Movies, television, books, and pretty well all aspects of art have depicted the end of the world at some point. Often it is coupled with an underlying warning on how to avoid environmental catastrophe or, say, zombies.  These dystopian views often pray on our fears of what could be a the end of the world.  However, for the evangelical Christian faith, the end of the world is just the beginning. It signifies the return of Jesus Christ and entry into heaven for all who serve him. These people are essentially Praying for Armageddon, as directors Tonje Hessen Schei and Michael Rowley reveal in this documentary.

An evangelical pastor John Hagge once stated, the Bible simply stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”. He is among many that preach the coming of the apocalypse, and welcome it. They state that the signs are already here and that they will need warriors to fight. This is never so evident as when we see the leader of the Mission M25 motorcycle club whose leader, Gary Burd, encourages his followers to become actual knights, praying across America, often with real swords in gas stations or parking lots.

Sure, this might seem somewhat laughable especially if you, like me, are skeptical of organized religion to begin with. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The power of this movement, looking to a holy war to bring about Christ’s second coming, extends far and wide, from the U.S government and straight to Israel. You realize none of this is humorous, it’s terrifying.

Instead of Praying for Armageddon, they could have called this documentary Lobbying for Armageddon, because that’s exactly what is happening. With the power and money of organizations like Hagge’s influential Christians Unite For Israel, and Republican representatives who need evangelical votes, the directors show how this religious group influences the U.S. governmentto make pro-Israel policies and give them military aid.  Why you ask? It’s not for the good of the Jewish people as it might seem on the surface.  It is instead to create the conditions that scripture states are required to incite armageddon and Jesus’s return. By reuniting Jerusalem with Israel it will bring Christ back faster. They hope for violence to trigger these events.

If you think this seems absurd, Schei and Rowley will have you thinking otherwise.  Praying for Armageddon is slickly produced and convincing. As they follow a reporter from The Intercept, Lee Fang, they’ll show how human rights implications from these geopolitical policies are ignored by politicians and leaders. They avoid any sort of questions on this subject. This is all just a means to an end. THE end. There is only one active goal here, and it seems unfathomable to know that the politicians steering probably the largest military on earth are being influenced by a group of people who don’t want a future at all.

Televangelist Pastor Robert Jeffress, who is interviewed by Fang in the film, was even a member of former president Donald Trump’s faith advisory council. During his presidency, Trump not only moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, sparking protests there, but also put a military base in the country, something that went against years of policy. Is this the sign of the evangelical power increasing? Certainly this film can’t say for sure, but you can’t help but think it’s a bit suspect. These moves only increased friction there.

Praying for Armageddon is an eye opening thriller. It never makes its point quietly, but why should it? Revealing the power behind the decisions of policy should never be done with whispers. This film premiered long before the current war in Gaza, but seems perhaps more relevant than ever, and I found it helped me to understand some aspects of a complex geopolitical conflict with a new perspective.

When Jesus first walked upon the earth, he was a saviour. However, when he is to return he will do so riding a white horse and wielding a sword (or an AR-15 rifle depending on who you listen to) as a warrior. This belief, that Jesus will return to judge those who oppose God creates a dangerous “us vs. them” paradigm. One where it is ‘true Christians’ versus everyone else. This sort of thinking only increases the polarization the United States (and other countries) is facing. With an estimated 100 million evangelical Christians in the U.S., the power they wield politically is even stronger than a sword. It has implications for us all.