

“I don’t believe there is a single issue we deal with in government that hasn’t been dealt with in 

the Scriptures.”134 Senator Inhofe is widely known to be a devout believer in dispensational pre- 

millennialism. While serving as House Majority leader, Representative Tom DeLay, a Republican 

from Texas, kept a poster on the wall of office that read “This could be the day” in reference to 

the Rapture and initiation of the Great Tribulation and Armageddon.135 

Other sources of governmental and policy influence are important as well. In the late 

1970s and early 1980s the religious right established numerous groups to aid in the advancement 

of their agenda. Prominent among these were Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority founded in 1979 

                                                                                                                                                                             

131 

 Van Impe, Jack quoted in Nettleton, Steve. Apostles of the Apocalypse: Are We Ready for the 

End?, CNN.com, 24 December 1999. Available on-line: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/at2000/ 

stories/ religion/, retrieved on 2 November 2007. 

132 

 Carney, James. The Rise and Fall of Ralph Reed, Time, 23 July 2006, available on-line: 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1218060,00.html, retrieved 9 November 2007. 

133 

 President Clinton, Vice-President Gore, Senator Thurmond and Speaker Gingrich.  

134 

 Inhofe, James quoted in Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 

2006, 96. 

135 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 96. 

 42

and Tim LaHaye’s Council for National Policy founded in 1981. The Moral Majority has since 

been improved upon by the Christian Coalition. 

Dispensational pre-millennialism and its attendant apocalyptic worldview will have 

numerous foreign policy and security implications for the United States in years to come. In 

general, collective anxiety over things like world-ending war, the Anti-Christ, and the need to 

secure our eternal destiny by our own hand will add to strategic hubris, justify increasingly 

reckless international action, and continue to over-commit the military in ways the Nation cannot 

afford. The issue is made immeasurably more difficult because we cannot seem to discuss the role 

of apocalypticism in foreign policy publicly. Instead, we have developed a type of civic religion 

where Presidents and other policy makers use thinly coded phrases to “heighten biblical 

resonance”136 for that portion of the population that requires it. To everyone else, the remarks 

seem an appropriate and normal part of how the United States government communicates. One of 

the challenges for any administration is how to send “these private or sub-rosa” signals to 

millennially-minded Christians without appearing overtly bigoted or intolerant.137 The 

inevitability of millennial peace through redemptive violence and an exceptional role for America 

have been and continue to be powerful themes running throughout the security and foreign 

policies of the U.S.138 Official U.S. government policy expresses these themes in a number of 

ways from the National seal that reads Novus Ordo Seclorum – the New Order for the Ages – or 

the nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile known as the Peacekeeper. 

                                                           

136 

 Ibid, 239. 

137 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 79. 

138 

 Dittmer, Jason. ‘Of Gog and Magog:  The Geopolitical Visions of Jack Chick and 

Premillennial Dispensationalism,’ ACME:  An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 6(2), pp. 

278-303, Statesboro, Georgia:  Georgia Southern University, 2007, 296-297. 

 43

THE HOLY LAND AND ARMAGEDDON: U.S. POLICY IN THE 

MIDDLE EAST  

“It is apparent, in light of the rebirth of the state of Israel, that the present-day events in the Holy 

Land may very well serve as a prelude or forerunner to the future Battle of Armageddon and the 

glorious return of Jesus Christ.” – Jerry Falwell, 22 July 2006139 

Since the 1970s, American foreign policy in the Middle East has centered on two 

principal areas of concern:  the stability of oil-producing states and the Arab-Israeli conflict.140 

Using the 1979 Iranian revolution as a paradigmatic lens, American policy makers tend to see 

Islamic opposition as the main threat to success.141 At the heart of U.S. government foreign 

policy is the singular fact that pre-millennial dispensationalists see support of Israel as being 

equivalent to supporting God. This steadfast support is “baffling for Jews, annoying to A 

unavoidable for American Congressmen.” 

rabs, and 

                                                          

142 

 It would be difficult to explain American security 

policy in the Middle East without a religious analysis such as suggested herein. When exploring 

the pro-Israeli lobby, many would look to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or 

AIPAC, but the truth is that evangelical Christian support is significantly larger and more 

influential.143 According to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, when dealing with 

foreign policy in the Middle East “religious convictions transcend any consideration of 

fairness.”144 Fields suggests that action premised on Bible prophecy imparts the best explanatory 

power to American foreign policy when she states “if we could bind together all the rhetoric over 

the Middle East, it would fit neatly into the Old Testament's Book of Jeremiah. Beware, beware, 

139 

 Falwell, Jerry. ‘On the Threshold of Armageddon?’ World NetDaily.com, 22 July 2006. 

Available on-line: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51180, retrieved 4 January 

2008. 

140 

 Gerges, Fawaz A. America and Political Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, 

12. 

141 

 Ibid, 12. 

142 

 North, Gary. ‘The Unannounced Reason Behind American Fundamentalism's Support for the 

State of Israel,’ 19 July 2000. Available on-line: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1585. 

htm, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

143 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 24. 

144 

 Albright, Madeleine. The Mighty and the Almighty. New York: Harper Collins, 2006, 135. 

 44

beware.”145 Using this analogy, Fields compares influential, mainstream leaders such as Newt 

Gingrich to the prophet Jeremiah with his contemporary warnings that Israel is threatened by 

nuclear holocaust and his assertions that this is a direct threat to the U.S.146 Knowing that pre- 

millennialists are an important source of political power in the U.S., the Israeli government has 

begun to refer to the West Bank with Biblical terms such as Judea and Samaria.147 For many 

American Christians, any policy that calls for Israel to return any land is dangerous for Israel and 

contrary to the Bible.148  

Two motivations for support of Israel derive directly from pre-millennialism. First, pre- 

millennialists equate the contemporary political state of Israel with the Israel of the Old 

Testament and hold them to be God’s chosen people resulting in an obligation to aid them in any 

way possible. Second, if Israel were removed before the rapture, then the pre-millennialists’ 

theory of imminent escape from death would be falsified.149 Pre-millennialists would certainly 

adapt their theology to provide for an indefinite delay of some sort, but the sway of pre- 

millennialism over the present generation would be significantly diminished.  

It is impossible to explain the policy positions surrounding the Temple Mount in 

Jerusalem without an understanding of the religious influences, and, more importantly, the 

apocalyptic import of the site at the crossroads of three religions. The analysis is easy enough for 

Jews and Moslems; it is the location of the ancient Jewish temples that represent the zenith of 

Jewish culture and it is the current location of the al-Aqsa mosque containing the Dome of the 

Rock, which for Moslems marks the place from which Muhammad ascended to heaven. After 

                                                           

145 

 Fields, Suzanne. Prophecies of Doom, Real Clear Politics, 29 January 2007. Available on-line: 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/01/prophecies_of_doom.html, retrieved 2 November 2007. 

146 

 Ibid. 

147 

 Dittmer, Jason. ‘Of Gog and Magog:  The Geopolitical Visions of Jack Chick and 

Premillennial Dispensationalism,’ ACME:  An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 6(2), 298, 

Statesboro, Georgia:  Georgia Southern University, 2007.  Available on-line:  http://www.acme- 

journal.org/vol6/ JDi.pdf, retrieved on 10 December 2007. 

148 

 Albright, Madeleine. The Mighty and the Almighty. New York: Harper Collins, 2006, 137. 

 45

capturing Jerusalem during the Six Days War in 1967, the Israeli government adopted the 

position that Jerusalem is Israel’s “indivisible, eternal capital.”150 In 2006, El Salvador decided to 

move its embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and now no country has its embassy in Jerusalem. 

The interests of American Christians in the Temple Mount151 are not well understood by 

the rest of the world, but are perhaps the most important in terms of consequences. Dispensational 

pre-millennialists hold that the Temple Mount is the location where a third Jewish temple will be 

built as part of the complex series of events leading to Armageddon and the Second Coming of 

Jesus. Jerusalem presents a difficult problem for the United States government. All 

administrations have attempted to avoid the issue by maintaining the United States embassy in 

Tel Aviv. The U.S. Congress has formally recognized Jerusalem as a capital and in 1995, 

Congress mandated that the embassy move to Jerusalem. Every administration since the passage 

of that law has waived penalties for non-compliance and delayed the move. Because the State 

Department has still not moved the embassy, the House passed H.R. 2601 (Foreign Relations 

Authorization bill) on July 20, 2005152 to force the administration’s hand. The Senate did not pass 

an authorization bill, and that particular measure did not become law. H.R. 895, introduced on 

February 7, 2007,153 will attempt once again to force the executive to act on Congress’ guidance 

concerning Jerusalem. 

                                                                                                                                                                             

149 

 North, Gary. ‘The Unannounced Reason Behind American Fundamentalism's Support for the 

State of Israel,’ 19 July 2000. Available on-line: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1585. 

htm, retrieved 29 December 2007. 

150 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 25. 

151 

 This same hilltop is called the Haram Al-Sharif, or noble sanctuary, by Palestinians and 

Moslems. It is currently the location the Al-Shakrah Mosque, or Dome of the Rock. No policy preference is 

intended by my use of the term Temple Mount. I refer to it in that way here because my focus is on the 

importance of the site to American pre-millennial Christians without reference to Palestinian or Israeli 

claims. 

152 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 26. 

153 

 Ibid, 26. 

 46

The Israeli government accepted the Roadmap154 with several conditions. The plan is 

officially backed by the U.S., Russia the UN and the EU. Knowledge of American millennialism 

would suggest that there is little hope for the Roadmap in its current form or for stern, substantive 

action on the part of the U.S. to force Israel’s hand where the forfeiture of land is concerned. 

Israel has difficult and complex relations with the European Union and it is likely that 

these same issues will eventually have a negative impact on U.S. relationships with the EU. The 

European Union does not identify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Many in Europe believe 

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the major cause of terrorism and Islamist extremism. The 

Congressional Research Service assesses that the EU “has ambitions to exert greater influence in 

the Middle East peace process.”155 The EU disapproves of Israeli settlement activity and the 

construction of a security barrier. Israel, in turn, believes the EU is biased in favor of the 

Palestinians. 

Israel has hundreds of settlements156 in areas Palestinians feel should be part of their 

future state. Israel exercises military control over the West Bank and is building a security barrier 

to separate Israelis and Palestinians. Palestinians object to the barrier being built in West Bank 

territory as a border between Israel and Palestine that will cut Palestinians off from East 

Jerusalem. As of late 2007, the barrier was more than 60 per cent complete.157 While a majority 

of American Jews and Israelis support some form of ‘land for peace,’ many American Christians 

oppose any policy that would call for Israel to do anything less than rule over all of Palestine – 

including the West Bank.158 Recent U.S. Administrations have publicly disapproved of Israel’s 

settlement activity as ‘prejudging final status issues’ and possibly preventing the development of 

                                                           

154 

 The Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. 

155 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 23. 

156 

 According to the Congressional Research Service there are 242 settlements, other civilian land 

use sites, and 124 unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank and 29 settlements in East Jerusalem. 

157 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 17. 

 47

a Palestinian state. Administration spokespersons are careful to not close off the possibility of 

Israel retaining any particular piece of land. On April 14, 2004, President Bush suggested there 

was a need to consider changed “realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli 

population centers,” adding “it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations 

will be full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.”159  

Perhaps the single greatest indicator of true American interest abroad is actual spending. 

Since 1976, Israel received the largest share of United States every single year until 2003 when 

the demands of the conflict in Iraq caused the country to occupy the top position for American 

aid.160 This is a significant fact that is difficult to understand using traditional political science or 

rational actor models. At the height of the Cold War when the European theater was said to be of 

paramount importance, the United States placed Israel with a population smaller than some 

American cities and no treaty or alliance obligations ahead of everyone else in the world for aid – 

including NATO allies. The timing is significant and coincides with the election of the first 

Baptist president since President Truman, who extended formal recognition to Israel against the 

almost unanimous advice of senior government and military officials. Perhaps more significantly, 

the timing of the shift in spending was at the crest renewed interest in dispensational pre- 

millennialism ignited by Jewish success in the Six Days and Arab-Israeli wars followed by the 

publication of Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth. Israel’s position as the top recipient of 

American aid was unchanged through both Republican and Democrat administrations. This trend 

supports what we understand about the effects of dispensational pre-millennialism on the 

population and politics. Republican presidents since Carter have been affiliated with the older, 

                                                                                                                                                                             

158 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 29. 

159 

 Bush, George W. quoted in Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the 

United States, Washington, D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 25. 

160 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 27. 

 48

mainstream Protestant denominations,161 but as individuals were clearly among the 20 per cent of 

the American population outside of formal pre-millennialism, but easily influenced by millennial 

thinkers. Both Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye were powerful advisers in the Reagan 

administration. In the case of President George W. Bush, his own Methodist church released a 

press statement shortly after his election pointing out that the new President’s views and policies 

had much more in common with the Southern Baptist Convention than the United Methodist 

Church.162 The only intervening Democratic administration was that of President Clinton – 

another Baptist163, which places him in the 25 per cent of formal, committed pre-millennialists.     

On August 13, 2007, the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas 

Burns, signed a memorandum of understanding with Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General 

Aharon Abramowitz to govern a new 10-year, $30 billion aid package.164 The aid is primarily in 

the form of foreign military financing and averages $3 billion per year. About a quarter of the 

money may be spent in Israel with remainder going to the purchase of American weaponry. The 

State Department’s official position is that a militarily strong Israel is in the interests of the 

United States. Essentially, in spite of broad consensus that Israel possesses a more than adequate 

military, the United States continues to go to great lengths and expense to add to Israel’s military 

capacity and strengthen the military relationship between the two countries.  

                                                           

161 

 The most frequent religious affiliation for American presidents has been Episcopalian (11 

presidents), followed by Presbyterian (6 presidents). Every president except John F. Kennedy has been 

Protestant. President Reagan was a Presbyterian and not known for his religiosity, President George H.W. 

Bush is an Episcopalian, and President George W. Bush is a Methodist. Reagan's father was a nominal 

Catholic. President Reagan's mother was a member of the Disciples of Christ and Ronald Reagan was 

raised in the denomination. Reagan attended Eureka College, which is affiliated with the Disciples of 

Christ. As an adult, President Reagan identified himself as a Presbyterian.  

162 

 Paulson, Michael. ‘Bush, Fellow Methodists Don’t See All Eye to Eye,’ The Boston Globe, 30 

December 2001, available on-line: http://www.adherents.com/people/pb/George_W_Bush.html, retrieved 5 

November 2007.  

163 

 In the history of the United States, there have been four Baptist presidents:  Warren G. Harding, 

Harry S. Truman, Jimmy Carter, and William J. Clinton. Though few in number, beginning with Truman, 

their presidencies have coincided with critical moments in U.S.-Israeli relations.  

164 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 5. 

 49

In 1998, the United States Congress recognized that Israel no longer required any 

economic enhancement or support, but continued to increase funding for the improvement and 

expansion of Israeli military capabilities. The Congress has also shown interest in funding another 

on-going program: emigration of Jews worldwide to Israel. In dispensational pre-millennialism, 

this is called the Ingathering and the return of the Jews to their biblical homeland in Palestine is 

an essential precursor to Armageddon.  

Within the United States, Israel is often referred to as an ally, but the two countries do not 

have any mutual defense agreement. In spite of this, President Bush has said several times that the 

United States would defend Israel militarily in the event of an attack.165 In 1981, Secretary of 

Defense Weinberger and Israeli Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon signed a memorandum of 

understanding to consult and cooperate on security issues. In 1983, the United States and Israel 

formed a Joint Political Military Group, which meets twice a year. The Bush administration is 

currently seeking to expand these meetings to four per year. Combined exercises began in June 

1984, and the United States has facilities to stockpile military equipment in Israel.  

In 1986, Israel and the United States signed an agreement on the Strategic Defense 

Initiative. Israel is developing the Arrow anti-ballistic missile166 with more than $1 billion from 

the United States. On May 17, 2007, the House passed H.R. 1585, the Defense Authorization Act 

for FY2008, authorizing the Administration’s request of $73.5 million for the Arrow and $7 

million for joint SRBMD. Sec. 228 of the bill requires the Secretary of Defense to expand the 

U.S. ballistic missile defense system “to better integrate with the defenses of Israel to provide 

robust, layered protection against ballistic missile attack.” 167   

                                                           

165 

 Ibid, 28. 

166 

 The system became operational in 2000 in Israel. The Defense Appropriations Act for FY2007, 

P.L. 109-289, September 29, 2006 appropriates $138 million for the Arrow program. $20.4 million is for a 

joint feasibility study of the Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense initiative, a missile interceptor designed 

to thwart missiles and rockets out to 200 kilometers. 

167 

 Migdalovitz, Carol. Israel:  Background and Relations with the United States, Washington, 

D.C.:  Congressional Research Service, 2007, 29. 

 50

Millennialism is an important consideration when evaluating or implementing U.S. policy 

with respect to Israel or in the broader Middle East. Tenets of pre-millennialism are at odds with 

the U.S. official government position with respect to the Roadmap Peace Plan. It is unlikely that 

either a presidential administration of either party or the Congress will ever take substantive 

action to force implementation of the Roadmap. Since the U.S. is a guarantor of the Roadmap, 

this millennial reality may undermine U.S. credibility in foreign policy over the long-term and 

lead to continued conflict throughout the Middle East. Additionally, the confusing and 

inconsistent nature of U.S. actions will likely erode relations with the E.U., Russia and Arab 

nations. 

The U.S. millennial proclivity for an unqualified military defense of Israel will continue 

to be a potential flashpoint of great import. Both the United States and Israel believe that Iran 

poses a credible existential to the state of Israel – especially if it is able to develop or procure a 

nuclear warhead. The Iranian Shahab-III missile system has to range to deliver a warhead to 

Israel. Ayatollah Khomeini declared the elimination of Israel to be a religious duty and current 

Iranian president Ahmadinejad cites him frequently when making similar statements. Because of 

the pre-millennial worldview, the U.S. will continue to adopt an adversarial approach to any 

country perceived as at odds with Israel. Since these conflicts are seen as deterministic and 

inevitable, there is little incentive to employ diplomacy or any other instrument of power other 

than the military in these situations. 

ANTI-CHRIST, GOG, MAGOG, AND ARMIES FROM THE EAST 

“Ezekiel tells us that Gog, the nation that will lead all of the other powers of darkness against 

Israel, will come out of the north. Biblical scholars have been saying for generations that Gog 

must be Russia. What other powerful nation is to the north of Israel? None. But it didn’t seem to 

make sense before the Russian revolution, when Russia was a Christian country. Now it does, 

 51

now that Russia has become communistic and atheistic, now that Russia has set itself against 

God. Now it fits the description of Gog perfectly.” - Ronald Reagan168 

While many Americans can readily see how pre-millennialism influences U.S. policy 

toward Israel and the Middle East, the effect of this philosophy on our dealings throughout the 

rest of the world may not be as recognizable. Pre-millennialism will drive the U.S. further from 

the U.N. in the near future since many pre-millennialists have to come to view that body as a 

platform for the Anti-Christ.169 The U.N. and Arab countries are not the only millennial enemies. 

Viewed through the pre-millennialist paradigmatic lens, military interventions in the Middle East, 

such as the invasion of Iraq, provide strategic depth for the defense of Israel against the ‘army 

from the East,’ or China, and Gog and Magog, represented by Russia. American pre- 

millennialists will also feel increasingly threatened by the E.U. in coming years. Our self-imposed 

isolation, today referred to as unilateralism, and bold uses of military power are a thoroughly 

logical operational stance to contribute to the defense of Israel. In the United States Congress, 

H.Rept. 110-060, dated March 20, 2007, to accompany H.R. 1591 (Emergency Supplemental 

Appropriations for FY2007) states, “The fight in Iraq is also critical to the future of Israel.” 

Pre-millennial interpretations of biblical prophecy that predict the emergence of a one- 

world government led by an anti-Christ causes distrust and even antagonism toward organizations 

like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the European Union, NAFTA and 

OPEC.170 Reflecting on her time as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Madeleine Albright notes that 

many of her efforts were frustrated because the U.N. was widely perceived as playing the 

                                                           

168 

 Reagan, Ronald quoted in Dittmer, Jason. ‘Of Gog and Magog:  The Geopolitical Visions of 

Jack Chick and Premillennial Dispensationalism,’ ACME:  An International E-Journal for Critical 

Geographies, 6(2), pp. 278-303, Statesboro, Georgia:  Georgia Southern University, 2007, 294-295.  

Available on-line:  http://www.acme-journal.org/vol6/JDi.pdf, retrieved on 10 December 2007. The 

remarks were made in 1971 to a member of the California state senate. 

169 

 Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, 209. 

170 

 Bruce, Steve. ‘Y2K, The Apocalypse, and Evangelical Christianity: The Role of Eschatological 

Belief in Church Responses,’ Sociology of Religion, Summer 2001. Available on-line: http://findarticles. 

com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_62/ai_76759009/pg_3, retrieved 27 December 2007. 

 52

“villain’s role” as the architect of world government by many American Christians.171  Albright 

goes on to explain that she constantly found herself “on the defensive” and, as a functionary 

within the U.N., was perceived by many as “quite literally – the devil’s advocate.”172 The 

Christian right constantly works to undermine the U.N. One particularly noteworthy example was 

a videotape produced by Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum titled Global Governance: The Quiet 

War Against American Independence, which prominently featured future Attorney General John 

Ashcroft173 denouncing the U.N.174 

While conservatives in the U.S. sometimes resent the UN as a check on American power, 

pre-millennialists are generally opposed to the UN.  Pre-millennialists see the U.N. not only as a 

dangerous check on American power as it pursues a national strategy of righteousness, but they 

have also come to believe that the UN will is presently evolving into a platform that will serve the 

cause of the Anti-Christ.  Pre-millennialists especially object to UN Resolution 242, which calls 

for Israel to abandon the Occupied Territories. 

The Bush administration has sought to undermine the U.N. and has angered many foreign 

diplomats in the process. In the eyes of many American Christians, President Bush’s actions to 

distance the U.S. from the U.N. is actually “shedding the influence of Satan himself.”175 

Since shortly after World War I, pre-millennialism has posed problems for relations 

between the U.S. and Russia. American pre-millennialists today are certain that the Russia will 

attack Israel within the next 60 years. Beginning with the Scofield Reference Bible, pre- 

millennialists have been nearly unanimous in their identification of Russia as the Gog and Magog 

of the Bible.176 Furthermore, within the system of pre-millennialism, they have concluded that the 

                                                           

171 

 Albright, Madeleine. The Mighty and the Almighty. New York: Harper Collins, 2006, 82. 

172 

 Ibid, 83. 

173 

 At the time the video was produced, Ashcroft was a U.S. Senator. 

174 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 31. 

175 

 Ibid, 33. 

176 

 Boyer, Paul. When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture. 

Cambridge, MA: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 1992, 157-159. 

 53

battles described in the Bible are unfulfilled prophecy, still awaiting us in the now very near 

future. In the minds of many American Christians, Russia figures prominently in a battle 

described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 that will take place in the near future:  

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of 

the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 

and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief 

prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and 

bring you out with your whole army-your horses, your horsemen fully armed, 

and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their 

swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also 

Gomer with all its troops and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its 

troops-the many nations with you. – Ezekiel 38:1-6 

Within this prophecy, American pre-millennialists see equivalents to many modern-day nation 

states.  While there are some differences, there is broad agreement that Magog refers to Russia. 

Meshech and Tubal are generally thought to refer to Turkey. Since Persia is the ancient name for 

Iran, the involvement of Iran in this impending conflict is considered a certainty. Cush and Put 

are often equated with Ethiopia and Libya. Broader interpretations read Cush as a reference to all 

of the black races of Africa and Put as the North African nations of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, 

and Mauritania. 

Due to the influence of pre-millennialism, there is great distrust of Russia on the part of 

the U.S. The belief in a deterministic view of near-term events that make Russian military 

aggression inevitable understandably obviates any incentive for cooperation or partnership. This 

has contributed to a persistent distance and suspicion that permeates the relationship between the 

two powers. Because of this, it will prove difficult, if not impossible, for the U.S. relationship 

with Russia to evolve into one of constructive cooperation. A Council on Foreign Relations 

commission chaired by Senator John Edwards and Jack Kemp has concluded that more than 15 

years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, U.S.-Russia relations are headed in the wrong 

direction and the promise of a strategic partnership between two major powers may no longer be 

 54

realistic.177 In spite of the fact that cooperation would benefit both countries and the world, 

partnership seems inexplicably difficult. Russia could be a valuable ally, especially in coping 

with Iran and energy scarcity. 

Instead of cooperation and partnership, the U.S. will likely continue to prepare for 

military confrontation with Russia. For the near future, U.S. military training and acquisition will 

continue to prepare for threats derived from an analysis of Russian capabilities. The U.S. will 

continue to support an expansion of Israeli military capabilities, probably with an emphasis on air 

and missile defense. The U.S. will continue efforts to expand NATO and Partnership for Peace 

programs, but will pointedly exclude Russia. Pre-millennialism will likely push U.S. defense 

policy in the wrong direction for years to come.  

Beyond unnecessary defense expenditures, the lack of cooperation and partnership has 

far-reaching policy implications for the U.S. and the rest of the world. We will miss out on 

countless opportunities for meaningful cooperation between two major world powers that could 

contribute greatly to the resolution of problems on a global scale. For the United States, a 

declining agenda with Russia will sooner or later result in overextension of US resources and 

global disaster. Much good could result in the area of nuclear proliferation and intelligence 

sharing.178 

Partnership between the U.S. and Russia could lead to significant improvements in 

dealing with North Korea, Iraq, Iran, and China. Russia could contribute to the long-term stability 

of the Middle East, but we fear any involvement that would seem to lead to the fulfillment of 

biblical battles. Suspicion on the part of the U.S. can be hard for other nations to understand. In 

the case of Russia, it is reasonable to expect that they will respond with suspicion of U.S. actions 

                                                           

177 

 Council on Foreign Relations. ‘U.S.-Russia Relations Headed in Wrong Direction, Concludes 

Council Task Force Chaired by Edwards and Kemp,’ CFR.org. Available on-line: http://www.cfr.org/ 

publication/10020/, retrieved on: 22 December 2007. 

178 

 Ibid. 

 55

on the global stage. One example of Russian suspicion is the effort on the part of the Russians to 

curtail U.S. and NATO military access to Central Asian bases.179 

Most pre-millennialists agree that China is the central figure in the ‘kings of the east’ that 

will gather to attack Israel at the Battle of Armageddon, as described in Revelation 16:12-16: 

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried 

up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like 

frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the 

mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go 

out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God 

Almighty.  

 "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with 

him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."  

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 

According to most pre-millennialists, China will attack with an army numbering 200-million, as 

described in Revelation 9:13-16: 

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the 

golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four 

angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels who had been kept ready 

for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The 

number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. 

These ideas concerning China’s role in the near future undoubtedly create an 

undercurrent of distrust on the part of U.S. policymakers and strategists. This will likely cause 

continuing tensions in Asia and the Pacific. U.S. leaders run a risk of misinterpreting and 

overreacting to Chinese policies, initiatives and military programs. 

Beyond the obvious problems of policy in the Middle East, pre-millennialism will 

increasingly place the U.S. at odds with nearly every major actor on the global stage. The U.N. 

and the E.U. are viewed with suspicion as likely platforms for Anti-Christ power and the agenda 

of Satan. The U.S. will continue to view both Russia and China as inevitable military threats. Pre- 

millennialism can support increasingly advanced weaponry in the Congress. While unpleasant 

                                                           

179 

 Ibid. 

 56

and unpopular, military intervention in the Middle East will be seen as a Christian duty in support 

of Israel. In short, pre-millennialism will continue to argue for unilateral military action.  

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

“The enemy is a spiritual enemy. It’s called the principality of darkness. We, ladies and 

gentlemen, are in a spiritual battle, not a physical battle. Oh, we’ve got soldiers fighting on the 

battlefields, we’ve got sailors, marines, airmen, coast guardsmen out there fighting against a 

physical enemy. But the battle this nation is in is a spiritual battle, it’s a battle for our soul. And 

the enemy is a guy called Satan – Satan wants to destroy this nation. He wants to destroy us as a 

nation and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army.”180  

- U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Lieutenant General Boykin, 2003  

A 2003 survey found that more than two-thirds of evangelical leaders view Islam as a 

religion of violence bent on world domination.181 Following the events of September 11, 2001, 

many Christian opinion leaders began to speak of President Bush’s election and policies as 

“divinely inspired.”182 This attitude can present challenges to rational decision-making processes. 

While some political commentators have theorized that the administration’s unwillingness to 

admit errors is the result of arrogance or political calculation, it is more likely that the 

administration believes they are doing the will of God and will be vindicated in the end.183 In 

                                                           

180 

 Boykin, William G. quoted in Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian 

Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: 

The New Press, 2004, 21. The remarks were part of a widely broadcast speech that LTG Boykin gave at the 

Good Shepard Community Church in Boring, Oregon that were later aired on NBC Nightly News on 

October 15, 2003. At the time he made his remarks, LTG Boykin was unaware they would be aired and he 

spoke freely to a sympathetic audience, thus providing an unguarded insight into his true thinking. See also 

Burns, Robert. ‘General Faulted for Satan Speeches: Boykin’s Remarks on Terrorism and Religion 

Violated Pentagon Rules,’ CBS News, 19 August 2004, available on-line: http://election.cbsnews 

.com/stories/2003/10/16/terror/main578471.shtml, retrieved 19 December 2007. These remarks are typical 

of American evangelical Christian commentary on current geopolitical events. They are informative 

because they were spoken not by an evangelical pastor or end-times author, but by an American lieutenant 

general serving in a senior policy-making position within the Pentagon. Lieutenant General William G. 

Boykin, then-Deputy Undersecretary for Intelligence, made similar remarks at 23 religious events hosted 

by Baptist and Pentecostal churches in 2002 and 2003. Lieutenant general Boykin wore his uniform at all 

but two of the events. 

181 

 Kaplan, Esther. With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, 

Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush’s White House. New York: The New Press, 2004, 13. 

182 

 Ibid, 7. 

183 

 Ibid, 12. 

 57

other words, intelligence or analysis that seems to support invasions or other administration 

policies are interpreted as an affirmation of God’s will, while information is to the contrary is 

viewed with suspicion – perhaps an effort by Satan to deceive or mislead.184 

As President Carter explained to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, what 

people believe as a matter of religion, they will do as a matter of public policy.185 There is a 

tendency on the part of Americans to view foreign policy and international affairs as a “clash of 

moral opposites.”186 This tendency may make it difficult for U.S. policy makers and strategists to 

perceive and act upon subtleties that may lie outside our conceptions of moral absolutes. Military 

leaders have the difficult task translating this religiously tinged policy into successful strategy and 

operations. War is primarily about politics. While geography and technology play a role, in order 

to be successful military leaders must be able to see the political goals as clearly as possible.187 

Because of the influence of pre-millennialism, it can be difficult for military leaders to see 

themselves and their government accurately and state policy goals objectively. 

Because religion in America directly impacts policy, military leaders and planners must 

learn to recognize the tenets and implications of American millennial thought. Millennialism has 

always been a feature of the American culture and has shaped not only the objectives of U.S. 

government policy, but also the way in which we interpret the words and actions of other actors 

on the international stage. Millennial ideas contribute to a common American understanding of 

international relations that guide our thinking regardless of individual religious or political 

affiliation. Millennialism has great explanatory value, significant policy implications, and creates 

potential vulnerabilities that adversaries may exploit. By gaining insight into and embracing 

                                                           

184 

 Ibid, 12. 

185 

 Albright, Madeleine. The Mighty and the Almighty. New York: Harper Collins, 2006, 77. 

186 

 Wald, Kenneth D. Religion and Politics in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Congressional 

Quarterly, 1992, 65. 

187 

 Rosen, Stephen P. ‘The Future of War and the American Military: Demography, Technology, 

and the Politics of Modern Empire,’ Harvard Magazine, May-June 2002. Available on-line: 

http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/the-future-of-war-and-th.html, retrieved 1 February 2008. 

 58

intellectual honesty where our own prejudices and proclivities are concerned, we can greatly 

improve the quality and clarity of our decision-making. 

Pessimism and paranoia are two possible results of pre-millennial influence. This can 

lead to inaccurate assessments on the part of military leaders and planners. In the Capstone 

Concept for Joint Operations, the Joint Staff describes the near-term future as one characterized 

by “a pervasive sense of global insecurity.”188 There are actually many reasons to trend toward 

optimism. The U.S. military has no rival and our power is truly global in nature. U.S. military 

spending always exceeds that of the next several major nations combined. The U.S. military 

regularly enjoys a position of leadership on the international stage and effectively uses military 

power to intervene in the affairs of other states. Decision makers should guard against 

unwarranted pessimism. We should consider whether a contemplated decision or policy is either 

overly optimistic or pessimistic. Dispensational pre-millennialism typically causes a 

predisposition toward pessimism in world affairs and a general worsening of international 

relations. A pre-millennial reading of Bible prophecy paints a dismal picture of a world 

disintegrating toward a cataclysmic end where we are forced to confront the wrath and judgment 

of God. Assumptions and plans based on this worldview will be less than ideal. 

In the same manner that we so assiduously study the culture and thinking of others, 

potential adversaries may study us, to include the ramifications of millennial thought, and gain 

significant advantages. Millennial thought and its policy implications may create strategic 

transparency that affords adversaries an advantage in decision-making. In other words, by 

studying the tenets and predictions of dispensational pre-millennialism, one could, to some 

extent, predict U.S. government actions and reactions. This would certainly prove more useful in 

areas that figure prominently in dispensational pre-millennialist eschatology, such as Israel. An 

                                                           

188 

 Joint Chiefs of Staff. Capstone Concept for Joint Operations 2.0, Washington D.C.: U.S. 

Government Printing Office, August 2005, 4. Available on-line: http://www.dtic.mil/futurejointwarfare/ 

concepts/approved_ccjov2.pdf, retrieved 1 February 2008. 

 59

extension of this strategic transparency might include an ability to provoke or manipulate 

American policy and subsequent action. With or without the efforts of adversaries, American 

millennialism may increase the fragility of or even disrupt coalitions. Finally, adversaries could 

easily transform an understanding American pre-millennialism into a highly effective set of 

information operations themes and messages or psychological operations efforts to achieve a 

variety of results with American leadership or the population at large. By recognizing these 

potential vulnerabilities, American strategists can take action now to mitigate the effects. 

Based on what we know about the effect millennialism has on our thinking, we may 

incorporate additional considerations into policy formulation and evaluation to assist ourselves in 

the identification of defects, diminished objectivity or unwarranted biases.189 As a result of 

millenarian influences on our culture, most Americans think as absolutists.190 A proclivity for 

clear differentiations between good, evil, right, and wrong do not always serve us well in foreign 

relations or security policy. Policy makers must strive to honestly confront their own cognitive 

filters and the prejudices associated with various international organizations and actors vis-à-vis 

pre-millennialism. We must come to more fully understand the background of our thinking about 

the U.N., the E.U., the World Trade Organization, Russia, China and Israel. We must ask similar 

questions about natural events such as earthquakes or disease. An ability to consider these 

potential influences upon our thinking may greatly enhance objectivity. 

The inevitability of millennial peace through redemptive violence and an exceptional role 

for America have been and continue to be powerful themes running throughout the security and 

foreign policies of the U.S.191 Official U.S. government policy expresses these themes in a 

                                                           

189 

 Bruce, Steve. ‘Y2K, The Apocalypse, and Evangelical Christianity: The Role of Eschatological 

Belief in Church Responses,’ Sociology of Religion, Summer 2001. Available on-line: http://findarticles. 

com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_62/ai_76759009/pg_3, retrieved 27 December 2007. 

190 

 Alexander, John B. The Changing Nature of Warfare, the Factors Mediating Future Conflict, 

and Implications for SOF, Hurlburt Field:  Joint Special Operations University, 2006, 14. 

191 

 Dittmer, Jason. ‘Of Gog and Magog:  The Geopolitical Visions of Jack Chick and 

Premillennial Dispensationalism,’ ACME:  An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 6(2), pp. 

278-303, Statesboro, Georgia:  Georgia Southern University, 2007, 296-297. 

 60

number of ways from the National seal that reads Novus Ordo Seclorum – the New Order for the 

Ages – or the nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile known as the Peacekeeper. Whether 

Americans seek to subdue the continent to realize their Manifest Destiny, conquer the Soviet Evil 

Empire or rid the world of Saddam Hussein, millennialism imparts an unusual degree of certainty 

and fortitude in the face of difficult situations. Judis points out that, for the same reasons, 

millennialism is usually “at odds with the empirical method that goes into appraising reality, 

based on a determination of means and ends.”192 As demonstrated by American history, 

millennialism has predisposed us toward stark absolutes, overly simplified dichotomies and a 

preference for revolutionary or cataclysmic change as opposed to gradual processes. In other 

words, American strategists tend to rely too much on broad generalizations, often incorrectly cast 

in terms of ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ and seek the fastest resolution to any conflict rather than the most 

thoughtful or patient one.193 

                                                           

192 

 Judis, John B. ‘The Chosen Nation: The Influence of Religion on U.S. Foreign Policy,’ Policy 

Brief, 37, March 2005, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 3. 

193 

 Ibid, 3. 

 61

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engagement by the United States. The author is decidedly critical of the influence of 

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Military College, Duntroon, the Australian Command and Staff College and the Royal 

College of Defence Studies. He is an Armoured Corps Officer with experience 

commanding at the troop and squadron level, and 2nd Cavalry Regiment in 2000–01. He 

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Briefly covers the entire Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, as well as a history of 

the church's view on the subject. Argues for a post-millennial return of Christ. Deals with 

difficult passages and objections. Capably explains post-millennialism, but is weak in its 

refutation of other philosophical systems. P&R Publishers is a conservative Presbyterian 

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